I've been asking around (co-workers, friends at church, etc.) who has been watching the Olympics and the answer isn't good. Most have said they don't care about the events or don't know when it's on. One of my co-workers even asked why I only root for the American athletes!
However, according to NBC and Nielsen's early numbers, the Beijing Games have more people in the 18-34 demo watching (22% increase over Athens, 14% over Sydney.) In addition, the Games' median viewing age has been going up from 38.7 in 1992 (Barcelona) to 47.1 in Athens.
One could speculate that the median age increase is due to aging Baby Boomers, but the fundamental question remains the same: Isn't patriotism and rooting for your countrymen universal? Do we not want to see our fellow Americans triumph like the men's swimming team did in the 4x100 relay Sunday night? Do we not want to root for Michael Phelps' attempt for eight gold medals? Most of these athletes (namely everyone besides the basketball players) have day jobs that don't involve their sport or are student athletes (like Phelps', a student at University of Michigan).
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