The 2012 Games: Women Rule

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win gold in the Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 11, 2012 in London, England. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

As the 2012 Summer Olympics draw to a close in London, more women athletes have competed here than at any other time in history.  They even came from countries that have previously banned women from participating.

Forty years after Title IX was passed into law, creating gender equity in sports, American women have dominated the podium at the Olympics.  They have helped win the medal count for the United States with a total of 104, 46 of them gold.

NBC must love this because it plays right into their demographic wheelhouse for the Olympics (and for network TV in general), which happen to be women.  That's why they can charge top dollar to advertisers for tape-delaying footage in prime time of marquee sports that women just happen to compete in.

Everywhere you looked, there were American women winning medals:  Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards-Ross on the track, Misti May-Treanor and Kerri Ross in beach volleyball, Missy Franklin in the pool, Alexander Raisman and Gabby Douglas in gymnastics, the water polo team and the women's basketball team were just some of those who took home the gold.

This isn't to say American women were perfect in London.  Some examples:

• After Lolo Jones finished fourth in the women's 100-meter hurdles, she appeared on that national soft shoulder called the "Today" show and tearfully blamed the media for slamming her for her looks instead of her performance.  Excuse moi?  Posing nude in magazines?  Bragging about being a 30-year old virgin?  Wow, talk about style over substance, woman.
• Morgan Uceny stumbled and fell on the track during the finals of the women's 1500-meters, resulting in a DNF (did not finish).
• McKayla Maroney put on quite a display during the gymnastics competition, revealing to the world that she has but one facial expression.  Or did NBC edit her that way?
• The women's soccer team won the gold medal once again, but only after benefitting from a couple of questionable calls in the semifinal against Canada.  Then after defeating Japan in the finals, the team appeared at the medal ceremony in "Find Your Greatness" T-shirts.  We thought we were watching Team USA, but what we really got was Team Nike.
• The heavily-favored volleyball team ended up with silver, losing to Brazil in the finals.

We should mention that the men won a few medals of their own.

• Usian Bolt strutted and preened his way to world records for Jamaica in the men's 200-meter and the 4x100-meter team relay.  Bolt may be the greatest active sprinter there is, but his attitute is more reminiscent of Terrell Owens than Jesse Owens.
• The U.S. men's basketball team won its 14th gold medal in a (relatively) close 107-100 win over Spain.  With all that NBA talent at the Americans' disposal and a competition that hardly challenged them, commissioner David Stern is lobbying for an age limit in future Olympics.

The next Summer Games are in Rio de Janiero in 2016.  By that time, it should become clear that women have earned their place at the athletic table, if they haven't already.  But we shouldn't forget that women compete in almost every sport imaginable year-round, not just every four years.  It shouldn't take an Olympic gold medal to acknowledge that.