indi.ca

I’ve been watching the daily highlights on the Olympic YouTube page. The sports are great, but then they always ask the athletes such stupid question. How does it feel to win? Was it hard? How’s the crowd? What about your family? There’s nothing anybody can do with these questions, not the athlete, the interviewer, or the reporter. And speaking English doesn’t help. I prefer the interviews with the people that don’t.

Not that there’s necessarily a shortage of interesting stories, it’s just hard to get them right after people win I guess, and it’s not necessarily what anyone wants at that time. The US women’s Judo champ overcame abuse by her coach when she was young to take the gold this week. The sheer mechanics of women’s gymnastics is mindblowing. Yet neither of these stories, while interesting, are appropriate for a post-victory chat.

I guess it’s good to see peoples faces, but still. Interviews with Olympic athletes are almost universally dull. There is perhaps only one exception, as when they are execrable, as per the Ryan Locthe interview above.