Olympics Time!!!

Hello world!  Thanks for stopping by!  I feel like I am finally getting back into the swing of life here in PA.  Our house is (sort of) clean, and I don't feel like I'm trying to balance too many things at once.  Of course, now that August is here I'm in a state of excitement and sadness about back to school - more on that later.

But first, this August brings the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio!  I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!  I've loved watching the Olympics as long as I can remember.  They are an amazing display of hard work, healthy competition, and athletic excellence.  I also enjoy learning about other countries and their customs and cultures! I enjoy all of the summer Olympics, but I really love watching swimming, gymnastics, track & field, and volleyball in no particular order.

THAT BEING SAID.

One thing this Olympics is making me crazy.  I'm about to rant a bit, so I'll try to keep it reasonable.

NBC.  They are awful and out of control.  The prime time coverage has been absolutely insulting to many of the athletes.  First of all, several commentators have credited male coaches and husbands for the victories of female athletes.  That is frustrating, but I am willing to forgive this since commentators are still human and are talking in the moment.  If that was my only beef, it would not be blog worthy.  BUT.

I fail to understand the insane amount of time, in primetime, that is being wasted on things other than medal events.  I'll use last night as an example.  Last night, I waited ALL night to watch the men's all-around team gymnastics final.  I've watched all things gymnastics every year.  Primetime is from 8-12, with NBC showing reruns of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune from 7-8. Men's Gymnastics didn't even get TV time until 11;40.  At that time, they showed two of the events for the US men only, and then at midnight said to "switch to late night" to see the outcome.  The local news spoiled the ending 30 seconds later.

The men's all around was super-ceded by several swimming and diving medal competitions, which was totally acceptable.  What was NOT acceptable was the many qualifying swimming heats that were shown AND a beach volleyball match where the US handily beat China - again not for medal contention.  In addition, there were SO many montages and stories about athletes and their families/struggles/etc that it was ridiculous.  Don't get me wrong, I love to hear about the athletes, but NOT at the expense of missing an actual competition for a medal. At one point last night, there was a 4 minute commercial break, followed by 3 minutes of coverage showing how Michael Phelps puts his baby in a baby bjorn, followed by another 3 minutes of commercials.  That's 10 minutes of nothing - and with the men's all around only getting 20 minutes in primetime, that is completely unacceptable.

For those of you that remember the games in the late 80's and early 90's - I can't ever remember this happening in that time.  Moreover, back then they showed the entire event, or most of it.  I can't be the only person that is angry that I didn't get to watch ALL of the teams in the men's all around, regardless of the US men's chances for a medal.  One of the things I used to like BEST about the Olympics is getting to see athletes from other countries (and our own) do well!

So in short, NBC has horrible coverage and I have been consistently disappointed.  How many more years do they have the contract for the Olympics?  I hope not much longer!

Sorry for the sort of long rant, but I think I'm not the only one feeling this way!  Do you love the Olympics?  Are you disappointed by the coverage so far?  Let me know your thoughts too in the comments!