I enjoy watching the olympics. I can’t always watch during prime time, (my husband doesn’t like the olympics so watching during primetime is not an option for me), but that’s why I have a DVR. However, my viewing experience of the winter olympics in Korea has been disappointing thus far for a number of reasons.
When I first sat down to watch the team ice skating competition I missed a couple of the last performers because my DVR automatically records only prime time shows. Which means, at 10:00 p.m. it stops recording. So, the first couple of nights, which ran long, I missed the last minute or so of the last performer. Dang it.
“I can fix that,” said I. “I can set up a timer to record exactly the hours I tell it to.” And so, I did. I set the timer to record from the start of the show until 30 minutes past when it should end. Perfect. Or so I thought.
When I sat down to watch the pairs skate, I watched from my pre-set timer. Again I missed the last performances. “Say what?” Apparently the network ran long and again I missed the final standings for the night. I re-set my timer to add additional time at the end of the show.
The following day, when I went to watch the first night of the men’s skating competition, I saw one guy perform before the timer cut me off. “Why in the (blankety, blankety) does this keep happening?” Perhaps I messed up the timer settings. Nope. All good. Turns out, I found out later, the network didn’t even start airing the men’s skating until after 10:00 at night. What?!? Ice skating is one of the most watched events. How can they show it so late at night?
Determined not to miss any future events, I re-set the timer again. The next night, I still missed the last guy to skate and therefore went to bed not knowing who medaled.
And what’s up with NBC announcing the medal winner before all of the contestants have even finished performing? I’m speaking of the women’s downhill skiing event, that I’m sure you all saw or heard about. I kept seeing the the girl from Austria as a two-time gold medalist only to discover quite a bit later that some other girl actually beat her time. They didn’t show this girl’s run on TV (except later to show her winning performance). WHAT?!? I thought I’d finally seen the actual final standings in an event, but nope. I did not.
How can the network call the winners before everyone has raced? I know, she wasn’t supposed to be a contender, but hey, isn’t that why we all love the olympics? We love the underdogs, the upsets, and long shots having the best days of their lives. Sheesh, NBC, get it together.
Needless to say, other than the 90 minutes of men’s curling that I watched “live,” I’ve missed all of the exciting stuff. I thought the DVR timer thing would do the trick, but I guess NBC is out to ruin my olympic viewing experience by delaying coverage and calling winners before they’ve officially won. Heck, I could do that. Based on the hype about who’s “supposed to win,” we could all be commentators and announce the medalists.
How about you friends, do you enjoy watching the olympics? Have you been disappointed with the standings, commentary, delays, wrong information? What’s your favorite winter olympics event?
Word of the day: Ziggurat
Fun fact about me: Every time I ski I imagine myself competing in an olympic event. (stop laughing)
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, February 2018. Photos courtesy Google Images.
jansenschmidt 
It’s difficult to keep up with the events AND get a good night’s sleep.This morning I was able to catch the end of the women’s hockey match between Canada and the OAR. I would have prefered another sport, but that was what was on… I suppose I could have switched to my iPad or my iPhone app, but I honestly wasn’t interested – I had other things to do. Last night I was watching the ice dance with my wife and was simply too tired to stay up and watch, so I went to bed.
I don’t ski – it’s not funny, just ask my family, it’s an embarrassing story. I do know what a ziggurat is – I taught 6th grade social studies for two years! Have a great day and a fabulous week. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
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It is kind of disappointing that they wait until the end of the evening to show the most popular events (in my opinion anyway). And it seems like they always fun over the time so it gets even later.
Oh well, it’s not like it’s the end of the world or anything if I miss the events, but they do only come around once every four years. You’d think the networks would take that into consideration. Maybe start airing an hour earlier.
So, I finally have a recognizable word for you. Awesome!!
Have a great week, Clay.
Patricia
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I don’t watch the Olympics OR use a DVR…I know I’m probably in my own little boat on that one! 🙂 Over the years, I’ve caught a few minutes of events, though. Mostly I remember men’s gymnastics and high diving, because, well, super-freaky athletic guys in tight and/or hardly any clothes? Hard to forget. 🙂 May the remainder of your Olympic watching be complete and trouble-free!
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Well, well, well. I guess we know what you’re looking at when you’re watching the swimming and diving events. All the right girly parts on high alert huh?
I’m not a huge sports fan. I like watching unknowns become somebody in a matter of a few minutes. Chasing those dreams and realizing them in front of billions of people. That’s got to be a pretty cool feeling.
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful week.
Patricia
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One reason I don’t watch the Olympics is just what you’ve discovered – you never know what events are going to be shown when. I might watch some of the downhill skiing events and the women’s gymnastics in the summer if you could depend on scheduling, but as it is, I don’t even try.
I frequently have your same frustration with LPGA golf tournaments. I always add an hour to the timer, but at times that’s not enough – especially if there’s a playoff. And if a men’s tournament runs over, they will preempt the LPGA to show the end of it. Grr!
A Ziggurat is sort of like the purple cow of childrens nursery rhymes – I’ve never seen one, and I never hope to see one.
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I’m so frustrated because it seems at though I never see the official postings. They break away to commercial and then when they come back they go to a different event. So, who won? The only official win I saw was Shaun White’s super cool halfpipe run. That was an official, official, true posting win where I saw him with a gold medal. Otherwise, I only get the standings on line. What’s up with that?
It’s disappointing. But, hey, I still like to watch.
Thanks for stopping by today, David. Have a great rest of the week.
Patricia
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We got rid of our DVR service because we never used it. Luckily, my husband likes the Olympics, so I’ve been watching with him (too much!). Snowboarding is probably my favorite to watch, but the couples ice skating is good, too.
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I like to watch most of the event for a very short period of time. I’d like to be able to tune to, let’s say, speed skating, for the absolute last 4 or 5 races and see who really wins. Seems like when I tune in they still have 47 racers left to go and only show 6 of them, but not the actual winners. It’s frustrating.
Oh well, I still watch. I enjoy watching good athletes pour their hearts out for a few minutes of glory. What a weird thing to train for for your entire life.
As always, thanks for your support.
Patricia
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Well, that’s very disappointing that you kept missing the last contestants. I would have been irritated with the way they scheduled the events so late at night. I missed most of the events. We had company and I fell asleep a couple times, then was distracted working on blog posts the other nights. I guess I’m more of a summer Olympics gal, but I did enjoy the ice skating performers that I was able to watch. And the snow boarding acrobats. Sean White is mighty gnarly!
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Yes Lynn, I’m enjoying what I’m seeing, I just wish I was seeing more of what I want to watch. It seems like they show dozens and dozens of snow boarders but only the top 6 or so ice skating competitors. I’d like to see more, even if they don’t have a shot to win. Oh well, not my circus, not my monkeys.
I do enjoy the summer olympics as well. I’m hoping the next one won’t disappoint.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great rest of the week.
Patricia
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