This past Wednesday, the 2012 Paralympic Games opened in London, England. The ceremony was live on the Internet. It appears NBC didn’t think it befitting to televise the ceremony on any of its stations. With over 4,200 athletes with physical disabilities from around the world, competing for the gold just like Olympians Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Gabrielle Douglas and Lebron James did this past August I thought that America would embrace the Paralympics. I thought wrong.
Nathasha Alvarez
I tweeted about the Paralympics using my personal twitter handle @audaciouslady and Audacity Magazine’s twitter handle @audacitymagazin but still I didn’t feel the same excitement from others that I felt during the Olympics. On Facebook, my friends on my personal page weren’t making status statements about the Paralympics not even my friends with disabilities. Not even the parents of kids with disabilities. Were my expectations too high for my friends? For America?
Corporations like GE, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Visa are official sponsors of the Paralympics but would they still be if the Paralympics weren’t connected to the Olympics? Was it a forced two for one deal? Some of their commercials were aired during the Olympics featuring Paralymic athletes but now that the actual Paralympics are taking place those commercials are non-existent because the games aren’t being televised. What a shame! Think of the loyalty they would have received for their brands from people like me, or from the Paralympic athletes, their coaches, and their supporters.
The only thing to watch on television is reruns. Why couldn’t or wouldn’t NBC air the games during those times? How many times must NBC run Law & Order repeats? I flip through channels looking for something interesting to watch every night. I find nada! Over 100 channels! I thought one of them would air the Paralympics. I was wrong.
It’s not NBC’s fault, entirely. It is our fault as well. Mine, yours, and theirs. Social media is booming! We have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and so many other social media platforms at our fingertips. Where is the fanfare for these athletes on these platforms? Audacitymagazine has a fan page. www.facebook.com/audacitymagazine
I’ve been posting about the Paralympic athletes on that page. I thought people would click the share link or comment on these amazing athletes. But, I was wrong.
How many Paralympic Games must quietly go on before we say enough is enough, these athletes deserve our primetime? Let’s not wait one more year! This year tell everyone you know about these audacious athletes like Karissa Whitsell who has seven medals to her name. Or Bryan Kirkland who has three medals. Or Trischa Zorn who has 46 medals! She has the most medals in the entire history of the Paralympics. These are American athletes and they deserve our loyalty.
What have you done to tell your Facebook friends, twitter followers, family members, neighbors, coworkers and strangers that you’re proud of these athletes?
You can watch it here. www.paralympic.org
Don’t let another year go by. Spread the word! Be audacious!