A Snapshot of American Sports Priorities

This past weekend, the USA Women's National Team (USAWNT) secured a place for itself in the 2012 London Olympic Games. This was not a shock. They are currently the number one-ranked team in the world, and they breezed through the weekend's CONCACAF tournament while scoring over thirty goals and allowing NONE. Last night, they defeated Canada (in Vancouver) by a final of 4-0 in a game where the USA dominated in all facets of the game. Really good stuff.

So, this morning, I tune in to the mother ship (mother lode, or whatever), ESPN and what is the "big" lead story? "Where will Peyton Manning play next year," and "who think which team will win the Super Bowl." Look, I fully get that the SB is one of the year's biggest sporting events. And, as a Colts fan I care about the Manning deal. But to completely omit any reference to a national team qualifying for the olympics is a sign that there are some misplaced priorities. Would a ten second clip and a five sentence summary really been all that hard to offer?

Somehow, I suspect that if the ABC/Disney cabal would have obtained the broadcast rights to the upcoming Olympic Games, things might have been different. But then again, they don't have the broadcast rights to the Super Bowl either, so maybe it's just laziness in Bristol. It wouldn't be the first time.