That's what they're supposed to be. According to the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics are "the world's great quadrennial celebration of sport and friendship."
The National Broadcast Corporation, however, apparently thinks differently. During their coverage of the 2000 Sydney games, the American athletes have been disgustingly over-glorified, while athletes representing other nations-who often are much better than the Americans-have been buried in the dust. Take swimming, for instance. NBC's broadcast of this event revolved mainly around American stars such as Lenny Krayzelburg, Brooke Bennett, Tom Dolan, Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres, and Misty Hyman.
Yet, other swimming sensations such as Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands (who broke the 100-meter butterfly and freestyle world records and won three gold medals and one silver), Ian Thorpe of Australia (who broke the 400-meter freestyle world record and won three golds and one silver), Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands (who broke the 200 and 100-meter freestyle world records and won two gold medals and one bronze), Yana Klockkova of Ukraine (who broke the 400-meter individual medley and won two golds and one silver), Michael Klim of Australia (who broke the 100-meter freestyle world record and won two golds and one silver), and Dominico Fioravanti of Italy (who won two golds swimming the breaststroke) have been sadly prevented from stepping into the NBC spotlight. Even more pathetic is the fact that Americans who have lost their meets, such Amy Van Dyken, were given more attention than those who won.
The coverage of the artistic gymnastics competition arguably one of the most popular sports in the Olympics, has also been atrocious. The five-hour-long broadcast of the qualifying competition for the women's team final, for example, featured the athletes of only four nations. Of those four nations, they provided complete coverage of every single American gymnast. The American team barely finished sixth.
The gymnasts from the home team, most of whom spent the majority of their "air" time picking themselves up off the mats after completing their routines, were also favored by the NBC cameras. Their choice of an American coach probably had much to do with the fact that they were squeezed into the limelight. Australia never even made it into the team finals. Only two Chinese gymnasts, who executed near-perfect routines, were shown. Only three Russians, who did as well, if not better, than the Chinese, appeared on camera. The Romanians, a favored team and eventually the gold medalists in the event, never made it to American national television. Neither did the Ukrainians or the Spanish, who placed fourth and fifth respectively in the qualification competition.
The daily, and sometimes hourly, medal counts are another abomination. Time after time, Olympic followers are constantly reminded of how great out country is because we are leading the medal count. But does it really mean that much? After all, consider the number of representatives we sent to Sydney as compared to a country such as Togo, which sent three athletes. Besides, as Baron de Coubertin, the creator of the Olympic emblem, said, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."
Granted, NBC is an American-owned and operated broadcasting company. I certainly don't begrudge them their patriotism. After all, I myself am pretty proud of the athletes representing our nation. When it comes to sports, siding with your home team is almost inevitable. Yet, as the sports library of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles-the legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games-put it, the Olympics "are the world's great festivals of athletic competition and international friendship."
Internationalism is a primary element of the Olympics. Unfortunately, NBC hasn't been very friendly to non-American countries-this year or curing past broadcasts. We are, after all, talking about the company that took a commercial break when the athletes representing the host country's athletes entered the stadium during the Parade of Nations at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.
Hosting the Olympics is a privilege and an honor. So is broadcasting the event on national television. Or at least it should be. After all, the responsibility of presenting the Olympics to an entire nation is as grandiose, if not as challenging, a venture as running the Olympic marathon. During the opening ceremonies, the leaders of the host country of the summer games must take the Olympic oath and "promise that [they] shall take part in [the] Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of [the] teams." The National Broadcast Corporation could certainly learn a lesson or two from the International Olympic Committee.
The American public trusts their broadcasters, just as they trust their athletes, to follow the Olympic charter, which states that "the goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind."
In my mind, NBC doesn't even qualify to hold that sort of responsibility. They have had their chance, and they have failed. Until they learn how to balance their excessive patriotism with good sport, they will not improve. It is time for NBC to go back to the gym to work on the basics.