Olympic Fever

[inkognitoh]

I didn't get to see very much (alright, I saw almost none of it) of the Olympics but I really enjoyed the mood in Britain while it was on. Usually if the UK are good at anything, it's gold medal pessimism but it was so utterly refreshing to have everyone expressing feelings of national pride at behind Team GB's success. It was a truly refreshing

Comments

Go Team GB!

[fechtbuch]

I am really missing the Olympics now it's ended.
Really looking forward to London 2012. there was a great atmosphere at Manchester for the Commonwealth Games a few years back, and the Olympics should be even better.

[silverjet_allie]

Go Team GB indeed! Can't believe how fantastic they all were - when you think that in 1996 we managed *one* gold medal, it's brilliant.

I'm hoping that the survey conducted last weekend that showed no change in public opinion regarding the London games is just typical British press doom-mongering - apparently 72% of people still think the Olympics won't benefit their area of the UK, which sounds depressingly like more 'Bloody London, why should we have to pay for the bloody London Olympics eh?' mumblings. I really don't understand that mindset - as Andy said, look at the reception the Commonwealth Games got in Manchester. I'm hoping it's just tabloid sensationalism and that people actually *are* behind London no matter where they are in the UK. It's not London's fault that it happens to be the UK's biggest city!

[pootski]

There was a really funny essay on American National Public Radio a week ago about it. It was a British commentator who was saying that "beating others at sports is somehow 'unseemly' for us". He closed the essay by saying "So sorry, it won't happen again".

(Mind, it was a comedic piece and I'm not saying I buy into the idea at all. I know you guys are good at soccer/football and cricket).

[silverjet_allie]

Ah, sadly you're mistaken there. We may have invented football, but there's no way you can say the current England team are *good* at it...not when they play together, anyway.

And I'm an England fan ; )

Although of course a key part of the British psyche is the love of a good underdog - we'd rather lose valiantly than win convincingly!

[pootski]

Oh - I stand corrected! Well you had that Beckham guy for a while... I don't know anything about the sport, really, except that football/soccer players have amazing bodies.

Now I must go ponder that thought for a while.