Why Are the NBC Olympics So Awful?

While social media users jump on the #NBCfail hashtag and coffee shop conversations revolve around how awful and inane the commentary has been, I’ve been reluctant to jump on the NBC-bashing bandwagon, in spite of the fact that they’re mocking us for it in London.

What I do want to discuss is what I heard on the radio this morning.

While flipping through the stations, I heard a man and woman discussing how “complicated” the opening ceremonies were. “It’s no wonder why they had trouble. I mean, who was that guy in the top hat that looked like Abe Lincoln? And I’d never heard of that Tim Burning-Lee guy before.” Ha ha ha ha.

Were they serious? And three days later they still can’t get Tim Berners-Lee’s name right?

Do they mean to tell me that NBC didn’t get a little play-by-play script that addressed who these characters were ahead of time? Anyone with an internet connection could have searched for information that would have actually added to the discussion, rather than just sitting around laughing about how they didn’t know who the guy was, or why any non-American might have played an important role in the world as we know it.

Do they not have Wikipedia in London?

So this is my note to NBC: If you’re going to insist on having commentators talking over absolutely everything, at least let your interns do a quick Google search so that they can actually educate the audience and contribute something to the conversation.

Until then, I’ll be watching the Olympics on mute.