The ratings through the Games' first 11 days were more than 20 percent below those of the 1988 Seoul Games, which were almost exclusively tape delayed. Barring a sudden upswing in the closing days, these will be the worst TV ratings ever for a Summer Games. The ready excuse is that with tape-delayed coverage, suspense is killed by the immediacy of news available on the Internet. But the hidden fear is that the Olympics are losing their attractiveness along with their artificially amateur facade. The Olympics are as strong as ever.
Organizational corruption is rampant.
Cheating among the athletes has become so commonplace that they're presumed dirty until tested clean. And sometimes that's not enough to erase the skepticism. Even a potential record five gold medals might not be enough to remove Marion Jones from the shadow of her husband, C.J. Hunter. Hunter reportedly tested positive multiple times for the banned steroid nandrolone. A record 36 athletes have been expelled from these Games for illegal substances, more than three times higher than the previous record of 10 in Seoul.