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I watched more Olympics this time around than I have in a while.  I had some trouble accessing what I wanted, but overall, I've enjoyed it.

I don't really like that Olympics is like this 4 hour TV block that's sorta undefined.  I'd rather it be specific programs at specific times, like watching other kinds of sports.  I wanted to watch skateboarding and it wasn't immediately apparent when or what channel it would be on.  It's also harder because sometimes the stuff already happened, so looking online for the answers just spoils the result.

You seem to be in the minority. The ratings are down significantly and hit new lows. This was to be expected with the inclusion of politics, social opinions, and political agendas. It will only get worse until the companies realize that they're selling a product and not a social justice experiment.

I am sure I'm in the minority, but I think your reasons are likely incorrect about why numbers are down.  The Olympics has always been about politics, going back to forever.

It's because people aren't watching TV anymore.  Kids watch YouTube and Twitch.  My kids literally don't even know how to turn on regular TV.  It's just a dying format.  This is same for all network live TV.  All these sports, awards shows, parades -- it's not political.

I watched a lot of the Olympics this year, and really enjoyed it.  I didn't pay attention to who won online, and we'd have a TV in the office replaying stuff from the night before, or I'd just watch it at night with my wife.

This might be the least I have ever watched the Olympics in my life. I can't really say why, but the Olympic interest just wasn't there for me this year.

For me, the Olympics peaked with the Miracle On Ice and there was nowhere to go but down from there.    :D

There are a few things in recent memory:

- The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was pretty incredible.  It's just old-school to throw tens of thousands of people at something in a display of force.  Also, all that swimming stuff and the specially built cube.  ...all that was cool.

- I don't remember even which Olympics it was, but one dude lit the torch with a flaming arrow and it remains one of the baddest-ass things I've ever seen.

- This year, this performance was really humorous, informative, creative and strangely uniquely Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ9OyYA-bAM

I just know about the horse that made the lady cry when he wouldn't jump for her and basically ruined her dreams.

This is, I'm sure, a shitty joke that's been said over and over, and I'm jesting, but only kinda, but "shouldn't the horse get the medal"?

Those are some of the few events that I just legitimately do not understand how it's a thing in the Olympics.

It shouldn't be. Everything about the Olympics is up to the individual, except this event. The Horse literally crushed her Olympic dreams just by being stubborn, it just boggles my mind. I got some great memes out of it but that's still devastating to the person.

If I'm just attempting to be fair and not stubborn, I guess you can say the same thing about some who rides a motorcycle and the machine craps out.  I don't think those are the same, but I'm having trouble logically explaining why.

I'm not sure that Curling in the Winter Olympics should be considered a sport since it is essentially shuffleboard on ice.  But I do enjoy the Scandanavian Women's Teams bending over to do whatever it is called that they do in Curling. 

Actually it belongs in the Olympics.  The events that don't belong are soccer, tennis and the marathon.  A gold medal should be the pinnacle of the sport.  That is not true for soccer - world cup.  Tennis - Wimbledon, marathon - multiple Boston, New York, London Berlin and many others are more prestigious.

so boxing and basketball too then?

Boxing yes.

Basketball no.  NBA is not an international tournament, it is a national one.

A national one that all the best players from around the world try to play in, and means more to those players than a gold medal.

I'd be interested to hear from players with exactly 1 NBA title and 1 gold medal to hear which one matters more to them.

Me too but my off the cuff opinion probably says NBA Title. Not that the Olympics are easy or as often, but you're kind of supposed to win the Gold medal when you are USA since it is our sport and we have by far the best talent. Not to mention, the tournament is a fraction of your average NBA season.

Ask Patrick Ewing if he would trade in his 1992 Dream Team Gold Medal for an NBA Ring and he would stampede an orphanage to tell you his ring size.

I have to imagine that there are some players (in the pre-Dream Team era) that never had a chance to play for their country and would have loved to do so.

That's why I'd want to ask a player that has one of each, so there isn't that aspect of wanting what you don't have.  I think if Melo could trade one of his gold medals for a ring he'd do it, but I also think that if Horace Grant or Rick Fox could trade one of their rings for a gold medal, they'd do that too.