nbc has the worst commentators...had to watch a lot of the nbc olympic coverage on mute cuz they were so biased and they just did not shut up!
cbc is a lot better!!!

im SOOOOOOOO with u on this one.

nbc needs to D-I-E!!!!!!!!!!!!

No matter how or what, the grass is NOT greener on the other side !!!.

I watch everything online. Complete coverage, no oral commentary, no commercials, best solution ever.

Hahaha...well too bad u don't live further north, then you could watch the canadian broadcasting channel. They are usually a bit more sane, and tend to actually show live broadcasts most of the time. One of the benefits of living in a border state hahaha!!

Oh and i remember an announcer saying something like, "A Chinese male all a round gymnast is like a chinese panda almost extinct." I'm like oh my gosh the things they come up with.

Kris, I thought that announcer said, "A Chinese male all around gymnast as talented as Yang Wei is as rare as (something about pandas)", or something like that. I don't think he meant to be offensive with that line.

However, I agree with almost everything else that has been mentioned here, but I try not to let it bother me. Especially since I now watch it on volume 1 with something else going on in the background that has nothing to do with the Olympics.

lots of comments agreeing with javabeans up there.

i like listening to them b/c it'd be boring without commentators. i can totally relate to what you're saying about how they make stupid comparisons and generalize women. i hate how they keep on pointing to the gymnast that's Asian American and parents ran from china to taiwan then US. come on, no matter where your root is, an american is an american period.

other than that i think they're doing a good job of explanning the scoring systems annd so on. i mean they're on the spot and have to speak constantly and give opinions to things on the spot. it's their job, i know, but it's tough so i think overall they're doing pretty well.

Racism is terrible. I hope people don't discriminate against Michael Phelps when they find out his dad is Poseidon. Half man, half amazing.

And wow what a finish! Phelps made a "finishing mistake" by half-stroking to the wall (you could smash your hand!), but that "mistake" won him the race. Swimming has given me my favorite moments of the whole Olympics so far!

Federer, what have you done with Federer? *Sniff*

I can see James Blake's point of view (he IS right, but still. . . ), but Gonzo is one of the real nice guys on the men's tour. I'm surprised Nadal beat Joker, and I have to question whether Joker is mentally ready for the US Open. Can Nadal win 3 GS's AND the Gold?!?

New MV with So Ji Sub includes footage from Movie is a Movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRDR5X6YvJ0&fmt=18

LOL belleza!! poseidon. hahahah. that was too good :P

javabeans, you're THE most articulate and eloquent ranter...EVER!!
you seriously voiced all of my mental frustrations with the commentary surrounding the olympics.
i got soooo annoyed yesterday during the women's all-around when the commentators wouldn't stop verbalizing their grimaces during the routines of the girls from other countries, but would be completely silently save the occasional "perfect; beautiful" during the US girls' routines.
and the time after the routine and before the scoring was just as bad if not worse
...for the girls from other countries, they'd be like "that was just NOT a good routine!"...and when their scores would be decent, they'd be like...OH GOD WHAT IS UP WITH THE INCONSISTENT SCORING TODAY?! SHE MADE WAYYY MORE ERRORS THAN SO-AND-SO FROM OUR GLORIOUS COUNTRY!!!!
and for the US girls, they'd be like "FANTASTIC ROUNTINE!! she couldn't have done it ANY better!!"...and when the score would be less than their amateur asses would've liked, they'd again blame the scoring/judges.
uhhhh...WTF.

gad.
hate hate HATE the nbc commentatorssss!!

"javabeans, you’re THE most articulate and eloquent ranter…EVER!!"

Mm hmm preach!! At her best, javabeans's poison purple prose recalls that of the original Angry Black Woman, Jane Austen. Her good rant is eloquent and elephant.

Oh, isn't it amazing Supergrass are still around? Don't call it a comeback, the mop tops have been here for years!

"but would be completely silently save the occasional “perfect; beautiful” during the US girls’ routines."

I hate that female skating and gymnastics are always world wars waged with girl-women showing way too much leg. All the same, I adored Shawn Johnson (4"8/80lbs/16 years old/defeated puberty)'s floor routine. Really perfect, beautiful. Now smile for Mom Amerika and R Kelly, Shawn and Nastia.

