OLYMPICS in NBC PRIME TIME

The Games of the whatever Winter Olympiad are over. Nice.

Full disclosure: I have only watched the Prime Time coverage on NBC with Bob Costas, so I don't know how the rest of the coverage has been. 

But what I have indeed seen has been closer to a long supercute glossymercial than an international tournament sports coverage. I can't say that I didn't enjoy the brief moments of sports interspersed into the commercial airtime, but I was a little disappointed to see that 180 countries had been disqualified from Sochi after the first couple of days, leaving a field of only the US, Russia, The Netherlands, South Korea and, I think, Germany. Wait... No, I think an Italian ice skater stuck around too. Things are niftier and cleaner when it's only the US and somebody else, especially if the US wins or gets a medal. Or, if they fully self-destroy and then THAT becomes news fodder (e. g. Team USA's  speed skating debacle or Shaun White's descent into, ohmigod, 4th place hell!). For the record, before the games I had no idea of who White is or that the speed skaters were supposed to dominate. Costas and Co. made sure I got it right. Which is good. But using the broadcast as a glorified home team highlight show or a gossipy intrusion into our heroes' demise is subpar journalism. Also, I believe, it contributes to the distorted view many Americans have of the country's place in the world, neglecting the sacrifices made by many non-medal US athletes and other nations' accomplishments. And this not only applies to sports

For example when BobCos interviewed the IOC President, Thomas Bach, a German, Costas confronted Bach on the poor human rights record of Russia and the widely-assumed idea that these were "Putin's games". Diplomatically, Bach reminded him that it was better not do delve too much on the different countries' HR records or their allegiances to this or that regime (in reference, I suppose, to criticism of Russia's support to Syria, but also sending a subtle message that the US has its share of troubled relationships with human rights and dubious regimes). While I agree on the relevance of Costas' question, it's necessary to also look at ourselves as a country without adopting too high a righteous perch, since others can arguably lob similar criticisms to us. 

This is what happens when we only get to see the goodies but not the full, rich and not always sunny picture. It was poignant to see Noelle Pikus-Pace, who won silver in skeleton being interviewed and profusely recognized–and deservedly so–while a heart-broken Katie Uhlander, who came in 4th in the same event, received just a brief moment on TV after the race and faded into NBC oblivion after that. We can do better. *

*And no, getting to see the Jamaican two-man bobsleigh does not qualify for ample and balanced coverage.