London Olympics more than NBCFail
Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history.
Despite the idea that the Olympics serve as something of a goodwill games for the world and the insistence on amateur status to compete—with some healthy exceptions, of course—there has been a lot of chatter about these particular games since they began in London on Friday.
Currently trending on Twitter is the idea of #NBCFail. Bloggers, Internet-savvy people around the world, and generally anyone who's living in the connected digital village of the 21st century have noticed that the American broadcast—tape-delayed for practical reasons—has been particularly egregious this time around. It should be noted, of course, that people have long complained about NBC's coverage of the Olympics.
With so many positive stories emanating from these Olympics, not just for America, it's frankly shocking that so much of the coverage is focused on the negative aspects. Just for recap's sake:
Michael Phelps is now the most-decorated Olympian of all time.
His rival, Ryan Lochte, is coming into his own as the greatest swimmer of right now.
The American team of female gymnasts won gold for the first time in 16 years, and gave marketing companies some amazing stories to go with their team victory.
The home crowd is enamored with Bradley Wiggins, who, just a couple weeks ago, won the Tour de France and, on Wednesday, won the men's individual time trial.
Beyond the English-speaking countries, Ye Shiwen of China swam a faster split than Ryan Lochte, which should have been an amazing feat, but was immediately clouded by doubts about doping. Ruta Meilutyte won the first gold medal for Lithuiana in the sport of swimming at the tender age of 15. Daniel Gyurta set a world record in the 200 meter breaststroke, winning gold for Hungary.
It's easy to look at the overall medal count and be disappointed, as an American, with the United States not topping that list. But the games stand for a bit more than just medal counts and avoiding spoilers. They stand for more than corporate sponsorships and post-competition careers as broadcasters. After all, let's not forget the last time the games were held in London: The Austerity Games of 1948 followed closely on the heels of a time truly worth complaining about.
