The most socially networked Olympics ever has delivered on Facebook like little else could, according to the social platform.
The popularity-contest feeling does not belie the way users and audience associate themselves with athletes (we already knew about celebrities).
More than 116,000,000 posts and comments relating to the games happened. Athletes collectively added 12,200,000 likes to their pages.
Usain Bolt added 1,000,000 followers, hitting 8,100,000
Britain's Tom Daley saw in increase from 120,000 to 1,000,000 followers
The athletes themselves shared copious behind-the-scene images and insights, spurring the interaction with adoring fans.
For instance, Kobe Bryant shared a pic from the train after the Dream Team defeated Argentina -- and at least 5,800 people commented on it. While there' s no real way to shout out to all of the commenters, it does create a feeling of access and reflected glory from the gold-medal efforts.
