Friday, February 24, 2006
watching the winter olympics from portland
For some reason the Winter Olympics tv broadcastes are getting a 20 share in Portland, Oregon while in the US, at large, they are only getting a 12 share:
"My opinion has always been that Northwesterners seem to be more individualistic and less supporters of professional sport," said Jack Elder, a 1972 Olympian in luge who works at the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. "They're not great spectators. . . . They're busy 'doing.' And they like to watch people who 'do.' "If you'll excuse me I have to go watch curling.
Perhaps it is no accident that a place that embraces running and bicycling as few others do would devour an Olympic schedule made up largely of individual sports. From cross-country skiing to short-track skating, Winter Olympic sports tend to be solitary contests.
