Seriously, a sigh of relief from me that someone got this out.

Racist commentary aside, NBC just has bad commentators. During the men's gymnastics final, one of the Japanese members was caught smiling on camera after he did badly on a routine and the ex-gymnast commentator said something to the affect of, "I don't like it when I see a gymnast smile after not doing well. I don't like it at all." And then a female commentator was talking about how the Japanese team was taking pictures and videos of each other while they were not performing on the floor and she said, "You just don't DO that at the Olympics!" all the while while the American team would shout frat boy lines into the camera every time the camera panned over to them.

It's amazing how evident it is that these people are just so not aware of the implications of what they're saying. It makes me sad.

I wouldn't say ranting, more-so stating the truth.

OMG!!!!!!! I Feel the exact same way! I too had no intention of watching as much of the Olympics as I have. My daughters and I have been up past midnight glued to the TV.
We've recently moved from Houston to the "Burbs" and and encountered the kind of racism that comes with a smile. You know the kind that declares "One of my best friends is a ......." or "My sister used to date a ........, he was a really nice guy". ARG!!! What's really more frustrating is when they're surprised that you can actually articulate you words and can speak without an accent.

Javabeans, great writing. I love your witt and frankness.
Well, better get my Mexican-American ass to work.

That's one way to put it. HAHA. I also heard those words from the commentators as I have been steadily tuning into the olympics every morning and night. And let me tell you, at first I really didn't take any offense to it because I thought they were trying to lighten the mood in all seriousness.

To me, as an asian american, I'm not so discontented. I just firmly believe these commentators are trying their best (partially failing) to give as much background information on the coaches and team members.

When I heard the wedding dress comment, I simply laughed thinking, "How can a wedding dress tear and a broken ankle be the same?" And yet, my father thought otherwise saying, "You know, he's right!"

All in all, it's the olympics that comes every 4 years. Who says we must listen to these fine (sarcastic) commentaries. Rather, let's just focus on the games instead. It truly is a pleasure to watch when you do.

Right on javabeans, right on. Thank you for articulating it so well, it needed to be said.

I know javabeans, I know...The women stuff hasn't bugged me as much as the race comments. Especially the gymnastic commentary has been terrible! Amy, the comments about the Japanese gymnasts made me mad too! Last night I watched the women with the sound turned down low (in fact I was listening to korean101.com podcasts instead haha), and wow it was awesome!! Our US women were amazing under such big pressure! I love the Olympics and will be watching even if I have to hit the mute button. Thanks for your rant javabeans. I really appreciate it!

Yeah, I heard the wedding dress comment and I thought how stupid .. what an idiot.

I also heard what #1 Amy mentioned about the commentator basically saying the Japanese were unprofessional for smiling after a disappointing performance. Anyone who has ever watched a Japanese dramas/movies or read any of Donald Ritchie's essays on Japan knows that smiles can indicate more than "I am happy." in other cultures including Japan. That judgmental comment embarrassed me as an American and it wasn't the only one to do so.

When NBC's China correspondent/expert took a break during the opening ceremony when the athletes were entering the stadium, I had to listen to Bob Costas repeatedly point out how "nonsensical" it will seem to the audience the order in which the athletes were coming out. And that was after he explained
they were coming out according to how many strokes it takes to write their country's name in Chinese. He still seemed to think this made no sense... like the Chinese just thought it would be cool to do that for a change.

And don't get me started on Bob Costas' interview with Bush. Some Americans are so condescending to other cultures it is so embarrassing to me. I guess it's not just Americans either - that Spanish basketball team photo - wtf?!!!

Here's my rant on something not as important . Why can't ANYONE at NBC pronounce Beijing correctly or just closer to correct? (I'm not talking about the tones and granted the Chinese pronounce the "j" in a way which has no exact equivalent sound in English)
But people it's more like a "j" as in "just" or "jingle", not like the "s" in leisure. I hear it mispronounced a hundred times a day now from every single commentator and that plucks my nerves.

I don't know... the Olympics make me happy for the world/humanity in so many ways but they also point out how much more we need to learn about each other!

You wouldn't believe some of the comments floating around the web. Some people are actually so ignorant to make comments like, "Shawn should have got the gold because she is the true American." What the heck is a "true American?" Being in this country for a few years has really been an eye-opening experience when it comes to race and prejudice.

