The United States has 300+ million people. The United States has the most financial resources of any country, and spends most of it on frivolous crap (like sports, while we can't be bothered to protect our border or provide a worthwhile public education system). The United States has a significant portion of its population descended from a slave people who were bred for their physical capabilities for hundreds of years. They are still held on a pedestal for their sports prowess, despite largely being a parallel society mostly incapable of civilization. Frankly, if the U.S. wasn't winning, it would be a huge embarrassment. The fact that we are winning is not a sign of American exceptionalism. America is an empire, filled with a variety of nations that are largely rootless consumers who will gladly ignore their crumbling foundations to celebrate nonsense like TV sports medals. America is a fiction, bound into one country only by the will of a greedy, arrogant ruling class. Of course American exceptionalism is a myth; America is a myth. There was a time when America was a serious nation, and American exceptionalism was abundantly clear then. When the day comes that my nation of people are free to live among and rule themselves, and our sports teams are a product of the effort of true communities, I will cheer my people on in the Olympics again. Until then, I don't care if Sha'niqua can shoot a basketball after kneeling during the American national anthem so she can get a brand deal with Nike; none of it has anything to do with me, nor is it worth any pride from any real country.