U.S. athletes could use a dose of patriotism PR

Olympians didn’t focus enough on country pride during press interviews

A month or so before the Winter Olympics, I wrote an article commenting that U.S. athletes didn’t fully embrace their audience, as evidenced by their lack of patriotic soundbites.

Now that the Olympics are over, and the U.S. was tops in the medals count, I am sad to report that, with a very few exceptions, the athletes’ patriotism never did shine through. And lots of people noticed.

Based on what I saw, throughout the Olympics, U.S. athletes talked about themselves. It was a rare moment to hear them talk about their pride in representing the United States. The media, on the other hand, constantly talked about individuals as part of the “U.S. Olympic team.” And what do the fans chant? “U-S-A…U-S-A…!!”

One person who did relate to the audience (to applause when she said it no less) was ice dancing Silver medal winner Meryl Davis. She talked about how proud she was to win representing the United States.