2016 Summer Olympics

The Olympics has been on TV for the past two weeks or so.  Many significant and amazing feats of swimming, running, throwing, shooting, rowing, jumping, and other verbs have been accomplished.  Many extraordinary athletes compete and we should applaud all of the participants for their dedication and efforts.

But let’s be honest, for the most part, the Olympics comprise a bunch of events that generate marginal interest beyond the competitors and their families. According to Wikipedia, the 2016 Summer Olympics have 306 events, including 10 sailing, 10 fencing, 14 rowing, 8 Taekwondo, 14 judo, 15 weightlifting, 15 shooting, and 16 canoeing events.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Summer_Olympics)  That’s 102 events, exactly one third of the Olympics, and none of them have anything beyond niche appeal.  Although there is no reason to begrudge the participants their opportunity to shine every four years, there is also no reason to be interested just because NBC devotes hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of broadcast time to airing fringe events.

Let’s give NBC credit for creating a market for a product that is otherwise unsaleable for 3.96 years out of every four.  In reality, they are not unlike traveling snake-oil salesmen, who sell a product that we can all easily live without and then disappear long enough that we forget having been hoodwinked – until it is time to rinse and repeat.

Most of the time, Bob Costas is an excellent sports journalist.  Like him or not, he addresses issues directly and candidly.  Then for two weeks or so every two years (the Summer and Winter Olympics are now two years off-cycle), Bob Costas transmogrifies into a shill for NBC.  If he weren’t making so much money, he might do an exposé on himself.

The Olympics should consider eliminating events that can stand on their own.  Basketball, tennis, and golf have their own highly successful leagues and tournaments and are viable without the Olympics.  Winning an NBA title, or a major championship is much more important to top-level competitors than winning an Olympic medal.  The same cannot be said of swimming or gymnastics, let alone dressage or badminton.

Removing the big events would allow the smaller events to receive more time and attention and perhaps facilitate their escape from the periphery.  Either way, I suspect the Olympics will continue to thrive – it appears that some products are capable of creating their own demand.  Every four years, it’s Field of Dreams (if you build it, he will come) writ large.