Another Reason Why Watching American Idol is a Shame
by Dan H.
3/2/06
Sestriere Borgata, Italy. Men’s Combined. Bode Miller powers through the downhill in gold medal position heading into the two slalom runs. Three-quarters through the first, Miller disqualifies after straddling a gate, leaving Team USA with slim chances at a medal without their top-skier. While a strong slalom skier, Miller’s relatively unknown 21-year old teammate, Ted Ligety, finds himself in 32nd place after the downhill. Never to say die, Ligety executes two near-perfect slalom runs to vault himself into gold medal position. His lead holds with only Norwegian Benjamin Raich left to ski. Raich has an eight-tenths of a second lead over Ligety and is himself a strong slalom skier (he would go on to win the gold in the slalom and giant slalom later that week). Likely seeing silver, Ligety watches as, halfway through the run, Raich seemingly straddles a gate and glides off the course. The Americans celebrate the gold few thought possible without Bode.
Over 17 million Americans were glued to their televisions the day Ted Ligety won his gold. Unfortunately, the competition they saw was of another American. American Idol. Even on this web site – a sports web site – enthusiasm for these Games has been about that of a fat kid before gym class.
I’ve already attempted to theorize the reasoning behind the lack of interest in the Winter Olympics – narrow focus, less coverage, less athlete recognition. Others have mentioned the time difference, instant results via the Internet, and competing programming. While each of these explanations are certainly plausible, all are unfortunate. Here is why.
To me, the Olympics is like college football. And this is saying quite a bit since there is no sport I would rather watch than college football. Why? Beyond, the game itself, there are the players, the fans, the intensity.
College players in any sport are like no other. You’ve seen the commercial: Most college players go pro in something other than sports. So you might ask, then why do they do it? A scholarship and being BMOC certainly helps. But I would imagine getting through those grueling August two-a-days requires a bit more motivation. Sure, some have their eyes only on payday (e.g. Maurice Clarett), and it’s hard to blame them. Yet for every one Clarett, you have a hundred others out there playing just as hard for pride, for the game, and for their school. You’ll even find Heisman winners who stay their senior year for the shot at another championship.
Then there are the fans. I’ve never seen game days like college game days (although I admit I’m biased coming from Notre Dame). Getting up at the crack of dawn to tailgate, heading to the stadium (or to the TV), hearing the band play your team’s fight song, the roar of the crowd, watching the team mascots battle on the sidelines. Makes me already wish for September.
Finally, there’s the intensity. I can think of few sports where every game matters as much as college football. In the MLB or NHL, a team can lose a game or two in the post-season and still win the championship. Even the Super Bowl Champion Steelers dropped five before the playoffs. In college football, a team can see its NC hopes vanish even before the first BCS rankings are announced.
I probably don’t have to convince many of you that college football is worth the Saturday afternoon. So what’s my point? My point is that these Olympics were just as good (well almost) for the same reasons. At the very least, worth missing two weeks of AI.
Like college football, the Olympians I saw these two weeks were not it in for the money. Instead, Torino proudly showcased athletes who, as children, moved hundreds of miles from their families at the chance of competing in the Olympics; skiers like American Jeremy Bloom, who opted to compete in the moguls rather than focus on the NFL combine and wooing the scouts that could bring millions; and skaters like Michelle Kwan, who loved and respected the sport enough to withdraw from competition, believing that another athlete could represent her nation better. Without a doubt, a few medalists from Torino will end up with endorsements and make millions. A few will become mega-stars back home. Most, however, will not. No player strikes. No backdoor trades. I dare the pro sports to try to compare.
And again, there were the fans. Flags waving through the stands, faces painted in national colors, standing tall as the majestic anthem of the victorious nation cut through the bitter cold air. Fans like those from Latvia that traveled hundreds of miles to see their hockey team play and celebrated a tie with the Americans like they had won the gold.
To top it off, there is no competition that can compare with the intensity of the Olympics. Not even college football. For most, there is no second chance. No second down, next game, or next season. The chance for an Olympic event medal comes around once every four years. One fall, one miscalculation, one wrong cut, one brush against the wall can cost everything. And once everything is gone, it’s four years before you can even try again. But as General Patton once said, “Pressure makes diamonds.” And that’s what makes the Olympics so great to watch.
And now this may all be a moot point seeing as the Turin Olympic torch has long since gone cold. To the relief of many it seems, the combine is underway, March Madness is set to start, NBC is back to regular primetime programming. But to the 17 million that watched American Idol instead of Ted Ligety, Grey’s Anatomy instead of Shaun White, or again American Idol instead of the Italian upset of Davis and Hendrick, you truly missed something special. And just like for the athletes, it’ll be four years before it comes again.
