US Anthem MISSING from NBC’s Olympic Coverage

Am I the only one offended by this? Maybe I am, but it’s really starting to pickle my nerves!

I noted here that NBC seemed to be going out of its way to make sure that the end of each broadcast evening ended with ANY national anthem but our own. Candian anthems? Check. Russian anthems? Sure! But except for a chintzy 13 note anthem recap at the top of the re-broadcast, you can’t find a flower-holding American gold medalist standing in pride as his or her anthem plays – not for love or money.

One commenter in the thread suggested that no American medalist had been featured because their medals (for half-pipe, rather than skiing or ice-skating, for example) were not as compelling. I grudgingly supposed that might be true, although I doubted that an exciting American win in speed skating was less “compelling” than a Canadian woman’s slolam.

So, I’ve been keeping an eye on it. The night before last? NO anthem, from any country was shown, and I wondered if NBC had gotten a few complaints about ignoring the Americans and decided to forego medal ceremonies and anthems.

But no. Last night the Russian ice skater, Yevgney Plushenko, turned in a less-than-inspiring performance for his unsurprising gold medal while American Snowboarder Seth Wescott made history by winning the first-ever Gold in the Snowboard Cross. Which anthem did we hear, in full? The Russian, of course. Even though NBC had, the whole night, talked up Wescott’s competition, adding a personal profile, emphasizing over and over that his win would be a big deal. Even though Plushenko’s competition was stultifyingly dull while Wescott’s was a neck-in-neck bruiser.

NBC blew it. Not only would most Americans have been very happy to hear 13 notes of the Russian Anthem, and the whole of the Star Spangled Banner, but I’m willing to bet that American WOMEN would have been more than happy to have spent the three minute anthem gazing at the photogenic, smiling, broad-shouldered Wescott over the grim, rather unfortunate-looking Plushenko.

Frankly, winter games are not all that interesting, to begin with. If we have to deal with a network deliberately playing down our own country’s accomplishments, what’s the point of watching? I’ll watch the ladies skating, and I’ll watch the snowboarding (especially if young Wescott is riding), but otherwise, I guess I’ll join the rest of the country and tune into something else. Or, you know…just turn off the tv and knit.

I can’t figure out if NBC is trying to send a message to the world by not showing American medal ceremonies – with the anthem – or if they are just staggeringly stupid. Perhaps it is both.