Winter Olympics? You Mean They're On?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

If you are anything like me, you have only been watching the Olympic Games while you are out to eat, because the restaurant so happens to have the games on.  And, to be honest, aside from curling, and hockey, the winter games have never been a big draw for me, anyway.

It turns out, I am not alone.

Not only are the American athletes not doing as well as one would hope, currently holding on to sixth place with 10 overall medals, just behind the Russian competitors, and tied for third in gold medals with Canada’s haul of five, but also the Olympics, when it comes to its television audience, is currently the lowest rated and least watched games ever.

I am going to guess that because of technology, people are more busy arguing with people they don't know on social media than they are watching the boob-tube (which is probably collecting dust in the corner).  In fact, I can't count how many people I know who have discontinued their cable subscriptions because live TV is no longer fun to watch, and they can get the rest of what they want on You Tube, Hulu, Netflix, and various other platforms out there through the internet.

As for me, I still watch television, but not the traditional alphabet networks, anymore - unless they have a decent sporting event on . . . and unfortunately, the Olympics have not been fitting into that bill very well.  In fact, from what I've heard, NBC can't even get their own game in gear, first reporting the wrong gold medalist, and then after all of that egg in their face, they botched the correction.

Former Olympians don't want to participate as correspondents, and the gaffes are piling up.

Besides, there are no great story lines, no miracles on ice, and no episodes of great things that just tug at the heart strings.  The best we are getting are wardrobe malfunctions, a Russian curler who failed a drug test, and a whole team of North Korean athletes who fear that if they don't medal, it'll be off to the gulags for them.

Well, I guess we can at least applause snowboarder Shaun White, who made history in the 2018 Games as he scored America’s 100th Winter Games gold medal.

Don't get me wrong.  I have a lot of American Pride. I attended the 1984 Olympics when the Summer Games were in Los Angeles (largely attending Track and Field events at The Coliseum).  I want to be inspired.  I want to enjoy the games.  It's just that nothing about these games have been inspiring, or enough to make me want to participate . . . and with all of NBC's hard left garbage they've been dealing out over recent years, I really don't want to give them any viewership.

Maybe the Summer Games will catch our attention.

Maybe.

I know NBC won't.

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