If only I had the time to read all of the comments...I'm 100% behind you Javabeans...you should submit your comments to the network - I've done the same thing after watching in absolute disgust the broadcast of Australia's channel 7 of the Olympics - or rather the Australian swimming team. Becuause as far as they are concerned, the rest of the countries competing in their chosen disciplines don't exist much along warrant a comment...or acknowledgement for that matter. Please excuse my little rant but I think I will feel much better once it's all out....

So this is what I'm ^%$#^! off about - there are people starving in the world right? What makes front page news a week from the opening ceremony (which can I just say was really spectacular minus the whole fake fireworks on TV thing (though that was quite clever) and the little girl who replaced the other little girl cause the other one wasn't pretty enough) in Australia? Breaking news!!! Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan break-up!!!! (for those who don't know who they are, because lets face it unless you live in the land of Oz and are subjected to repeats of their marvelous swims whenever there is some space to fill in the broadcast because an Aussie in not competing, every five minutes) they are two of our swimmers - our new golden girl and the guy who for about one day held the new 50m freestyle record smashing it by something like 2 seconds. That's number one.

Number two is the fact that as far as the broadcast is concerned, Australia is the only country competing in the Olympics and the only sport is swimming (actually I'm a little unfair - the only venue is the Water Cube (??) because they covered the diving as well . Oh and of course, they covered Michael Phelps!!! What, you mean to tell me that there are other American swimmers out there???? NO????!!!! (insert as much sarastic tone here as you like!!). Unless there is an Aussie competing in an event don't even bother switching on because if you're actually expecting to see interesting and exciting games involving other countries, you're going to be solely disappointed. Zippo. Nothing. Kind of disappointing for the millions of people in this country who were born overseas and who would like to support their homeland.

And number three - for some strange unexplained reason, Australian's (not all mind you - there are those of us who give credit where it's due) feel that it's necessary to claim all that's great and successful as Australian. It's a bit like claiming movie stars as Australian even though they were really born somewhere else. Nicole Kidman was (I think) born in New Zealand, but she's our Nicole Kidman because she's successful. Same with Russell Crowe. Today I hear a report on one of our current affairs programs which promised an expose (mind you, I was setting myself up for a disaster because just the other day, the same program promised another expose - the abovementioned Stephanie Rice's grandfather was to spill the beans on the broken-up couple - guess what? They haven't broken up at all) I suppose it was something along the same lines as your NBC reporters claiming that coaches coming to America from different nationalities can be trusted (I'm offended and it doesn't even concern me) not to sobotage the American team. This reporter calmly pointed out that while the Australian team is (something like) 430 people strong, we really have a lot more than that. We, apparently, have the right to claim the gold medals of the majority of the other countries as well, because our retired sportsmen and women are coaching all over the world.

Yes....well...slightly better now....

if you were pissed off about that, then u must have been pissed off about the opening ceremony as well.
like how they were commenting on how certain countries will not get any medals before returning home.

i agree with you SOO much! but since most of my thoughts have already been expressed, i'll add more to the list of ignorant comments i remember from nbc
- one commenter compared the chinese men all around gymnasts to pandas and how both are rare and should be cherished
- another (or maybe the same guy) also commented on how Wang Wei is China's superman but "we all know that superman is white"; then the screen quickly shoots to an image of Jonathan Horton (both competed in Men's AA)

on a side note, all the michael phelps coverage is starting to annoy me (thank goodness his events are over i believe). ok, he's a beast in swimming, but there are so many other medalists out there and they don't even get 10% as much spotlight as phelps. i, for one, respect a gold in all around gymnastics a lot more than one in swimming. but if we were to stick to swimming, how is it that phelps still manage to get more attention for the men's 4x100 than lezak? he might be going for that 7 striaght golds, but c'mon. give the other guys a break. it's not all about phelps. where is rebecca soni who has proven herself so much in these games? where is her coverage?

I don't have anything to add, but I agree 100%. I also hate how biased the announcers are. I can understand having pride in the US, but tearing down other countries (well, making rude remarks) is pathetic.

Been watching the Olympics and I heard some of the things they say but after your post I finally realize that yeah some of the things they say is just stupid and annoying.

