Is it just me or were the Olympics a WAY bigger deal when we were young?

Posted by nichewilly@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 675 comments

It felt like in the 80s & 90s, whenever it was an Olympics year, it was the most important thing happening. Families everywhere gathered around the TV to watch together; it dominated the news; it was the main topic of conversations, and everyone was familiar with all the athletes’ names… Kind of like if the Super Bowl lasted for three weeks straight, but even more of a hot topic. Now it kinda just feels like an afterthought… I honestly forgot the Winter Olympics were even happening until my GF just reminded me, and I’m like “oh yeah, that’s right...” Curious if you all agree or not?

Reply to Post

Reply

675 Comments

[-]

Financial-Park-602@reddit

Yes. I have sometimes wondered if it's just me and my spouse. As a child I was always watching the olympics together with my family. Now my parents and elderly relatives and other elders still keep on watching, but I don't think people our age care that much. There's those who love sports, and then those who prefer other things.

Reply

[-]

Human_Suggestion7373@reddit

There was only a couple channels to choose between back then and when the Olympics were on the other channels would mostly just show reruns so more people watched the Olympics

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

I was thinking about this the other day. All we watched was the Olympics back in the day, but that’s because it was the only thing on TV. Now people have so many more options. More channels and streaming options.

Reply

[-]

Majestic-Lie2690@reddit

Exactly. It was just what was on tv and was a novelty compared to other things.

Reply

[-]

Antique-Ad-4422@reddit

Plus there were NO Spoilers. Internet gets you the results as they happen.

Reply

[-]

wesborland1234@reddit

Peacock streams every event live. You can watch Goldzone for live whip around coverage. That didn’t exist back in the day.

Reply

[-]

RedKleeKai@reddit

We've been watching a lot of events either live or after the work day, but we both love the skiing and boarding events and don't want to miss any of it.

Reply

[-]

Gnomish_Axylotl@reddit

There was that PPV package they sold in the late 90s similar to the Woodstock 99 package

Reply

[-]

Doctuh@reddit

The [1992 Triplecast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics_Triplecast).

Reply

[-]

Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit

OMG I remember the hype around that ! And I was like “Who cares?” by that point

Reply

[-]

The_Dutchess-D@reddit

Honestly, I had trouble on Peacock this year because I felt like whenever I clicked an icon to watch it, it showed the message static screen about "we will return to the Olympics in a bit" I seem to always miss the events that I wanted to see, and no matter what happened I always hit skeleton, luge, or curling, but never any ice-skating or skiing or bobsled or ice dancing or ski-athelon. I love the Olympics and I generally try to be tuned in but getting the coverage through Peacock just didn't land this year for me the way it has in the past. I guess my vibes were just off.

Reply

[-]

Spiritual_Sorbet_870@reddit

And the peacock coverage was super glitchy for us too - so many lags or random crashes and loss of sound etc. We’ve tried to watch at several different houses with the same problem. It’s just not that fun when you’re fighting the tech half the time. And dear god if I never hear another whining drone again it will be too soon. The drones are so loud and their footage isn’t even all that interesting. For anything downhill it’s actually worse because it doesn’t give an accurate view of positioning. Ok, I’ll go back to yelling at kids to get off my lawn now.

Reply

[-]

Junebug35@reddit

The drones. Ugh. They just need to stop. I agree with you, the footage isn't that great, and the noise is just distracting.

Reply

[-]

regdunlop08@reddit

I feel like, given that the whining/humming is a very specific frequency that the audio engineers at the network should be able to filter most of the drone noise out if they tried. It's suuuuper annoying. Any audio experts care to weigh in on this?

Reply

[-]

_TheWolfOfWalmart_@reddit

I'm not an audio professional, but if it really is within a small frequency range, a basic notch filter should fix it. This concept has been around forever.

Reply

[-]

FouledPlug@reddit

I’m not sure if I’m the “expert” here, but I’ve worked in audio quite a bit. There is 100% the technology to filter the sound of the drones. It is not expensive or rare (I guarantee they have the capability). I’m baffled as to why they have taken care of the issue.

Reply

[-]

Spiritual_Sorbet_870@reddit

Not an audio expert but exactly what I was thinking!

Reply

[-]

frogplantwavecat20@reddit

Plus everything is on at 3am or at 11am on a Tuesday like who can watch then? plus they now have to shove in 900000000 ads for their corporate sponsors 🙄 the olympics have been monetized. Peacock is awful

Reply

[-]

magic_crouton@reddit

My God all I wanted to see was luge. And I have managed to only hit skating and ski athelon and skiing.

Reply

[-]

RustyDogma@reddit

My favorite this year was the training camera for the ice skaters. I know nothing about ice skating, but I just enjoyed watching them practice for hours before the actual events.

Reply

[-]

markuspeloquin@reddit

I watched live NBC streams back in like ... 2004. Microsoft Silverlight, baby!

Reply

[-]

Fianna9@reddit

I have been working so hard to avoid spoilers. Turning off all notifications. One still managed to slip through. I’m *watching* the race and I checks phone and “Canada wins Gold!!” Dammit.

Reply

[-]

dndhdhdjdjd382737383@reddit

The journey is better than the end. Stop caring about spoilers.

Reply

[-]

Fianna9@reddit

The journey is a lot less fun when you know the end. Especially when the end isn’t what you hoped.

Reply

[-]

dndhdhdjdjd382737383@reddit

Not true. Like, at all. Otherwise there would be no replayability in any game or movie/ show.

Reply

[-]

Fianna9@reddit

Those are very different things. I rewatch stuff I enjoy. But I have never rewatched a sporting event. Not even the ‘93 Blue Jays World Series.

Reply

[-]

Puzzled_Loquat@reddit

Yes, especially if the time zone it’s in is pretty far away.

Reply

[-]

KittySwipedFirst@reddit

Exactly. Salt Lake was easy to not get spoiled since I'm west coast so could watch as it was happening. However, I remember watching the Athens games where there was a major time difference and not getting spoiled on a single thing as well.

Reply

[-]

Peanut083@reddit

TBH, I always forget that Athens even happened. I was going through rookies when it was on.

Reply

[-]

hibbitydibbitytwo@reddit

The spoilers were on the radio and sometime TV and they played a little chime so you knew when to turn it off and the radio announcer said for the next 30 seconds we will be announcing Olympic results from and listed the event.

Reply

[-]

zoom518@reddit

It was easier to not spoil anything pre-internet and just put on a show at night on US tv. Hell in 1996 I didn’t know the Keri Strug moment wasn’t live even though it was right in my time zone.

Reply

[-]

RetroDadOnReddit@reddit

*Everything* was lived "in the moment" when we grew up. If you missed something, there was a high chance you may never actually see it again, unless it re-aired or someone you knew happened to have recorded it. It made for "appointment viewing."

Reply

[-]

taleofbenji@reddit

Excellent point. Usually the sports apps push every spoiler right to your phone.

Reply

[-]

Arrcamedes@reddit

exactly, it has to compete in streaming world, people consume media very very differently

Reply

[-]

n10w4@reddit

Tbf i think you have to pay to watch nowadays (so i just dont care to) vs having a tv and watching for free before.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

You can still watch for free. I have a digital antenna and NBC is on there.

Reply

[-]

n10w4@reddit

I mean I get it, if I had a TV, sure, or this digital antenna thingie, but I don’t. Would much rather just go to their site and watch live, but can’t so won’t until I hear of highlights I have to watch

Reply

[-]

No-Understanding-912@reddit

And even if you want to watch the Olympics, you might not be able to since it's mostly behind a streaming paywall. It literally took over tv in the 80s and 90s. Multiple channels playing pool Olympics coverage all day long.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

I havw a digital antenna and NBC is still free.

Reply

[-]

AmazingRefrigerator4@reddit

My wife and ai have been watching the Olympics almost non stop. My kids have virtually zero interest in them.

Reply

[-]

PopsiclesForChickens@reddit

How do you watch them? We don't have any regular tv and a few Olympics ago I got Peacock to watch the Olympics. The options there were so terrible we couldn't watch much. I've given up.

Reply

[-]

Late_Organization_56@reddit

I watch with peacock. Then cancel peacock when they’re done.

Reply

[-]

Leia1979@reddit

I don't know about other platforms, but on Apple TV, I subscribed and cancelled the same day so I just have one month and don't have to remember to cancel later.

Reply

[-]

fakesaucisse@reddit

Peacock coverage this year is MUCH better than previous Olympics. I have been able to find full length replays of everything I want to watch this past week. In previous years they wouldn't cover every sport or the replays would only show the most popular athletes' performances which was annoying as hell.

Reply

[-]

Luci-Noir@reddit

The NBC broadcast has been good too. It’s not full of stories and such like it used to be in the past.

Reply

[-]

regeya@reddit

We've been watching with Peacock. At night, they have a primetime show that's not much different than Olympic coverage would have been 30 years ago.

Reply

[-]

earthtobobby@reddit

Is it the free Peacock? The app tells me I have to upgrade to watch.

Reply

[-]

Adventurous_Pin_344@reddit

No, you def have to pay!

Reply

[-]

Wiggles_Is_My_Boy@reddit

Really? I felt that once Peacock came around, Olympic coverage hit a platonic ideal: Packaged coverage for the normies and live/recorded coverage of literally every event for those who want a more pure experience or are deeply invested in a particular event.

Reply

[-]

Blackbird136@reddit

Really? I adore the Peacock coverage. You can watch any replays you want, filtered by sport. There’s also “old school” coverage they offer that starts late afternoon which is what would be shown on USA Network, then there’s primetime (NBC) coverage which usually starts at 8p, sometimes 7p (eastern). This is basically what we would have seen in 80s/90s/00s. The afternoon and prime time options do usually overlap so you might need to switch to the other around 8:00.

Reply

[-]

nudave@reddit

Peacock has gotten much better about it. A few Olympics ago, NBC Sports wouldn't show certain events live. Now you can watch literally every event (and even some training) live, as well as full event replays. The bigger issue is time zone - the Olympic day goes from like 3 AM to 5 PM my time.

Reply

[-]

namdekan@reddit

I have Hulu Live and they are on NBC

Reply

[-]

Preparation-Logical@reddit

You should watch with her so she doesn't need ai for company

Reply

[-]

jjmawaken@reddit

Maybe his wife *is* the ai

Reply

[-]

Cycoviking69@reddit

![gif](giphy|e6Is4ydkXfYu26vR6L)

Reply

[-]

AmazingRefrigerator4@reddit

Its the only way I get "me time". Haha

Reply

[-]

QKofDaggers@reddit

I like how he has his own ai for his wife. It’s really a sweet gesture.

Reply

[-]

Delicious-Slip9645@reddit

No kids here but have also been watching basically non-stop.

Reply

[-]

axealy40@reddit

One kid left at home, age 18f, and she is OBSESSED with the Olympics. Maybe because I made it a big deal when the kids were younger? Tech has actually made it more interesting for her. She has stats readily available, knows all their back stories and socials. She feels more “involved” than I did as a kid. It’s pretty cool to watch.

Reply

[-]

Delicious-Slip9645@reddit

That is super cool! In the US so like to see the Americans do well but am happy for everyone who medals no matter where they’re from since they work so hard to get there! As a female, I also like to see female athletes succeeding in their respective sports!

Reply

[-]

axealy40@reddit

She LOVES watching the ladies compete. Plus, she watches their reels on IG about the uniform hauls and GRWMs. I’d have been obsessed if that was a thing when I was a teen. One of our friend’s brother is competing on Tuesday and my daughter has the whole schedule planned out lol. Plus she ordered all his merch. 😂

Reply

[-]

Delicious-Slip9645@reddit

Knowing someone who is competing would make it even more fun! And something to look forward to on a Tuesday in February! I was curious about the logo on the US skiers’ and snowboarders’ uniforms so had to Google to discover Kappa. 😁

Reply

[-]

msheehan418@reddit

So your wife is fully integrated with an ai?

Reply

[-]

RegularCommonSense@reddit

Yeah. It was aired on public-service TV, at least over here in the Nordics, which meant everyone could watch it, anywhere, without premium packages ir even cable TV at all. So, if you were out in the middle of nowhere, you could still watch the Olympics with very little else competing for the attention. It was more of a social gathering rather than watching sports, in my view.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

In the US it’s also broadcasted on NBC which is free if you have a digital antenna. A lot of people don’t anymore though. I do… I love mine.

Reply

[-]

NavierIsStoked@reddit

NBC’s OTA broadcast has been abysmal. Just an unbelievable amount of ads.

Reply

[-]

RegularCommonSense@reddit

I don’t know from experience, but I know that sports licensing is extremely expensive. Thus I could imagine there being lots of ads (commercials) to cover at least some of that cost. I do however think the channels could try up the pricing on the commercial spots and have fewer commercials during those sports events, if they are able to negotiate that with their ad customers. Especially since I think it’s seen as a lucrative ad slot.

Reply

[-]

RegularCommonSense@reddit

Over The Air antenna broadcasting has almost ended here, actually (Sweden), back in 2024. Every channel provider has been stripped away, apart from the piblic-service channels (SVT, Swedish Television). It’s in favor of getting channels vua internet providers instead. I was really surprised to see the commercial providers leave completely. Personally I have digital cable TV with a core set of cirka 15 channels + a small selection of extra cable channels on top which are mainly airing shows about nature- and animals.

Reply

[-]

Sketcha_2000@reddit

Yeah, and we had to watch things at a certain time. Now if I go to Peacock I can choose to watch events from days ago. There was one thing on at one time. I remember the 94 figure skating was THE prime time event that night and everyone was talking about it the next day.

Reply

[-]

LeiaO315@reddit

Same with swimming in 08 when Phelps was dominant.

Reply

[-]

Sketcha_2000@reddit

Yeah and all these people were household names…I don’t think I can name one current American Olympian off the top of my head and I’m a casual viewer (or maybe it’s my 43-yo brain lol)

Reply

[-]

WyrdWyrmMTG@reddit

yeah why would i watch this years olympics when i could watch the 1992 winter olympics

Reply

[-]

yallknowme19@reddit

Everything was preempted for the Olympics, which to be honest I kind of hated as a non-sportsy kid. Olympics meant no TV for the next two weeks or so

Reply

[-]

protossaccount@reddit

We got a lot of media through the food we ate, like on cereal boxes. We collected a lot o things to send in for prizes and celebrity culture was at its peak. I known my parents were heavily influenced by being in the ‘Jones generation’ of the boomers, but I often wonder what the impact of being young at a time of ‘peak Hollywood celebrity’ and ‘the birth of social media’ had on us.

Reply

[-]

Bearsss2026@reddit

This is the answer. Daytime television in the 90s sucked.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

Other than Jerry Springer of course

Reply

[-]

Intrepid_Pitch_3320@reddit

And the Olympics is not even an option for some of us who don't pay for TV. Superbowl either.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

Get a digital antenna, people!! I can’t keep stressing this enough. Free TV.

Reply

[-]

Intrepid_Pitch_3320@reddit

We get CBS, Fox, and 3 PBS channels but not NBC. I assumed they went behind a pay wall year's ago. Others get NBC free?

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

Yep mine is free. Local station is TMJ4.

Reply

[-]

PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

That was my answer too. We had a lot more limited choices back then, especially if you didn't have cable. Now you can watch sports 24/7/365 if you want to. There are even Olympics networks you can get and watch previous years' Games. Back then it only came around every four years and was something different to watch than the Big 3 networks. And it was also a time when families watched things together a lot more often and people talked about shows with coworkers, neighbors, friends, etc. When people communicated in person.

Reply

[-]

garaks_tailor@reddit

I think they fucked up when they went to not hosting the winter and summer Olympics in the same year back in the 90s. Yeah there are logistical arguments for it. But the counter argument is "not feel as special." Because that whole year back in the day was an Olympic year. Now its every other year is one And I dont remember which is which now.

Reply

[-]

sahurley@reddit

Leap year/U.S. presidential election=Summer Other even-numbered year=Winter

Reply

[-]

garaks_tailor@reddit

Ain't no one remembering that. They messed up. Evey 4 years. Big Olympic. Much big.

Reply

[-]

bLymey4@reddit

Yes and our whole family watched it together!

Reply

[-]

yusill@reddit

Also you gotta have the right streaming service to see it and the committee is super aggressive about removing clips from online. They make it actively hard to watch nowadays. When I was young it was on entenna TV. If you could tune in the channel there ya go.

Reply

[-]

NoneOfThisMatters_XO@reddit

I have a digital antenna so you can still view it for free on NBC.

Reply

[-]

imagonnahavefun@reddit

It seems like the amount of similar events has ballooned. How many different ways can you ski down a mountain or ski jump or snowboard. I think people get tired of weeding through so many events to find what interests them.

Reply

[-]

E6DA@reddit

Right, anyone without cable had 3 channels to watch before 1988. And a whopping 4 after that. Not including PBS. And the other 2 networks wouldn't play fuck all up against the Olympics. So it literally was the only thing to watch on over-the-air television.

Reply

[-]

Slow_Ad3662@reddit

The SUMMER Olympics are still a big deal 😂

Reply

[-]

Objective-Dust4795@reddit

When I started bouncing in 2008 after the army, I remember bars being full of people watching the Olympics, especially Michael Phelps. It’s not as big any more for real.

Reply

[-]

ParticularSpring3628@reddit

Not to mention a thousand varying entertainment avenues. Video games, streams, scrolling; etc. the internet has simultaneously made the world much smaller while disconnecting us in many ways.

