Negativity in Beijing

By: Arment Dietrich | August 15, 2008 |

As I sat to watch the Olympics with my friend, I began to notice a disturbing trend in the coverage of the games and the athletes — negativity! It’s seemly impossible for news outlets to report on a story or event without highlighting all the depressing details.

It started with women’s gymnastics. As 16-year-old girls (debatably) flipped around doing loop-de-loops and swirly twirlys, all the announcers could comment about was their mistakes. “Oh look at that hesitation right there, that’ll cost her,” “she was doing fine until that extra step,” “she really blew it right there.” I was amazed at what these young athletes could do under such outstanding pressure. I felt bad when the announcers couldn’t appreciate their successes.

Then, I opened the Chicago Tribune this morning to find a comment about the inappropriateness of Michael Phelps’ suit riding too low on his hips. I think all the ladies can agree with me when I say, this is not a problem! In fact, the new suits are far less revealing than the old, bikini-bottom Speedos used to be. Give the guy a break. He’s already won six gold medals this year and let’s face it, he’s hot!

Wouldn’t it be nice if reporters stopped acting like Debbie Downers and started highlighting athlete accomplishments and team successes during the Olympic Games, instead of dwelling on the mistakes? Think about it.