ELItorial: Nagano takes the gold in dullness

By Peter Smith

Is it really possible that the Winter Olympics could be that boring? I had assumed that I hadn't heard much about them because I basically abstain from television and newspapers at Yale. The fact is, however, everyone thinks the Olympics are dull this year. To find out why, I conducted some interviews and did a little research of my own. I found that there are several reasons why the Winter Olympics this year have not put many people on the edge of their seats.

1. There was too little buildup. In past years, I remember reading about the Olympics for weeks before they happened. One couldn't help hearing about what the big competitions and rivalries were, when they were going to start, and in what order they would take place. There was none of that this year. Before I knew it, the opening ceremonies were over, and I was still paying more attention to the Yale men's hockey team. When I thought about why there was no hype, I realized that there is not a whole lot to be excited about, which brings me to my next point.

2. There are very few interesting athletes or scandals. We have gone from Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan to Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski. Simply put, there are relatively few interesting athletes this year, both for their athleticism as well as sideshow antics. Downhill skier Picabo Street has received much recognition for winning a gold medal, but I wonder if it's just because people think her name sounds like a section of a red-light district. There is no Dan Jansen, the man who had to wait six years until his third Olympics to strike gold in Lillehammer in 1994. Besides Street, people have only heard about the women's ice hockey team winning the gold medal and Ross Rebagliati, the Canadian snowboarder who tested positive for marijuana use after winning the gold. We haven't heard much partially because most of the American teams are not particularly strong, but mostly due to the lack of truly interesting stories in these Games.

3. CBS's coverage sucks. There is no other way to say it. I sat down and tried to watch a little bit of the Olympics, but in between long commercial breaks, I found myself rather lost. The coverage constantly switches back and forth between events, and in many cases the event has already occurred. They pretend it hasn't and try to pass it off as live, but it doesn't work. They'll mention a skier about to come down the hill and you'll realize that, after two hours, he or she is still chilling at the top, at least on tape. They also don't air some events until as many as 48 hours after they have occurred, if they show them at all. In addition, they spend way too much time on boring things, such as skating practices and interviews with Olympic officials. Many people are interested in snowboarding, yet all people saw of the actual competition was the marijuana story. Finally, there are no programs that really summarize the day's events. There are various reasons for this, but the main one is something out of CBS's control.

4. Nagano is at least 13 hours ahead of North America. Many people would be interested in watching some events, if they didn't have to stay up until 2 a.m. to do so. They'd rather not be forced to take naps in the can at work the next day. Unless you live in a fraternity house or work the graveyard shift you'll probably have to read about the Nagano Olympics hours after the events occured.

5. Bad weather and sickness have postponed events and sidelined athletes. Scores of athletes in the Olympic village have come down with a bad flu, and many have withdrawn altogether. German figure skater Tanja Szweczenko withdrew from her second straight Olympics--last time it was because of a severe bruise, this time because of the flu. Also, freezing rain and blizzards have postponed events such as the slalom and the downhill skiing. Picabo Street refused to compete because of the treacherous conditions. Where's the heart? Where's the love? Looks like El Niño has done it again, turning El Athlete-os into El Wimp-os.

6. We have enough going on at home. Why should people be interested in the Olympics when we're about to send our soldiers off to a war in the Middle East? Perhaps the American public is oversaturated with news and the Olympics are not a toupée-raising alternative. I'm not going to waste my time watching poorly-covered sports events that half the time leave me guessing and the other half watching commercials for the newest in McCholesterol. Heck, it's only the best athletes in the world coming together for fierce competitions and the honor of representing their countries in front of the whole world. Ho-hum.

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