Reply

[-]

splatooey123@reddit

This. You can watch at your own convenience and play clips of the “good parts”. Streaming on demand has really diluted the collective national experience of watching something in real time and having reactions communally.

Reply

[-]

rearwindowpup@reddit

Also the fact you can replay whatever you want streaming means you arent glued to the TV to watch the sports you want to as they happen.

Reply

[-]

Creacherz@reddit

I was the same passion as I did when I was a kid. As a Canadian, whenever the Winter Olympics were on: Our house had it on nonstop. I continue that same tradition when the summer games are on, now that I'm older. Seeing all those athletes just lay it all on the line for themselves and their countries- sign me up for that. All the emotions that come with it- I've already cried multiple times so far aha

Reply

[-]

Fearless_Street5231@reddit

I think because as kids, we had only them to watch for 2 weeks. And there was the whole Soviet US rivalry (ok, I admit I’m Gen X not xennial, but I’m ‘75)

Reply

[-]

pm_me_ur_chonchon@reddit

I think the political atmosphere is affecting this Olympics. I care less about this Olympics bc people are being killed in the streets and pedos are running the government. Like I want to cheer for the U.S. women’s hockey team but I’m dealing with the fact that I’m making sure I make enough to afford my mortgage and car payment. This may have always been the way but right now I don’t really care about ice dancing and luge.

Reply

[-]

Frosty-Juice951@reddit

Same here

Reply

[-]

TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

It's always been like that, but back then they did not manufacture outrage around it like they do today.

Reply

[-]

northontennesseest@reddit

Yup, absolutely. I think the things other people mention about the monoculture and the internet and other entertainment options are true, but a big part of it is that I don't feel like cheering for my country right now.

Reply

[-]

zoominzacks@reddit

Same, I’m Minnesotan. I’d probably care more about some games about national pride if my state wasn’t being attacked by the federal government. Kinda kills any excitement for me.

Reply

[-]

pm_me_ur_chonchon@reddit

For sure - you guys are fighting in the streets for your very survival. kinda hard to wave a flag and find pride in games when you are facing martial fucking law.

Reply

[-]

Consistent-Alarm9664@reddit

I don’t think it’s that the Olympics are less important, exactly. I think what you are experiencing is that there’s often no specific moment where we all sit around with friends and family and “watch the Olympics.” The Olympics now is just always on for the two-week stretch, and as others have said, there are so many other TV options. I remember watching the figuring skating in Lillehammer. Of course that’s perhaps an extreme example because of the Kerrigan-Harding stuff. But I distinctly remember sitting around with my family, watching all the skaters and talking about how they did, what moves they were doing, etc. I’ve watched a lot of Olympics so far this year, but there’s no comparable moment. I feel like it’s just frequently been on in the background.

Reply

[-]

Frosty-Juice951@reddit

That is true

Reply

[-]

heridfel37@reddit

My family is all in on watching this Olympics, but it still feels very different to choose which of the hundred events have already happened to watch on replay, versus the whole country watching the same thing on primetime. On the other hand, I enjoyed the heck out of watching the whole 80 minutes of the cross country ski relays, that would never have been broadcast beyond a 30 second highlight reel.

Reply

[-]

Consistent-Alarm9664@reddit

My wife and I were saying the same thing yesterday. It’s wonderful that we get to watch some of these fairly obscure sports now. At the same time, there’s less of a “common experience”—ie that thing every watched on TV last night with their families and is talking about.

Reply

[-]

dudegoingtoshambhala@reddit

I'll add they don't even show the fucking medals ceremonies anymore either. That's a pretty inspirational moment and very emotional for everyone. Why don't they show that anymore?!

Reply

[-]

va1us_taaurc@reddit

Speak for yourself - skeleton was lit this Olympics lol

Reply

[-]

toasty327@reddit

Corporate greed. If you can only watch on nbc, you get limited coverage. Most people don't have cable anymore so no usa network. I'm not paying for the peacock app.

Reply

[-]

Least-Blackberry-848@reddit

It’s partly because they staggered the winter and summer Olympics. It felt like a bigger deal when we had to go 4 years in between both Olympics. Now we have one every other year, and it just feels less special, to me anyway.

Reply

[-]

EntertainerDecent444@reddit

Nah, but then again I'm from Norway and we're winning the most medals. Very proud of my tiny country. But if you're American I'm sure you have A LOT of other things going on that might distract from the Olympics + you guys work crazy amounts of hours too.

Reply

[-]

Saddleonup@reddit

I think the NFL obsession stems from the 70's when there were like 5 channels.

Reply

[-]

Artistic-Chapter6192@reddit

Of course it was a bigger deal. There are too many competitors for our attention these days. When I was growing up the Olympics were special because there was not much variety in programming. I have to say we’ve watched some Olympic coverage this year and it’s been super enjoyable. Only complaint is the coverage is spotty and highlights mostly. Instead of 2 hours of short programs for skating it’s like 15 minutes of the best skaters. It is thrilling to watch these tremendous athletes go for gold though

Reply

[-]

b-sharp-minor@reddit

Because I'm retired, I'm around during the day, and I've been watching more or less. There are so many events now that weren't in the Olympics back then, and I'm not that interested in them. Watching on the NBC app is like trying to drink from a fire hose, and I can't keep track. Do I watch the 2nd qualifying round of group B in the men's relay Nordic skiing, or the mixed doubles in curling between Belgium and Mongolia? I liked it when they showed the finals or just the later rounds of a few events - downhill skiing, bobsled, skating, hockey - at night. They might show another sport if an American was in the running. On the weekends, they would show more events.

Reply

[-]

Furry_Wall@reddit

I've never seen anyone more hype for the Olympics than this year. We all need something right now that unites us.

Reply

[-]

Analogsilver@reddit

The Olympics are hugely corrupt. Many of us are tired of supporting corruption at every turn. There are plenty of better ways to spend one's time than watching another "Bread and Circuses" distraction.

Reply

[-]

MammothSurround@reddit

They are a pretty big deal to my kid. You e just gotten old.

Reply

[-]

oldfartjr@reddit

You’re correct. But are we different or are they? In my mind, coverage is too full of talking heads and fancy camera shots. So many quick cuts on the bobsled/skeleton run you completely lose any sense of the actual track. And the use of pro athletes pretty much ruined hockey for me. I think coverage reached its peak about the time “up close and personal” became the focus.

Reply

[-]

Maturation_Process@reddit

Yes. I think it's the availability of the live streaming and the plethora of alternative streaming at the ready. Honestly, the glut of junk channels ruins the specialness of what we used to enjoy on the "big 3" networks. It's a shame, IMO. \*old folk yells at the sky\*

Reply

[-]

Salty_Material8532@reddit

I think it's competition. Back in the 80s and 90s what exactly where you planning on watching if not the Olympics? Major Dad? Now people can watch whatever they want and/or browse whatever they want.

Reply

[-]

BarLoud2621@reddit

I am not paying for peacock to watch a bunch of sports themed human interest stories. That being said, big fan of Chloe Kim. She’s a killer.

Reply

[-]

Colorblind2027@reddit

Older people are watching. It is also live in Europe so the results are in during work hours with more generic entertainment on elsewhere and people think being patriotic today is either racist or fascist.

Reply

[-]

jackson44_bmx@reddit

The current Olympics has no storyline. Curling arguments…..meh. US top skier destroys herself 13 seconds in….move along. Unless you are into ski cross, what is there this Winter Olympics that anyone cares about? Hell, the news announcers missing mother is the biggest story out of all of the games. It’s as boring as nascar.

Reply

[-]

BigRagu79@reddit

It’s that way for everything. Music, movies, tv, sports, all of it. The amount of choices we have today allow everyone to find what they like and access it whenever they want and in so many ways that’s great, but it has also killed any kind of cohesive cultural zeitgeist which I think is a huge problem. The Olympics are a big reminder of that and I really miss it.

Reply

[-]

Throwsofaraway02@reddit

I had an argument with my 17 yr old nephew about this exact thing the other day. I was trying to explain how different things were and there were more (forced?) common threads between people. And looking back, that was a nice thing. He argued it was better to have broader access. I told him he could never understand what was missing from our collective lives now.

Reply

[-]

EagleNice2300@reddit

When everything is special, nothing is special.

Reply

[-]

yelloworld1947@reddit

I think a corollary is that we had less content and hence we rewatched great content on multiple occasions. These days there are so many choices I rewatch movies or TV shows rarely if ever.

Reply

[-]

LeopardDue1112@reddit

This. The "monoculture" no longer exists. There's plenty of folks who aren't even aware the Olympics are happening right now. It's a huge shift from how we grew up and I really struggle with it sometimes.

Reply

[-]

orthomonas@reddit

The last time I personally felt a similar vibe was back during lockdown and we all decided to watch Tiger King around the same time.

Reply

[-]

Numerous-Result8042@reddit

For me it was Pokemon Go in 2016

Reply

[-]

FitzchivalryandMolly@reddit

Pokemon go to the polls

Reply

[-]

TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

Stranger things too.

Reply

[-]

mrspaintbrush@reddit

Lockdown removed a lot of options, like new movies/shows being released, sports, live music, etc. NF was positioned strongly for it. Last Dance may have been seen by more people than current Olympic viewers

Reply

[-]

southernfirm@reddit

I will never understand this monoculture argument. To think that the 90's and before was all a monoculture is to ignore so much of what was going on back then. We have more options now, technically, but there isn't much variety in those choices. Sure, I can switch back and forth between different streaming platforms, but the shows and movies are all basically the same. And every genre of music/movies/shows that play now existed for decades prior. I don't think we have lost a monoculture, I think that we've lost cultural currency. For example, a song like "Fortunate Son" has come to symbolize a certain idea about going to war, which everyone understands, even if you haven't seen every Vietnam war movie it was in. But because we all understand that meaning, we can create more with it. Think of how a comedy might use that same song in a way that reframes it, or uses incongruity. We all understand what the song "means" so we can then all get the joke. I think we are simply not creating this shared cultural meaning, or currency, as I like to call it.

Reply

[-]

TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

I lost it when nobody understood my Seinfeld references anymore.

Reply

[-]

mrspaintbrush@reddit

Not Like Us has probably larger cultural value than Fortunate Son ever has. No point trying to sound old for the sake of it

Reply

[-]

GoomarLover@reddit

Yeah a 2 year old song for sure has more cultural value than a song people still talk about over 50 years later lol what

Reply

[-]

Zizzlewunk105@reddit

I appreciate this different take! What do you think was the engine for generating cultural currency if it was not a critical mass of people all consuming the same cultural narrative?

Reply

[-]

mrspaintbrush@reddit

Then explain Not Like Us mate

Reply

[-]

TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

It's just a shift to a more individualistic society now. Less things for people to bond over. The one thing that really stood out to me when it came to this aspect of new media was when the Mandalorian came out and they did weekly releases of each episode. It got all of the Star Wars fans talking about it.

Reply

[-]

nichewilly@reddit (OP)

True… the Grammy awards were also a WAY bigger deal!

Reply

[-]

PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

The Oscars too. I remember when people would have viewing parties at their houses to watch them. I'm sure people still do but not like before.

Reply

[-]

cranberries87@reddit

Awards shows in general.

Reply

[-]

E6DA@reddit

> The amount of choices we have today allow everyone to find what they like and access it whenever they want See, I love this. This is probably the only way I could be aware of obscure 2000s out of print Welsh twee poop, or obscure 2000s out of print Swedish synth pop.

Reply

[-]

Myredditname423@reddit

I honestly wish we lived in a 90s society but with weed stores from modern times.

Reply

[-]

regalbeagles1@reddit

My family still gathers around the TV to watch. Me, wife and 16yo daughter. We also eat dinner together every night and actually talk to each other. It’s wild stuff in 2026!

Reply

[-]

RealNotFake@reddit

Definitely it was a bigger deal, but the difference IMO is the disappearance of monoculture. Back then fewer families had cable (or certainly before cable), and for 2 weeks the Olympics was the Main Event that everyone was watching and talking about. In the last couple decades there is such a huge amount of digital content that you can consume at any time, and monoculture has all but disappeared save a few events per year. Most of my friends and coworkers had no clue the Olympics were even going on right now.

Reply

[-]

bar10der76@reddit

I am 50 and I fell this way. As others have mentioned, it’s because it was the only game in town, you had to watch the broadcast coverage making it more appointment television , etc.

Reply

[-]

Prestigious-Joke-479@reddit

We are more distracted. There is so much media to consume...

Reply

[-]

Elegant-Analyst-7381@reddit

I was thinking about this the other day, and honestly, I don't remember the adults in my life being all that excited about the Olympics. I remember talking about the Olympics in school, learning about certain athletes, getting excited about certain sports that my friends and I enjoyed. My parents would kind of get into it because we were into it, but in retrospect they didn't really care. I see the same thing happening now with my niblings, who are now at the age where they're talking about it in school and idolizing athletes in the sports they like. And my siblings, who haven't been interesting in the Olympics in years, are now showing interest for the sake of their kids.

Reply

[-]

Background-Bend2877@reddit

I think the every two years of nature of them now leads to fatigue. I wish they’d go back to every four, summer and winter same year.

Reply

[-]

Main_Photo1086@reddit

This is so weird. 17 days every 2 years is not over saturation…

Reply

[-]

cp710@reddit

Yeah I love that it’s every two years. Watching two Olympics in one year would feel like oversaturation to me.

Reply

[-]

beautifulkale128@reddit

I didn't think about that. The stakes were way higher when it was every 4 years. Not nearly as exciting every 2 years.

Reply

[-]

RoyalEagle0408@reddit

How were the stakes higher? The winter Olympics still happen every four years, just like the summer. They're just not in the same year.

Reply

[-]

FreeWafflesForAll@reddit

Higher stakes for the athletes. If you go back to every 4 years, they have less opportunities to compete as they age out.

Reply

[-]

RoyalEagle0408@reddit

Huh? The Winter Olympics are every four years as are the Summer Olympics. Not too many athletes competing in both considering there are not overlapping events.

Reply

[-]

FreeWafflesForAll@reddit

Ah damn yeah. Then I have no clue what op meant lol

Reply

[-]

mad-panda-2000@reddit

definitely this.. they used to feel special.. not its.. "again?"

Reply

[-]

Consistent-Fig7484@reddit

It’s been over 30 years though. The one time this was definitely accurate is the whole world basically forgetting about the Albertville Olympics. It was only 2 years until Lillehammer and the Tonya Harding stuff.

Reply

[-]

Background-Bend2877@reddit

True. Maybe bc time feels like it’s speeding up the older we get. Just seems like London was yesterday.

Reply

[-]

SELECTaerial@reddit

I was looking for this comment. This was exactly when I personally stopped caring as much. Seems like the Olympics are always a thing now

Reply

[-]

Sad-Reflection-3499@reddit

We only had three networks, and the Olympics was on one of the three full time.

Reply

[-]

Thin-Spot1678@reddit

I only had 6 channels back then. It was PBS, random talk show, or the Olympics to watch.

Reply

[-]

Fionaver@reddit

Yeah, we had 5. 4 came in well, the other had a lot of static.

Reply

[-]

Juls_Santana@reddit

Pliers for the dial + aluminum foil for the antennae + UHF channels = Telemundo and Video Music Box galore

Reply

[-]

fricks_and_stones@reddit

It also meant everyone watched the same thing at the same time. The network told us what the important part was, and we had to watch it then, or never see it again.

Reply

[-]

JRockPSU@reddit

TGIF and Snick were such big parts of my childhood. It makes me sad that my kids aren’t getting to experience something like that.

Reply

[-]

SignificantOtter80@reddit

have you seen the glow-up that the main guy from “are you afraid of the dark” had?

Reply

[-]

Sofagirrl79@reddit

I definitely remember TGIF as that was the highlight of the week for TV shows but I barely remember Snick, I'm 46 and maybe I was too old or it wasn't in my local TV market even though I mostly grew up with cable TV 🤔

Reply

[-]

BananaNutJob@reddit

Snick was the highlight of my whole week when I was 11

Reply

[-]

CitizenCue@reddit

I miss the monoculture.

Reply

[-]

0215rw@reddit

This. We didn’t have as many entertainment options.

Reply

[-]

CottaBird@reddit

Also now you have to pay for it.

Reply

[-]

thugdaddyxtopher@reddit

NBC is free.

Reply

[-]

Andsoitgoes101@reddit

Is there nothing free? In Canada you can get CBC app and then there is also an Olympic app? It’s free to us. Should be free to everyone.

Reply

[-]

fricks_and_stones@reddit

I think you have to pay for it in the US other than the nightly broadcast TV program. NBC used to have a free Olympic app, but there’s currently a big streaming war going on here. The major streaming platforms are battling for subscribers. So NBC integrated the Olympic app into the Peacock (NBC) app which requires a subscription. It is only $15, so completely worth it.

Reply

[-]

neo_neanderthal@reddit

You just need an over-the-air antenna. You can get them for around 20 bucks, so, about one and a third months worth of "Peacock".

Reply

[-]

Accurate_Stuff9937@reddit

Ya thats really the problem isn't it? Everything is behind a paywall, and you need to invest time into finding the content amongst 10 million other options. I used to turn on my TV and there it was. Now I have no idea where to find it and like how much do I really care about curling. If I wanted to watch ice skating or gymnastics that bad I could type that into YouTube but I don't do that ever so does the latest content really even matter at that point? No. I also used to have pride in the USA. Now we are hated and I feel shame in my country. I don't want us to win at anything.

