Category Archives: Olympics 2012

September 12, 2012 · 9:18 pm

Mexican Olympics

The Olympics, Paralympics are over. Completely finished. No more turning on and off flames or waving Union Flags, or singing God Save the Queen, or pretending to sing the second verse of God Save the Queen, of which no one knows the words. It is over. But what a blast it was. Patriotism is something that has become controversial in some people’s eyes in recent years, with an accusing light shone (quite rightly) on the negative aspects of nationalism. But there’s nowt wrong with cheering on your band of brothers, and sisters, in a positive, competitive and sporting arena. And boy did we cheer.

Many great things have come out of the Olympics. Team GB won a bucket load of medals. The country had something to be happy about. The recession, austerity, murders and the impending implosion of the universe in general were all consigned to small columns buried deep in the back pages of newspapers. And Boris Johnson took a giant step towards becoming Prime Minister one day soon. You don’t know Boris? He’s the most brilliant, bumbling buffoon you could ever wish to see. A most loveable buffoon. Who tells it like he sees it. Sort of. His Team GB parade speech was great. His GQ speech better. And getting stuck on a zipline was no embarrassment. That’s the great thing about being a buffoon. There’s no such thing as a gaffe or awkward moment. Did you watch those videos? You might doubt my sincerity. But he’s definitely a PM in the making. Watch this space.

I cheered on the British team as loudly as anyone. In my rather reserved, not-very-loud manner. Except in the football. I cheered on Mexico. I would have cheered on Mexico even if they had come up against the British team. I cheered them on from the beginning. It turned out to be a great decision, given that they won gold. I paid no attention to the British team whatsoever. I’ve given up on England and Britain as far as national football is concerned. I still think it’s a disgrace that the English FA, and all other significant national FA’s didn’t simply resign from FIFA the moment that Qatar were awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup. But then the FA are, and have for a long time been, an utter disgrace. A shambles. A national embarrassment.

I can’t quite believe they picked Roy Hodgson to be England manager. It’s as unbelievable as FIFA ranking England the 3rd best team in the world, when quite clearly they are not deserving of a place even in the top ten. For the Olympics they chose Stuart Pearce. Who is everything wrong about English managers. Some would describe him as a safe pair of hands. I’d describe him as the same old ‘one foot in the grave’ sort of chap. He didn’t pick Beckham for the Olympics. It was, Pearce claimed, a decision he made based on form. Beckham has been knocking in 30 yard screamers for LA Galaxy all season. Instead he picked Ryan Giggs. Who can barely get through a match.

Pearce is an idiot. You might think his prior record qualifies him. He managed Manchester City, a club he took from high up in the Premier League to near relegation, setting records for low scoring. He then lead England youth teams to various humiliating thrashings in world tournaments. So it made complete sense to install him as Great Britains first manager in decades…

I’m beginning to digress. Anyway, the upshot is this. I’m going to go and live in Mexico someday soon. I’ll never be Mexican, no matter what any document says. But I want to engage in being at least a little Mexican from time to time. I remember in the 1980′s, British Asians got a hard time for supporting the Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan cricket teams when they played England. Which was completely unfair. But still, it’s good to support your adopted country. And I have no problem in casting aside my home nation in favour of Mexico as far as international football is concerned. This is, it has to be said, my own way of protesting at the ineptitude of the English FA and the scam that is the England team. And I can be won back. But I don’t see that being likely in the foreseeable future. I make this pledge to Mexico – I will cheer on El Tri in Rio in two years time. Even if they play England.

As far as the Olympics are concerned though, I’ll stick with Team GB. One of the joys of having multiple allegiance is, of course, being able to pick and choose according to whim and current form! I’ll sign off my coverage of the London 2012 Olympics with one final video. One last blast of unashamedly brash patriotism. Courtesy of the Last Night of the Proms.

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Tagged as blogsherpa, london 2012, mexico, olympics

August 29, 2012 · 9:30 pm

It’s Coming Home

Don’t put your Olympic bunting away just yet. We’re only at the half way point. Tonight the Paralympics kick off. And whilst the IOC made much of the fact that 8 of the 10 biggest Olympic sports were either invented or codified in the UK, it’s the Paralympics that are truly coming home. These games are directly descended from the Stoke Mandeville Games, first held in 1948, at the same time as the London Games.

Great Britain has historically done pretty well at these games. I guess that’s not entirely surprising. We’re a country who goes to war on a pretty regular basis, producing potential competitors of a generally athletic nature. And we have a decent public health system too. Not that this is probably a particularly good thing. And not that all competitors are war veterans. Far from it. Although those first games in 1948 were created for veterans.

The opening ceremony tonight was very positive. And fun. The Queen arrived alone. Whether that’s because Philip is still ill, I don’t know. Other factors may have been involved. It may simply have been decided that, with his track record being what it is, it would be safer if he watched them back at home. A whole stadium full of potential victims for an inappropriate gag would just have been too much for him to resist. The old chap’s 90 now. The excitement would have finished him off. Anyway, here’s a look at the Channel 4 ident, for a quick taster.

