Usually I wait a couple of days between feeders so as not to
overload you, and give you a chance to “catch up” before another beautifully
conceived and written posting pops into your mail box. Because of the kind of topical nature of this
issue (mostly a rant) I sort of wanted to get it out. So if you haven’t had a chance to see the one
about the lunch at the Hay Adams, scroll down to "PM part" and take a look. There is civility.
Bi- yearly Olympic Rant:
Last Friday night, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games opening
ceremony took place. Since I was fresh
off the surgery, I thought a nice interlude watching the pageantry would at
least take my mind off it. Having to
suffer the “Today” show crew led by Matt “I love me” Lauer was bad enough, but
it soon became apparent that it was on “tape delay”. What?
Something that only occurs every two years (if you include winter
version) and you are not going to show it live?
What? It would not be as bad if
they then showed it continuously. But
no, it was “packaged” coverage. “We’ll
be right back after this brief (4 minute) break”. It just broke up the flow.
And I’m sure there are some who read this who also “do Facebook”,
and I was so mad that I posted something during the coverage and was pleased to
see that there were many of similar attitude.
Another voice..
Last Sunday in the WaPo (clever contraction of Washington Post)
Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist whose work I really like, had a column about the NBC
coverage called “NBC’s packaged coverage not a gift for viewers”. It was a bit complicated, but according to
Sally, NBC decided that “Women don’t watch the Olympics for the live results;
they watch it for the narrative”. She
quoted NBC’s chief marketing officer who stated that: “more women watch the
Olympics games than men (Interesting)
and for the women, they’re less interested in the result and more interested in
the journey”. In other words, in his estimation women don’t care who wins, so
much as their personal life, so they push the “up close and personal” aspect
rather than covering the event in real time.
Anyway, the overnight ratings of the telecast were 16.5, the lowest
since 1992. And if that’s the approach
to sports coverage NBC wants, Sally says why don’t they apply the same theory
to the NFL? “Delay and collapse the
games in favor of sugary features showing childhood films of the Manning
brothers on a swing set instead of
wasting viewers’ time with a penalty-filled second half?” and, she closes her column with “If NBC wants
to attract and retain Olympic viewers, it better up its game and stop making
people so frustrated and impatient.” AMEN.
If you’re watching the coverage, how many times have you had
to endure endless features of Simone Biles as a kid (she’s not far removed
now), or a cherubic Katie Ledecky in a little pool? Boy, that’s what I want to see! Never mind the actual competition we can see
that later!
Whew, that got longer than I thought it would, but I like
her sentiment. The ceremony coverage was
pretty much a disaster..other irritations:
Basketball:
I have (had) utmost respect for “coach K”. What I don’t understand is why he associates
himself with a bunch of overpaid (in layman terms), prima donna athletes who
live in a world of “me first”, “there IS an “I” in team (in fact I AM the team)”,
and are changing teams to chase a ring. Loyalty
to fans? Naaahhh…Of course it is not
illegal to populate an Olympic team with professional athletes and we are
“blessed” with the best basketball players in the world. It is just kind of painful to watch them blow
out teams by 50 or 60 points, and celebrate like they just won the NBA playoff.
And I heard (and didn’t verify) that in
the game against the Chinese, up by 40 or so that they did rock, paper,
scissors, to determine who would shoot a technical foul. A great testament to our athlete’s respect of
opponents and displaying the true spirit of American sport. Sure makes you proud! Coach K – did you give the order? Who’s in control of this team?
And to some extent, the women will also waltz to the Gold Medal,
but maybe Auriemma can keep the reins a bit tighter..after all, 90% of the
players came through under his tutelage.
(Speaking of) Medals….
This is another case where the so called “media” should be
criticized, not the athletes, but they’re already starting it. Every time a medal is awarded the next
screen you see is the “medal count”. It
doesn’t matter about individual performances, the only thing that matters is
“did you win a medal?” and by God, we’re a couple of medals better than the
Chinese! That proves we’re the
“best”… because here in America all we care about is being the best (Chef,
quarterback, shortstop….) For the
Olympic athlete in a non glamour sport who devote their life and years of
training… sacrifice for something they love, giving their all… ptooie! who cares? did you get a medal?
(Speaking of) Speaking of……
Sideline announcers:
so I swim my event, jump out of the pool dripping wet, and before I can
get a towel, Michelle Tafoya sticks a microphone up my nose and says “what was
going through your mind when….”, or:
“what were you thinking when …”, or “how were you able to…”; not
“congratulations on your performance, good luck” Nope you gotta have this in depth
psychological exploration of the thoughts of the athletes (journey, not the
outcome?). And it is not just her
(Michelle) it is the entire cadre of the “sideline announcers”, most of whom
are the women we see at football or basketball games asking the coaches at half
time “how are you going to come back from this 25 point deficit”? is there a handbook entitled “Inane, Stupid,
and Irrelevant questions for the uneducated” that they are given?
Okay, done for this year….by the way, I think I just learned
that the finals for the team gymnastic competition (with Ms. Biles, etc.) will
take place this (Tuesday) afternoon, but we won’t be allowed to see it until
tonight during NBC prime time coverage.
Thank you NBC.
DFD
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