Reply

[-]

the_matthman@reddit

The NFL and NBA schedules also now conflict with the Winter Olympics, forcing NBC to preempt live Olympic events for **over six hours of Super Bowl *pregame* coverage** on the Olympics’ first Sunday, then airing NBA All-Star Game events over Olympic coverage on the second weekend.

Reply

[-]

tifumostdays@reddit

Yep. All entertainment at the time was a relative "bigger deal" bc the market is so huge and diverse now. I forget what numbers video games are going, as far as money spent on them in the US per year, or how many hours per year, but it's insane. Add all the TV channels that were added through the years, and obviously all internet, especially social media, and any old entertainment genre is just a much smaller deal. This is why we hear the TV news is dying or late night talk shows, newspapers are dying, book sales are meh, I don't know who is buying magazines at this point, films make less in the theatre, and on and on. Newer generations aren't killing anything. Markets just change. The attention market is volatile and well capitalized.

Reply

[-]

chuckit9907@reddit

I just started getting magazines again, like 3-4 subscriptions, and I love it. I get solid reading material that isn’t connected to my phone. It’s increased my happiness meter by at least one. There’s also the anticipation of waiting for them to come in the mail.

Reply

[-]

tifumostdays@reddit

That would be cool, like one a week. My 12 year old brain is like: "OP rich as fuck! "

Reply

[-]

bikeonychus@reddit

We had 4 in the UK - both BBC channels had coverage, ITV was always a mixed bag anyway, and Channel 4 was mostly C4 Schools during the day. If the choice is between regular daytime TV and the shows Teachers were meant to record for lessons, the Olympics (and similar sporting events) would win out temporarily. But now we have streaming, I guess many of us really just dgaf about sports enough to sit and watch it.

Reply

[-]

lythy2016@reddit

Also UK-er here. If there were no kids programs on, we’d watch literally any sport (well, not horse racing) rather than the alternatives. Still remember how much of a revelation Neighbours was at lunch time in the school holidays, and that wasn’t aimed at us at all.

Reply

[-]

lythy2016@reddit

In the UK we had 4 channels until the late 90s, and one channel always seemed to have the news on (seriously, they staggered the showing times, it was a crime directed specifically at kids trying to escape the world). If there was any sport on after the kids programs finished, it was far better than the (incredibly limited) alternatives.

Reply

[-]

JBRifles@reddit

We had 10 channels, of course was huge 😂

Reply

[-]

rwoodytn@reddit

There’s still time to make these Games a bigger deal with your family this week. Unplug from your phone and watch a few hours. Magic is still there if you look for it.

Reply

[-]

Inner-Confidence99@reddit

You only had 3 channels back then. Nothing else to watch.

Reply

[-]

Juls_Santana@reddit

Replace Olympics with \[Sports in general\]

Reply

[-]

Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit

I remember being obsessed with the summer games of ‘84 then having no interest ever again.

Reply

[-]

floydbomb@reddit

That's probably because there wasn't the plethora of options back then.

Reply

[-]

SteveRogers1021@reddit

There were more marketable athletes back in those days. Think of all the names: Bruce Jenner, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug, Michael Jordan, Shawn White, Michael Johnson, Michael Phelps, Apollo Anton Ohno, etc.

Reply

[-]

Dh2007@reddit

Well yeah, way less options on tv for entertainment and they were (usually) broadcast live or if not, no internet meant you didn’t know who won until you saw it on tv. You also had to watch a lot of sports you weren’t interested in to get to the one or two you were (we’ll be back to downhill skiing, but first an hour of 10,000 meter speed skating, we’re not telling you when skiing is back so you’re trapped!”) lots more people watched the same things.

Reply

[-]

NicolePSU@reddit

I think we had less choices so we were kinda forced to watch them.

Reply

[-]

BraveLittleToaster8@reddit

We've been watching! I have been really busy with work and other obligations so I like how Peacock lets you browse by sport and watch the replays when it's convenient for you. I bought my little niece the plush mascots, they're stoats and they are adorable!

Reply

[-]

yeahipostedthat@reddit

We had a lot less entertainment choices back then

Reply

[-]

ABNChemo@reddit

I read somewhere where the Olympics used to be every 4 years and now it's every 2 years with Summer and Winter switching off and that is a big reason but I have not looked it up to see if that is true

Reply

[-]

HermioneMarch@reddit

It was on in the evenings. Whether you wanted it to be or not. There was something about the shared experience of watching. Now, there are so many choices of what to watch, and even though I would like to watch some, I already know who won before I watch the routines.

Reply

[-]

No_Gap_2700@reddit

I recall it being a big deal to everyone else. I never cared anything about it. I also have ADHD. If someone makes me play a card game or watch sports on TV, I'm asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Reply

[-]

Stunning_Radio3160@reddit

Yes !! I remember back in 1998 having two friends over and we all watched Tara Lipinkski win the gold. Now, I’ve only seen highlights of the Olympics from good morning America.

Reply

[-]

Ok_Presentation_3931@reddit

I think with the obviousness of rich countries always winning and the general populations awareness of the global imbalance of wealth, more people don't care to support them.

Reply

[-]

namedjughead@reddit

The simple answer: The internet killed the monoculture.

Reply

[-]

andthrewaway1@reddit

Well remember it used to take over the tv and it was just like on..... or there was a replay if the olympics was somewhere with a weird time relative to the the US.

Reply

[-]

DeadbeatJohnson@reddit

Used to be free to watch. Now everything is a subscription. Hard pass.

Reply

[-]

jaymoney1@reddit

In the US, I think the winter Olympics have always been the lesser watched of the two, unless they are hosting the games. Then it is happening live and during normal waking hours. Also McDonald's having the promotions with those little peel offs and if the US gets gold in the event you won the prize...that may have influenced people to watch the events more. Not to mention during the cold war beating Russian in anything was a feather in the US's cap. As we got further from that competitiveness, viewership goes down. And Russia can't even compete because of all the PED and doping scandals. But yeah it seems like it used to be a much bigger deal.

Reply

[-]

BigDaddyUKW@reddit

EVERYTHING was a bigger deal when we were younger, but that's because there was less of everything. Things were more iconic in general. Athletes, movie stars, and musicians were all bigger. They were also more elusive. These days we're oversaturated and overstimulated. Major events like the Olympics are just another item on an ever expanding menu of entertainment.

Reply

[-]

Jethy32@reddit

Many reasons for it. 1. People know what an awful organization the Olympic Committee are. And how horrible it is for the host cities. While that doesn't change wht we see, it does leave a bad taste in some people's mouths. 2. The fall of the Soviet Union meant that their athletes are now competing in professional sports in the U.S. (nd just in general, foreigners of all counties are more likely to be seen in U.S. pro sports.) So the novelty of seeing them every 4 years is gone. 3. Allowing professionals pissed a lot of fans off. 4. More channels to watch mean more alternatives. 5. TV coverage has gotten annoying. NBC spends 90% of the time on stupid LONNNNNG heartstring pieces of an athlete's struggle to get where they were. 6. Many athletes are simply no longer likeable. The same reason why ratings of professional sports in the U.S. are down. And for the Olympics, taunting and showboating are especially awful.

Reply

[-]

OriginalBad@reddit

Of course. Less cable channels, no social media, no smart phones, no YouTube and the monoculture existed. A totally different world.

Reply

[-]

CD274@reddit

It's because ABC was running it, they provided full coverage of every nation and had good spotlights instead of drivel

Reply

[-]

fuossball101@reddit

Well we've all been programed to think National Pride is a bad thing so...

Reply

[-]

Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit

I only had 4 channels. The Olympics it seemed to me were on all day and night. It was amazing to see all these different sports I only saw every 4 years. There were some printing stories about USA athletes overcoming, but usually it was a sports announcer explaining the sport and the rules and then talking through the event. It was great and different from normal programming. The major network didn’t play soaps that week. It was all Olympics, and as kids it was more entertaining that day time programming (besides Price is Right for some reason that was a go to). Now I have YouTube and can watch Major League Whiffle Ball.

Reply

[-]

Folkloristicist@reddit

Definitely. I remember the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, they had coins in cereal boxes. And I was just thinking about Cool Runnings. We've been watching constantly - it's easy to watch live since we work from home (otherwise the time difference would prove tough). My fiancee normally is not super interested but he really wants to watch thus year. Otherwise, in general, yes, a lack of overall interest from people. I'm a reseller, and I have a decent number of pins, plush, and other Olympic memorabilia. I couldn't get a sniff at any of it.

Reply

[-]

Intelligent_Low_4158@reddit

American pride was different back then

Reply

[-]

allieballie1122@reddit

Absolutely they were!

Reply

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

I lost interest in tv in general c. y2k. When I learned how heinous the IOC was, I lost any desire to support the olympics at all.

Reply

[-]

Creepy_Throat8335@reddit

Yes. Yes, we did.

Reply

[-]

fingerling-broccoli@reddit

For me it’s not just the Olympics it’s just tv in general. I grew up in the 90s and the TV in our house was basically on if we were awake. We would be doing other things while the tv just ran. When the Olympics happened there was a good chance the tv was on that channel. In my house now, the TV is usually off and only gets turned on when we sit down to watch something which is not very often. Maybe 1-2 hours a week

Reply

[-]

SignificantOtter80@reddit

in the 80s and 90s you could really only watch it during prime time. you saw the main events and if you were stupid you could stay up until 2am to see something obscure. now, we have basically 24/7 coverage and it’s overkill. youtube has a thing where you can watch four different events at the same time. how the fuck do you pay attention to any of that I also think the every two years thing took away some of the specialness of the olympics. I understand that it was a huge burden to do both summer and winter in the same year, but the four year wait was part of what built the hype oh and not to mention the whole world is burning down so the idea of unity and sportsmanship is just kind of not as useful right now

Reply

[-]

Vivid-Trifle1522@reddit

International Olympic committee seemed to have blown it. Corruption scandals etc. Post COVID seemed to disrupt it too.

Reply

[-]

Namikis@reddit

It was much bigger (but the summer olympics have always been a much bigger deal IMO.

Reply

[-]

Petraaki@reddit

Well, I don't payday for paramount plus, so there's no Olympics for me anymore. Before you could just tune in and everyone would watch the same thing. I wish they made the recap free for everyone even if they kept everything else behind paywalls. It sucks. The Olympics felt very unifying

Reply

[-]

Melonqualia@reddit

Yeah, it definitely feels that way. I still have strong memories about commercials that aired during the 1988 summer Olympics. I actually go to see some of the 84 Olymics live ( it was miserably hot and our neighbor's nephew threw up on our car) But now I live in a household of two without channel that has the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

Still-Outcome1207@reddit

Way bigger years ago...its mostly boring now

Reply

[-]

mcjon77@reddit

Yes. It was definitely a much bigger deal, in large part because there were fewer entertainment outlets. Most people were stuck watching Network TV. Also, every Olympics the media would select two to four American athletes to follow. In the Winter Olympics it was always an athlete in figure skating and occasionally someone in downhill skiing. In the summer there are always folks from track and field and women's gymnastics that were the focus of the media.

Reply

[-]

malarkial@reddit

A couple Olympics ago they tried to SELL us the Olympics. I think it was NBC. No way to watch unless you paid. And at that point I realized we were in end stage capitalism. And the excitement for the games was gone.

Reply

[-]

yitbosaz@reddit

Yeah, I think it’s probably because so many people don’t watch live tv anymore. I did away with cable four years ago and didn’t even realize it was Olympics time until the day it started and I heard a little about the opening ceremony. Not like it was when it completely took over NBC for two weeks.

Reply

[-]

code603@reddit

It felt more special when it was truly every four years. Since 1994 when they offset the summer and winter games it feels like we never get a break.

Reply

[-]

switheld@reddit

this is spot on. Olympics year was a huge deal

Reply

[-]

TheSecretDecoderRing@reddit

Just my take but I think it's more the other reasons that people are giving, that there's just too many other entertainment options. If the last Olympics were four years ago, I don't know if the general public would find this year's any more compelling. If you have Peacock, you have to deliberately choose what events to watch instead of just stumbling across something random and getting caught up in it. And the few people left who only watch cable also have a lot of other channels to watch.

Reply

[-]

Meetzorp@reddit

Yes. It feels like it's ALWAYS the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

panocha-apretada@reddit

This

Reply

[-]

Intelligent-Camera90@reddit

Agreed. It sort of feels like they’re always happening now.

Reply

[-]

BarbellLawyer@reddit

I believe this is 100% accurate. But it keeps the revenue flowing for NBC and the IOC.

Reply

[-]

xavariel@reddit

I mean, the world has been really falling apart the last decade and especially moreso in the last year, Trumpstein files have dropped, economy is bad, so no one cares about the Olympics in comparison.

Reply

[-]

Stock-Trifle-2003@reddit

The Olympics were 4 days over when I found out it started. The superbowl was three days over when I found out it happened. Sports are just meaningless to me.

Reply

[-]

thugdaddyxtopher@reddit

You living in a cave is not representative of the nation as a whole.

Reply

[-]

cupcakebean@reddit

I loved the Olympics when I was a kid. My family doesn't even have a way to watch it now, which is weird to think about.

Reply

[-]

thugdaddyxtopher@reddit

.. but it's still free to watch.

Reply

[-]

dejour@reddit

Which country are you in? NBC and CBC are free over-the-air broadcasters.

Reply

[-]

96385@reddit

First you have to buy an antenna.

Reply

[-]

dejour@reddit

Sure. And you need a television too. And electricity. But overall, it should be at least as cheap and easy to watch some Olympic programming as it was in the 80s or 90s

Reply

[-]

96385@reddit

Less than 20% have antennas in the US. It's not as easy as just flipping on the TV for most people.

Reply

[-]

dejour@reddit

Antennas can be purchased for $10-$20. For the most part if people don't have an antenna, they either already have cable and don't need an antenna or they really don't care enough to bother getting one.

Reply

[-]

SushiJuice@reddit

You have to subscribe to Peacock to watch them. And NBC is going after anyone who shows any replays. Whereas before, the Olympics were beamed into everyone's homes for free. That's the major difference.

Reply

[-]

thugdaddyxtopher@reddit

It's still beamed to everyone's TV free by NBC. You just need an antenna.

Reply

[-]

DrewbaccaWins@reddit

Put an antenna in your window. Run coax to TV. Boom ya got free Olympics.

Reply

[-]

TP_Crisis_2020@reddit

Yup, that's how I watch NBA finals for free.

Reply

[-]

pigeontheoneandonly@reddit

Also peacock just sucks massively. They stop allowing you to replay events really fast, therefore negating any advantage to have this streaming instead of just broadcast. And the number of commercials if you're watching anything live (even on a commercial free plan) is absolutely absurd. (And yes I get if it's live they have to put something in the gap, but it doesn't have to be commercials if I'm paying not to see them.)

Reply

[-]

Trixie1143@reddit

The world is really struggling and now we know about it. The Olympics have always seemed trivial to many of us, though.

Reply

[-]

every1gets1more-egg@reddit

I was just saying earlier today I haven't watched a single bit of this Olympics. I don't have anything against it, just don't care at all. I guess, just part of a broader "over it" feeling about everything. I feel like I'm just fed up and exhausted with politics, economy, inflation, expenses, advertising, evil empires, etc.

Reply

[-]

jthenurseish@reddit

Its because there was nothing else on TV. It was the olympics or another episode of family matters or full house.

Reply

[-]

element-2012@reddit

It reminds me of when we were in a hotel with our kids when they were young and I had to explain to a 3 year old how you can only watch what’s on when you just have TV lol Different times, these young people don’t really know the experience of watching things because they were on. Having to add on another streaming service is another hinderance in these modern times. Personally we’ve checked out some Olympics replays every night because the winter sports are just so different from normal things you see, and our tweens/teens have enjoyed watching and I’ve overheard them telling their friends about how intense skeleton racing is 😆

Reply

[-]

DavidJinPA@reddit

I think it is that way more for the summer games.

Reply

[-]

beachbummeddd@reddit

Also if you want to call the Olympics boring go ahead. I’m having a blast enjoying them. Right now I’m watching the sun set over the Italian alps as we wait for women’s large hill final. A nice break from all the terrible content and ai slop that has permeated what used to be art. These athletes are truly something.

Reply

[-]

Barnus77@reddit

Good answer. It’s a welcome distraction from the 24/7 bad news stream.

Reply

[-]

Mysterious-Apple-118@reddit

I’ve stayed up so late all week watching them

Reply

[-]

Barnus77@reddit

Yes agree 100%. Growing up the olympics were a MASSIVE deal. I really think the first thing was when they changed it to every 2 years instead of every 4 (both winter and summer same year). But also all the other reasons mentioned. It’s sad to see them so downplayed. I still watch the hell out of them, especially winter. This year has been pretty great IMO. I don’t really care about the US (where I live) winning or whatever, just love watching winter sports. The Japanese snowboarders are f&&&ing magicians. And I could just watch luge for weeks on end.

Reply

[-]

Anteater-Charming@reddit

I do find it crazy that both the NBA All Star game and the Daytona 500 went up against the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

E-Rock77@reddit

I’m not going to subscribe to another streaming service just to watch the Olympics. I like them, but I’m not putting in any extra time or money to watch.