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August 15, 2012 · 10:32 am

Adios Londres

So. Did everybody enjoy the show? I hear the reaction in Tehran was lukewarm. Although they are still upset at the 2012 logo spelling out ZION. And the French were a little….what’s the word? Sour? They’re still upset it wasn’t Paris 2012. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it just fine. The closing ceremony had it’s ups and downs. It’s hard to put on a three hour concert that keeps everyone happy throughout. My biggest disappointment? Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour playing Wish You Were Here – the crowd would have taken the roof off. Ed Sheehan isn’t the same. As for the Spice Girls….well, they weren’t the worst act that night! They were actually quite fun! Pet Shop Boys and Madness…..naff. Which is a shame, because I like them. Here’s a farewell music video to say goodbye to the London Olympic Games 2012…

PS. Rather bizarrely, and contrary to all aesthetic norms, the GB ladies were quite possibly the hottest bunch in the games!

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Tagged as london 2012, team gb

August 12, 2012 · 12:43 pm

My Olympic Experience

The games are almost wrapped up and it’s time to wrap up my Olympic themed posts, with this final piece. Mrs P and I visited the Olympic stadium to watching running, jumping and throwing type events last Wednesday, and here’s a few of my thoughts on the venues and legacy of London 2012.

First of all though, the entry to the park was as slick, quick and painless – not what we’d been told to be prepared for. Two hour queues? Where? The whole organisation of the games was superb. No complaints from us whatsoever. Only praise. Of course, when the capitalist part of the deal (G4S security) fell over and failed to deliver, the ‘socialists’ (the Armed Forces) stepped up and saved the day. Again. Just sayin’.

The stadiums? The Olympic stadium isn’t the grandest stadium that’s ever been built. But it’s still pretty impressive. More importantly, it won’t be left empty to rot after the games. It’s so in demand, there are court battles going on to try and win the arena. The velodrome and aquatics centres are grand, however. Very grand.

Lasty, the Orbit. The big bit of twisted red ‘art’ architecture that looks a bit like the Eiffel Tower after a nuclear blast. I had my reservations about that from the beginning. I thought it might grow on me. I thought it would look better in the flesh. It doesn’t. It looks awful. Which is a shame, because that didn’t need to be the case. What really ruined it was the light brown mesh of the stairwell and platform at the top. It looked tacked on. An afterthought. And it totally detracted from the rest of the structure.

Inside the stadium, everything looked just as an Olympics should look. Huge crowds, a buzzing atmosphere and fantastic support. Whenever a British runner was introduced, the roar was deafening. That was something that you can tell from the television coverage. What isn’t so obvious on the telly, is the Mexican wave of sound that follows British athletes as they run round the track. I can see now how ‘home advantage’ works. It must have been inspiring for the Brit runners, jumpers and throwers.

So how about the legacy of the games? It’s all cost a lot of money. Billions. Will it turn a profit? To be fair, it’ll be impossible to measure the exact economic impact of the games financially. However, a lot of that money went onto infrastructure and redeveloping a pretty grotty part of the city. It was money well spent. There’s another factor in the legacy games, which isn’t so material. The London 2012 games have helped define modern Britain, and to promote a positive image of the country across the planet. This shouldn’t be underestimated.

When we think of countries, we tend to think both of their history and their current image. When I think of Germany today I think of an manufacturing powerhouse, with a well managed economy. I think of their cars, which often define for many people what Germany represents today – quality, strength, reliability, advanced engineering. A premium, superior product. People shopping for new car deals are drawn to brands like Mercedes. Why? It’s because of the image, perception and appeal that accompanies German brands. German products have a reputation to be envied. There has to be substance to back up the image for there to be success of course. And German cars exported around the world are that substance.

The image of Britain around the world has sadly been sullied over the last decade by two foreign wars, one of which was entirely unjustified. This is our big opportunity to reinvent the country. To promote us as a country who can not only fund, organise and deliver the biggest show on earth. But also as a country who are a leading light in technology. In finance. In manufacturing. In science. That’s perhaps the most important legacy that the Olympics can deliver.

Anyway, on a final note – I really enjoyed the games. Really, really enjoyed them. Other than the Orbit, most of my negative impressions about the design of kits, mascots and logos have been swept away. When it was all put together, it worked brilliantly. Tonight is the closing ceremony, and I’m quite sure that this will be spectacular as well. My photos from the Olympic Park are on Flickr here.

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Tagged as london 2012, olympics

August 9, 2012 · 11:14 pm

An Olympic Journey

We’ve had our own Olympic journey here. From Hampshire on the bus to London, and then a train ride to Stratford. It’s been an easier Olympic journey than that of the torch, but we had a few bumps along our way. I discovered that my Olympic tickets had disappeared just a few days before our big day up there. Probably thrown into the recycling bin by accident. Yes, the big purple folder emblazoned in large font with ‘Your Olympic Tickets’ or something similar. Yes, I know. Don’t ask…!

But all was not lost. A phone call to the ticket centre had my old ones cancelled and a new set ready for me to collect at the stadium, along with a pair of replacement travelcards. The whole process was painless and speedy. Like all our other experiences of the Olympics in London, the organization was top notch.

I’ll write more about our trip to the stadium another day. