Power Grid Blog
Paralympics -- hard core sports and great TV
September 5, 2012 | Lara Schwartz
The 2012 Olympics cost me a lot of sleep. Every night after my daughter went to bed, I turned on the
prime time coverage and watch until midnight, which is way past this 40-year-old mom’s bedtime.
As a lifelong horsewoman, I wanted to watch the equestrian events, but they aired at odd hours on
obscure stations I couldn’t even find.
By contrast, I ordinarily don’t follow gymnastics, track and field, swimming, or diving and I couldn’t have
identified any athletes in those sports (other than Michael Phelps) before the games began. So why did
I stay up to watch them every night? Why did I suddenly care if McKayla Maroney won vaulting gold or
how big a splash the divers made entering the water?
The thing about the Olympics is, when you watch you realize that human potential goes beyond
anything you imagine in daily life. When I watch Gabby Douglas or Michael Phelps, I know at a
molecular level that I will never, ever be that good at anything. It’s awesome.
The Paralympics, taking place in London as I write this, give me the exact same feeling.
Just. Wow. These athletes are hard core.
Unfortunately, I won’t have a chance to stay up too late every night to admire new heroes or see new
records broken (and I’ll miss yet another elite international equestrian competition). The Paralympics
are getting more limited coverage. Several reporters have called to ask me what we think of that.
They pointed out that in England and some other countries, the Paralympic games are getting as much
coverage as the Olympic Games did. A British reporter told me that people there are “mad for tickets,”
and that it’s tough to get in to most events.
The British have it right—these are tremendous athletes competing at a high level in exciting sports.
Anyone who watches can see that. The key is—they can’t get addicted to Paralympic competition until
they see it.
This year’s coverage is a step forward from 2008, when we didn’t get to see any of the Games. But it’s
a floor, not a ceiling. This year, many US fans will get a taste of what the host country already knows—
that the two Games are worthy of and should have equal billing.
NBC, which airs both games, has taken a step. The network, including its affiliated companies, has been
on the leading edge of portraying the disability community and continues to make progress. I am sure
that they are seeing returns on that from this year’s Games.
When the closing ceremonies are done and the athletes go home, the next stage begins. The Winter
Games are just a couple of years away. We, the fans—54 million people with disabilities and any other
Olympic addict hungry for even more great TV—can get the ball rolling (as it were). We want to see
more, so let’s speak up and tell our friends to do so.
Unlike shooting a bulls eye, diving through space, or breaking speed records, any one of us can do that.
So let’s get started.