Reply

[-]

rand0fand0@reddit

Yea there was lot less interesting things to watch other than the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

DeuceOfDiamonds@reddit

Having so many options is partially to blame. But Peacock's coverage is also flaming shit. There should NEVER be dead air on something like this, but every time I try to watch something, it's "Coverage Has Ended," and you've got to dig like hell to find even a replay

Reply

[-]

Byrkosdyn@reddit

The biggest issue is that everyone in the country used to have free access to NBC via an antenna. My first apartment had cable, and the basic broadcast channels were offered for free. Then broadcast channels started to be allowed to charge cable companies to carry them, so now that’s gone. In short, nearly everyone had free access to the channel the Olympics were carried on, so everyone watched it. The major issue with cord cutting is that the broadcast channels everyone used to just get, we no longer do.

Reply

[-]

Cryo_Dave@reddit

Honestly, I think it's you (not you personally, but your "recency bias"). I vividly remember Olympics going all the way back to the 70s, and it seems like it's become MUCH LESS of a big deal over time. It used to be a major focus of attention worldwide, and now it only seems to attract the attention of another spectacle in the 24/7 media circus.

Reply

[-]

Roderto@reddit

No more media monoculture. Which means fewer collective cultural experiences that we all share.

Reply

[-]

TrinityKilla82@reddit

Yup.

Reply

[-]

ZippityZipZapZip@reddit

When you were young everything seems like a bigger deal. The summer olympics are like 10x the winter olympics.

Reply

[-]

gobbledegook-@reddit

I feel like when the Olympics were happening, that's ALL that was happening. It was a MUCH bigger deal. I'm not even sure my teens know the Olympics are even going on right now. I only know it because it comes across my TikTok feed. It was either last summer Olympics or the one before that, I tried to figure out how to watch it on TV and I couldn't figure it out, so I gave up. For anyone who is watching it/seeing clips, they have this drones this year that are doing great video, but NBC is leaving in the drone noise, and it is the most distracting and obnoxious thing. I have a hard time watching clips of skiing runs because of them; I likely wouldn't be able to get through watching multiple ski runs in one event with all that racket.

Reply

[-]

FromMyTARDIS@reddit

Yes we grew up in a monoculture. Now its completely different. Here is a random some what relevant meme https://preview.redd.it/mant0fm8zrjg1.jpeg?width=491&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=294e2a7c9cd215c97de27e69473bb930dae8de31

Reply

[-]

Main_Photo1086@reddit

Still obsessed. My family’s obsessed. Once I gave up trying to avoid spoilers it’s been much better - I am happy to watch even when I know the result, and I’m doing a lot of rewatching too (live during the day when I can, primetime too). Media in general is no longer shared to the same extent as it once was.

Reply

[-]

denzien@reddit

The Olympics was the only thing on tv in my house. Winter was my favorite because of the odd ball events like bobsled and speed skating.

Reply

[-]

ChiMara777@reddit

I feel like when I was a kid everyone was watching and talking about the Olympics. Nowadays, no one is watching or talking about them. I still watched the summer Olympics, but I feel like I was the only one. Winter Olympics don’t interest me as much, so I’ve only watched a few clips on YouTube and that’s it.

Reply

[-]

frogplantwavecat20@reddit

1000000%. I have zero desire to watch now. I watched about 2 minutes of ice skating and the bored commentators did nothing but criticize and make negative comments. Plus, literally everything is an advertisement. They've somehow managed to make the olympics, that used to mean something, into one giant billboard.

Reply

[-]

whyheonlysayneat@reddit

At least they’ve toned down a little on these weird rich kids training for some niche sport nobody cares about being “heroes.” That trope was completely worn out.

Reply

[-]

Osurdum@reddit

In the sense that it was on the only two channels we got and it was that or nothing, yes.

Reply

[-]

kellyjj1919@reddit

This is in part case as you get older you see more games, and they seem less important

Reply

[-]

Parking-Fruit1436@reddit

i think the monoculture thing pointed out is true. personally, i’m having mixed patriotic emotions and that’s not helping. snowboarding is cool and i enjoy seeing them crash the ski party.

Reply

[-]

junctiontoron@reddit

It's probably because until the dream team in 1992, all people participating where amateur athletes. They got one shot, that's it, after that they were professional, there was no next olympics, I guess they had stakes? Really before it was kinda rich kids playing games , now it's stupidly rich kids playing games? Maybe it's boring because it is boring?

Reply

[-]

RedSolez@reddit

Not just the Olympics but all appointment TV. Streaming and the Internet have ruined that collective practice of watching the same things at the same time, and not having the chance to replay.

Reply

[-]

drKRB@reddit

I think TV used to be a destination event. You either saw it live or you didn’t see it. Then DVR and streaming came along and network TV in general is not what it once was.

Reply

[-]

FirePaddler@reddit

I think we just consume things differently. The moment of everyone sitting around watching the same thing at the same time is over. But on the other hand, I haven't intentionally watched the Olympics at all this year, and I still keep seeing viral clips and stories from it. Without ever turning on the TV or actually caring about figure skating, I know all about Ilia Malinin. I've seen more commentary on Lindsey Vonn than I ever would have seen watching the Olympics or the news back in the day. Not to mention all the Olympic parody videos I keep seeing on social media. I'm also nostalgic for the old way though.

Reply

[-]

Turbulent-Pea-8826@reddit

If you didn’t have cable, You had 3 networks to watch and one of them was showing the Olympics. So 1/3 of your viewing choices were gone. Also, I have so many entertainment choices now. Besides streaming I can do things in the internet or play video games. That was much more limited back then.

Reply

[-]

Far_Winner5508@reddit

Internet.

Reply

[-]

jakexcited45@reddit

Especially the 80's

Reply

[-]

CalmDemand5265@reddit

It’s was leftover from the Cold War. We were in all kinds of competition against the USSR, and by the 80’s, we didn’t have a space race, nuclear arms race, etc as much anymore, so sport was the civilized way left to “beat the Russians.” Then the USSR collapsed and there was still some residual Olympic pride, especially because we hosted them a couple times in that post-Soviet era. It fell apart after 9/11 because the war on terror wasn’t a 1:1 with the Cold War. Al Quaeda didn’t have an Olympic team for us to demonstrate our sportsmanlike superiority against. Right around then, people’s media consumption fractured and siloed and so did the water cooler discussions about what “everyone” was watching. Now we’re here.

Reply

[-]

flushingpot@reddit

I mean I’ve never really cared at all. Neither the Super Bowl, or anything of the sorts. Grammys, award shows, Oscar’s, never watched one of em. No point.

Reply

[-]

LizardMansPyramids@reddit

Olympics are sus now, what is human achievement anyway? We have this baseline superhuman level of attention and endurance for bullshit nowadays...

Reply

[-]

CloudlessEchoes@reddit

Winter Olympics yes, but never saw any attention on summer.

Reply

[-]

partyguy45036@reddit

Before cable TV it was just watched by more people and Mark Spitz, Bruce Jenner and Dorothy Hamill were instant celebrities

Reply

[-]

ClassicAdhesiveness1@reddit

Once every 4 years vs once every 2? Plus you could only watch on NBC at certain times of the day. Just like everything else, too many options have reduced the novelty. I haven’t watched a single second of this years Olympics.

Reply

[-]

Puzzleheaded_Ant6653@reddit

Yes

Reply

[-]

Elegant-Expert7575@reddit

There’s so many issues with the games as a whole. I’m kinda a downer about it all. Weird rules, weird co-ed teams, cheating judges, scoring and pro’s in the Olympics is the worst thing. That in itself makes the playing field un-level. The televising is horrible, 5 minutes of one sport, then three of another then back to the other. No whole programs. Thumbs down. I feel horrible for the real olympians.

Reply

[-]

lylemcd@reddit

Not just you. I remember the entire world stopping for the games. I didnt even know these were in until after they had started.

Reply

[-]

R0botDreamz@reddit

America is kind of the butt of all jokes right now. People lose interest. Maybe when we move on from... whatever the fuck this is... we will be a proud country again.

Reply

[-]

Aggravating_Finish_6@reddit

I think people are just watching less in prime time and instead catching the highlights on streaming or other news stations. My circle is still talking about them a ton and very excited about certain competitions.

Reply

[-]

Far-Information-2252@reddit

Yesss I use to love watching figure skating and knew many of the skaters by name. I couldn’t tell you who is doing what these days or what time the games are airing

Reply

[-]

MutedEstate6347@reddit

It seemed better loved and appreciated before the 2000’s

Reply

[-]

The_Darling_Starling@reddit

I was just at dinner with some work friends of my husband's. In trying to make conversation I brought up the Olympics, but I was the only one who'd been watching. It's sad that people are missing out because there have been some really exciting events so far!

Reply

[-]

IcarusFLY1@reddit

I would save this take until after 2028. I feel like the LA Summer Olympics are about to be pretty popular.

Reply

[-]

Loud-Try-7212@reddit

the Winter Olympics were always about figure skating and ice hockey for me. the rivalry between Russia and teams in North America and East Asia (for figure skating) made it all the more interesting. now you've banned Russia, as a neutral, it's lost a lot for me. its sad to thi k of an entire generation of young athletes from there who never got their chance either.

Reply

[-]

aluminum_jockey54634@reddit

I'm forcing my family to watch the prime time coverage live to get the 90s Olympic experience.

Reply

[-]

P_S_Lumapac@reddit

It's doping. You've heard the joke "I wish there was an Olympics that just let everyone take as many performance enhancing drugs as they want." and the reply "There already is. It's called the Olympics." I don't know if it's related, but I'd put it at around the time Armstrong was caught for doping, that whole scandal unraveling, only to reveal it was far larger and ongoing to this day. If you're a fan of any sport, that's what you get. For the major olympic events anyway, drug abuse is effectively encouraged. The walking event kinda encapsulates the another issue to do with "good sportsmanship". People who don't know about it think the goal is to walk really fast, so make sure both feet don't leave the ground. For the last 20 years or so those who know about it know that the event is: who can break the rules the most without being caught. Lots of people want to be fans of the sport, but get turned away quickly once they see it's disgusting. What are the winners celebrating? What does the medal signify? Being disgusting? No way to keep fans.

Reply

[-]

ElizRaff@reddit

For me, everything changed when it went from every four years to every two years. An Olympic year was a big deal, summer and winter in the same year. You had to wait for it……now it doesn’t feel as special.

Reply

[-]

DealerAlarmed3632@reddit

Do you mean the days before streaming, the TV Guide days when there was almost nothing else to watch during the Olympics?

Reply

[-]

zorbacles@reddit

i dont think the winter olympics has ever been as big as the summer olympics

Reply

[-]

RaphaelSolo@reddit

It was all about the USA vs USSR. Olympics very quickly dropped from public concern when the Cold War ended. The two could be entirely unrelated but... 🤷

Reply

[-]

Shattered_One@reddit

I'd say the opposite. Hardly ever watched as a kid, just didn't care, didn't know really anyone who cared. Watched Misty May and Kerri Walsh in Volleyball and that was it. Now I can't freaking avoid it

Reply

[-]

guidevocal82@reddit

It's because the world wasn't so chaotic in the 80's and 90's, and if significant world events were happening, very few people knew about it. The internet and especially social media has made the world smaller, but at a cost. And honestly, everyone is stressed so nobody really knows how to have fun anymore.

Reply

[-]

JohnMcD3482@reddit

It justnisntnfun to watch anymore. Its so filled woth professional athletes nowadays that the games aren't much different than watching the weekend games any other time of the year. I always think back to Jim Thorpe, who lost his medals becuase he played semi-pro baseball one summer to make a few bucks. Now its filled with multi-millionare athletes that are just t doing it for the extra money and sponsorships when they get back home to their regular team.

Reply

[-]

twounty@reddit

Probably because there was no curling, or at least I don't remember there being any. What a dumb sport

Reply

[-]

Stock-Page-7078@reddit

A lot of people don’t have live TV also my youth was during the Cold War when nationalist propaganda was at its peak and we had 4 TV networks to choose from

Reply

[-]

PeterPunksNip@reddit

As someone who hates sports, I am not complaining 😁. It was exhausting, all those people talking only about sports ! I got lucky to have a safe haven from it home, my mom hated it too.

Reply

[-]

DaveTwoOh@reddit

Oh it’s not just you, they were way bigger. I completely don’t give a flying fuck about them and haven’t in a while

Reply

[-]

IslandGrover@reddit

Huh. speak for yourself - with the streaming options now, I have the games on ALL DAY. I get to see whatever event I want, not just the banner stuff that NBC wants to show me. When we were kids, it was a couple hours a night. This year, I’ll probably get 8+ hours a day for two full weeks!

Reply

[-]

PileofTerdFarts@reddit

I feel like patriotism was stronger when we were kids... and lacking the internet, and social media with its constant feed of mindless entertainment and bias confirmation, we had less distractions so the Olympics WERE a big deal. Now I barely know its happening. Sad really.

Reply

[-]

Actual-Treat-1678@reddit

I miss when it was like that :(

Reply

[-]

Fishy31337@reddit

The Olympics were in network tv and easy to see them. Cable tv picked the. Up and had the red white and blue channels. I think not having a lot of coverage USA result of that and on demand becoming the norm.

Reply

[-]

NYCA2020@reddit

100%. It used to feel like time would stop during those two weeks the Olympics were on (specifically, I remember it felt this way during Barcelona, Lillehammer, Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney). Now it barely seems to register. I think it’s the same reason the Nightly News is no longer a “thing.” Too many people splintered into their own media worlds.

Reply

[-]

EmerysMemories1106@reddit

The reason why is because people have many more options of things to watch on tv. However I am watching the Olympics more this year than ever before. I have peacock on my phone all day long at work. I live watching curling and the strategy behind each shot

Reply

[-]

Clear_Tangerine5110@reddit

The internet has ruined a lot of pre-internet things.

Reply

[-]

fikustree@reddit

And post-internet things TBH

Reply

[-]

EmperorZuul@reddit

Also current-internet things.

Reply

[-]

Impossible_Balance11@reddit

You're absolutely spot-on. When I was a kid, the Olympics were a magical time! Got very disillusioned as an adult with all the drugging and judging scandals. Plus we're now so overwhelmed with all the streaming internet entertainment options, just doesn't seem like must-see TV anymore.

Reply

[-]

zomphlotz@reddit

When they started doing the Olympics every two years and staggering Winter and Summer, I thought that they'd lose that Specialness factor. I didn't know that there were Olympics this year until I saw stories about opening ceremonies.

Reply

[-]

scoff-law@reddit

I think every bit of entertainment has had every last drop of value extracted and it feels like we're living inside of Disneyland. It's exhausting.

Reply

[-]

Grammarhead-Shark@reddit

I was in Year 7 for Barcelona and we did so much (Summer) Olympic related activities at school. I recall activity books and even some discussion stuff the teacher organised. Heck I even remember being allowed to set the VCR to record the Opening Ceremony for Albertville that year. (Which I ended up taping over later with episodes of "Dinosaur" - don't ask me how I remember that nugget of info - but I do!) I tried to stay up to watch the Barcelona Opening Ceremony but fell asleep (in Australia so time zones made it start at like 3am) and was annoyed the next day that the repeat coverage had ad breaks throughout the Parade of Nations!

Reply

[-]

nmlsk@reddit

Many more options. The people here that miss everyone watching it probably like it themselves? I never particularly did, so I surely don't miss it.

Reply

[-]

LaFantasmita@reddit

They used to show all the events all over the place, like start to finish. Then NBC bought it all out and started making it a crafted USA USA USA narrative of highlights, which just killed the vibe.

Reply

[-]

Fine_Ad_2469@reddit

It's a given that they are all cheating Back then they cheated but we didn't know it

Reply

[-]

realauthormattjanak@reddit

People were also allowed to be proud of America without being shouted down or shamed.

Reply

[-]

Jonestown_Juice@reddit

What aspect of America are you most proud of right now? The protection of a cabal of pedophiles, or the cozying up to authoritarians and dictators? Maybe it's the vote suppression? Or perhaps the paramilitary groups shooting citizens in broad daylight? The suspension of habeas corpus? How about the president seizing oil from foreign countries by force and selling it then putting the funds in their own private bank account? Maybe you enjoy the president having a meme coin that anyone can buy that will get them access? How'd you like our military literally rolling out a red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska? Or maybe you enjoy the threats of invading our allies like Greenland and Canada? The dissolution of NATO?

Reply

[-]

realauthormattjanak@reddit

I'm proud that people like me and you are allowed to have different opinions and share them openly in public forums.

Reply

[-]

itslaura77@reddit

Thank you for this. I’m proud to be American. 🇺🇸 Those who think it’s so awful here should just go to a 3rd world or socialist/commie country and be happy there .

Reply

[-]

djspacebunny@reddit

I think it's because NBC makes it VERY DIFFICULT to watch the stuff you wanna watch. When they got the rights, the hype levels went down :(

Reply

[-]

Glad_Job_3152@reddit

I had the swatch Olympics watch

Reply

[-]

PurpleRollerSkates@reddit

I feel like the summer Olympics are still a big deal. Swimming, Gymnastics, and track still draw big followings. I used to watch the Winter Olympics but now I may catch the highlights here and there.

Reply

[-]

dudegoingtoshambhala@reddit

NBC absolutely fucked them up. Their coverage is atrocious. 2 minutes of skiing 2 minutes or commercials 2 minutes of skiing 2 minutes of commercials Okay now we're gonna have 4 hours of figure skating broken up into two minute segments with 2 minute commercial breaks. The entire draw of the Olympics is to see people compete in these weird obscure competitions but all they wanna show you is people dancing on ice.

