The Summer Olympics Inspires Young Athletes – Sometimes

“Mom, why is there a horse dancing on TV? I think dogs jumping and doing flips would be more interesting.” after a few minutes watching Dressage.

Every 4 years the Summer Olympics inspire thousands, if not millions of young girls and boys to take up gymnastics and swimming. Impressionable young children watch hours and hours of these sports, not just cheering for their favorite athletes, but hanging on their every tumble, flip and dive. 

These youth don’t care about the heart wrenching stories that the TV personalities tell. They don’t really want to know who has come back from tragedy to triumph at the games – those are not the people they want to be like. They want to be like the girls flipping around on the uneven bars and the boys vaulting over the horses. 

NBC, do you know who my children don’t want to be like, even if they watch it all day long? They don’t want to be like the people they see riding a dancing horse or playing handball.  

“I thought the Olympics were supposed to be interesting!”

NBC Producers, please help our youth learn to love the sports that they can play too. Show us hours of swimming and gymnastics live. Show the track and field while it’s happening. True fans will watch it live, and causal viewers don’t mind prime time repeats. In this day of instant information, we don’t want to be “tricked” into thinking we’re watching something live.  We’re smarter than that.  You own many channels, inundate us with all-sports, all the time for 2 weeks on every channel you own. We’ll love it, and we’ll love you for it too. 

Thank you, 

Alicia

p.s.  How can we figure out when you’re going to be broadcasting something if you have the results posted all over your front page?

Here is an email address where you can send this, or your own letter: nbcolympicsfeedback@nbcuni.com

Or you can use this feedback form.

And you can sign this petition to broadcast the biggest Olympic events live: NBC: Broadcast the biggest events of the Olympics LIVE on television!