Well Amerigin, since the global tv audience for the Olympics is an estimated 1 billion people this year, maybe it is you who are out of touch?

In 1996, American tv rights were sold for $456 million, Western European nations combined paid $250 million in fees for the same games, and the cost of American tv production and broadcast of the games came in over $150 million, bringing the grand total in 1996 to around $850 million. And the networks lose money on the Olympics, don't forget.

With that kind of investment, if the US is booed, I guarantee (forget the odds) there will be an American and European media feeding frenzy the likes of which we may never have seen on the international stage. Well, at least since Diana hit the wall.

The US team has been instructed not to engage in parading and flag waving (a common nationalistic theme in recent Olympics). My work colleague forwarded this email to a bunch of us, although he doesn't cite it's source. However, the people being quoted are the people the article says they are, so I'm guessing this is a copy/paste from somewhere:

"American athletes find themselves in extraordinary circumstances in Athens in relation to the world as we know it right now," said Mike Moran, a veteran former spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee who has been retained as a consultant to advise athletes how to behave.

"Regardless of whether there is anti-American sentiment in Athens or not, the world watches Americans a lot now in terms of how they behave and our culture. What I am trying to do with the athletes and coaches is to suggest to them that they consider how the normal things they do at an event, including the Olympics, might be viewed as confrontational or insulting or cause embarrassment."

Four years ago at the Sydney Olympics, members of the victorious American 400-meter relay team were widely condemned for strutting with the U.S. flag after their gold medal presentation. American officials, mindful of the country's precarious standing in world opinion, are desperate to avoid any repeat.

"Unfortunately, using the flag as a prop or a piece of apparel or indulging in boasting behavior is becoming part of our society in sport because every night on TV we see our athletes — professional, college or otherwise — taunting their opponents and going face-to-face with each other," Mr. Moran said. "We are trying for 17 days to break that culture.

"What I am telling the athletes is, 'Don't run over and grab a flag and take it round the track with you.' It's not business as usual for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national flag and runs round the track or holds it high over their heads, it might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another manner."

Americans were booed at the World Athletics Championships in Paris last year largely because of Jon Drummond's histrionic protest at his disqualification from a heat of the 100 meters. Also, at an Olympic soccer qualifying match in Mexico earlier this year, the American team was subjected to sustained razzing by a section of the crowd, including chants of "Osama, Osama!"

"We're not the favorite kid in the world right now," conceded Bill Martin, the USOC's acting president. "We are sensitive not only to the security issue, but to jingoism in its raw sense. That is why we are sending people around to educate the athletes as to the appropriate behavior."