Going for the gold?

Kristin Long Daily Arts Editor

There's something different about the Olympics this year. It's neither the crowds, nor their effervescent cheering; it is not the athletes, or their amazing talent in their respective sports. It isn't even the hype that the media create with such an illustrious event.

The 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, is something else, something more personal. This year, the one who takes the gold is not only the one who skates or skis the fastest or most gracefully, but rather the one who has overcome the greatest personal tragedy.

Someone has pushed aside that one crucial aspect so important that, without it, there would be no Olympics in the first place. The competition itself has been shoved away like old notes in a junk drawer. Yes, the events that bring all of the world's athletes together, the competitions that have challenged these athletes for years on end, have been replaced by personal stories of loss and despair.

At least, this is what CBS is making me believe.

I always thought that the Olympics were supposed to be about the battle of the strongest, the battle of endurance. Each event is designed to challenge the athletes' physical strength and ability to endure despite competition conditions. It's a battle of training techniques, of muscle power, will and physical domination.

But since the opening ceremonies, I have turned on CBS each night expecting to witness the fury of athletes at the pinnacle of their careers trying to earn that prestigious title of best athlete in the world.

All I have seen are the stories about personal endeavors and struggles. These stories about so-and-so athlete who braved the biggest snow storm in 80 years just to practice his downhill diversity, have taken precedence over watching so-and-so athlete actually do his downhill stuff when it matters most.

Now, don't get me wrong, one or two of these stories really add character to the games. Take Picabo Street, for instance. This woman refused anesthesia to stay awake during her knee surgery and then she won the gold medal in the Super G. Now that's strength, and it's a good story nonetheless.

But when CBS starts to use the competitions as something to fill the gap between the personal stories, the personal drama becomes quite excessive. All of these stories and anecdotes are becoming rather tiresome and rather general to think about it.

I'd be willing to bet that all of these athletes have hit rock bottom, or least come close, in their attempts to have that "One Moment in Time." I'm almost positive that many of these athletes were, at one point or another, excluded from the games by only missing the cut by a couple hundredths of a second - less than the time it takes one to blink.

These athletes, though, have bounced back. They have defeated the odds, the doubts and the fears to compete. For the most part, they are there to take on the world and not just to say that they were there. The Olympics aren't just about showing up. They're about going all out, with nothing to lose and never looking back. These athletes and their supporters yearn for the competition - the muscle versus the muscle, maintaining endurance, the struggle not to fall on that final lap of the speed skating competition.

Perhaps it's the latest category in the materialistic aspect of the Olympics. I don't know how much CBS paid to earn the rights to the games, but let's consider the results of this disastrous transaction.

First of all, the commentators. Two words: Bob Costas. Where is this NBC commentator when we need him? Sure, his language can be flowery and perhaps a bit excessive, but he knows how to capture the moment. After the summer games in Atlanta, I didn't know what we'd do without the exquisite commentary and tremendous dialogue of the NBC sportscaster. Now I realize: We get CBS.

Now, I don't know if CBS forgot to train some of their commentators on the do's and don'ts of broadcast journalism, but, my friends, something has gone awry.

One of the first events during the first weekend of the games was the snowboarding competition. One of the commentators was the standard sportscaster, using proper lingo and appropriate remarks.

But then there was his co-worker, whose name I never learned. While this person clearly understood the ins and outs of snowboarding, he used phrases and terms such as, "Yeah, he took that turn real good" and "stoked." Interesting choice of description for a major network broadcaster. The next time I saw a snowboarding competition, this broadcaster was not heard.

Then, of course, there are the personal tragedy stories, where someone at CBS has decided that the games are more about biographies than about athletics.

Perhaps it's what CBS thinks that we, the American people, really want to see. Ah, silly Americans. We are led to think that the most important events in the winter games are the figure skating and the Super G. Tisk, tisk.

Anyone who has CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) knows the truth. While CBS is off telling us about how said athlete endured a six-hour foot massage, CBC is showing real events, athletic events - such events as curling and ice dancing.

Sure, CBC had to break from the competition to talk about Ross Rebagliati, the snowboarder who almost lost his gold medal for testing positive for marijuana. But the network hardly doted on the subject in lieu of current competition.

I am not quite sure why there is such a disparity between CBS and CBC, but I am just curious why the Canadian channel has so many more events taking place. It's not as if Canada is on some vastly different time schedule than the United States, at least not that I know of, or that they have some forewarning.

Perhaps CBS is blaming this all on the time difference between the United States and Japan. But this hardly applies, because CBS will wait to run major events until prime time to attract a substanitial audience. It is just a wonder that we don't see more events, whether live or taped.

Frankly, I don't care if it's a taped event. Sure, live coverage is far better and should take precedence over taped programming. But if CBS is only going to fill its prime-time programming with, dare I say, sentimental fluff, then it might as well return to its regularly scheduled programs.

- Kristin Long can be reached via e-mail at klong@umich.edu

02-19-98