"What Is Your Favorite Olympic Sport?"

All Of It – WNYC, August 8, 2024
Guest Host: Kusha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Olivia Craighead (News Writer, The Cut)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the infectious enthusiasm audiences have for lesser-known Olympic sports as the Paris Games wind down. Guest host Kusha Navadar, joined by pop culture writer Olivia Craighead and a roster of engaged callers and texters, explores why even the most obscure events capture hearts, how coverage and social media shape our exposure, and celebrates the Olympic spirit through a uniquely diverse set of favorite disciplines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Special Appeal of Obscure Olympic Sports

• Olympic Fever:
  Both host and guest agree that Paris 2024 marks a "return to form" for Olympic energy, especially after the subdued, fanless Tokyo Games during the pandemic.
  • "This year has been a real return to form and a very celebratory Olympics."
    — Olivia Craighead [03:31]
• Why We Love the Oddball Events:
  Olivia points out the novelty and thrill of watching elite athletes excel in sports we rarely see:
  • "Being able to turn on the TV and watch these elite athletes at the absolute top of their game, be really good at something you didn't know someone could be really good at—like dressage or canoe slalom—it's just thrilling."
    — Olivia Craighead [04:48]
• Ephemeral Obsession:
  Part of the joy is "becoming really into" a certain sport for just a few weeks every four years.
  • "I would love to say yes, but...part of the joy is every four years popping in and becoming really into surfing, for example."
    — Olivia Craighead [05:26]

How Social Media & Tech Enhance the Olympics

• The "On Demand Olympics":
  Social platforms and streaming allow viewers to discover and share highlights instantly, with NBC Peacock’s multi-screen events as a game-changer.
  • "Now we're glued to our phones all the time. So as soon as something wild happens in pole vaulting or steeple chase, I can know immediately."
    — Olivia Craighead [08:15]
  • "I think the screen on Peacock, where you can see four different events all at once, is mesmerizing. They've made it so you can really watch anything at any moment..."
    — Olivia Craighead [09:06]
• Ubiquity of Olympic Content:
  "The Olympics is all over every single feed."
  — Olivia Craighead [09:54]
• Accessibility Tips:
  Besides Peacock, NBC’s YouTube uploads highlights quickly (with commentary and medal ceremonies), and some listeners recommend using a digital antenna for free over-the-air broadcasts.
  — [10:54, 20:36]

Listener Favorites and Deep Dives Into Specific Sports

Callers and Texters on Their Olympic Obsessions

• Women's Rugby (Kat in Brooklyn):
  A story of accidental fandom—her girlfriend, previously uninterested in sports, got swept up in the US women’s rugby games.

  • "I'd never seen her get involved...with any kind of sports being a spectator. That was a new side of her." — Kat [12:29]

• Artistic Swimming (formerly Synchronized Swimming) (Laurie in Wantagh):
  Both Laurie and Olivia extol the impossible combination of dance and stamina required:

  • "When the women on the US Team were moonwalking, they're treading water upside down and perfectly moving through...I am just completely spellbound by the whole thing."
    — Olivia Craighead [14:15]
  • "They're judged basically from the moment that they step out onto the deck."
    — Olivia Craighead [14:58]

• Discus (Chris in Castleton, NY):
  Evoking ancient Greek roots and powerful athleticism:

  • "It's like ballet by a large man hurling a weight, a giant Frisbee that weighs goodness knows what."
    — Chris [17:33]
  • Shoutout to US gold medalist Valerie Allman [18:26]

• Breaking (Breakdancing as a New Olympic Event):

  • "If you picture in your mind whatever you're picturing as a dance battle, that's what breaking looks like...lots of spinning on their heads and freezing in seemingly impossible positions."
    — Olivia Craighead [18:59]

• Speed Climbing:
  Highlighting Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw and American Sam Watson, who scaled a 50ft wall in under 5 seconds.

