What's fueling the Olympics apathy?

Are the 2022 Winter Olympics perhaps the least hyped Olympics ... ever? And if so, why?

Well, according to a new Axios-Momentive poll, Americans' concerns about human rights abuses in China, Chinese government surveillance, "international competitiveness," and COVID-19 are to blame for bottomed-out enthusiasm toward this year's Games, Axios writes.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they're less excited about the Beijing Olympics than they were about those hosted in South Korea in 2018, and 70 percent said they disapprove of allowing China to host; that said, half of respondents noted they'll tune in regardless, Axios reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

What's more, six in ten of those surveyed couldn't name a single athlete competing — of those who were mentioned, snowboarder Shaun White got the most love at 6 percent. Another 1 percent of respondents brought up gymnast Simone Biles ... who competes only in the Summer Games.

Though 73 percent of respondents said they approve of the U.S. diplomatic boycott, 74 percent believe it won't make a difference in how the Chinese government operates. A majority (57 percent) are also concerned that China's mandatory health and travel monitoring app is actually being used for surveillance reasons rather than virus control.

Said Laura Wronski of Momentive: "People aren't happy that the Olympics are in China, but it's still the Olympics."

The Axios-Momentive poll surveyed 2,590 adults from Jan. 28-31. Results have a margin of error of 2 percentage points. See more results.