The 22nd Winter Olympics are underway; the Fisht Olympic Stadium and surrounding venues in Sochi, Russia, house the fervor and tension of this storied tradition, while the controversy unfolds around the excessive amount of money required to modernize the region, the safety and civil rights of LGBT athletes and the various security concerns either investigated or caused by the Russian government.

And, boy, am I tired of hearing about it.

I don’t say this because I’m not interested in the sporting events. I don’t have a bone to pick with all of the nationalistic fervor these events have inspired all over the world. I’m not even disdainful of Russia – at least not more than usual. My problem is very simple: the excitement is gone because I’ve heard way too much.

The media – even, if not especially, the local media – has essentially used this significant worldwide event as a replacement for real news. They’ve forgotten the relevant affairs here in the States. And we’ve had no shortage of newsworthy events: the weather’s been causing states of emergency even in the South, mobile game Flappy Bird is discontinued indefinitely and we’re currently observing a different cultural phenomenon – Black History Month.

Forget it, though – passing up this convenience in favor of timely and relevant pursuits is harder than coasting off the fact that the world is meeting in Russia.

They didn’t even wait for the Olympics to start before getting lazy. No, news (and social) networks were buzzing about Sochi for so long, the Games might as well have started in January. Predictions, pre-reporting and just plain hype dominated the airwaves long before the very first game began, and now NBC is surging with reruns of athletic events. This constitutes an oversaturation of attention, even for an event so influential and demanding as the Winter Olympics.

Don’t believe me? Turn your television to NBC, or whichever network in your area provides Olympic coverage as well as local news, and try to watch it for five minutes without seeing or hearing some reference to the Olympics. For the time being, this is an impossible task.

Let me make one thing especially clear: I usually love the Olympics more than I do most organized sports, but, yes, there can be too much of a good thing.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Parkway School District.