The Olympics used to mean something to America. That simply isn’t the case anymore, and I’m trying to wrap my head around why.
When I was a kid the Olympics – particularly the Summer Olympics – were a huge event that commanded your attention. I recall as recently as 2008 diligently tracking the medal count and making sure America was still on top. And now? I couldn’t tell you more than a handful of things about the Olympics. The only real fact I know is that the Seine is filthy, possibly too filthy to swim in, and the surfing events for the Paris Olympics are in Tahiti.
Why don’t we care anymore? I’ve got some ideas.
First, we simply have too many entertainment options presently. 20 years ago we were forced to coalesce around the few massive shared experiences. Sure there were absurd 180+ cable channel packages, but there were still a few things that dominated the entertainment zeitgeist. The Olympics was one of them. It’s probably no coincidence that 2008 was the last one I really remember. By 2012 streaming options had started their growth, and the age of cable was dying. We weren’t beholden to NBC’s programming choices, and as a result the Olympics lost their monopoly on our attention.
Second, the financial ramifications behind the Olympics were finally coming to light. For decades the games were heralded as a financial boon for any host city. Billions in tourism revenue along with a spotlight on your city for years to come were meant to offset the cost of building multiple Olympic-tier venues and lodging while updating infrastructure. But as humanity has gotten more reliable access to information not properly cleansed by the government, the reality is much more bleak.
Time and again it’s been shows that cities actually lose billions of dollars hosting the Olympics. Beyond that, the venues built often never get used again, falling into dilapidation then standing empty for years as monuments to massive waste. It’s now gotten to the point where cities are declining bids, or facing no competition at all. No one wants to host the Olympics anymore.
Finally, we’ve somehow lost our ability to make athletes American heroes. Growing up I was enamored with Michael Johnson, the Dream Team, Kerri Streug, Michael Phelps, and the US Women’s Soccer Team. Reading that list back I realize that these are also some of the most exciting sports. Maybe it’s the lack of media dominance that I cited before, but I can’t think of a single US team or athlete that I’ve had any interest in. In fact, aside from a few members of the men’s basketball team I can’t name a single Olympian.
I don’t think the Olympics have changed at all, I think we’re finally realizing they aren’t that interesting to watch after all.
