Well, that's kind of what I'm driving at. They
can't make up for decades of tradition, but they
can take the focus off the individual which is always a gamble anyway. New traditions can be forged, and in only a few years even new viewers will something to look back on as their own, so to speak.
I suspect that the 2010 Giro will be remembered quite vividly for many years to come. Who knows what this year's race will bring? Every season presents a new opportunity for epic versions of any given race (1988 Giro, anyone?). Not to dwell on just Paris-Roubaix, but it's a good bet that the next time it rains on that race, another indelible image will be seared into the viewer's mind. The sooner the networks get with it, the sooner they'll be able to ride that wave.
The American sports media is certainly obsessed with calling the winner and reading the script long before the first act even happens. Anyone remember the rush to judgement on the 2008 New England Patriots? The media had already canonized Tom Brady as the greatest of all time in the weeks leading up to the game. Undefeated! Not since Miami in 1972! Rah, rah, rah! No one can stop them!
Except...they got schooled by the New York Giants. Ooops.
And where were all the "experts" after the fact?
What if an American were to win the Giro this year?
It would be completely diminished to the American audience because of the way that UniVersus is selling the sport.
That's totally irresponsible, as far as I'm concerned.

The blurring of the two is one of the more telling "signs of our times." There's a reason that many people look to Jon Stewart as their main news source.