Brazil is the first South American country to host the Olympic games and after the opening ceremony last night they could very well be the last.
There has been a ton of drama surrounding this Olympics. First, it was concerns about the water sources where there would be athletes sailing and swimming. Not to downplay this health hazard because it is still a grave concern, but the world was promised that Brazil would be ready to host such a grand event. It seems to me that they let some necessities slip through the cracks. Second, an impending threat of the Zika virus which is already here in the United States, but only in "one-square mile" in Miami. They must have a great containment system for mosquitoes. Third, Russia was told by the IOC that they must ban athletes who have previously been banned for doping, but then Russia appealed basically overturning the IOC's decision and therefore making them irrelevant. Don't get me wrong, every Olympics has drama surrounding it, but the vibe this Olympics gives off is not a good one.
Think back to Athens in 2004. The Olympics were home, back to their origin. Everyone had to watch the spectacle of the worlds' greatest athletes. It was like every viewer who was there in person or watching through the TV felt a part of the world coming together. The viewership for the Olympics has been declining since Beijing in 2008. It has gone from roughly 4.4 billion to just above 3 billion for London in 2012. I think for this Olympics in Rio it's going to decline even more. Being an athlete, that makes me sad that something like the Olympics is at an all time low in terms of viewers and the Bachelorette is at an all time high. Of just American viewers, the bachelorette finale was watched by 9.6 million people.
Every Olympics we say hello to new fresh faces and goodbye to those athletes who we cheered for many games in a row. This Olympics is no different.
We say goodbye to, most notably,
Michael Phelps
He put the sport of swimming on the map. He's the reason the sport is now seen in prime time. As a swimmer myself, I recognize what great accomplishments he's had, not only as an athlete, but as a poster-child for the swimming community.
Usain Bolt
Similar to Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt brought a ton more viewers to the Track and Field events. He's known as one of the fastest runners ever. Ever.
In our lifetime, there won't be another Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt. (I know rising star Katie Ledecky has great potential, but she'll never be Phelps.) Athletic prowess like that only comes along every once in awhile. So hopefully, for both the sake of these Olympics and the sake of Olympics to come more people turn on their televisions to watch a spectacle that they are likely to tell their children and grand children about.
