We don’t get cable or satellite television, so we have an antenna to get basic television channels. For some reason, we’ve never been able to get NBC – KARE 11 consistently (if at all) on our tv. Whether it’s just a bad signal or a plot by Comcast to get people to sign up for cable, it just has never come through.

Unfortunately, that means we’ve missed the last few Olympic Games. I’ve felt bad about it because I remember watching all the Olympics every night when I was a kid, and I wanted to have that experience for my own kids. So this year, we signed up for Sling, which means that we can get NBCSN, which isn’t necessarily the same coverage on the regular network, but it’s something.

Here’s the thing: the coverage is terrible. I turned it on and all that was on was sportscasters talking. Sometimes they were interviewing Olympians, other times they were talking about the events to come, and other times they were showing clips or docu-drama looking fluff pieces. All of this was interspersed with the same commercials over and over again. What has happened to television and to the Olympic coverage?

I haven’t watched much network (or any) television in years. I prefer to get bad media influences through reading on the internet nowadays. Going back to watching the tv means I’m overwhelmed by the weird commercials and repetition, but more importantly, I’m totally annoyed by the way everything has music swelling and graphic elements swirling around the screen. Why is this happening? Ugh.

We still had fun watching biathlon with Annika this afternoon and some of the snowboarding with the family at dinner. The Olympics are still fun to watch, when we actually get to see the events. I wish I could get the regular NBC channel through my antenna, because the NBCSN is a little repetitive: they showed the same race from earlier today again tonight.

Still, when I turn on the Olympic Games, I want to see SPORTS with some commentary, not vice versa. Get your head in the game, NBC.