10 Greatest #SochiFails Of The 2014 Winter Olympics

9. "Eyes" On The Prize

For many of us, in the United States at least, the most prominent face of the Olympic media we have ever known is Bob Costas: the now 61 year old Costas has held the coveted throne of Olympic lead commentator since NBC first won the broadcast rights to the Olympics in 1988. He has delivered year after year providing us introductions, feature stories and hosting the nightly Olympic coverage broadcast for a record 157 consecutive nights of Olympic competition. His perfect track record and legendary sports broadcasting status became tarnished in the 2014 Winter Games after a severe eye infection caused him to sit out his 158th night and turn the reigns over to NBC Today Show host Matt Lauer. Being the media hero that Bob is, he fought through the first few days of pain to complete his broadcasts despite the ever present and growing infection in his left eye, which became more visible as the games progressed until finally Bob and his producers decided that a night or two of rest for the weary broadcaster was the best option. Costas reluctantly watched from his hotel room as Lauer began the daily evening program, including an exclamation that he saw Costas that morning and he "looked the loser in a prize fight." NBC Sports was ridiculed for pulling Costas and choosing Matt Lauer and fellow NBC celebrity Meredith Vieira to fill in as anchors. Thousands of angry tweets followed the decision stating that Lauer is "not a sports guy" and they'd "rather watch the coverage in silence."