Why is the American media so selective in the winter Olympians they endorse?

[End on a Hinote]

A sincere question for the Americans here just from my own curiosity.

Without doing much research I know there are a number of American winter Olympians who have won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in their respective sport. But it seems only a handful of them get as much attention in the American media as others.

Lindsay Vonn for example, is viewed at as a massive celebrity in the USA. But she has only won 1 gold and 2 bronze medals in her career. And she was already a massive star before she earned her second bronze last week.

I know she has won a large number of world championships, but how well known would she have been just based on those alone if she wasn't an Olympian?

Jonny Moseley, in 2002 was a big Olympic star in the US and even hosted SNL that year despite only ever winning 1 gold medal in his career.

I know there have been other American Olympians who have been more successful than the people I mentioned above, but why don't they get as much attention?

Click to read more...

 

[Uncle Rotter]

Well...they're looking for a certain "type":
Suzy Chaffee - Wikipedia

Chaffee was named captain of the US Women's team and was one of the favorites in the downhill at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. She finished 28th in the downhill, blaming her poor showing on using the wrong wax, but she made a global impression with her skin-tight silver racing suit.

 

[Jack Straw]

A lot (most probably) is marketing potential. Most of the winter sports only appear on the radar in the US every four years so the public doesn't really know many of the athletes. Alpine skiiing, figure skating, and men's hockey (assuming NHL players) are pretty much the only sports most people know about in this country. Jessie Diggins is 100% adorable and won a historic gold but XC skiing barely even qualifies as a niche sport in the US. Most likely she disappears from view until 2020.