Reply

[-]

chase02@reddit

Yes, but hard to give a crap about sports when people are struggling to buy food

Reply

[-]

NCFlying@reddit

Here is what my theory is on the Olympics, especially our generation. I think they were always positions a good vs. evil. For most of our childhoods, the two super powers USA and USSR were in the Cold War and we needed a way to determine WHO was winning - was it the capitalist to the west or the communists in the east. We never fought a physical war, so the Olympic games served as a proxy war. We had nationalism and we wanted to BEAT someone. Now a days, the perceived evil side (terrorists, ISIS, hell we even may even have some domestic ones) don't have an Olympic team for us to beat. It removes that national need to WIN, WIN, WIN, thus the stakes are much lower and ultimately that drives us to care way less about it. I think this coupled with that fact that when we were kids we had 5-10 channels, what else were you going to watch, now I can just binge watch whatever show I want to watch, or tune in to some obscure NCAA basketball game and forget about the Olympics. Just my two thoughts...

Reply

[-]

specks_of_dust@reddit

I agree with this. To add, the US boycotted the 1990 Moscow Olympics, followed by the USSR boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s crazy to think that the Olympics were even bigger back then with the push for nationalism, even though the two rival driving that weren’t actually competing against each other.

Reply

[-]

Puzzleheaded_Cat4127@reddit

I was scrolling for someone to mention this - the geopolitical angle was a big deal even as many discussed there were fewer options etc

Reply

[-]

urine-monkey@reddit

Scrolled way too far to see this answer. This is absolutely it. China is probably the closest thing the US has to a rival in the vein of the USSR nowadays, but the Americans and Chinese tend to dominate completely different types of events. So they're not nearly as in direct competition as much as the USA and USSR.

Reply

[-]

notkevinc@reddit

I support your idea of having a Terrorist Unified Team in the Olympics

Reply

[-]

Distinct_External784@reddit

Oh I think there already is one

Reply

[-]

NCFlying@reddit

![gif](giphy|4Z9fSEFAuxpnlBVWQx)

Reply

[-]

AnswerGuy301@reddit

And now I'm not so sure that we're not, in fact, the bad guys. Especially at these Olympics since, well, the Russians by and large aren't here and China isn't a big factor in most Winter Olympics sports.

Reply

[-]

dkonigs@reddit

This could very well be part of it. Back in the day, I remember the published medal totals were definitely like mostly clustered between the US and Russia/USSR, with all the other countries trailing off into the noise.

Reply

[-]

DragonfruitGrand5683@reddit

I stopped being interested after all the drug scandals.

Reply

[-]

high_everyone@reddit

I would say my enthusiasm declined when I started hearing about political corruption from the IOC and how China treated their citizens when they hosted.

Reply

[-]

SaturdayScoundrel@reddit

Hm. I vaguely remember Nagano and SLC for the Winter Olympics. Last summer Olympics I really have memories of was '96-because it was a 20-30 minute walk. Biggest memory I have of it though-not a good one.

Reply

[-]

sahurley@reddit

1. There are more viewing options, whether you have streaming services or cable. In fact, there are way more over-the-air channels since the advent of digital TV. 2. You can watch every one of your local MLB/NBA/NHL team's games and all major college basketball games are televised somewhere, so sports fans aren't limited to the Olympics on most nights like they used to be.

Reply

[-]

Telstar2525@reddit

Everything was a bigger deal when one is young

Reply

[-]

Sunshineal@reddit

I've usually watched the Summer Olympics more than the Winter Olympics.

Reply

[-]

LSherwood1024@reddit

Yes. But for some reason I really got into the Olympic Spirit this year. Maybe it’s that nostalgia for a time when the US wasn’t a hellscape 🤷🏻‍♀️

Reply

[-]

95blackz26@reddit

probably because we all had cable and that was the only option

Reply

[-]

phdpinup@reddit

I was thinking about this too the other day. We would record the sports we wanted to watch and watch them over and over. It was always the highlight of the year for me when the Winter Olympics came on. Tbf, I still love the Winter over the Summer.

Reply

[-]

Gatorae@reddit

I think it became a lot less special once there was an Olympics every two years.

Reply

[-]

MrCyn@reddit

nah, winter olypmics has always been an after thought here in New Zealand too, summer olympics will still take over everything from tv, to fast food

Reply

[-]

DefeatedByPoland@reddit

A whole generation+ of people now think that the peak of human performance is sitting in front of a webcam and yelling for 8 hours or creating bullshit for tiktok. Kids look up to those people rather than athletes these days. Nobody gives a shit about someone being the best in the world at a sport.

Reply

[-]

cantstandyourface12@reddit

We now have thousands of other things to stream so yeah its unfortunate back i. The day yoy had 8 channels to choose from so the olympics were super exciting

Reply

[-]

sravll@reddit

I remember that too. Honestly kind of missed out on most of the previous ones. This year we decided to watch pretty much everything though

Reply

[-]

ogpharmtech@reddit

I didn't care about them then and I still don't. not even on my radar.

Reply

[-]

javarunner@reddit

I was obsessed with the 1994 winter olympics! Who can forget the Nancy/Tonya drama!

Reply

[-]

st-julien@reddit

You're thinking of the summer olympics, not winter.

Reply

[-]

Matshelge@reddit

Monoculture - everything was bigger event back then, cause it was the only think we were told about.

Reply

[-]

Thehellpriest83@reddit

Yeah it’s dumb can’t even attempt to give a shit

Reply

[-]

Dickrubin14094@reddit

I’ve been catching simply because it’s happening. But I couldn’t tell you more than a handful of participants in total, with most being on the hockey team. I still remember vividly watching the ‘94 Lillihamer games.

Reply

[-]

Dirigo72@reddit

Many houses only had 1 or 2 televisions and streaming on your phone/tablet just wasn’t a thing so families watched what was on. Often what was on was standard fare so the special things like Olympics, playoffs, Christmas specials even season finales felt like a big deal.

Reply

[-]

BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Streaming services have absolutely killed my desire to watch anything.

Reply

[-]

Joeva8me@reddit

I used to watch the Olympics a TON. I still do, but I used to too.

Reply

[-]

cidvard@reddit

It's yet another 'death of the monoculture' sign. This one particularly bums me out because they remain really fun for me to watch and engage in.

Reply

[-]

monkey_butt_powder@reddit

Both the Summer and Winter olympics used to be held on the same year. This created a scarcity that made their arrival more exciting. The every two years cycle is ruining that phenomenon

Reply

[-]

squarebodynewb@reddit

Way bigger then. We also only had like 60 channels and no streaming at our fingertips.

Reply

[-]

MenaciaJones@reddit

Yes, but now it's just boring, I mean, have you \*watched\* curling? Yikes.

Reply

[-]

nickp123456@reddit

I mean... Staying up late was also a big deal when you were young.

Reply

[-]

ConclusionFlat1843@reddit

Absolutely. I've been saying this for years. I blame streaming and unlimited choices for entertainment. Back in the 80s and 90s you just had to watch what was on, so why not watch the Olympics?

Reply

[-]

cleric3648@reddit

It’s kind of hard to care about the Winter Olympics when the sports are hard to relate to. The barrier of entry for skiing, skating, bobsledding, and hockey are so high that regular people will never get good at it. I don’t feel close to the athletes whose parents had to sell their third vacation home to pay for their slalom lessons.

Reply

[-]

Retro_Hoard@reddit

I remember the building up to the skating. As a Canadian we knew some of the big skaters through out the world. It was huge. Jamaican Bobsled team, the hockey game. I think I will get into more in the medal contentions for hockey.

Reply

[-]

RedLigerStones@reddit

Yea I haven’t even watched a single highlight this year. The only thing I know from memes is that a Canadian curler got fingery with his rock

Reply

[-]

M8NSMAN@reddit

In the days before cable television & you only had a handful of channels it was hard not to watch.

Reply

[-]

Brashear99@reddit

It’s you. There has been nothing but the Olympics on my tvs since last Saturday. If you have Peacock then you have access to more sports than ever before. I am literally watching three different sports on three different tvs right now

Reply

[-]

Insomniac_80@reddit

Back then they only came around every four years, both winter and summer. Now that the alternate them, it doesn't seem as special because they feel like they are every other year. Also now that we are older, and have experienced more it isn't as a big of a deal.

Reply

[-]

psilosophist@reddit

I went from loving the Winter Olympics to not even knowing they were going on right now.

Reply

[-]

GDMongorians@reddit

From a GenX perspective, everything was a bigger deal when you were younger. Every generation experiences this. For three reasons: 1. There is just more media at your fingertips that you can control when and how you consume it. 2. Adult life struggles are real and take require your attention and time now so what might have carried importance in your youth doesn’t hold as much weight anymore. 3. The novelty of stuff wears off as you get older, holidays, sports etc. Examples MTV, AFV, were huge when I was a kid so was SNL, and so was most any major sporting event. If you missed it you had to hope to catch a rerun. Holidays as an adult are a lot of work and stress.

Reply

[-]

Rollerama99@reddit

I did enjoy the Olympics back in the day but the Winter Olympics… I didn’t even know they existed

Reply

[-]

Sweaty_Marzipan4274@reddit

The cold war. Everything was about ridiculing communists

Reply

[-]

Evol_extra@reddit

Show me where I can watch olympic for free?

Reply

[-]

OrcEight@reddit

Yes - I agree.

Reply

[-]

Meetzorp@reddit

I think we kinda got "Olympic-ed out.". Because they made such a HUGE BIG DEAL out of it and preempted normal TV programming and had Olympic tie-ins on everything everyWHERE.

Reply

[-]

OkCryptographer524@reddit

Cant recall the last time i actually watched any part of the Olympics. Much prefer my regular tv viewing.

Reply

[-]

GerlockADUS@reddit

Our shared cultural experience provided to us by limited media outlets is gone. This is why we are siloed. It’s sad and concerning.

Reply

[-]

Agitated-Two-6699@reddit

I'm a bit older than that time frame, but to me, The Olympics lost their luster after they started permitting professional athletes.

Reply

[-]

NRossberg2016@reddit

Olympics were every 4 years, so it felt special. Winter and Summer same year. Then they split them up so that there is an Olympics every 2 years. Summer, 2 years later Winter, 2 years later Summer again, etc. Not as special since now an Olympics every 2 years.

Reply

[-]

madogvelkor@reddit

Yes, I think because there were less entertainment options and it was always on one of the major networks. And it was usually covered on the evening news, which most households watched or in the newspapers that most households got.

Reply

[-]

Maleficent_Pay_4154@reddit

Oh think I’ve had the TV on every day watching it. But we are much more likely to watch the Winter Olympics than the summer ones

Reply

[-]

crashin70@reddit

It was a really big deal for us as children as we only had three channels for the most part!

Reply

[-]

Bella_HeroOfTheHorn@reddit

Tbh I would have to Google search how to watch the Olympics right now, while back in the day you'd just turn on the TV and there it was.

Reply

[-]

jrod259@reddit

I’ve felt that way for some time. I feel like ‘96 Olympics in Atlanta was peak! But that may be because I’m from Georgia and we were lucky to be able to catch a bunch of events. I just watched the some of this year’s events last night for the first time am it was only because the other family we were hanging out with yesterday was talking about some. If not for that may have missed it this year entirely.

Reply

[-]

keepCOpurple@reddit

I was in fourth grade and we had a unit on the history of the Olympics and it really got me excited for them.

Reply

[-]

grandchester@reddit

2008 Beijing. Indisputably the most incredible opening ceremonies ever. Phelps' 8 gold medals (including the greatest relay that has ever been swam). Usain Bot 100m and 200m (with a world record) and 4x100 gold. Misty May and Kerri Walsh 2nd gold, woman's gymnastic all-around tie breaker. So many incredible moments all wrapped in one of the best run games ever (I mean that is what happens when you have unlimited money and an authoritarian regime but still, objective pretty awesome). Don't get me wrong '96 was amazing. Kerri Strug alone proved one of the most amazing olympic moments of all time (despite what came out afterwards) and Muhammad Ali lighting the torch is one of the most amazing moments in sports history, but for me Beijing was the top. Also, they are still a big deal for me. I watch them all dat every day while they are going on. The fact you can see every sport you want to see live wherever it is in the world is an Olympic fan's dream. I even still watch the Prime Time show for the pageantry and commentary. I love it all.

Reply

[-]

DBPanterA@reddit

Bingo. Well said. 2008 Beijing 🤯 All the reports of the opening ceremony were coming in before it actually aired and so everyone was hearing how incredible it was. It did not disappoint.

Reply

[-]

unlovelyladybartleby@reddit

I think the 88 Olympics were peak because I'm from Calgary, lol. Haven't missed a winter Olympics since. Idk if I've ever watched the summer ones because they seem like mostly running

Reply

[-]

Allaplgy@reddit

Lol. I'm from the SF Bay Area originally, and have never cared about the summer games, only the winter. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a figure skater so I could do pairs and hold the pretty girls, or be an alpine racer. Then I learned that a lot of those guys don't really care about the girls in that way and I suck at skiing. So I got into snowboarding. I still suck at that, but it's fun as hell anyway.

Reply

[-]

unlovelyladybartleby@reddit

Were you the right age for The Cutting Edge? It got inside a lot of heads

Reply

[-]

Allaplgy@reddit

Toe pick!

Reply

[-]

unlovelyladybartleby@reddit

I still love that movie almost as much as Trevor from Ghosts, lol

Reply

[-]

mikmik555@reddit

Albertville was good too.

Reply

[-]

wesborland1234@reddit

That’s a Canadian as hell answer

Reply

[-]

cranberries87@reddit

I agree with you about ‘96 being the peak. I feel like the UK Olympics still had a little razzle dazzle, but it’s been downhill since then.

Reply

[-]

CFeatsleepsexrepeat@reddit

2000 was peak for me, but I am Aussie, so having the millennium Olympics here was a huge deal. It was absolutely everywhere. All our media at the time was saturated with it, we went out in the streets in our country town here to see the torch pass through town. Not to mention there had been a massive lead up from the announcement of the winning bid earlier in the '90's. Our media seemed obsessed with it. More things just seemed to compete with it for attention since those games.

Reply

[-]

daddywookie@reddit

The closing ceremony of the London Olympics was when it all started going wrong. I blame the irony of Jesse J riding in the back of a convertible Bentley signing it's not about the money.

Reply

[-]

Walker_ID@reddit

Well.... There was also that whole bomb thing there too

Reply

[-]

fivepointpack@reddit

2002 Winter Games in Park City was my favorite and probably the top. I’ve been to the bobsled and ski jump there that’s still run, really cool to see. US Skiing is also headquartered there.

Reply

[-]

FeeWeak1138@reddit

being retired, I've enjoyed watching many events live...and don't need to engage in the evening show when, due to time difference, winners already know. Still love the Winter Olympics, the media is just different now.

Reply

[-]

FurryCitizen@reddit

I feel like it's you. We didn't care then. Maybe you're biased because 30 years ago, we had a lot less happening, and newspapers covered news.

Reply

[-]

Texanlivinglife@reddit

I'm loving the Olympics this year. I have a better understanding of curling.

Reply

[-]

AdComprehensive7939@reddit

It's still a big deal for my husband and I but our kiddo isn't interested. She's only five so that could change.

Reply

[-]

DBPanterA@reddit

I have watched every day. The difference is that where I live there are a LOT of Winter Olympians on Team USA, so the local news has had stories for months leading up to it.

Reply

[-]

ScoobertClue@reddit

Easier to watch everything now

Reply

[-]

slackguru@reddit

Commercialism has killed everything entertaining.

Reply

[-]

Silocin20@reddit

Winter Olympics never really got the attention like the Summer Olympics. I remember the 94 incident with Nancy Karrigan and Tonya Harding. Maybe, it's a regional thing but the Winter Olympics have never been big where I live.

Reply

[-]

texas1982@reddit

I think that's because you only had a few hours of olympic coverage each day. Everyone watched the same stories and athletes. With every event streaming whenever you want, people don't have the cultural shared experience.

Reply

[-]

willworkforwatches@reddit

Monoculture… we had 3.5 TV networks and nothing was on-demand. Plus, we weren’t as informed about the corruption, which has turned a lot of us off.

Reply

[-]

SoterPie@reddit

I think everyone know the athletes are just rich, privileged assholes. I watched an intro with Shawn White and these actors are clapping while he's in a Starbucks. He introduced a sport and sure enough drinks from his coffee, brand out. I'd like to think we are waking up and are tired of worshiping the rich.

Reply

[-]

RosaRugosa1017@reddit

Yes! I was just saying the same thing. Olympic athletes were household names, especially the ice skaters. Remember that drama? Now I couldn't tell you any of the athletes' names.

Reply

[-]

scraw813@reddit

Michael Jordan.

Reply

[-]

girlnamedJane@reddit

Hot take: Winter Olympics are not "real" Olympics for majority of the world. Why care about skiing when you live someplace that never sees snow

Reply

[-]

TheVelcroStrap@reddit

Definitely when you didn’t have cable. Also, being a kid, you were pushed into sports interests in media, magazines, school athletics, and merchandising, though I was annoyed the sitcoms, mysteries, action shows, soaps and cartoons I liked weren’t on instead of sports. I did like gymnastics and ice skating and basically seeing people dance and tumble, but I was discouraged from doing that myself. I do recall some celebs in the 80s and 90s coming from these fields. Modern day though, at least in the US, olympic excitement has been purely destroyed by the poor coverage from NBC, not showing things as they happen, trying to curate a story, poor announcers that do not know the sport and fail to sell the excitement and the great amount of options on television where one is not forced to watch it with their families. https://preview.redd.it/26czx62jnpjg1.jpeg?width=416&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3443d3b301620f68d354ead510857268dd7c3245

Reply

[-]

userhwon@reddit

We still hadn't fully grokked that it was a giant fucking scam that used graft to determine its locations and left depression in its wake, and it's basically just about money all the way through, first about kids with rich families and then about kids with rich sponsors.