.... HE GOT the GOLD!

of course, every body knows that by now.

so, after reading your rant, i watched my first ever olympic coverage on TV (im very old), just to see how bad NBC really is. but all they would show was Phelps, so all i learned is how great Phelps is and how much pressure they were putting on him. thank god he won, i think the Americans would have eaten him alive if he didn't. as soon as he won someone said "move over Mark Spitz". jeez, Spitz is American too and still alive as far as I believe. those morons are unbelievable.

but, i think im gonna start watching the olympics. i felt such a thrill watching. thanks for the rant, javabeans. there is a world outside of dramas.

i completely agree with you.
gosh i wanted to smack those announcers two days ago when i was watching the olympics. being a chinese person myself, i was routing for both the american team and the chinese team. so given that the MCs are gay, they keep making rude comments. they don't even keep in mind that there are others watching that might get offended by their comments. i especially noticed this when i was watching women gymastics or w/e its called. they are so biased. if one of the american gymnasts don't get a score the MC agrees with, then they start saying how they don't agree and blah blah. then they say the chinese had such a high score of blah blah and that they don't agree with that and that they should have gotten a lower score and blah blah. they bash all the other countries except for their own! even though i saw some flaws in the american's routine all the MCs said were, "beautiful, just beautiful. i don't understand how that routine could have gotten such a score and blah blah." i was actually going to call NBC and complain that they should knock some sense into those gay biased announcers.

I love you. javabean.

My daughter wholeheartedly agrees with your stance on this issue. However, she finds it to be a one-sided analysis of why NBC has hired the anchors and commentators it did, her chief assertion being that they are catering to the majority of the population. Interestingly enough, she then swore at the channel for skipping ahead in the 1500m men's freestyle race. How childish, haha.

I so agree with you, the commentary and coverage of the Olympics in Australia has been just as bad. Its rather disappointing and just thinking about it makes me wanna throw a tantrum and tell the world to wake up and stop being so ignorant and incompetent.

OMG I was thinking the same thing, this morning I was watching an event and the commentator was saying that China had an advantage in this event as they were used to the humidity and smog, as did other asian competitors. What if the Olympics were held in another nation this year? Would someone have said they had a disadvantage because of the different weather conditions, altitude etc. Overall China came third for the event.

I think most of you here are over-reacting................I mean isn't the Olympics all about ethnicism/nationalism/racism/sexism to begin with?? I think the commentators are just saying what many people are thinking so can you really blame them? I would probably wonder about ANY coach who doesn't coach for his native country especially if I didn't now that he became a naturalized citizen of another county, so the commentators were actually clarifying the situation. And many women I know put a whole lot of emphasis on every aspect of their wedding especially the dress, so who but us (women) is to blame for the wedding dress comment ? That goes the same for women wearing the same outfit - would any woman here want to go to a party and find yourself wearing the same outfit as another woman? And to Mel (#71)..............did you object when they had non-Chinese athletes train outside Beijing (and outside China for some) because of the smog situation? If the Olympics were held in the Alps, I would think that people living there would have a huge advantage over people from the equatorial tropical countries.............what would be so wrong in thinking that? Why are so many people here afraid of stating the obvious - that there are differences between ethnicities, nationalities, races and sexes? Come on, people, relax! If you truely want racism and sexism to stop exsisting then we should have Olympic games where men and women compete against each other and athletes compete as individuals (and not as a representative of a country).............heck we might just get rid of such devisive thing as the Olympic games all together!

Oh, one more thing javabeans..............your comment about the US gymnastics team being more progressive..............who can you blame but us Asian-Americans for the lack of our presence in gymnastics? Most of the families I know don't invest alot in gymnastics - they would rather send their kids to other sports or no sports at all so that they could focus on more "academic" acheivements. Isn't it true that most Asian-American parents would rather see their kids become doctors, lawyers, engineers than a professional gymnast (or any professional athlete for that matter)?...............sad but I have to admit this is true...............

@ Rebecca and Emma C:

I completely agree with your comment.

Everything needs to be put into context. As a minority of immigrant parents I'm not surprised by the multinational backstories of some of the athletes, but not everyone in America is as exposed to that. It is changing nowadays. But I have to say how surprised I was to find that in one of my college classes (a class about race in America nonetheless) that a lot of people came from suburbs with little or no exposure to peers of other races. The commentators are addressing that audience which they perceive for whatever reason to be the 'majority'.

