I don't know where all this "athletes don't want to be there" talk is coming from. I've seen a week of swimmers from all nations smiling, laughing, breaking records and giving grateful post-race interviews. Same for the track and field events. The top 2 female 400m hurdle runners in the world, both Americans, just ran a historic nail-biter last night that was unbelievable. A dude representing Italy came out of nowhere and won the men's 100m. A 19 year old American teen won the ladies 800m. And a fucking crazy Norwegian hipster went Hammer Of The Gods on the 400m hurdles like nothing anyone has ever seen in history, solidifying his seat next to Odin upon arrival to Valhalla.
Does NBC's coverage blow? Does the Biles thing cast a shadow over gymnastics? Would this all be even better with crowds? Sure, but these Olympics have been full of some pretty amazing performances by athletes who seem genuinely pumped to be there.