Reply

[-]

Regular_Jim081@reddit

40 years of political and economic corruption takes its toll.

Reply

[-]

doompines@reddit

Locking it behind a Peacock subscription isn't helping.

Reply

[-]

Demander850@reddit

It’s been on channel 5 free non stop tho.

Reply

[-]

jojotherider@reddit

Many folks have cut the tv cord. So channel 5 doesn’t make a difference. Im someone who has cut the cord and i dont get good antenna signal. So cant watch it that way either. Its probably streaming on youtube, but I havent even looked for it for other reasons. Curious, you say its on channel 5. Do you happen to be in Seattle? Im sure other markets have NBC on ch5 as well. But I’m in the Seattle area and NBC is on ch5. But also being in Seattle for me means I’m still on the Super Bowl high. I may watch some Olympics this week though.

Reply

[-]

Demander850@reddit

Wish I lived in Seattle! I love it, but I'm in Chicago and with a free antenna I found in an alley NBC is Channel 5.

Reply

[-]

msondo@reddit

I have lived in Dallas and Seattle and NBC was on channel 5 in both places

Reply

[-]

tommyjohnpauljones@reddit

Peacock is like $10/month. If you told me for $10 I could have every single Olympic event, that's a steal. Remember the Triplecast? That was like $150 thirty years ago, and it didn't come with every season of The Office too

Reply

[-]

Revolutionary-Yak-47@reddit

Yep. Id happily watch a ton of things but we dont have peacock. And my antenna doesnt get NBC reliably

Reply

[-]

discwrangler@reddit

We have waaaaaay more options now. Skateboarding was illegal when I was a kid. Now it's in the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

IsaacNewtongue@reddit

The Olympics were a way bigger deal because the host cities actually benefited from it. These days, Olympic host cities end up with useless, hastily constructed garbage buildings and massive amounts of public debt. The only people coming out on top are private investors and contractors.

Reply

[-]

demonspawn9@reddit

I'm remembering the "No No Nagano" campaign to get people to watch other TV shows.

Reply

[-]

ohlaph@reddit

It used to be on TV where most people could watch it for free or very little. I don't have a regular TV, so I have to stream it. If it's not on a streaming service I subscribe to, I miss it. If I could easily watch it, I would, buy I'm not going to subscribe to a service that fills 40% of it with ads. I'll watch the highlights later instead.

Reply

[-]

Geoff-Vader@reddit

Yes. But since I already have to have Peacock due to being an EPL fan I love that I can watch ANYTHING no matter how granular. You're not at the mercy of the broadcast networks. I couldn't care less about figure skating which is THE thing the TV broadcast cares about. But I love watching all the cool new angle drone shots on alpine skiing, speed skating, luge/etc. And all you can eat curling. Between my love of female-fronted punk bands and mixed/female curling I'm thinking I definitely have a women yelling fetish.

Reply

[-]

snwbrdngtr@reddit

Social media and the internet. Back in the day watching the Olympics was the only way to see these types of events, now you can watch any athlete at any level on demand.

Reply

[-]

GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

This has to be the answer. Back in the day, the Olympics were shoved in your face whether you were interested or not. Now you have to hunt them down in a sea of non-stop new media.

Reply

[-]

PedalBoard78@reddit

People weren’t constantly slammed by the dick of life, back then.

Reply

[-]

Accomplished_Pea_118@reddit

Agree!

Reply

[-]

magomra@reddit

Nationalism propaganda doesn’t work as well when everyone knows their country at its core is cooked. A lot has changed in 40 years.

Reply

[-]

drunkaquarian@reddit

I tried streaming the Olympics on Peacock but got a straight 4 minutes of ads at the beginning. No thanks

Reply

[-]

UraniumRocker@reddit

I still like keeping up with the summer olympics. The winter games have always been kinda boring imo

Reply

[-]

keetojm@reddit

I think that as we were younger most sports were bigger. All star games, Olympics, etc. Now it seems to be a sad distraction.

Reply

[-]

DookieMcDookface@reddit

Everything we enjoyed as a kid has been watered down and commoditized.

Reply

[-]

Acceptable-Double-98@reddit

I do watch the summer ones more often

Reply

[-]

emsumm58@reddit

we’re definitely watching it and it’s still a big deal.

Reply

[-]

Complete-Log9090@reddit

Honestly, I actually forgot they were going on.

Reply

[-]

JaxxisR@reddit

Keri Strug was a national hero in the 90s. I could probably only name one US Olympian these days, and it's only because Trumpies decided to make hating her such a big deal a couple of years ago.

Reply

[-]

cranberries87@reddit

Wait, I missed that. What was the deal with getting folks to hate her?

Reply

[-]

JaxxisR@reddit

Simone Biles in the 2024 Summer Olympics had a mental health crisis and couldn't compete. MAGA said she was a disappointment, that she let her country down, and that we shouldn't send snowflakes to the Olympics. Can't recall at this moment if that was before or after they all lost their minds over a female boxer cheating because she "looks too much like a man to be a woman" or some shit.

Reply

[-]

DecodingSports@reddit

That was Tokyo 2021* where Simone dealt with the Gymnastics version of the Yips (twisties). She came back at the 2023 World Championships and dominated at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Reply

[-]

JaxxisR@reddit

My mistake. So it was way before the boxer lady outrage.

Reply

[-]

cranberries87@reddit

Oh okay, I thought there was a campaign I missed to hate on Kerri Strug. Yes, I remember the hatred surrounding Simone, really disgusting.

Reply

[-]

GMane2G@reddit

They were like on par with league championships at least. I think the Atlanta and Nagano Olympics for me really solidified that I enjoyed them. I’ve been watching the this year, but this is kind of the first time in several cycles as it just kind of happened that way with my schedule. Not really appointment tv anymore.

Reply

[-]

decent_optimist1424@reddit

WAY BIGGER!!! now we get all the info before we can watch!

Reply

[-]

FarewelltoNS@reddit

It was a kinder, more optimistic world!

Reply

[-]

Username524@reddit

Our attention of our species wasn’t fractured by the internet, smart phones, increasing wage inequality, and trying to figure out when those damn Epstein files will be released.

Reply

[-]

kevnadz@reddit

Everything on TV was a bigger deal before streaming. It all scales accordingly.

Reply

[-]

HauntingStar08@reddit

They were but we were also a lot happier then, especially for our respective teams.

Reply

[-]

like_shae_buttah@reddit

I remember having it on in school even

Reply

[-]

Stardustchaser@reddit

Cable wasn’t exploded out like it is today

Reply

[-]

PuzzleheadedGerman@reddit

Back then we had nothing to worry about, just having fun. Also back then we just had way less entertainment. No Internet, barely any video-games.

Reply

[-]

Panpancanstand@reddit

Its bigger for me now than its ever been.

Reply

[-]

msheehan418@reddit

The only time they seemed like a big deal was the Nancy Kerrigan thing

Reply

[-]

femlexipro@reddit

A lot of the charm was lost after finding out the athletes are basically exploited labor, geopolitical pawns, and a bunch of young adults that would rather party and fuck. Not to diminish their feats or make any judgements on their character. Still an impressive group in every aspect.

Reply

[-]

TheDeliberateDanger@reddit

Entertainment used to be the equivalent of monoculture.

Reply

[-]

B-SideQueen@reddit

It’s bc kids today don’t care about love tv or anything it offers. They are a generation of on demand viewers. Nothing is special or random Orleans anything. They don’t even care about Christmas specials.

Reply

[-]

diablol3@reddit

You're thinking of the summer games. Plus, back in the day yhe winter games were the same year. They werent offset like now.

Reply

[-]

ZeldaHylia@reddit

My family has been watching the Olympics. It’s easier to watch now because you can steam it all on peacock.

Reply

[-]

dejour@reddit

Sure. And you need a television too. And electricity. But overall, it should be at least as cheap and easy to watch some Olympic programming as it was in the 80s or 90s.

Reply

[-]

Timely_Forever_6325@reddit

O

Reply

[-]

RetroBerner@reddit

I grew up in Europe and back then it only happened every 4 years, here in the states it was never as popular and now that it's every 2 years it's not as special anymore

Reply

[-]

Lucky-Remote-5842@reddit

It still is in my house, my husband always has it on.

Reply

[-]

tommyjohnpauljones@reddit

Think about sports on TV in the winter in the 80s. Unless you had cable, your options were a couple college basketball and NBA games on the weekend, bowling, and whatever was on Wide World of Sports/SportsWorld/etc. So when you had two weeks of unique endless winter sports content, you consumed it ravenously.

Reply

[-]

LastCallKillIt@reddit

I've literally never in my life cared about watching the Olympics lol

Reply

[-]

Character_Bend_5824@reddit

I feel like patriotism was a bigger deal because we were less polarized inside, less globalized outside. Also, there weren't streaming options, so more actual events were shown on broadcast TV for all walks of life to enjoy regardless of cable or internet subscriptions.

Reply

[-]

HostilePile@reddit

As someone who grew up without cable they were everything on tv for those weeks!

Reply

[-]

Stabwank@reddit

When you are young you have not seen many olympic games so it is something special, once you get to season 9 or 10 of the Olympics you get a little bored of seeing the same thing over and over again.

Reply

[-]

Timely_Forever_6325@reddit

R

Reply

[-]

SyranWarner@reddit

It was a much bigger deal when we had a monoculture. You’re absolutely correct.

Reply

[-]

MechanicalGodzilla@reddit

In the 80’s and 90’s I only had like five channels to choose from.

Reply

[-]

kellyasksthings@reddit

In my country, the Olympics isn’t even available on free to air TV. I have to go out of my way to stream it, and I keep forgetting to do it.

Reply

[-]

alamarqu3s@reddit

The Olympics is still a big deal. It's winter olympics that always sucked with the boring sports.

Reply

[-]

FrankReynolds@reddit

There used to be a monoculture. The internet shattered that.

Reply

[-]

Roland-Of-Eld-19@reddit

Olympics were huge for us in 1988 because Calgary hosted it

Reply

[-]

TraditionalMood277@reddit

Summer Olympics, I'm glued to my TV all day. Winter Olympics, I could not care any less.

Reply

[-]

Mission-Jackfruit138@reddit

Also you care about that more as a kid. I grew up watching Sports Center every morning. I knew almost all position players in the NFL for all teams. I almost knew every starting roster in the NBA. As we get older we have less time to care about sports. But also people do not watch things as a family or together anymore.

Reply

[-]

shankthedog@reddit

Remember Dan and Dan? I think it was a big Reebok thing. One guy was a pole vaulter and I think the other guy ran track. Then after a huge ad campaign, one of them didn’t make the cut. That was funny. I think that was like 92 or something.

Reply

[-]

Silver_n_Black_8@reddit

100% Today I don't even know when they are on and honestly don't care to watch any of it.

Reply

[-]

waterfat@reddit

The sad truth is that the olympics are lame.

Reply

[-]

BravestBlossom@reddit

Totally agree. I'm 51f. My kids are high school and college age and two of the three watch obsessively with me. We are weird. Itotally agree, for most people now, they don't watch and don't care. That includes my husband, 61m. 1) so many options in entertainment, and people's attention is divided, not to mention they no longer have attention spans. 2) not as easy to watch, bcs of pay streaming etc. In previous years, I used to get a VPN to watch British coverage! It was much more balanced. American coverage has always been meh, owned by NBC. 3) unfortunately, we don't have the sense of unity and national pride we did when we were young (Gen X and older). We used to really come together as a nation for things like the Olympics and space shuttle launches. It makes me sad. So I watch harder to make up for all the 'meh' people.

Reply

[-]

Alonso_Mosley_@reddit

Winter Olympics peaked with Lillehammer 1994.

Reply

[-]

Difficult_Ice_6083@reddit

I don’t think theres ever really been hype for the winter olympics. Half the countries are there just to have fun. Only recently have some hot countries been medaling. Australia and Brazils recent success are good examples. The US hasn’t had a big names for the winter games since Lindsay Vonn, Sean White, and Apollo, or Michelle Kwan as far as I remember. So I think winter olympic interest has been growing internationally and shrinking in the US.

Reply

[-]

CapableAnalysis5282@reddit

The Olympics have never been a big deal. You can keep the Superbowl too.

Reply

[-]

Alone-Chemical-1160@reddit

We have better choices of entertainment now. That's all. The shared viewing experiences are shared with a much more diluted/distracted audience. Im all about this particular part of the future. I dont miss watching stuff i didn't want to watch, but we used to do that because nothing else was on (or, much less was on). Winter olympics are vastly more entertaining than the summer ones, but i haven't watched anything beyond a highlight this year

Reply

[-]

Physical-Name4836@reddit

American Olympic coverage has ruined the Olympics for Americans. They focus on athlete stories as long as they are in events they think we like. If they covered all the events, and gave them all time it would be so much cooler. But they are like….he’s photos of this figure skater when she was 13, instead of let’s watch this skier shoot a gun.

Reply

[-]

sdougshaw@reddit

There was just so much less to watch...

Reply

[-]

credditreddit@reddit

The cold war made ot hit WAY harder...

Reply

[-]

JWWBurger@reddit

I think it is perspective. There’s so much other media competing with it that before, but the Paris summer games were the 4th most watched Olympics (US viewership) per a Google search. The Beijing winter games were the lowest summer games but thus far, Milano Cortina are up 96% from that. I’ve watched literally every day this time, absolutely love it, but did not watch the Beijing games either for some reason. Peacock is awesome if you’re into the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

SecretMusician8485@reddit

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that when we were growing up, they were every 4 years (winter and summer in the same year) instead of every 2 (summer, winter, summer, winter, etc). Like Olympic years were a big deal.

Reply

[-]

Late_Organization_56@reddit

I think there were a combination of things. First, we were still limited to TV, so we couldn’t watch a different show or play a video game on a tablet. Those 1 or 2 TVs in your house were the option. Second, there was still a US versus the world mindset. Evil soviets, doping East Germans and their judges were a thing. There was national pride on the linen.

Reply

[-]

tonhtubra@reddit

I love the Olympics and especially the Winter Olympics. It’s all I’ve been watching for the past week. It’s a huge deal if you want it to be a huge deal for you.

Reply

[-]

Providang@reddit

It was a bigger deal even 8 years ago. News cycle, civil unrest, streaming vs cable, and a hollow sense of patriotism for US athletes have all converged.

Reply

[-]

emmajames56@reddit

Back in the day we had Oympic stars-no one since is bigger than Spitz or Jenner

Reply

[-]

ChristyLovesGuitars@reddit

I’m not the person to really answer this, the Winter Olympics seem like a huge deal to me. First with NHL players since 2014, finally getting Crosby with Nate Mac and McJesus? Yes please.

Reply

[-]

the_matthman@reddit

The NFL and NBA schedules now conflict with the Winter Olympics, forcing NBC to preempt live Olympic events for **over six hours of Super Bowl pregame coverage** on the Olympics' first Sunday, then airing NBA All-Star Game events over Olympic coverage on the second weekend.

Reply

[-]

Frecklefishpants@reddit

Canadian here. My young adult is home from uni for reading week. We are all super into it and watching whenever we have a chance. I’ve been discussing it with my friends and family.

Reply

[-]

Fearless-Bullfrog-17@reddit

More entertainment options

Reply

[-]

No_Cow_4544@reddit

It was because there was less to watch

Reply

[-]

bugorama_original@reddit

I agree. When they were just very four years (in the same year), I think it felt like a REALLY big deal. Also there was just way less content to choose from.

Reply

[-]

CSWorldChamp@reddit

It’s because *Television* was a much bigger deal when we were little. In the days of broadcast TV, the friggin wonderful world of Disney on Sunday nights was a big deal. So the *Olympics?*

Reply

[-]

Only_Argument7532@reddit

One of the biggest Olympic sporting events of the 20th Century - the USA - USSR hockey match in 1980, was broadcast on tape delay. That seems crazy today. There is no common culture anymore. Pre-modern internet, fewer options forced more attention to the Olympics. Also, the Winter and Summer games were held during the same year.

Reply

[-]

mikmik555@reddit

It’s because winter sports has become a sport for the rich.

Reply

[-]

norcalruns@reddit

It’s because 2026 is the age of rage bait and attention draining bs….. no one can decide what to focus on for more than a few seconds at a time

Reply

[-]

NotYourSexyNurse@reddit

It’s not just you. Companies advertised the Olympics for months. “Proud sponsor of the blah blah Olympics.” McDonald’s was all about it in the 90s. The last couple Olympics haven’t been in the US though. Also, it was difficult to watch the Olympics this year. Some events showed at midnight on the second showing on tv. I’m not paying to stream it.

Reply

[-]

Global_Shoe9117@reddit

Everything feels this way. The Internet changed everything. When you can get everything at the touch of a button, nothing feels special anymore.

Reply

[-]

southernfirm@reddit

I agree. No one other than my winter sports enthusiast friends are talking about it at all. I don't see much reporting of it on sports media, though it has been on in every restaurant I have been to (that has a TV). Everyone seems to blame this on lack of a monoculture, or more options for entertainment. I don't buy either argument. First of all, pre 2000's America was not a monoculture. Second, the only media option we did not have in decades past that we do have now is social media and user-generated content. In the 80's and 90's there were sports on TV every night, there were new television shows on every night, reruns, people still listened to music, watched movies at home and went to the theaters: everything we have now, except for the ridiculous phone in our hand and the braindead content on the web, we had back then. So what is the difference? I don't know. Dopamine addiction and distractions? Disunity nationwide? Lack of cohesive communities and estrangement from extended family? Your guess is as good as mine. But it wasn't from a lack of options.

