Congratulations, London 2012!
It's a weird feeling. Two years ago - almost to the day - I was rejoicing after Vancouver had won the rights to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was a process I'd been watching since its inception in 1998, so of course, it was like a dream come true for me. Today, I finally learned who we'd be passing the torch to, so to speak, once we're done with our Olympic fun - the jolly ol' city of London.
What's weird is that I feel like I...care. It's strange. Maybe it's the fact that the Olympics will be held in the British Commonwealth for two consecutive years - no, that can't be it, because the Commonwealth has never meant anything to me before, and I want to cut those paternal ties with the UK ASAP. (Historically, they were fine, but history changes...and I don't think it'd be a slap in their face to want to depart, at all.)
I don't know, for some reason, it just feels like a home win. Really, I was counting on a showdown between those two age old rivals, Paris and London - and that's exactly what we got. I would've been happy with either one, really. Maybe the London win is just making me cling to my UK roots just a smidge more; in 2012, it'll be cool to be pale, I swear. :)
-Tim
PS - Maybe I'm just happy to see NYC crash and burn. I'm thoroughly sick of the USA holding games at least once a decade - LA in 1984, Atlanta in 1996, Salt Lake in 2002 - so it's nice to spread them around the world a bit. That, and it'll put everyone in their place - everyone that said that NYC "needed" the Olympics to heal their 9/11 wounds. Boo hoo. :p They were in some stiff competition, and really, while the NYC bid was decent, it didn't stand a chance.
Why Moscow bid at all is beyond me. And Madrid - it may have been a good bid, too, but Barcelona just held the games in 1992, so it was a little too soon.
CONGRATS, LONDON! Now I have one more reason to visit one of the greatest cities in the world.