But really why would you expect an American commentator to not be biased in favor Americans? Yes one would hope they would not be jingoistic but they are after all human and are prey to the same kind of nationalist sentiment as others. I can't say I've noticed them be as bad as javabeans say they've been. They are more critical of the mediocre athletes from other countries reserving praise for the best of the foreign athletes. They can at times be carried away by nationalism but from what I've seen they do try to give a fair perspective.

It is a novelty for to have minority athletes in American gymnasts at the Olympics. There should be some comment of it. Also, the fact of the matter is that a lot of immigrants and children of immigrants do have 'divided loyalties'; some also don't. It's kind of silly for the patriotism to be doubted since they have chosen to represent the U.S. but I don't find it to be as egregious as supposed by the other posters.

OMG, I thought I was the only one feeling this way, I was saying to myself "If only I could strangle those commentators, they are ruining the Olyimpics for me," I couldn't take it anymore, I just had to stop watching because I got sooo pissed-off when they talked, thanks for the post and just wanted to say I feel ya.

@ Jessica: I agree! Isn't is strange how Americans (and judging from the comments, the rest of the world) are openly racist towards Asians?

If they spoke about any other race people would be outraged, but no one seems to be bothered by it when it's directed towards Asians. It's like they don't even realize it's racist!

@ triple6: Might as well get used to all the Phelps talk. lol He broke a record that was set what...30 years ago (36?) and he's the first person to EVER win 8 gold medals at a single Olympics. It's going to be a looooong time before anyone does something as incredible as this again. In fact I'll bet they're going to put him on the cover of Time magazine (maybe even imitate Mark Spitz's iconic cover)

It just goes to show how narrow-minded and prejudiced white America still is despite their efforts to become more accepting of other races. I visited central Washington, a farming area, last week, and it was so white that people stared and commented because we were Chinese, yet the Amish didn't even raise an eyebrow.

I was so glad to get back to Canada.

I consider myself a mutt when it comes to race and ethnicity. However, in America's eyes and everyone else's I'm a brown eyed, brunette white woman. I truly understand everyone's feelings regarding the commentators. Being 31, I am sure I am older than most of you commenting, I have seen a huge change in the voice of the media and its representatives. Frankly, it's been disgusting to see the shifts in view. All of the prejudice comments and actions (i.e. Imus etc) coming to the surface. Fear and misunderstanding causes a lot of this. I have no problem with people who have come here from other countries or people born here of other ethnicities and races.

It does irk me when people jut say "narrow-minded and prejudiced White America" because I am not that way and I don't want to be categorized and pigeonholed like an any other ethnic or racial group. Don't do the same thing you are accusing others of doing - it's hypocritical - this is directed at All4movies and Peachy. I am an American and I am far from being patriotic or nationalistic. I certainly don't have any grudges or issues with Asians. I get tons of flack for my interest in other cultures because unlike many people I know, they are not interested beyond what impacts their everyday life. Most of the time I am listening to music from another country - esp South Korea. I watch foreign films and dramas. I study the history and try to teach myself other languages of other cultures. America has issues but it isn't necessarily about race and ethnicity as you may think it is. It's about control, fear, the haves and have nots. This is a deep subject, but I would say the capitalist way has also caused a problem. The same problems that exist in the US exist elsewhere, they just look a little different. It's sad that there some people that can't not transcend their ignorance.

Embrace your fellow man. Love changes and if you are strong in your convictions, you can change the world by being you. Martin Luther King did it. Live by your actions. Live by your words. Be careful not to do the same things you accuse others of doing. I love you all. Love is free and its easy to share. May I gain wisdom and be able to give the benefit of my wisdom to others! - I live by these words.

And I say, do speak up!

Lynn,

I sincerely apologize if my comments seemed to pigeon hole all white americans. You're totally right, there are certainly are openminded white Americans around and I did meet some on my trip.

I think I was ranting because it triggered childhood memories of being a victim of racism and prejudice and it brought back a lot of unpleasant feelings.

