Let’s get this out of the way: Tape delays are terrible.

I grew up on the East Coast. I went to college in the Midwest and now live in Arizona. I’m well versed with the sports-watching experiences across every time zone in the continental United States. Pacific Time rules. I can watch football at 9 a.m. The night games end at a reasonable hour. March Madness is the best work day on the West Coast because it too starts at 9 a.m. It’s so great. I’ll keep saying it’s great because it really is.

But every four years, when the Summer Olympics comes around, Pacific Time does not rule. It’s the worst.

While much of the nation cheered on Lilly King’s thrilling, gutsy win over Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, the fans on the West Coast were twiddling their thumbs waiting to join the party. King’s win happened at around 10 p.m. Eastern Time, but it wasn’t shown live in major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix because the NBC tape-delayed broadcasts were just beginning. How’s that for a unifying power of the Olympics? They watched King three hours later.

It’s amazing that in the year 2016, tape delays are still a thing. It shouldn’t be a thing. With social media, push alerts on phones and the sheer availability real-time information, the decision to not show major Olympic events live on TV across all markets remains a puzzling one.

I've really enjoyed reading what all of you have to say about the phelps race I wasn't able to watch bc #tapedelays — Chris Cole (@ccole20) August 8, 2016

The only way to watch live primetime broadcasts on the West Coast is with streaming apps. That hurts the experience as a viewer.

Back in 1980, the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team shocked the Soviet Union in the “Miracle on Ice,” and it’s still considered by many as the greatest upset in sports history. That was a tape-delay moment, and it worked then. But it was also 36 years ago. Media has changed. How people watch sports has changed.

By showing a tape-delayed feed to the West Coast, NBC alienates a fifth of the country in the name of ratings. I get it. The network will pay more than $12 billion in TV rights agreements with the IOC through 2034, so it chooses to maximize the value of that massive investment. But you don’t see CBS or Fox showing the Super Bowl on a tape delay. ESPN didn’t show the World Cup matches on a delay. It shouldn’t be accepted with the Olympics.

NBC was criticized for showing the Opening Ceremony on a one hour delay on the East Coast (it was a four-hour delay on the West Coast), which the network justified with a puzzling statement a month before the Games.

NBC Olympics chief marketing officer John Miller said:

“The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the Games than men, and for the women, they’re less interested in the result and more interested in the journey.”

That reasoning fell flat for many reasons — it’s just wrong. And if that’s the sole justification, NBC should reevaluate its position and present sports in a way that doesn’t alienate or patronize a viewing audience.

The drama of the Olympics doesn’t need to be edited or manufactured. It happens on its own in real time, and it’s wonderful. Let the entire country celebrate that together.