# I pit Americans pitting Olympic television coverage **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 15, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075 "2010-02-15T16:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/21 "2010-02-16T14:10:41Z")
What the hell is the deal with Bob Costas and the Fireplace chitchats? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/22 "2010-02-16T14:38:53Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > What the hell is the deal with Bob Costas and the Fireplace chitchats? They paid big money for that set and by George, they’re going to use it. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/23 "2010-02-16T16:33:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ll also point out a pleasant surprise from last night; during the pairs figure skating, the NBC announcers spent most of their time during the actual performances keeping their yaps shut, and spoke when there was some element of the performance that merited comment. Most of the detailed commentary was reserved for replays. That was nice. I basically agree, although I have one complaint. While Scott Hamilton seems to be a decent enough guy and announcer, the bitch doing the commentary with him is about the most negative, whiny know-it-all I’ve ever heard. I’d like to strangle her. Between her gasps like she just witnessed a murder when a skater makes a mistake and the comments like “they clearly weren’t prepared to be here,” I just about put my foot through the TV. These skaters have spent most of their LIVES preparing to be here! Do they make mistakes? Of course! They’re in front of, literally, millions of viewers, on the biggest stage of their lives, performing extremely difficult routines. “Weren’t prepared.” What a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/24 "2010-02-16T18:47:07Z")
I don’t need any backstory at all on any of the athletes. Every minute of coverage should be about the events themselves. Frankly, I don’t give a shit about the personal lives of the athletes. In the winter games there is always a tragedy-overcoming female figure skater they focus on and in the summer games there is always a plucky little female gymnast. Tonya Harding was actually a + for the proceedings as, if we have to focus on personal drama, I like it trashy. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/25 "2010-02-16T20:00:00Z")
My problems with the coverage has been too much studio time and athlete interviews; and wayyy too many commercials. I recorded Curling today. The TV schedule show six hours of curling today. I’m sure that if I FF through commercials and studio interviews, I can watch it in an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/26 "2010-02-16T21:36:05Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > My problems with the coverage has been too much studio time and athlete interviews; and wayyy too many commercials. > > I recorded Curling today. The TV schedule show six hours of curling today. I’m sure that if I FF through commercials and studio interviews, I can watch it in an hour or so. I flipped back and forth between the USA Network coverage of USA v Germany, and CTV coverage of Canada and Norway. The graphics were identical. The USA commentary tended to explain the rules and basic strategy of curling more than CTV, but that’s to be expected for a viewing audience that isn’t intimately familiar with the game; otherwise, it didn’t seem dumbed down to this curler. There were no in-studio interviews on USA, and no “up close and personal” stories. Commercials on USA seemed to air at awkward moments, but curling is a sport that doesn’t lend itself towards commercial-friendly pauses or breaks. The deliveries by the vice and skip were never interrupted by commercials. I was unhappy that outside of the first end, I seldom saw the lead deliveries. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/27 "2010-02-16T23:35:51Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > While Scott Hamilton seems to be a decent enough guy and announcer, the bitch doing the commentary with him is about the most negative, whiny know-it-all I’ve ever heard. I’d like to strangle her. Are you talking about [Sandra Bezic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Bezic)? She may be bitchy, but she knows her stuff. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/28 "2010-02-17T00:56:35Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > Are you talking about [Sandra Bezic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Bezic)? She may be bitchy, but she knows her stuff. Yeah, I know she’s a former world-class skater, but the fact that she had one appearance in the Olympics…and placed 9th…would make me hope she’d show a little more humility and understanding. So far, that’s not what I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/29 "2010-02-17T01:03:53Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > What the hell is the deal with Bob Costas and the Fireplace chitchats? Bob Costas: “I burning your dog! Ha ha ha ha ha, FOOLS!” ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/30 "2010-02-17T01:20:12Z")
