Talking about who’s winning the Olympics is somewhat bizarre.
Basketball, obviously big around here, is only two medals. We won the gold in men’s basketball, but we only fielded one team. We can only field one team. It’s not like the US could sweep. When the women compete tomorrow, I’m rooting for them as well. Best case US, we get two golds.
But most people aren’t as big basketball fans as the US is. Soccer is much bigger elsewhere, and that’s not really a significant matter here. We won a gold in women’s soccer, but I think the US is the only major nation that cares. We didn’t even medal in men’s soccer, and that’s the big one for a lot of nations. Numerically, that’s as equivalent as the paired medals in a single track and field event. I bet a lot of people in Spain think they won because of their gold.
I also think we’re the only major nation that cares about total medal count. There’s a lot of smoke about silver and bronze medals counting, but normal people around here care about those medals a lot. That’s not some weird PR thing. Getting a bronze is a big deal. Golds are obviously better, but we don’t discount silver and bronze medals the way a lot of other people do.
That’s always been so odd. These athletes dedicate their lives to the sport and country, do incredibly well, do better than any of us in the commentariat, and get casually discarded because there exists a person who can do better. The disrespect is so weird. Again, as a fairly typical American, I’m incredibly proud of everyone from the US who makes it to the podium.
Strange times.