Winter Olympics Offer Vision of Better World — If Anyone is Watching
By Adrianna Howell | BSU at the Games
Please raise your hand if you remember all the hype and hubbub of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Please keep your hand up if you knew this year was also an Olympic year.
Why is it that the Summer Games seem to draw so much more of a crowd than the Winter Games?
Why is it so difficult to find someone who’s even watching the Sochi Winter Olympics that opened Feb. 7 and run through Feb. 23?
Why is it that some television programs broadcast during the Sochi Games see higher viewership and ratings than an international athletic and cultural event designed to bring the world together?
This year received a little more buzz than Winter Games past, but not necessarily for good reasons.
The failings of Sochi are everywhere. While very little thing that goes wrong is front-page news, do we know what sports competed today?
Maybe the U.S. is a little hungover from its Super Bowl weekend and parties. Maybe it’s because the Winter Games feature sports that involve skiing long distances and shooting at targets, which is a little hard to relate to.
Sure, we know the big names. Snowboarder Shaun White’s over there somewhere, right?
But what about everyone else? Are they getting their fair turn in the spotlight?
The Olympic Games used to be held in conjunction with each other. Every four years, it was an Olympic year with Winter Games and Summer Games right after each other.
That changed in 1994, when the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics were staggered by the International Olympic Committee.
Is that why we don’t seem to care as much? Should we have continued to ride the Summer Olympics momentum right into the Winter Games?
Whatever the reason, it’s a sad situation. It’s hard to see the picture of world cooperation when the TV is off.
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