Disinterest in the Olympics Exemplifies American Malaise

Is anyone watching the Olympics?

As our resident sports guy, Clay mused that, “sports is a window through which society and our worldview are constantly colliding.” The Simone Biles story and the political posturing of some American Olympians have given even more people reason to tune out.

The Olympics used to focus all of us on the concept of American exceptionalism and the pursuit of excellence. How did our country stack up against the rest of the world? But many people don’t seem to care anymore. Clay wondered: “Is this the general malaise in America — that the Olympics are reflecting a general discontent in America, as a whole, in a way that they maybe haven’t in the past?”

Buck thinks covid restrictions, masks and fan-less stadiums have a lot to do with it: “If we had an Olympics last summer, it would have felt like an act of resiliency. And defiance against the virus. Now it feels like, we still can’t have a normal Olympics.”

However, we had a couple of callers who pushed back against the down-on-sports feeling. We heard from Joe, an inspiring football coach who overcame cancer in his youth, and Michael, who thinks not watching the Olympics and rooting for the U.S.A. is downright un-American.

Listen to Clay & Buck discuss our national Olympic malaise — and debate which host is the better American.