I think that between NBC and its affiliates, they are doing a decent job. I’ve already watched nordic, biathlon and curling, which is more obscure sports than I saw in the last Summer Games, which seemed to be mostly swimming and gymnastics with a few bits of track and field tossed in when Americans were involved. All the same, I have little or no interest in figure skating and to me personally, it would be nice to see more of other events and less of it. Or maybe show the really, really embarrassingly bad skaters. I think a good Onion article would be one with a headline something like “Olympic Gold Medalist Didn’t Have to Overcome Any Significant Adversity to Reach the Pinnacle of His Sport” ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/31 "2010-02-17T02:34:48Z")
The only thing that really bugs me is the tape delay. I follow sports and sports news pretty avidly, so by the time the 8pm EST TV session starts, I already have heard how the big names have done during the day. I don’t want to see more than highlights of those events; you should have been showing those back when they happened, and they should be available for live streaming on your website as well. I want to see everything that’s happening right now. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/32 "2010-02-17T22:10:34Z")
If it’s any comfort, **elmwood** , I would happily write a long rant about how poor CTV’s coverage of the Olympics are. Happily, you can change channels back and forth to actually see events, but CTV is mostly just a bunch of stupid human-interest stories, exaggeration of Canadians’ hopes for Olympic glory, and poor announcing. So, it’s not just NBC these days — but I don’t know how new a development that is. (BTW, why is **elmwood** “BAND”? There must be a thread somewhere I’m missing.) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/33 "2010-02-17T23:03:17Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > I think that between NBC and its affiliates, they are doing a decent job. I’ve already watched nordic, biathlon and curling, which is more obscure sports than I saw in the last Summer Games, which seemed to be mostly swimming and gymnastics with a few bits of track and field tossed in when Americans were involved. Last night as we were watching the coverage, my wife made that point, and said that in her recollection obscure sports are always better covered in Winter than Summer Games. I pointed out in response that Winter Olympics have a lot fewer events. That said, I think NBC is doing a surprisingly good job of covering events in which Americans do not compete or are not strong. I’ve been surprised by the amount of luge and cross-country skiing that I’ve seen. Still wish Costas’d shut his piehole, though… ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/34 "2010-02-17T23:58:51Z")
> [@straight\_man](#): > > (BTW, why is **elmwood** “BAND”? There must be a thread somewhere I’m missing.) [Band name!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=552461) ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/35 "2010-02-18T01:35:38Z")
> [@Ace309](#): > > [Band name!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=552461) Thank you, sir. Anyway, is it true that NBC has gotten better while CTV has gotten worse? ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/36 "2010-02-18T14:30:10Z")
I felt rather uncomfortable last night, after Lindsay Von won the gold, when they had a camera basically in her face as she sobbed in her husband’s arms. It felt rather intrusive, but I guess some people tune in to see that kind of raw emotion. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/37 "2010-02-18T14:33:50Z")
They could have spared us that and shown some more skiers. Their formula hasn’t changed- show all the Americans, most Canadians, the medalists, and those that crash. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/38 "2010-02-18T17:23:22Z")
The ratings are very good, so I doubt NBC thinks they are doing annything wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/39 "2010-02-19T03:05:12Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > What the hell is the deal with Bob Costas and the Fireplace chitchats? And why does he have to rip on people’s wardrobe? 😕 And whoever the old guy doing USA Curling commentary is, he is a miserable old fuck with very little good to say about anyone or anything, from bad food at the Curling Club Concession Counter to _again_ peoples wardrobe. Shut up, you crumudeon. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075/40 "2010-02-19T20:45:10Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > I felt rather uncomfortable last night, after Lindsay Von won the gold, when they had a camera basically in her face as she sobbed in her husband’s arms. It felt rather intrusive, but I guess some people tune in to see that kind of raw emotion. And does anyone else think her husband was oddly unemotional, considering his wife had _just won a gold medal_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-americans-pitting-olympic-television-coverage/529075.md?page=3)