Are all commentators over the world the same? No I think only the ones from "civilized" country. I'm from France, and I was not so surprised to read your topic today. Because here it's more or less the same atitude they have. I was watching the opening ceremony and already wanted to kill the guy speaking behind the image. He couldn't get one phrase out that doesn't insinuate how bad China is: politics, human rights, ecology, even the traditional costumes. At the end, I couldn't maintain my calm any longer, had to go on their website to leave a comment. And believe me I was not the first there, nor the most angry one.
I am not saying I'm all pro-China, but hey, I don't put on the olympics to hear people talk about politics or human rights. What if we give the athletes their due attention? Also the ancient Olympics was a mean of truce during war times. Please let us enjoy the sports!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for writing this post.
The Olympics have been driving me nuts for these past few days, and yesterday I finally gave up--- I just didn't watch them. After I looked at the All Around results for the female gymnasts on the NBC website, I decided to go to bed because I couldn't bring myself to listen to the commentators and their stupid remarks.

I was out this week on business and like yourself Javabeans, spent more time watching the Olympics then previous planned. In any case, my conclusion after a week of watching the media and reading all sorts of ramblings here and there is that:

Olympics = Ignorant Nationalism

It's not new of course, but for the media to be that blatant?? I guess my assumption that they cater to the lowest common denominator is in fact correct.

@ Alyssa

> To me, as an asian american, I’m not so discontented.
> I just firmly believe these commentators are trying their best
> (partially failing) to give as much background information
> on the coaches and team members.

I know a lot of people who think this way...

So imagine if the commentators talked about the black athletes that way.

For example, the flag bearer was a Sudanese immigrant. Can you imagine if the commentators said, "Even though he's from Sudan, don't worry he's on our side!"

Or about the number of black athletes competing for us, "Isn't it amazing that our country has all these African Americans to represent us? My how progressive we are."

You can bet if they said that there would be a many protests and boycotts of NBC and its sponsors.

TOTALLY FUCKIN TRUE.

THis is a RAVE about YOUR RANT.

Couldn't agree with you more! In face, I've been feeling and hearing the same thing and I'm getting tired of it. So after seeing your post, I think I'll do the most rational thing. Send an angry email to NBC. Toodles!

Why does nationalistic pride often translate into borderline xenophobia? Why does supporting your country mean saying bad things about other countries? Its this very reason why I chose not to follow the Olympics. Its understandable that coverage of the Olympics in America would be America-centric; but I dont know why this is synonymous with bashing the athletes from other nations. In fact, its the reason I choose not to watch any news broadcasts (or things in the news family) from local television - if I want any attempt at objective, informed, intelligent reporting, I wont find it there. I also find it particularly ironic that they are actually pointing out the ethnic backgrounds of some of the American athletes - do the commentators need to be reminded that America is a nation of immigrants? Should someone point out how unlikely yet admirable it is that a (Polish/Irish/Italian/German/Dutch/etc)-American commentator can be *so supportive* of the American team despite their foreign heritage? Or does this over-developed sense of Other-ness only apply when its accompanied by a racial deviation from "the norm" (said norm, as Javabeans pointed out, being the blond blue-eyed Caucasian). It takes away from everything these wonderful athletes/coaches have and will accomplish that their loyalties are even a conversation topic - I guess they are American enough to add to the medal count, but not much else. That said, I very much doubt America is the only nation that has such ridiculous Olympic coverage.

I've been following very closely to the gymnastics and swimming competitions (because they air late at night) and I actually like listening to the commentators. Without them, I wouldn't know what was going on. I now know how the gymnastics scoring system works. I didn't catch them saying anything like what y'all are talking about up there, probably cuz my mom likes to make her own commentary while we watch.

Still, I always love your ranting!

P.S. I am SO happy the US women gymnasts beat China last night. I'm usually all for China, but they really should think about choosing ELIGIBLE athletes with more experience next time.

lol

Haha, it's a bunch of Americans on NBC anyway. Did you see any other race besides White?

That aside, it doesn't really matter to me b/c I clearly don't think I listen to what they say. I only watch the swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball part.

According to what you say, yes they are very unaware of what they are saying on television and because of that i find their rantings a bit annoying.

"Haha, it’s a bunch of Americans on NBC anyway. Did you see any other race besides White?"

popcorn, that's exactly the problem. "Americans" doesn't equal "white." The non-white people they're putting down or treating condescendingly are ALSO American. It's like when Tara Lipinski won the gold over Michelle Kwan and the news headline read "American Beats Kwan." WTF?