Congratulations to the US swim team, which has already won eight medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including a record six on the first day.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/us-swimmers-win-8-medals-historic-6-sunday

It’s a shame that the accomplishments of so many great young Americans are being overshadowed by the anti-American political grandstanding of a handful of ingrates. But it appears that the squeaky wheels have soured a lot of people on watching the Summer Games. The opening ceremony pulled only 17 million US viewers across all viewing platforms, the lowest numbers in 33 years. By comparison, the 2016 Rio Games opener attracted 26.5 million viewers.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/media/tokyo-olympics-opening-sees-33-year-low-tv-viewership-167-million-us-viewers

In a sign of how much the knee-taking and bad-mouthing of America and its flag and anthem have turned off viewers, many are saying online that for the first time ever, they’re rooting against certain US teams, such as women’s soccer and basketball. The women’s soccer team kicked off with a 3-0 skunking by Sweden, and the US men’s basketball team, filled with NBA pros, snapped its 17-year, 25-game winning streak by losing its first game to France, 83-76.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/us-mens-basketball-team-loses-first-olympic-game-in-17-years/ar-AAMxScb

In the last 4-1/2 minutes, the US team missed five shots in a row and didn’t score a single point. And in the comments sections of conservative media outlets, normally rah-rah patriotic Americans were saying things like, “Serves ‘em right” and “Never thought I’d say this, but ‘Go, France!’” (For the record, the French team also had some NBA players.)

Unless these athletes are throwing the games so they won’t have to suffer the terrible pain of hearing their own National Anthem while receiving gold medals, I have to assume something else is up. Maybe they’re learning that pride goeth before a fall, and they should have prioritized effort, practice and teamwork over political posturing. Or maybe God really does listen when people pray for their teams to win, but this time around, all the Americans who pray are backing their opponents.