I don’t usually read the sports pages but came to see whether there was any discussion about watching this year’s Paralympics here and found zero. I know they [and disability sports in general] have far less public recognition in the US than in other western countries and I’m not sure why I should be surprised.
Does this just reinforce that sport only succeeds where it is underpinned by massive commercial input to whip up public interest to make it a vehicle to carry advertising and / or has photogenic participants, and people still recoil from imperfect bodies, however hot they look in their gear?
I watch the British chat show The Last Leg which began in 2012 during the London Paralympics (and subsequently focuses on championing the differently-abled, but otherwise is just a late night chat show) so I’ve been keenly aware of the Paralympics since the 2016 games.
I mentioned at the end of the Olympics thread that I read NBC was giving the games more TV exposure, so I was looking forward to watching, but it turns out that broadcast NBC doesn’t have but a couple hours of highlight shows.
So, I’m just keeping up via The Last Leg.
I guess NBC is trying to make coverage available as much as possible over all their channels, without further interrupting the American Public’s TV life, so there’s that. But as someone who likes to just flop on the couch and flip on the local OTA NBC and see some amazing athletics, it sucks that I can’t get what I want.
Olympic athletes are an absolute marvel. Olympic athletes with disabilities are just next effing level.
ETA: It seems like Great Britian embraces the Paralympic games way more than the US does, but I can’t be sure because I’m watching them through the lens of people who are very invested in the games.
Yes, and UK Channel 4 which hosts coverage has produced some fantastic lead-in commercials for the Paralympics that still give me chills. How would you not want to watch after seeing:
There will also be “highlights” (read: “mainly events where USA athletes do well”) coverage on NBC over a few weekends:
Sunday 8/29, noon - 1:30 PM and 7 - 8 PM (assuming they’re not pre-empted by Hurricane Ida coverage)
Saturday 9/4, 8 - 9 PM
Sunday 9/5, 7 - 9 PM
Saturday 9/11, 7 - 9 PM
Sunday 9/12, 1:30 - 3 PM
Note that the latter two are a week after the closing ceremony.
My theory is, the Paralympics aren’t as popular as the Olympics for the same reason NCAA Division II sports aren’t as popular as Division I, or the XFL wasn’t as popular as the NFL - it’s not perceived as “the best that’s out there.” There could also be people who are confusing the Paralympics with the Special Olympics.
Exactly this. Is there ever a situation where interest in the top tier of competition is exceeded by that of the level below? The same happens with pretty much every female sport with a direct male equivalent.