done and done

that's how i would describe the olympics, particularly the winter sort. i think it's fair to say most of the country doesn't care about the olympics as evidenced by american idol's dominance in the ratings. frankly, i'd rather watch kristy swanson facepaint the ice more than i'd like to see sasha cohen land a triple axel, whatever the hell that is (apparently impossible since no one can land it in competition). seriously, did you see buffy's face bounce off the ice a few weeks ago? it was classic. i felt pretty bad for buffy, but it was great tv. why would i want to watch professionals (or more accurately top amateurs) do their best not to screw up, when i can watch a bunch of scrubs work their hardest to be better than most normal people? let's be honest, the best part of olympic skating is watching the experts fall on their asses and slide across the ice. sorry, i'm over it (much like i'm over the bachelor, but that's another story).

and here's another problem i have. on one hand, you have jackasses like bode miller, who seemingly could care less about representing the us and winning a medal. he comes off as a selfish little punk (and probably is). then you have shani davis and chad hedrick, who i respect a million times more than no-medal miller, but in their bickering about who disrespected who sound like a couple of little school girls. just shut up, skate fast, win medals, and thank each other for pushing each other to be great. basically, it boils down to the fact that to the rest of the world (or at least most of the world) cares about the olympics, and many americans, including olympians, don't care. they care about how many endorsements they'll get, or what sitcom they'll guest star in, or which late-night couch they'll sit on, but not about being the best.

finally, my biggest problem with the olympics is nbc. i hate bob costas. he might be the second worst sports commentator in the history of the world (right on the heels of joe buck, another annoying little midget). moreover, in this day and age, how can i not find out what happened when the events take place during my lunch hour? am i expected to not surf the internet? or listen to the radio or watch the news? it's like tivo-ing a football game to watch the next day - there's no way i can avoid finding out what happened, and thus am not inclined to waste hours of my life watching something when i already know the outcome. as much as it might pain nbc, they should show the events live, and then just show highlights for an hour or two in primetime. they'd have higher ratings if they mixed olympic highlights with their regular shows (although their normal programming does suck pretty bad). most people don't care about the olympics at all, and of those who do, i'm willing to bet a vast majority would be perfectly content just watching american athletes. i personally would rather watch an lesser american compete in a cool event like the biathalon than watch every nation's best ice dancers (who by the way all sucked).

now i'm angry at myself for wasting this much time talking about something so stupid. the olympics are done. and by done i mean uninteresting and stupid, not unlike watching me lose over and over and over in connect four.

MO