Reply

[-]

Chahles88@reddit

100%. Watching Tara Lipinski on the current season of Traitors brought back a lot this week. I remember watching her, Michelle Kwon, and that Surya Bonaly backflip. I remember the Gloria Estefan “Higher” song, in fact I listened to it just the other day. I remember visiting Lake Placid with my family, and my dad getting fucking pissed that we were playing with Tomogachi’s and that they were waking everybody up at night. Between now and then, I think I can recall watching Shawn White, Shawn Johnson, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt and Simone Biles off the top of my head.

Reply

[-]

chihuahua2023@reddit

I miss when they were the same year- it was all encompassing then-

Reply

[-]

GladosPrime@reddit

yes

Reply

[-]

Jellyfish-Ninja@reddit

I used to be every 4 years and both Summer & Winter were held during the same year. Now it’s every 2 years for an Olympics but it alternates between Summer & Winter. So they seemed like a bigger deal because they occurred less frequently.

Reply

[-]

MargaretSparkle82@reddit

It hasn’t been the same since the fall of the USSR.

Reply

[-]

GlobbityGlook@reddit

We have global warming and winter was about two days this year. Who wants to watch winter sports when the first signs of spring have already arrived?

Reply

[-]

tarepanda303@reddit

I think it went downhill when they switched from having the summer and winter events in the same year to alternating the season every 2 years. It used to be a year long worldwide event that only came every 4 years. There was hype and it felt special. Now its like buying Easter candy in September on the internet or streaming How the Grinch stole Christmas in June. Those limited time experiences aren't limited anymore and therefore not nearly as big a deal.

Reply

[-]

blondeviking64@reddit

I never remember a big deal about the winter Olympics. The summer Olympics usually felt bigger to me but I live in a warm climate where my kids have never seen snow. I think there are a combination of factors here. Two that I think are significant are that kids are less engaged with sports in general and the extreme monetization of sports. I think specific sports (the ones not attached to big money) seem to be shrinking the fastest. It just so happens that most of the non money sports also happen to be the ones at the Olympics for summer and winter. The fastest kid in the country might have career earnings in track or winter sports (excluding hockey maybe) below the NIL money for a fast WR at a big SEC school across their four years in college. There certainly are other factors too but those jump to my mind right away.

Reply

[-]

pixelpheasant@reddit

I agree, and I also have to imagine that if the US wasn't devolving into a fascist cesspool, it might merit the same level of attention it was paid in the 80s and 90s. Also miffed that as Ilia "quad god" is lauded, there's no attribution to Surya Bonaly. I keep hearing "Ilia is the first..." and I was legit questioning my memory of Olympics past, until I fact check myself

Reply

[-]

Wild_Cockroach_2544@reddit

I think it also has to do with the Olympics only being every 4 years back then. It made it much more of a novelty.

Reply

[-]

Adventurous_Pin_344@reddit

I probably watch more Olympics now, honestly, because I can stream events live on Peacock. There was less to watch then, but I am an Olympic obsessive these days.

Reply

[-]

SuperDoubleDecker@reddit

You didn't have an endless number of options back then. They were cool because everyone watched them. It was like that's what'd happening.

Reply

[-]

the_raygunn@reddit

The time difference and the access to results instantly takes some of the specialness out of watching the prime time coverage, which is essentially a highlight reel. When the Olympics were in US/Canada time zones, what was live was more important.

Reply

[-]

digitalgraffiti-ca@reddit

I think our parents had an influence on that. Mom makes a huge deal. I didn't realize it was even happening, because I could not give less of a fuck if I tried.

Reply

[-]

hellad0pe@reddit

Summer olympics were a big deal. I had no idea the winter olympics existed until probably college or even after. Summer olympics are definitely still popular but I think bc they're don't broadcast on prime time TV in the way they used to be, no one really talks about them or watches them in sync, so it doesn't matter as much anymore. In the 90s/00s, EVERYONE watched Keri strug land the vault on one leg. EVERYONE was watching Andre Agassi, Usain bolt. Now some ppl can't even watch them bc they have to have peacock on demand.

Reply

[-]

New_Stats@reddit

The Olympics was the best thing to watch on TV back then It's no longer the best thing to watch because we have more options Currently watching The Rightous Gemstones and it is hilarious. Here's a little bit of the dialogue "I hate this family! I'm going to move to Malibu and shave my pussy and learn to surf!" - she said to her brother "Why would you shave your pussy? The brother asked, throughly confused "So I can surf faster!" She retorted, as if he's a massive idiot for not understanding that

Reply

[-]

MonchichiSalt@reddit

When I was a kid, the Olympics dominated everything. Now? I accidentally found out the games were going to start when the pedophile in chief announced he was sending his lard ass criminals over.

Reply

[-]

Neither_Internal_261@reddit

I feel that they were way more important back in the dayh, like the '96 olympics. That being said, our main media source was TV back then so its marketing was mainstrean unlike today.

Reply

[-]

Electronic_Nobody826@reddit

Well when we were young it was a once every 4 years event. You had Winter and Summer in 1984, 1988 and last time 1992. After that they split into every 2 years, Winter in 1994, Summer 1996, etc. Making it every 2 years ruined it.

Reply

[-]

ChaInTheHat@reddit

USA pride has pretty much gone down the drain

Reply

[-]

JudgeJuryEx78@reddit

I have pride in the athletes, who have been working toward this dream for their entire lives. I'm not going to write them off just because their country sucks. It's nit their fault.

Reply

[-]

gypsy_musedeux@reddit

I’m secretly hoping Canadian men win gold in hockey & beat the US in the medal round.

Reply

[-]

albanyanthem@reddit

The attention economy. It is t just tv, but tik tok, you tube, video games, doom scrolling.

Reply

[-]

SailTheWorldWithMe@reddit

Yes. Fewer options. People find their niches and stay there. The only thing we have in common are social media platforms. And we cluster on different areas of the platform.

Reply

[-]

bgva@reddit

Barcelona in 92 really stands out in my mind as being a big deal. Not to say subsequent years weren’t big, but for some reason 9-year-old me remembers Barcelona as an event.

Reply

[-]

Scrounger888@reddit

When I was a kid, we didn't have cable so we got 2 channels. The Olympics were just about the only thing available to watch. Even when we finally got cable, there were about 30 channels and so we would still see the Olympics while flipping through them. Now, with streaming services being the main way I watch shows, I would have no way of just randomly coming across their broadcasts and would have to seek them out. I suspect that this is similar for many people nowadays and the Olympics have turned into a forgotten thing for many.

Reply

[-]

oogidy_boogidie@reddit

We can’t even watch the Olympics because we have to pay. Hard for it to be a big deal if you can’t even watch it.

Reply

[-]

XennialQueen@reddit

Streaming everywhere, instant information, social media

Reply

[-]

Glass-Marionberry321@reddit

We've been watching a lot of it. But I do agree with you it was definitely bigger. Because TV wasn't oversaturated with apps and billions of movies/shows to watch on demand.

Reply

[-]

PoisonMind@reddit

I have to think some of it was driven by Cold War propaganda. The Olympics were a proxy for the US vs the USSR.

Reply

[-]

Polymox@reddit

TV broadcasting created something of a monoculture from 1950 to 2000. Everyone was exposed to the same events and news. The Internet ended it, and everyone sees their own personal interests now.

Reply

[-]

Ineedavodka2019@reddit

The summer and winter were the same year so it was a big deal that only happened once every four years.

Reply

[-]

Ok_Sentence_5767@reddit

I think we have so many more entertainment options these days, plus the public in general is more aware of the toxic politics surrounding the Olympics. With all that said, the Paris Olympics felt very special. Too me it was the greatest I'm my lifetime

Reply

[-]

Normal_Choice9322@reddit

We didn't have as many other always on distractions back then. No social media etc

Reply

[-]

Stang1776@reddit

I used to love the winter oly.pics. ive barely been following though. I think mostly because of what is going on around the country. I dont really feel like cheering for our flag right now...and I served over 20 years.

Reply

[-]

Helpful-Bag722@reddit

I think it has something to do with it being broken up into every two years instead of once every four years

Reply

[-]

Mackheath1@reddit

For me, absolutely. But I lived on base in West Berlin, and it was kinda the only thing going on. Could it have been due to all our schools hyping it when we were kids (in America as well)? There weren't that many channels in 1988. Plus the Seoul Olympics were the post-Cold War Olympics, even though the wall hadn't come down, so I think there was a lot of hubbub about it?

Reply

[-]

WoodenWeather5931@reddit

It’s the way to watch it now. Peacock? It’s so stupid.

Reply

[-]

Mixtape4Adventure@reddit

I think the summer games are a lot more popular in the US because the competitions tend to focus on sports more Americans follow or have participated in themselves. They also tend to feature better known athletes and locations. London, Tokyo (i know that was kind of crazy with covid) Paris etc are places more people might be interested in watching for the locations if they have visited there and are some of the worlds major travel destinations. a lot of people may be vacationing in the summer and its easy programming to throw on for the whole family in the evenings or during down time. Even at home kids are off school, people tend to stay up later, there isn’t typically as much new programming from streaming services and definitely not as much as network tv to compete with in the summer. I definitely think the current political news cycle and economic climate is impacting the level of interest people have right now also.

Reply

[-]

JudgeJuryEx78@reddit

I have always been obsessed with the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

ASingleThreadofGold@reddit

We never cared that much about the Olympics at my house. We weren't all sitting around watching. We caught the gymnastics and ice skating sometimes but that's about it.

Reply

[-]

chinagrrljoan@reddit

It's so annoying that they're not on everywhere. I was walking through airport the other day and college basketball was on instead of Olympics. And NBC does such a horrible job of over hyping Americans at expense of showing everything. I can see why people get turned off.

Reply

[-]

Appropriate-Neck-585@reddit

The Monoculture is dead, and we're all worse off for it. We don't do many things together as families or even a Country anymore 😕

Reply

[-]

icepick3383@reddit

Death of the monoculture is the main cause of this. Plus the fact that people don’t celebrate amateur athletics anymore as an achievement. It’s who makes the most money in the most watched league. People can’t be bothered to be in awe of these regular joes doing things that aren’t the football. I personally enjoy learning about the athletes, rules and nuance of sports I don’t normally see. I did hear the announcer say that in Europe the most popular winter sport is biathlon. Would have never know that had I not watched. And I’m shocked more Americans (Texan here) don’t watch as it involves shooting and competition. 🤷

Reply

[-]

Starscream147@reddit

I’m sat around watching. Always do!! Love these games. ![gif](giphy|lIHHg8uooVoPElo2g1)

Reply

[-]

cdncerberus@reddit

It’s like that with everything. More media options means the lack of a monoculture. If you don’t have watch one of seven TV channels, you consume media and culture, in general, much differently.

Reply

[-]

Current_Cancel4060@reddit

Remember when it had multiple channels running 24 hours. It was definitely the Netflix of then

Reply

[-]

Acrobatic-Canary-571@reddit

I think that applies to most things

Reply

[-]

jackfaire@reddit

I think it varies from family to family. Mind didn't pay any attention to them when I was young and I don't pay any attention to them now. They've always felt like an afterthought to me. No one in my orbit cared about them.

Reply

[-]

aubreypizza@reddit

Yup, nobody cares anymore

Reply

[-]

deltadawn6@reddit

I totally agree. I was just having this conversation with a coworker today.

Reply

[-]

pat1979@reddit

No one wants to watch the USA become what they always feared it was power and greed with out regulation

Reply

[-]

Cisru711@reddit

We had an enemy in the 80's and we had to show dominance against the Soviets. Now, Russia keeps getting itself banned.

Reply

[-]

Witty-Management6094@reddit

I was just saying this to my husband.. it feels different bc we don’t have cable.. just streaming services.

Reply

[-]

ChickenTendySunday@reddit

The main issue is that it is impossible to share or watch the Olympics in any way. It's still stuck in the classical age of TV. They have cucked the entire event into being irrelivant. Cant watch it. Cant share it. Cant share clips. Cant find clips. Cant watch it with streamers. You can only watch it through closed down private websites or risk getting DMCAd off of every social platform. I'm at a loss for how they haven't realized they are shooting themselves in the foot. It was an issue at the last one. Still an issue. I'm not sure if we'll see another at this point as it becomes more and more irrelevant.

Reply

[-]

oakomyr@reddit

Everything (movies, sporting events, celebrity, music etc) popular was a way bigger deal because it was exclusive. Now everyone sees everything instantly all day everyday so it’s not special anymore.

Reply

[-]

RanchHere@reddit

everything was a bigger deal when we were younger because we didn’t have access to EVERYTHING 24/7.

Reply

[-]

Bleezy79@reddit

Yea it definitely was a bigger deal but it’s because we didn’t have all the options we have today. Today we can go online and have a buffet of content. YouTube, Netflix, Reddit, social media. Etc. back in the 90s we had basic cable, hbo or the Olympics.

Reply

[-]

GenevieveLeah@reddit

NBC’s coverage is beyond terrible I think this is part of the problem Quit yakking and show the competitions.

Reply

[-]

Ryuujin_13@reddit

Coming from a Canadian: no idea what you’re talking about.

Reply

[-]

DHammer79@reddit

It depends on how much you're into watching the Olympics. My wife loves to watch the Olympics, so she is constantly streaming events coverage. Also, with the time difference, it makes it more difficult to stream live events as some of them happen while we're sleeping or early in the morning. Add that to how results are posted online in milliseconds after they come in and some done deel a need to watch after they know the outcome, and there is way more choice of what to watch with other shows and such. A confluence of changes has made so a lot of people aren't as invested in watching the Olympics as we once were. This is no different than a lot of things these days. Choice and easy early access to results change peoples behaviour in consuming media/entertainment.

Reply

[-]

blawblablaw@reddit

I think it started to change when they offset the cycles. Back when both winter and summer were in the same year, and there was a 4 year break, it was more of an event. Also there wasn’t continuous coverage and access to all the world’s events. Now it just kind of feels constant.

Reply

[-]

TeutonJon78@reddit

Yes and for a few reasons: * The only happened every 4 years. They still do, but now staggered every two years between summer and winter they are always closer. * The only TV was broadcast and early cable. Which menat all the ads all the time were Olympic focused, not drugs or reverse mortgages. On streaming I didn-t even see a single Okympics ad until I was actually watching them * When they aired they dominated prime time for one of the major channels which was a huge percentage of available viewing. Now it's barely a blip. * it used to be only amateurs. Since pros now play, for many sports isn't really different than watching them normally except for shuffled teams. * time "dilation" -- when we're young 4 years was forever and the Olymoics were new. Now 4 years is a blink we've seen them like 9-11 times so less novel now.

Reply

[-]

beachbummeddd@reddit

Seems like the opposite for me. Technology is a big factor. Can watch any event live, a million angles, on a 4K OLED. The Olympics never looked so good. What isn’t a big deal anymore is nba all star weekend. Can’t remember looking forward to or watching one for quite a few years.

Reply

[-]

FoppyRETURNS@reddit

Yes, but now I can stream it. So maybe society lost but I won?

Reply

[-]

jojotherider@reddit

I think for me i lost interest after the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. NBC only showed it at night, but there were already highlights throughout the day online. I had planned to watch in the evenings with the broadcast, but i got spoilers all day long. So there was no point. That is pretty much how i watch Olympics now. Just go online and find the event i want to see. I usually know who won and i want to see how it happened.

Reply

[-]

throwawayhbgtop81@reddit

If you're American I think you're remembering all the hype around the 1996 Olympics which were a huge deal since they were in Atlanta.

Reply

[-]

okenthusiasm89@reddit

I agree! For me, the pinnacle was 1980 Lake Placid, when I was 12 years old.

Reply

[-]

Bobbie_Sacamano@reddit

Beijing was the peak. China spent a fortune as sort of a coming out on the world stage with little regard for profit. Four years later it was in London but it didn’t have the same amount of wow and the production of the whole thing keeps looking cheaper rather than bigger and better. All the cost cutting finally caught up to the west and technological innovation is no longer covering it up. That and the whole fascade of global unity after the end of the Cold War is wearing off. What used to seem like this world uniting event is now seen as another way to profit off manufactured hype.

Reply

[-]

ckglle3lle@reddit

Yeah in the same way that a lot of TV has fallen away from monocultural significance, so has Olympics coverage. But I do think the Winter Olympics have always felt relatively less important, really. With some exceptions, I don't really remember it being a gather around and follow closely event when I was younger, not in the way the Summer Olympics were anyway. Most memories I have watching Olympics as a kid are Summer events anyway.

Reply

[-]

depths_of_khazad_dum@reddit

Agree 💯

Reply

[-]

Norwester77@reddit

Other things get in the way. I wasn’t able to follow the 2018 or 2022 games very closely at all. But this time, I’m watching a lot with my teenage kids, and it’s a frequent topic of conversation at work.

Reply

[-]

Emergency_Coyote_662@reddit

large sporting events were much more a cultural moment when we had fewer channels and options

Reply

[-]

hdiggyh@reddit

Well the summer Olympics is always way more popular than winter. So there is that recency bias at play

Reply

[-]

earfeater13@reddit

Was just saying this yesterday. We used to be a proper country.

Reply

[-]

unomasme@reddit

There are a LOT of “we only had a couple options, so we sat around the TV as a family and talked about it” responses here. I don’t want to be a Luddite, but did we mess up by adding so many other options?

