Mancuso, though, came up against the blunt end of this broadcaster game, though, since it was a fellow American, not a Canadian, Russian, South Korean, Dutchman, etc., who was the ever-so-slightly more favored.

(And yeah, the tiara’s silly, as is her odd need to shimmy everytime the camera is on her) 🙁

NBC didn’t have all the interviews and clips packages prepared for Mancuso the way they did for Vonn (Vonn’s pre-Olympics “injury” only fueled the fire). That’s because the expectations for American female alpine skiing were entirely put on Vonn for this Olympics. Granted, Vonn won back-to-back World Cup championships in 2008 and 2009, and she’s clearly THE female skier to beat right now in the world. But it’s Mancuso who had medaled previously in the 2006 Torino games, not Vonn, so it seems weird to me that they were totally unprepared to feature her.

Nevertheless, once NBC realized they couldn’t ignore Mancuso, they quickly framed her as a competitor of Vonn’s, as Lindsay so excellent describes above. It was something of a desperation move, and it created the oh-so-desired drama and tension. But I think it goes to show how much of the media’s sporting coverage is pre-scripted, particularly for such a drawn out media event like NBC’s Olympics broadcast, where they must prepare countless hours of canned pieces beforehand. America loves an underdog, but for these televised Olympics, they pose a particular problem.

Oh, but I hate that tiara.

I love the Olympics and always have. For me, it’s a confluence of various factors–it’s one time where I feel really proud and “rah rah” about being an American, but can also cheer for and celebrate with other nations in their victories. And I love a good underdog, and there are tons of great underdog stories at the Olympics. Also, I grew up watching them with my family, so there’s a lot of nostalgia there for me, too. So, even with my cultural critical frames on, I can still enjoy the spectacle, the nationalism, and the global dynamics of the games in a way that plays to my emotions in a truly wonderful (to me) way.

I realize I’m potentially opening up a can of worms here, but I didn’t watch a second of the Olympics and I just don’t “get” their relevance or why anyone watches them. On Facebook (the only venue where I encountered anyone discussing them), there seemed to be three types of reactions — puzzlement or utter indifference to the Olympics (myself and a number of my former students; hence the demographics question), the occasional person who obsessed over a single sport (figure skating, snowboarding, etc.), and then those caught up in the nationalistic vibe of the games (many Canadian hockey fans, some US hockey fans).

I’m left wondering is who cares, and why? I don’t mean “who cares” in a dismissive sense, but a demographic one. Perhaps I’m being “too American” here, but why would one spend hours watching this rather than watching/doing a million other things?

I admit, it took me a while to get over Mancuso’s insistence on always wearing a tiara, but in listening to interviews with her, I think she is making a fair and valid point in expressing her concerns that the level of Vonn’s media attention – much of which she may be actively seeking out – often negatively affects team practices and overall team dynamics. But turning that into a cat fight simply reinstates problematic notions of female jealousy and averts any sort of self-reflection on the part of the media and its viewers.

(1) Many US viewers’ and reporters’ seeming need to see the US men’s hockey team’s success as paralleling the “Miracle on Ice.” That term’s always bugged me anyway, given its suggestion of American godliness in the face of Russian evil. But it was a notable victory because (i) the Russians were America’s sworn ideological enemies at the time, and (ii) the Americans were a bunch of no-names up against the formidable Russian team. So when a team composed entirely of millionaire NHL players advanced to a gold medal game against their Northern friends, neighbors, and in many cases teammates, invoking the Miracle on Ice was ludicrously blind to history.

(2) The Brit press savaging the organization of the Games. Now, as a Vancouverite, I know many people who complain about the Games and about VANOC. But no more than with any other Olympics. The Brit press’s reaction reeked to me of a desperate attempt to set the bar as low as possible for the upcoming London Olympics. I love London with a passion, but organization and infrastructure ain’t its strong suit. Or, as the Bible says, let they who can make the Circle line run for 3 successive days without problem, whose country’s entire rail system doesn’t shut down due to “leaves on the track,” and who’ve mastered the art of water pressure, throw the first stone. Of course, this sideshow to the Games is an old one — all of Europe had a good time complaining about the Athens Olympics’ supposed mismanagement. But it’s still tedious.