Maybe things are different, back in the States, where NBC must be promoting the Rio Olympics like crazy and Comcast is offering a plan to make another 11 channels of Summer Games available.

Maybe you are sick to death of all the promos, you’ve seen so many. Maybe you have heard all you need to hear, ahead of the Games, and know what you are going to watch from Rio, beginning with Opening Ceremonies tomorrow.

But my sense, from following several major media sources, is that these may be the least anticipated Summer Games in a long time. Maybe since Melbourne 1956 — which were just kind of off the grid.

Quick! Name your five favorite American athletes who will compete in Rio!

Now name one non-American in Rio who isn’t Usain Bolt!

Can you do it?

My ideas on why this Olympics is sorta sneaking up on us.

–Too much stuff going on in the world. Terrorism, crazy elections, war and rumors of war, Pokemon. Over the past weeks and months, it has been hard for serious media outlets to give time to Olympics-oriented preview stories.

–All the drug news coming out of the Olympic movement. It has to dampen enthusiasm for watching the athletes when it seems very likely a significant fraction of them will be under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs. The whole of Russia’s track and field team has been banned from the Rio Games. Making things worse? The International Olympic Committee’s unwillingness to get tough on the worst actors in the drug scandals — the Russians.

–The sense that Rio is not a good city to stage an Olympics. It has lots of social ills, lots of poverty and crime. And it seems clear preparations for the Olympics have been less than ideal — perhaps the worst in a very long time. The raw sewage in areas where sailing and some swimming events will be held … is appalling.

–The sense that Brazil is not a good host country for an Olympics. Brazil is in serious economic trouble and its president is being impeached. Polls have shown that nearly two-thirds of Brazilians think the Olympics are bad for Brazil. Apparently, Brazil also is not up to speed on international terror threats.

–The Zika virus. Brazil is where the mosquito-borne virus originated, and it has creeped out a lot of people. Zika exposure can cause severe brain damage in the unborn, and is the stated reason by several top athletes (particularly male golfers) for not participating in the Games.

It’s just a lot of bad news surrounding this Olympics, and I have not heard much about great competitions expected.

Beyond Usain Bolt, who is attempting a sprint three-for-three (in winning gold in the 100-meter dash, the 200 and the 4×100 relay for the third time), I know very little about who will be there. Another comeback for Michael Phelps, Neymar leading Brazil’s soccer team (which was booed off the pitch tonight after a scoreless draw with South Africa) … Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be there, but LeBron James and Stephen Curry will not.

I concede, some of this could be living in France, which does not seem very interested in the Olympics — or sports in general.

But I think a busy, busy world is the primary reason.

Maybe, then, this is a good time for two-plus weeks of global sports diversion — watching the thousands of elite athletes striving to give their best.

If the Outside World allows it, of course.

We can only hope.