Back to life...Back to reality...
...But...What a glorious two weeks we have had in my adopted city.Like the most exciting,liberating holiday romance imaginable...Of course like all holiday romances it had to end.Despite heartfelt promises to stay in touch both parties know that two weeks is enough and it's best just to have all those wonderful memories...
These games have gone better than anyone dared hoped.Pre games all the talk was of security failure,traffic chaos and trouble with ticket allocation.Even Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney got in on the act saying we were nowhere near ready to host the Olympics...Well Mr Romney,not only were we ready but we delivered arguably the greatest Olympics ever seen...
I don't normally do jingoism but in this case i feel it's entirely justified.Right from the magnificently irreverent opening ceremony we sort of knew we were on the cusp of something special.That set the tone and the (mostly British) spectators took their cue from that and carried the baton forward--Unlike the GB 4x100 relay team---with merry abandon...Seeing us Brits lose their inhibitions without having a belly full of beer may well have surprised the rest of the World more than anything.
Of course it helped that the GB Olympians had such a glorious Games with regards medalling---sorry but we have all started making up new verbs these last two weeks."Do you think she'll podium?" Don't worry this mangling of the English language will fade with time.Hopefully---Did the crowd spur on the Olympians to ever greater deeds or was it the Olympians who ignited such fervent support? Who knows? It was probably a happy combination of both.
There can be no doubt that for the two weeks of these Games the reality of everyday life was put on the back burner for many Brits.Talk was'nt of the Economy,War,the neighbours dogs etc but of Farah,Bolt and whether Charlotte Dujardin's horse would preform a medal winning Piaffe in the Dressage.It did...
Yes it's escapism,yes no matter how good the Olympics are your own personal problems don't automatically dissolve into the ether...But they gave the entire nation a much needed lift in morale.There's no way of measuring the benefits of such an uplift in national mood but in general being upbeat is better than the opposite...The Olympics made us feel good about ourselves and there's nothing wrong with that.
There were many memorable moments,not just for the locals but for many other nations too; Michael Phelps becoming the most medalled(Urrgghh)Olympian ever in the pool.The GB cycling team destroying all and sundry in the sauna like Velodrome.David Rudisha breaking the 800m World record with consummate ease,The two 4x100 World records set by Jamaica & USA women respectively---Loved their interview where they said all they wanted to do was "Get the stick round"---The Saudi women being left far behind in her race but getting one of the biggest cheers on her lonesome trawl down the final straight long after her fellow competitors had showered and changed.
Indeed this was the Games where Women's sport came out of the shadows.For many years in Britain Womens sport has been derided somewhat and largely not given due respect.However that has hopefully changed now with their fantastic showing in these games.It's probably the same worldwide too...
As for the much talked about legacy of the games it seems to me that the main benefit could well be that my country is viewed in a more positive light by the rest of the world.There's talk of turning the stadium into a football ground for one of the local clubs but i can't see why it can't be kept as an International Athletics venue in the heart of London.Just a thought...
Personal highlights for me were these; Mo Farah winning two long distant Golds in the 10,000 & 5,000 m .Not only is he a tremendous Athlete but comes across as a decent fella.To win these races in normal circumstances is hard enough but Mo--as we all know him now---also had his heavily pregnant wife in the stand watching.Surely that must've been in the back of his mind too?
Jessica Ennis in the Heptathlon;For a number of years Ennis had been the poster image of the Games and her event was one of the first up.Imagine the pressure on her to preform and win? but not only did she come though,she smashed her opponents into the ground.
Usain Bolt; I honestly thought he may get bettered by his training partner Blake---who i feel a little sorry for,at any other time he'd be the sprint king but alas he's in Bolt's era---But he came to the fore...
Finally the real reason these games were such a success was not the Olympians,not the (thankfully) security problems but i feel the main reason was the superb support from the British public to the Games & the 70,000 volunteers who helped these Games go so smoothly...We can all be proud to have played our part in the greatest Olympics ever...
So the wonderful two weeks holiday romance has come to an end as they all must.We will all have our happy memories...As it is though now it's...
...Back to life...Back to reality.
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