Why the Olympics bug me...

1) Olympic Spirit
Ok, will someone please give me a definition of what Olympic Spirit is? I keep hearing that term and I've talked to many people about what their definition of it is; it's always different. The most common definition is along the lines of: "Mutual understanding of all cultures with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." Sounds good to me...if the Olympics actually displayed that definition. Unfortunately, there isn't any understanding of other cultures among most athletes, there ARE tensions between countries whether the Olympics want to admit it or not, and there have been plenty of incidents of unfair play. Lastly, Olympic Spirit should not cause anyone to change their style of play and the aggression and tenacity needed to play the game.

2) Expert Analysis
There are seriously NO experts talking about the game. These commentators are given a crash course and do not know the ins and outs of each sport and event. Even worse, they don't fully explain the rules of obscure sports to the viewers on TV.

3) People Pretending They Care About Sports That They Really Don't
Honestly, outside of the Olympics how many people really watch gymnastics, beach volleyball, diving, swimming, etc. These sports are shown on Fox Sports Net many times throughout the year but no one really watches them. People only watch these sports because they are hyped by the media and they want to be in "the know." As Dave Chappelle would say, let's 'keep it real,' people.

4) Lack of Sports-Intelligent Crowds
I'm not hating on the Chinese, but I grow annoyed at the lack of intelligence of major sports. The only sports I enjoy in the games are being butchered by crowd reactions because the crowds don't understand the games. I'm sick of hearing "ooooo"s and cheers on a lazy groundball to a pitcher and silence after a big sweeping curveball, fooling a batter. The games are still enjoyable, but the reactions by the crowd lessen the experience just as "THE PLAY" between Stanford and Cal would have still been great without the famous call, the call and reactions heightened the experience.

5) Insincere Hugs and Kisses Between Competitors
The only thing more fake than viewer's interest in gymnastics is the hugging and kissing the athlete's share with one another when you can see there is no sincerity. Olympic Spirit, my ass.

6) It's a Fad
2 weeks after the Olympics is over, no one will talk about 2/3's of the sports of event the games themselves. People won't even look forward to the next games. This is just another fad in our country, similar to patriotism only after tragic events or in times of war.

7) Terrible Coverage by NBC
NBC couldn't be handling these games worse. They aren't playing many big live events, they are doing a horrible job covering up results for the time delayed areas, they are only showing the U.S., and like I state in point #2, they have horrible announcers.

8) Bias Officiating for the Host Team
This isn't a new theme, it happens every Olympiad. China has gotten biased scores in many sports and events since the Olympics started, Nastia Liukin getting silver the other night was a prime example.

9) Corruption
There are probably 5-10 Chinese athletes that aren't of age to be playing in the games, but because their government is so corrupt, they can change any file they need. Just look at their gymnastics team.

10) Biting Gold Medals
Ya, haha, you're biting your gold medal to make sure its real, just like people did in the gold rush days...the joke gets tiring as the years go on.

11) Mixing Politicians with Sports
I don't care that George Bush is watching an event, I'd rather watch the event then the dumb, confused look on his face and his wife's completely uninterested expression.

12) The Dream World
The Olympics takes everyone's mind of the real events going on in the world. That's nice in a sense, but we are still occupying a country, one that is competing in the games, and there is a war going on between Russia and Georgia and people seem to have talked about it for a day and then ignored it. People act as if the world is at peace during the games because of "Olympic Spirit" when the real world does not stop for sports.

13) Downgrade of Major Sports
Baseball, basketball, and soccer are completely downgraded for the Olympics. Basketball is very one-sided and only one team plays fun basketball, while baseball and soccer are played with amateurs when the Olympics could be 10 times bigger if they used professionals like they do in the World Cup and World Baseball Classic. The NHL pauses their season the Winter Games, why can't the MLB?

14) Overplaying Big Stories and No Coverage of Great Stories
What Phelps and Torres have done is absolutely amazing, but yet, NBC still finds a way to overplay the stories and makes it become annoying. They need to talk about more incredible stories like Lo-Lo Jones' rise from complete poverty or Afghanistan's first medal in their times of destruction of their country.

The fact is, I love the potential of the Olympics, but so many things need to be done to make it as good as it can be and right now, its not even close.