Women’s Gymnastics Deserves Better TV Coverage

>One of the factors preventing Americans from appreciating just how difficult it is to do what an Olympic gymnast does is the fact that competitors are expected to perform their routines without betraying any evidence of effort.

I've stopped reading twitter/news due to this constant moral chiding. I don't understand this (recent?) obsession with pointing out how Americans are stupid/ignorant/racists/misogynists/shallow. Wish we could keep this kind of stuff out of HN.

Only egomaniacs overestimate their own virtuousness and underestimate everyone else's.

Is it too much to ask in 2016 for a single web page that lets me filter down to each event and see all the heats leading up to the final? Or how about a single page with all the events happening live so I can put the one I actually want to watch?

The olympic games are also covered without commercials. Maybe NBC is spicing things up to make sure people don't go away during commercials?

I (male) really enjoy watching all gymnastics (both female and male competitions). I always sort of admire people who can perform feats that I cannot do (I used to watch Bob Ross for hours, for example. I know, kill me, but I was mesmerized by his works).

Anyway, one day I was watching the female competition and a relative told me that it was "creepy to be watching girls." It kind of took me aback. Since then, I avoid it.

There has been this sad evolution in our society where adult males interacting with girls or teenagers in a normal way is still considered "creepy." Sadly, I don't hug my nieces anymore, for example.

It's sad.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the drop in stats.

Now that our team is doing better, I can see there being an interest in broadcasting it better.

Additionally, I didn't get a single hint NBC was characterizing these gymnasts as 'teenage pixies,' or trying to deceive the viewer to ramp up the drama. NBC let the images do the talking, and the US team was a picture of control, power, and intensity.

Last night the US had essentially won the competition before the floor exercise, but still, as NBC showed the US gymnasts warm-up, I was overcome with a realization of just how powerful these young American women are and how well they represent the United States to the rest of the world. Tears swelled.

After Raisman's transcendent floor routine, NBC showed her parents in the stands. Despite being nervous wrecks in all the previous camera shots, they looked on expressionless, probably coming to an unknowable realization of their own. Raisman eventually walked over to her bag at the side of the arena and the Chinese team basically lined up to pay respect and show their admiration. The crowd started chanting Ali's name, which I've never heard at a gymnastics event.

I hope the critic wasn't consumed with the inane chatter of the internet during these moments. Then again, here I am engaging in the same. I just wish journalists would stop treating opinions from the internet as legitimate and representative, particularly from Twitter.

And the Irish weren't in the competition. So, no opportunity for extra rah rah nationalism.

With the best will in the world, most people seeing any sport in the olympics probably aren't actually following that sport. As a result, trying to get people up to speed so they can understand why the judging scores are what they are, at the same time as they're trying to watch the action, is never going to work. This is only further hampered in something like gymnastics, where the scoring is incredibly detailed and complex, and the time someone's doing something is so short.

Whilst I wish people were more informed about what they're looking at, I get the impression most people don't really care that much, and just want to look at what olympians do and be astounded at it.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Basically if it requires judges it will be limited in its mass market appeal.

Sports that require judges:

- Aren't going to appeal as much to men as a whole. Men like clear rules and clear outcomes. Boxing is probably the only popular sport that's often not clear - but it has knockouts and TKOs which help clarify.

- Will have a lot of off-putting or repetitive banter because you have to explain how the judges rate things that aren't obvious and sometimes make no sense. The judges and commentators can come across as snooty & pretentious too.

- Often leave a bad taste in your mouth if your perception of the winner is different.

Additionally, I didn't get a single hint NBC was characterizing these gymnasts as 'teenage pixies,' nor trying to deceive the viewer to ramp up the drama. NBC let the images do the talking, and the US team was a picture of control, power, and intensity.

Last night the US had essentially won the competition before the floor exercise, but still, as NBC showed the US gymnasts warm-up, I was overcome with a realization of just how powerful these young American women are and how well they represent the United States to the rest of the world. Tears swelled.

After a transcendent Raisman floor routine, NBC showed her parents in the stands. Despite being nervous wrecks in all the previous camera shots, they looked on expressionless, probably coming to an unknowable realization of their own. Raisman eventually walked over to her bag at the side of the arena and the Chinese team basically lined up to pay respect and show their admiration. The crowd started chanting Ali's name, which I've never heard at a gymnastics event. It was high Sport and great TV.

I hope the critic wasn't consumed with the inane chatter of the internet during these moments. Then again, here I am engaging in the same. I just wish journalists would stop treating opinions from the internet as representative and worth responding to, particularly those from Twitter.