Reply

[-]

NativeFlowers4Eva@reddit

Yeah. It’s harder to watch them now.

Reply

[-]

FreeElleGee@reddit

I can’t remember the last time I watched the Olympics. It’s been at least two decades. My kid figure skates (and competes) and has no interest in the Olympics. It’s definitely lost its luster.

Reply

[-]

Ok-Somewhere-2325@reddit

We watched them as a family , jumping back and forth as a few channels were showing them, with different events. Even got to stay up and hour late. But my the 2000s we had stopped, we still watched the x games , drag racing and bull riding, but the Olympics just didnt feel as meaning full after 9-11,

Reply

[-]

bh4th@reddit

We’ve reached entertainment saturation. Nobody ever has to be bored if they don’t choose to be, so special events on TV are less special. Also, we have a bottomless archive of previous Olympics now, and we know we’ll be able to watch what happens in this set whenever we want. The only reason I’m not watching Kristi Yamaguchi win her gold medal in 1992 right now is that that’s not how I’ve chosen to spend this particular minute.

Reply

[-]

Far-Farm-1565@reddit

Way bigger deal when we were young.

Reply

[-]

runhomejack1399@reddit

Everything was a bigger deal because attention wasn’t as divided.

Reply

[-]

Blackbird136@reddit

They’re as big a deal as you make them, I guess. Personally I adore them and that’s pretty much all I watch for those two weeks.

Reply

[-]

Ok_Researcher_9796@reddit

I think the summer Olympics are a bigger deal. Winter has always been kinda meh.

Reply

[-]

misterlakatos@reddit

The Winter Olympics were hardly ever promoted 30 years ago. I think having more options (more channels + streaming) has helped plus the growing interest in winter sports. Hockey, for instance, is more popular now (at least in the United States) than it was 30 years ago. Also, the NBA has really declined a lot (the regular season) and with football now being over (thank you, Seahawks), people need to fill a void, especially in February when it's still cold and mostly unbearable outside.

Reply

[-]

upstatestruggler@reddit

It’s because it’s streaming and people can pick and choose

Reply

[-]

Happy-For-No-Reason@reddit

the internet diluted everything

Reply

[-]

Old_Association6332@reddit

Yes, that's been on my mind recently, as well. I remember the first Olympics I was old enough to appreciate (1988, Seoul), our school had us do the Olympic song at a school concert, and we did a school project on it. 1992, 1996 and 2000 also felt like that (2000 was here in Australia so, naturally, it was the focus of everything here). I feel like it's gradually been in decline ever since, or perhaps I just lost interest in them.

Reply

[-]

Asked_2@reddit

96 in Atlanta was the best!

Reply

[-]

dejour@reddit

I think that it is basically a form of reality television and reality television used to be rare. And for sports fans, people can usually watch as much sports as they want nowadays. No longer a need to watch sports or athletes you aren’t familiar with. It’s also possibly an age thing. Olympians come and go and most people don’t remember them 10 years later. Maybe that isn’t so obvious to a 10 year old.

Reply

[-]

Witty-Stock-4913@reddit

Some of it is the change from every 4 years to every 2, alternating. The constant talk about various Olympic things, like venue selection, try outs, etc., have made it far less interesting. The whole lack of scarcity thing.

Reply

[-]

Barragin@reddit

Yes, because of the cold war.

Reply

[-]

Top-Sleep-4669@reddit

Everything was a bigger deal because there was so much less content. The internet basically fractured everything. Now everyone is free to find their own little niche. Back then focus on big events was much tighter.

Reply

[-]

ConcreteKeys@reddit

The Olympics and Hollywood lost their sparkle due to scandals.

Reply

[-]

JettandTheo@reddit

We only had 4 things to watch

Reply

[-]

pythonQu@reddit

Agree. My fave was the 2008 olympics. It seemed like back then, athletes were trying to break barriers for something bigger than themselves (I identified with Michelle Kwan, Ktisti Yamaguchi who were huge for me growing up Adian American). Nowadays, it seems like they are looking for sponsorships, model career, etc.... i get it, athletes have to eat too.

Reply

[-]

zffjk@reddit

I think it is because the internet kind of ruined any sense of a shared cultural identity, at least though media.

Reply

[-]

DarthAltius@reddit

Like a lot of people have said, the nature of entertainment and television has changed since then. Monoculture just isn’t a thing now like it was then. I think each of those 90s Olympics also had special circumstance that made them seem “bigger” than today, in America at least. -1992: The Dream Team. These guys were already superstars (and not just in America). Sending them to the Olympics for the first time was huge in a way that really nothing else since has equaled. -1994: Figure skating drama. I was a 12 year old boy with no interest in “girly” things like figure skating and even I knew all about the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding stuff and watched them skate. It was impossible not to know about all the drama. -1996: Held in the US. Besides whatever “hooray for us” sentiments there might have been, having the premiere events on live during prime time always draws more eyes than tape-delay or staying up late/getting up early to watch things happening several times zones away.

Reply

[-]

Xdfghijujsw@reddit

In pre-internet days, anything extra was welcomed and savored

Reply

[-]

Super_Direction498@reddit

Well, they weren't every two years back then. I think that decoupling the winter from summer games made them less of an event.

Reply

[-]

cranberries87@reddit

OMG I was in second grade for the 1984 Olympics. huge, HUGE deal! I feel like they’re really “meh” now.

Reply

[-]

parttimelarry@reddit

I thought the 2024 Olympics was epic personally, one of my favorites of all time.

Reply

[-]

mildlywild11@reddit

Yes! It used to be such a big deal. Kids would idolize the athletes. Now kids would rather game.

Reply

[-]

Far_Youth_1662@reddit

For all the "Internet killed monoculture" people: The last 4 Super Bowls have been the 5 most watched events in TV history (aside from the moon landing, unofficially).

Reply

[-]

prettyminotaur@reddit

Death of the monoculture.

Reply

[-]

Demander850@reddit

I agree, I didn’t even know they were happening this year and could care less. It used to be everywhere and in your face like at McDonalds and billboards and stuff.

Reply

[-]

LosVolvosGang@reddit

Everything the others are saying about more channels and options is true. It’s also that having an Olympics every two years makes the whole affair way less special. At my age, two years is a blink.

Reply

[-]

lawpoop@reddit

I remember you could get coins from different countries at McDonald's, during the Olympics. They even had the flags of contending countries up

Reply

[-]

calgmtl07@reddit

I remember the massive school project on luge and bobsled. Left a lasting interest.

Reply

[-]

ABurdenToMyParents27@reddit

It's also harder to avoid spoilers in the Internet age. Years ago, when an event happened outside of US prime and wouldn't be broadcast until later, TV or radio newscasters would say, "We're about to read Olympic results. If you don't want to know yet, turn down the volume for a minute!" The Internet makes no attempt to do anything like that. I got so mad the other night - I was watching women's halfpipe, and went online to look up something about the men's hockey tournament, and while I was reading the Google results (again - about ice hockey) a little animation popped up and said "US takes silver in women's half pipe." WTF Google?!?!?!

Reply

[-]

carryon4threedays@reddit

My 4yo gets excited to watch the events, so I feel that excitement again. It’s great.

Reply

[-]

BadAtExisting@reddit

That’s on you. I’ve been non stop watching the Olympics for a week and I look forward to the Olympics every 2 years

Reply

[-]

FionaGoodeEnough@reddit

We were sort of forced to watch it back then, because one of the big networks would play nothing but Olympics coverage. I remember in my family we complained endlessly about how we couldn’t watch our shows because of the Olympics. It turns out with streaming that a lot of people weren’t particularly interested in watching the Olympics— they also were watching it just because it was on, and given the choice, they watch something else.

Reply

[-]

VioletVenable@reddit

That’s definitely how it feels to me. We were very much a PBS family and our only sport was bird-watching, but even my parents insisted that we always watch the Olympics. Our TV was in this poorly-insulated addition (because they considered TVs in the living room to be tacky) heated by a faulty wood-burning stove. It must’ve been the ‘88 games when I had to watch figure skating through a cloud of smoke because it was just that important!

Reply

[-]

Gonna_do_this_again@reddit

It's because we only had 4 channels and no internet to instantly spoil event results. The news would even say "Spoiler for the results of the events being shown on prime time" and give people the option of changing the channel briefly. It was the only time we got to see these niche sports broadcast on TV. Now they're broadcast live spread out over 3 different streaming services and we get short videos of every sport known to man constantly on all of our social media so the mystique about these niche sports has completely disappeared and results are instantly posted worldwide so there's not really any reason to sit down and watch events unless it's something you were already into anyway.

Reply

[-]

-Murmaider-@reddit

I think everything was a bigger deal because the world wasn't oversaturated back then. Prime time TV shows, talk shows, music videos, movies, you name it. You only had so many choices and never on demand. If you wanted to catch something like that you had to tune in all at the same time. Now there are thousands of each, whenever you feel like, and in my opinion at much lower quality.

Reply

[-]

Cardiff-Giant11@reddit

biggest thing is the time (both time zones and my own lack of time). when i was 11 the 92 olympics were on and i remember watching a ton of them. during 94 they fell during my school break and we weren’t like many kids now who go on vacations every break so i spent many of those days watching olympic coverage and playing sega genesis. now with work, i usually miss the live events and our world is so connected its too easy for replays to get spoiled.

Reply

[-]

DickWhittingtonsCat@reddit

They were the same year until 1996 I believe and the Summer Olympics were always the much bigger deal. But the Olympics were barely watchable except highlights until the last decade or so- they were a bigger deal in the sense there were fewer viewing options. But cities expecting big days and tanking has always been an Olympic thing. The whole cold war and cheating aspects are way reduced too. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, highlights of the miracle on ice are probably what you are thinking of. Not the US Pros from the NHL trading Nagano.

Reply

[-]

Fluid_Change_9647@reddit

My son made me subscribe to peacock to watch the Olympics. Fine, I paid for the subscription and he watched for like 10 minutes and couldn’t care less about them now.

Reply

[-]

geekgirlwww@reddit

My friends and I were hyped and had the summer Olympics in when we worked from home and texted about events. This one I watched the Parade of nations some figure skating and I’m so meh. Lot of people i know feel that way. We’re also all American. It’s just so bad here right now with ICE and Epstein I can’t muster any enthusiasm.

Reply

[-]

bh0@reddit

All these foreign countries aren't as foreign these days with the Internet and other media. You can watch these random sports all the time if you really want to, so it's not as unique as it once was when there are always world events going on. The media still absolutely hypes the shit out of random athletes & sports every time the Olympics comes around. They are obsessed with certain sports like gymnastics, swimming, figure skating, and still pay zero attention to others. I still watch lots of Olympics every time they come around and I'd love to go to SLC/Park City in 2034 to watch.

Reply

[-]

Earthseed728@reddit

I think part of the problem was the decision to separate the winter and summer Olympics so they no longer occur in the same year. An "Olympics year" once every four years feels like a bigger deal than having Olympics going on every other year. I also think the fall of the Soviet Union played a role; the us vs them narrative is gone.

Reply

[-]

pir8salt@reddit

I too miss the Cold War, sometimes

Reply

[-]

No_Today_4903@reddit

It did used to feel like a much bigger deal! The athletes felt really elite, above all. It seems now that they are on social media doing idiotic pranks maybe? Then you have basketball players that you hear of all the time, LeBron, curry (sp?) etc. except playing together now. Idk. It’s just underwhelming. Then instead of being every 4 years it became every 2. Also they started showing who had won what/medal count so imo that kinda ruined the fun.

Reply

[-]

Mediocre-Team1715@reddit

We also had amateurs competing back in the day. It’s different now and just way more corporate.

Reply

[-]

Not_Rob_Walton@reddit

I think it's the time zones and technology. We used to only be able to stay updated on the Olympics by watching primetime TV. Now with the internet, we all know the results of the events that we're interested in before they air on TV. When you know the outcome, it's less interesting to watch. Multiply that by everyone in your family knowing results, and people just find other things to do.

Reply

[-]

Horizontal_Bob@reddit

Pre internet it was a big deal With social media, youtube, streaming platforms, gaming, etc etc people just have way more entertainment options now Plus…peacock wants you to pay for access

Reply

[-]

Starboard_Pete@reddit

My family was absolutely obsessed with the Parade of Nations and opening ceremonies. And certain sports. And story time! The 1996 torch came through my hometown, too, and the parade route was one block from my house. The torch had a malfunction right at our intersection, and the guy carrying it randomly pulled my dad from the crowd and asked him to hold it while they did some troubleshooting. We have an extremely fuzzy family photo of my dad with the 1996 Olympic torch and the look of pure joy on my dad’s face always makes me smile. A lifetime highlight for him. So needless to say, especially after that moment, the Olympics were a massive deal in our house.

Reply

[-]

maggie320@reddit

It was a huge deal in my house but that was because she was obsessed. Even my dad who said he didn’t like the Olympics always tuned in to hockey in the winter and gymnastics, shooting, and sailing. I still tune in now, I do prefer summer over winter. Watching speed skating right now.

Reply

[-]

goodhumorman85@reddit

The internet killed monoculture.

Reply

[-]

rideadove@reddit

It’s as big of a deal as you make it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Reply

[-]

Correct-Degree-6789@reddit

No, we just have way more to occupy us nowadays. For example, at a sporting event. What percentage of the time is the audience watching the show as opposed to looking at their phone?

Reply

[-]

Phyzzx@reddit

You know what's great about the Olympics now?! The highlights. Because I can't skip the dull parts of a thriller or mystery and there's so many dozens of hours of material I need to watch before my sub is up and I do t wanna pay for more.

Reply

[-]

Possible-Tangelo9344@reddit

Sports coverage never seems to end now. All year every day you can find something with sports coverage, nationally and internationally. There's world championships in something happening all the time, so the Olympics are just another thing.

Reply

[-]

LazyMathlete@reddit

People could afford cable.

Reply

[-]

nichewilly@reddit (OP)

True, cable TV was WAY bigger… now we have Peacock

Reply

[-]

MommaOfManyCats@reddit

I was trying to think about the last time I watched an event the other day. It was honestly probably Strug when she hurt herself.

Reply

[-]

mattjh@reddit

All media was a bigger deal when we were young because there was way less of it, it was 100% appointment viewing, and we had much more time to feel crushing boredom.

Reply

[-]

OskeyBug@reddit

I still enjoy them quite a bit but I don't like the way NBC presents them. Get Snoop Dogg out of there and focus on the events, except ski jumping because it's boring af. Also the summer games are a lot more fun.

Reply

[-]

lavasca@reddit

It was a much bigger deal back then. Whole family traditions around watching the Olympics!

Reply

[-]

Mudcreek47@reddit

The 1992 Olympics were huge for the sole reason of the Dream Team in USA Basketball. 1996 was insane. I lived near Atlanta so them coming to my hometown was huge. It was also the summer between high school graduation and the start of college so it was a big time in my life. The lead up and anticipation was crazy. I remember the torch making its way though the state, all the parades, new construction ahead of the games. It was really something else. Too bad those games are today mostly remembered for the bomb and over commercialization of the event. Pretty sure I've still got a couple boxes of those Atlanta collector pins stashed somewhere. I don't really have any memories of any other Olympics. I remember the one where Michael Phelps won 10 or 12 swim medals or however many it was, but no idea on the year without looking it up on google.

Reply

[-]

Pyewacket667@reddit

agreed

Reply

[-]

comascape@reddit

The Cold War. When we were kids the Olympics were positioned as Capitalism vs Communism. Not so much anymore.

Reply

[-]

RetailBookworm@reddit

Yes… but like all TV shows and live sports events were a bigger deal back then. There was so much less content to watch than now. I also think it was a mistake to switch the Olympics to every two years and alternating summer/winter instead of having them every four years in a celebratory Olympic year which felt much more special.

Reply

[-]

EastTXJosh@reddit

The were bigger because we had less going on so for 16 days they consumed our lives.

Reply

[-]

AdelleDeWitt@reddit

Yeah I heard the news about something that happened to the Olympics and that is how I found out that they had started.

Reply

[-]

StatementCareful522@reddit

I can’t speak for my entire generation but in my 40’s Im now way too cynical to trust that these hugely publicized sporting events aren’t entirely fixed. No disrespect to the athletes but I think there is a lot of billionaire wheeling and dealing behind the scenes that the general public isn’t privy to. Feels naive to think that politics can be a grift but somehow the biggest international televised sporting championship is entirely pure and fair.

Reply

[-]

IndyDoggy@reddit

I was talking about this with friends the other day. We came to the conclusion that entertainment options were more limited back in the day, so the Olympics were a break in the routine. Also, it was a more important advertising stream for big companies, so it was really pushed on us. Now, most advertising budgets are spent online interrupting our daily routines.

Reply

[-]

dmlitzau@reddit

Definitely was different. Part of it is the shoot in the media landscape as a whole. When we were young, this was the only time to were seeing most of those sports on TV or even scores in the paper. Now, you can see highlights of all these things year round anytime. Curling is on random TV channels like every other week, so it isn’t as special to be able to watch as it once was. I think there is also a shift in the overall view of nationalist rooting interests that makes it somewhat less compelling.

Reply

[-]

pawsomedogs@reddit

Its social media. There's too much information about everything and everywhere under the Sun. Back then we had just tv and papers.

Reply

[-]

jar36@reddit

we have a ton of other options for entertainment these days. My family never got into them, but it definitely was a bigger deal back then than now

Reply