Last weekend, International Olympic Committee officials passed the proverbial torch to Paris, where the next Summer Games will be held in 2024. There is typically a lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding this closing ceremony tradition, but unsurprisingly, this year’s handoff lacked the level of enthusiasm we’ve come to expect. It’s difficult to get a mostly empty stadium excited. When the president of the International Olympic Committee exclaimed, “We did it together,” the applause was scattered and lukewarm at best. Which was kind of fitting given the drama and controversy surrounding the Games.
The ratings were pretty dismal too. The 2020 (or 2021 if we’re being accurate) Tokyo Summer Games had the lowest viewership since NBC started broadcasting them in 1988. Audience numbers were down 42% from the Rio Olympics in 2016. But those who didn’t watch, which appears to be the vast majority of the country, missed some real gems — both endearing and essential.
British diver Tom Daley could be spotted knitting between his dives. As if that wasn’t charming enough, he later revealed he was making dog sweaters. I couldn’t help but wonder if the U.S. men’s shooting team was plucked straight from the barstools at the No Name and told they were now Olympians; they looked like a group of dads on a hunting trip. Personally, my favorite moment was when I caught a glimpse of the kata competition. Kata, I learned, is a form of karate, which made its debut this year. But it’s not the kind where two people kick and chop at each other. Rather, it’s the “noncombat” form of the sport that seems to be mostly practiced in front of a mirror. It is said the athletes are judged on their air kicks and punches to nowhere. But in watching the event, you might think facial expressions play a significant role. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, but if you told me there was an Olympic sport where contestants had to drop a hit of acid and then do sign language, I would envision something like kata.
Then of course there were the moments that will be talked about for years to come. The “this is how change happens” acts that make us reexamine the status quo and then move towards shattering it. The courage Simone Biles displayed by putting her mental health above the expectations assigned to her. The German gymnasts who chose to compete in ankle-length unitards to combat the sexualization of their sport. The Norwegian women’s beach handball team who similarly protested (and were subsequently fined) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms. These are the moments that start long-overdue conversations.
While five sports and 18 events were added to this year’s Games, that obviously didn’t help the ratings any. So here are my proposals to increase viewership in 2024: At the end of the Games, every athlete has to randomly draw a sport out of a hat and then compete in it. Katie Ledecky might be invincible in the pool, but can she play ping pong? I’d also like to see every event include one regular person — plucked at random from a nearby Starbucks — so those of us at home have a better benchmark for the skill level involved.
Since the Tokyo Games were delayed by a year, there’s only six months until the Winter Olympics, which I tend to find a little more thrilling. In the Summer Olympics, medals are awarded to those who run and swim the fastest, who jump the highest, and who have the best flips. In the Winter Olympics, you get a medal if you make it around the rink without getting your hands sliced off by the knives on another athlete’s feet, or you slide down an icy tunnel of death without dying, or you can cross-country ski at top speed for 10 miles while carrying a rifle.
Going forward, maybe we should have the Summer Games and the Hunger Games.
Amy Roberts is a freelance writer, longtime Park City resident and the proud owner of two rescued Dalmatians, Stanley and Willis. Follow her on Twitter @amycroberts.