May we all have the privilege of experiencing a world free of prejudice and hatred one day.

amen

Javabeans genereally I agree wih your comments. And you sight some eamples of ridiculously sexist commentary. I am not sure if you are interpreting the other statements the way they were meant. They could have been attempting to point out the US's diversity. (And I an a 1st generation black American saying that not a corn-fed blue-eyed american) But jingoistic? Thats the nature of the Olympics. I have yet to see the nation that doesn't cover the games focusing on their own country the most. It's to be expected. I used to complain about the commentary and bias of NBC too. But I am spending this second week of the Olympics in Beijing China. SO I have learned to appreciate NBC. If you have cable you can watch practically every event as close to live as reasonably possible. I wanted to watch some Olympics on TV tonight like Track or anything else. However if there are no Chinese in it CCTV does not show it. AT ALL. They actually showed a repeat of a volleyball game and a 3 hour special about their gold medalists instead of any live Olympic event tonight. I am up so late because at 2 am they will give a brief non Chinese recap of the Olympics unrelated to China. This is all the non-Chinese watching I get to do. SO yes NBC has it's flaws. It's commentary can be quite silly. That's true of most sports commentary. All sports tv could use a lot less chatter. However at least NBC SHOWS THE OLYMPICS. I am missing that now. To be honest after CCTV I dont think I will ever complain about US olympic coverage again.

All4Movies,

Thanks! :) I appreciate it. And I share your sentiments. May we live to see a world united instead of divided.

That is for sure!

Continue to speak out and know you are not alone. People of all races and backgrounds are behind you. :)

off-topic

It's ironic that european Americans love to twist the facts like:

1. East Asians discovering America and not some slave-trading murdering Italian from Spain.
2. Chinese invented the printing press, and not Gutenberg. Actually, Koreans invented the first metal movable-type printing press which is what Gutenberg is credited for by whites.
3. Finally, East Asians are more evolved than Europeans. (this is fact: East asians have more brain power, less body hair, and are physically more unlike primitive primates).

BTW, in response to the NBC comments of "costumes" worn by the Chinese during the opening ceremony: IT'S NOT A COSTUME. IT'S CLOTHING. MR. LAUER AND COSTAS: DO YOU CONSIDERING YOUR SHIRT AND TIE A COSTUME? (stupid idiots....)

To Twinkie:
While I whole-heartedly agree with you that there are facts in history that have been twisted to accomplish a certain image (ex. Columbus discovering America)... Isnt saying that east asians are more evolved than europeans also a twist to suit one's opinion
On what scientific evidence do you base your assertion on?
*Race= a social construct to identify individuals by physical features/culture
*Biological race= actual distinctions between different groups of individuals base on genetics
-->* It has been shown (through scientific research) that when studying race through human genetics... it has been proven difficult to divide humans into biological races that are equivalent to the socially/culturally constructed ideas of race and which individual is what race
So in FACT... there are less differences between races (biologically) than differences based on pure physical/cultural features

In a nutshell, all I say is that we treat everyone regardless of their race with equal respect, fairness, and humility b/c we are more alike than we are different (science proved it for you)

@Wanderer,

Saying that east asians are more evolved than europeans is not a twist to suit one's opinion. It's not an opinion. It's fact. east asians were the last to evolve hence making them the most evolved. Just like Homo neanderthal evolved later than homo erectus.

You're misunderstood my post b/c you thought I wrote that east asians are superior. Although that may be implied

@ Wanderer & Twinkie

Read this article, its very interesting to what Twinkie is talking about.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/science/26human.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin

To be honest and offtopic to the thread's original post, history is subjective ultimately. However, we have a choice to unite and work towards a more meaningful existence.

And I am sorry, I don't buy the genetic, evolutionary superiority of East Asians nor that of any other group of people. Every group of people has intelligent, moderate intelligent, and below intelligent individuals. There are too many variables to bank everything on genetics let alone evolution.

And besides that ,using evolution and genetics to make a case (even though you say that you were misunderstood (which honestly sounds like total bs) is tantamount to the beginning rumblings of making another argument for Eugenics. I swear I hope nobody gets that in their head to start that mess again.

Race is a misnomer and an insecurity of human beings. Always wanting to be different and set apart. We are all freaking human beings. We need to get on with being a united group. We can retain our cultures and beliefs but we don't have to sacrifice what we are as human beings for some superior mumbo jumbo.

All though this is off topic, I feel the need to reply :)

To Lynn,
THANK YOU! Loved the article. I had read something similar a while ago, but couldnt think of where I read it. Basically the article states the same as what you and I were saying. That evolution doesnt occur in just one particular population, but to all populations depending on selective pressures in that area.

To Twinkie:
Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus were completely different species!! We are ALL the same species (Homo sapiens).. so saying that one human is more evolved than another is a bit of a stretch ( evolutions doesnt just happen in a day.. )