Beijing Winter Olympics become most watched games in US despite ‘diplomatic boycott’
More than 100 million Americans have watched the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where many U.S. athletes continue to show their talents, skills and sportsmanship, and share memorable experiences inside and outside competition venues.
With a boom in streaming services and a habitual use of social media, the 2022 Olympics, which have made Beijing the first city to host both winter and summer Games, could become the most-viewed video programming in U.S. history, according to media industry insiders.
The popularity of the ongoing event among ordinary Americans and the friendship between U.S. and Chinese Olympians showcased in the Games have lampooned the Washington-led farce of a so-called “diplomatic boycott” of the Games, and convincingly attested to the new Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.”
WIDELY WATCHED
It “definitely sent a positive message that the world will endure,” Marianne Chase, a retired elementary school teacher in Houston, the southern U.S. state of Texas, told Xinhua about the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. “We all need that right now.”
Chase was among the 16 million viewers in the United States tuning in to watch the technology-driven, visually-pleasing kickoff of the Games earlier this month despite a time difference of at least 12 hours across multiple NBCUniversal platforms.
More than 100 million Americans have since watched the Games on the networks of NBCUniversal, the U.S. media conglomerate has announced, adding it has also become “the most streamed Winter Games ever with 2.23 billion minutes consumed.”
“Considering that Olympic videos on YouTube and TikTok are going to rack up hundreds of millions of views, I wouldn’t be surprised if these Olympic Games end up being one of the most-viewed video events in U.S. history,” Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying.
While most winter sports fans across the United States have watched the Games and cheered for their favorite teams and athletes at home or game-watching parties, others have chosen to have a try on their own.
Over the past weekend, amid romantic vibes, residents and visitors in Washington, D.C. had fun skating inside the ice rink at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden, surrounded by magnificent works of art and towering sculptures.
Miles away at The Wharf – the U.S. capital’s iconic waterfront destination, those who had “missed your Olympic qualifier” were able to compete in multiple disciplines, including ice corn hole and curling, with televisions mounted on a wall inside a bar nearly replaying figure skating and curling matches in Beijing.
Ice hockey enthusiasts also feel excited about the Games, where the U.S. women’s team is seeking to defend the gold medal they won four years ago, and the men’s team is looking to get back to the podium for the first time since 2010.
“It comes around once every four years, really. So you gotta watch it when it comes. You’re also gonna be waiting for a long time,” Peter Lombardi, a high schooler from the U.S. state of New Jersey, told Xinhua.
For quite some time, Washington has gone to great lengths to mount pressure on Beijing by using the Games as a political tool and manipulating allies as anti-China pawns under the cloak of protecting human rights. But its “diplomatic boycott” has been foiled and ridiculed as the Beijing Winter Olympics are gaining extreme popularity around the world.
“Olympics are very popular in Norway,” Norway’s Chef de Mission Tore Oevreboe told Xinhua in Beijing. “We don’t believe in boycott. We want to participate.”
“Boycotting is not good,” Italian speed skater Michele Malfatti told Xinhua, hailing the volunteers of the Beijing Winter Olympics as very kind and the life in Beijing as very good.
COMPETING WHILE SHARING
Many Olympians from the United States have turned to social media to share athletic highlights, honorable and emotional moments, and behind-the-scene stories at the Villages. NBCUniversal said late January that Olympics-related content had already garnered over 18 billion views on TikTok.
“Everyone at home, thank you. Snowboarding, thank you,” legendary U.S. snowboarder Shaun White said in a short video posted on TikTok on Saturday, which also featured pictures of him at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.
The 35-year-old snowboarder finished in fourth place in the men’s halfpipe final last week, ending his career as a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a 13-time Winter X Games champion, and a six-time World Cup event winner.
While staying at the Olympic Village, White has been more than ready to respond to questions asked by some of his 1.5 million followers on TikTok. One of the viral clips showed him delightfully introducing traditional Chinese dishes for which he has a keen appetite, including “Sweet and Sour Pork,” “Kung Pao Chicken” and “Dandan noodles.” “In between competitions, I have just been eating,” he answered frankly. “The food is so good.”
Tessa Maud appeared to have been a “part-time reporter” when she was not competing in the women’s half pipe. Apart from a “Chinese food series” launched on TikTok, the U.S. snowboarder produced content on her training, pins she had exchanged with other athletes, and even packing procrastination.
U.S. luger Summer Britcher and her teammates had a surprising encounter with a life-sized Bing Dwen Dwen, and they asked the shy and polite chubby bear to share the elevator with them.
“We love you,” one voice said joyfully, though the cabin became immediately overcrowded when Bing Dwen Dwen moved in.
TRUE SPORTSMANSHIP
After the United States beat China in the mixed doubles round robin earlier this month, China’s curling duo Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi presented their American counterparts, Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys, with a set of pin badges featuring Bing Dwen Dwen.
The American duo later tweeted that they felt “honored to receive these beautiful Beijing 2022 pin sets in a wonderful display of sportsmanship by our Chinese counterparts.” Phill Drobnick, coach of U.S. men’s curling team, referring to it as “what the Olympics are all about.”
China’s Gu Ailing, who took the gold in the first-ever Olympic big air freestyle skiing competition, and Mathilde Gremaud, the bronze medalist from Switzerland, together consoled Tess Ledeux of France who finished in second place at Shougang Big Air in Beijing.
China’s veteran freestyle skier Xu Mengtao, a four-time Olympian and the runner-up at Sochi 2014, finally realized her dream of winning an Olympic gold in the women’s aerials on Monday.
Relieved and emotional, 31-year-old Xu burst into screams and tears before receiving a huge, long hug from American freestyle skier Ashley Caldwell, who just nearly missed out on the podium. “Taotao! Olympic Champion!” Caldwell greeted Xu referring to her nickname, adding, “I am so proud of you.”
“Some of the best love is found in friendship,” tweeted CBC Olympics, Canada’s official Olympic and Paralympic broadcaster. “Caldwell may have missed the podium in Beijing, but her reaction to Mengtao Xu winning gold on home soil warrants a perfect score.”
“True sportsmanship transcends borders,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying commented on Twitter. Xinhua
