France won its first gold medal (but 11th overall) of the Games today in wrestling, which was about the last sport for which I imagined the French could win a medal, along with baseball and table tennis.
I don't offer this as a criticism, but I had noticed over the years that you never see a medal ceremony broadcast on American TV unless the Americans won the gold medal. Obviously, I don't know if it's the same this year, but every 4 years, this has meant missing out on great national anthems, like Finland's. (Just kidding, I have never heard the Finnish national anthem before, probably because they don't play it on American TV during the Olympics.)
Well, I can report that the French don't show any medal ceremonies until they win the gold medal either. They do have a good anthem, though.
The main difference between the French and US broadcasts is what sports are emphasized. I have seen a lot of fencing this week, some kayaking, and a fair bit of judo. No gymnastics or basketball, but a lot of swimming, as Michael Phelps' stardom has made its way over here. It is nice to see some of the lesser-known events get their moment in the spotlight, if only because those happen to be the sports where the French are winning some medals.
1 comment:
I think Canada is probably closer to France in this regard. Both in sport and in world news, the media seems more intellectually curious about the world than the media in the US.
Of course, if we won as many (or any) medals as Uncle Sam, perhaps things would be different.
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