Show me the gold

Dear NBC,

By now you’ve heard all the complaints about your coverage of the Olympics. Not enough of this sport. Too much of that. Too much commentary. Too many commercials.

But not from me.

What you’ll hear from me is simple: I want to see the medal ceremonies. I do.

We watch the Olympics, rooting on our favorite athletes or the under dogs because we want the to have That Moment. Up on the podium, medals heavy around their necks arms raised in victory, when the national anthem starts playing and the flag ascends that pole. And for a moment, That Moment, those athletes have the very distinct satisfaction of knowing they achieved what they had been working for all those years.

The emotions play across their faces jumping for elation, to joy to tears and back to elation again. And you robbed us of that. The Moment we share with those athletes after all our cheering with them when they are victorious, hearts pounding when they falter.

We deserve to share That Moment with them.

The medal ceremonies aren’t a sidebar of the games. It’s the reason athletes from around the world do nothing but practice for years and travel thousands of miles: For the chance at Olympic gold.

In the last century, many of the great moments of sports culminated on the Olympic podium: Nadia Comaneci being awarded for her perfect 10s; Wilma Rudolph as the first American woman to win three gold medals in a year; and of course, Michael Phelps.

Those were just a few of the amazing feats at past Olympic games. Why weren’t we there to see Apollo collect his prize? Or Bode collect his? What about Lindsay?

How disappointing to make the journey with these athletes only to be put off at the last minute for extra commentary or a re-play of an event that happened earlier in the day.

Why cheat the athletes of That Moment? Why cheat us?