Why I hate the Olympics

One of the main reasons would be the Channel 7 coverage. Why? Firstly, it's interrupted by ads every 10 minutes and when they come back from those ads, there's always some highlights package taking up valuable programming time, when they could be showing actual events. Secondly, their tendency to show nothing but events that Australia traditionally do well in. Case in point: swimming. Now don't get me wrong, I think swimming is a fine sport and having worked in the aquatic industry for a number of years I have respect for the atheletes and their prowess (and the job the staff are doing in Athens keeping the cyanuric acid levels up in some pretty intense sunlight). So sure, we do well but my god, swimming is so boring to watch. They jump in the pool, swim to the end, then swim back again. Really the only spectacle is in analysing Thorpe's stroke from the undewater camera. That's the only skill involved. Same with rowing: either one boat's in front, or a different one is. Wow... it's a race. Someone's gonna win sooner or later. Thirdly, and this applies to most commercial media, is the inappropriate use of the word hero. In my book, if you rescue a kiddie from a burning building, you're a hero. If you get paid to train at the AIS, then get a free trip overseas where you come first in a race, you may be a fine athelete but hero? I don't think so.