  • "You're climbing up a 50-foot wall that's tilted at a five-degree angle toward you and you're racing another person. I think it's the fastest event in the Olympics."
    — Olivia Craighead [19:47]

• Women's Water Polo:

  • US team’s unusual sponsorship by rapper Flavor Flav, arising after Maggie Steffens’ viral Instagram post about funding challenges.
  • The US team “has meddled ever since women's water polo has been an Olympic sport.”
    — Olivia Craighead [23:12]

• Hammer Throw (Amy in Milford, PA):

  • "She picks it up like a superhero...It was so cathartic and brought me peace while I was sitting in the dentist's office."
    — Amy [24:14]

• Middle Distance Races & Steeplechase (Randy in Hastings-on-Hudson):

  • "These are not the glamour races, but these are the smartest guys running...it's not just the athleticism, but the tactics."
    — Randy [24:34]

• Triathlon (Julia in Queens):
  Julia describes the agony and drama of the finish line, inspired by seeing Kristian Blummenfelt’s sprint to gold in Tokyo.

  • "At the finish line, just complete carnage. These people, they were falling over like dominoes."
    — Julia [25:54]

• Canoe Slalom:
  Olivia’s closing salute:

  • "I salute you. I could never do that. I’m impressed with the bravery."
    — Olivia Craighead [26:53]

The Role of Celebrity & Pop Culture

• Snoop Dogg at the Olympics
  Snoop acts as a playful, omnipresent NBC commentator and interview subject, adding viral moments and fun to the coverage.
  • "They're paying him to be at seemingly every single event...He’s just everywhere. He’s a fun presence to have at these events."
    — Olivia Craighead [21:26]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Olympics' Universal Joy:

  • "There’s nothing like tuning into the broadcast, watching a sport you’ve never seen before, and suddenly it's a few hours later and you're yelling at the screen from your sofa at home."
    — Kusha Navadar [01:46]

• On Artistic Swimming:

  • "To moonwalk, let alone upside-down while in the water…that’s very impressive."
    — Kusha Navadar [15:40]

• On Social Media and Coverage:

  • "It feels more like I’m surrounded by Olympics all the time."
    — Olivia Craighead [08:15]
  • "This feels like the first on Demand Olympics. It’s been interesting how that's changed my watching habits."
    — Listener text [08:51]

• On Fandom's Unexpectedness:

  • "Accidentally, I'm sitting with clammy hands in the dentist and I look up at this glorious woman in a sport I didn't know existed called the hammer throw...it brought me some peace."
    — Amy [23:25]

• On Breaking:

  • "If you picture in your mind whatever you're picturing as a dance battle, that's what breaking looks like."
    — Olivia Craighead [18:59]

• On Discus:

  • "It's like ballet by a large man hurling a weight, a giant Frisbee..."
    — Chris [17:33]

Highlights by Timestamp

• [01:46] – Instant Olympic fandom and host introduction of the show’s interactive nature
• [03:31] – Olivia on the celebratory Paris Olympics compared to pandemic Tokyo Games
• [04:48] – Why quirky Olympic events thrill us
• [06:29] – Surfing as meditative TV, featuring massive Tahiti waves
• [08:15] – Social media’s impact: Olympics now ever-present in daily life
• [09:06] – Praise for Peacock’s multi-event coverage, and Olympic clips on YouTube
• [11:30] – Callers begin: Women’s rugby makes a new fan out of a first-timer
• [13:10] – Artistic swimming, and its new judging standards explained
• [17:33] – Discus described as “ballet by a large man with a Frisbee”
• [18:59] – Introduction to “breaking”/breakdancing as a new Olympic event
• [19:47] – Speed climbing records and superhuman feats discussed
• [21:26] – Snoop Dogg’s viral presence at the Games pointed out
• [24:14] – Hammer throw as catharsis, discovered while anxious at the dentist
• [24:34] – The strategic, tactical demands of middle-distance racing
• [25:54] – Triathlon drama at the finish line: “complete carnage”
• [26:53] – Salute to canoe slalom and its daredevil participants

Tone and Community Spirit

The episode maintains an exuberant and inclusive spirit, blending pop culture, personal stories, and informed discussion. The open phone and text lines showcase WNYC’s local, participatory community in action—with an especially New York-y sense of curiosity, humor, and appreciation for the unsung.

Final Shoutouts

• Host and guest agree: The magic of the Olympics is discovering the extraordinary in the unexpected—even if only every four years.
• "Shout out to everyone who does canoe slalom. I salute you. I could never do that."
  — Olivia Craighead [26:53]

For the full Olympic schedule, event highlights, and the best memes/fan moments, listeners are encouraged to check NBC’s streaming and social channels, as well as a trusty over-the-air antenna for classic coverage.