London mayor brings a party like a rock star to the Games

Each day during the Summer Games, SportsBusiness Journal offers its take on the business performances of some of the people, sponsors, broadcasters and other entities around London.

GOLD

Boris Johnson

Whether he’s dangling from a zip line or giving his assessment of beach volleyball — “There are semi-naked women … glistening like wet otters” — the London mayor has become a sort of rock star to these Games, bringing the party with him wherever he goes.

SILVER

NBC’s ratings

One week into the Games, NBC’s ratings continue to shoot through the roof, averaging nearly 34 million viewers through the first nine nights and easily topping ratings numbers for the last three Summer Olympics. Peacock executives have to be ecstatic heading into the Games’ second half.

BRONZE

USRowing

The governing body raised $120,000 during a 60-day fundraising campaign dubbed “Row to London,” helping double its fundraising efforts from four years ago, to $1.2 million. USRowing further helped its cause by having its athletes stay in the Athletes’ Village throughout the Games as opposed to spending more than $500,000 to house them in hotels, which it did in past Olympics. It certainly didn’t affect performance, either, as the women’s eight squad took gold for the second straight Games.

TIN

Mariel Zagunis

This isn’t a jab at Zagunis, the two-time defending Olympic gold-medal fencer, for failing to win a medal this time around. But it is an assessment of our sportsmanship following after her semifinal loss to South Korea’s Kim Jiyeon. Zagunis failed to congratulate her opponent afterward, and when questioned about it later, said: “Congrats to them for winning. In my opinion, if I was completely 100 percent on mentally, then I would have been able to win again. It’s happened to me before.” We understand frustration, but we would expect a little more grace from the athlete who was voted to carry the American flag in the opening ceremony.