Frustrations of Trying to Watch the Olympics

by Benny on August 12, 2008

I’m living in Taipei, Taiwan now. Been having a great time. Except that they did not broadcast the Super Bowl here in Februrary. I was pretty upset at the time. Missed arguably the best Super Bowl now. I’m over it now. The wound has closed. Got so excited by the start of the Beijing Olympics. I’m in the same time zone so I should be able to watch events live I thought. But now a new wound has opened up.

Days into the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I have watched a total of five minutes of it. Why? Because the TV station here in Taipei has decided to broadcast the most random and lamest events. For example…

  • USA Men’s basketball opening game vs. China. A game expected to seen my 1 billion people in China alone? Nope. Not live. Not on tape delay. Last night they had Brazil vs Australia Women’s basketball. Who in Taipei really cares?
  • The Men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay. One of the greatest finishes in history. Nope. Instead I’ve seen archery on in the morning and at night. It’s on right now again.

    • Other events I’ve seen on TV. Taekwondo. Handball. Volleyball. Synchronized diving. Replays of the opening ceremonies. Utterly disappointing.

    So I’ve tried to go online to find it. NBC has such control over Olympic coverage that highlights are not on Youtube. On their website, I was excited to see that I could watch highlights. But then quickly found out, it’s restricted to US viewers only. So even more frustration.

    I’m doing all I can to try and find a way to watch the Games. Big events are still to come. Track and Field. More swimming. Men’s basketball. And I’m trying like crazy to find a way to watch them. So be glad if you’re able to watch the Olympics live or even on tape delay wherever you are. Because in Taipei, Taiwan, I get archery.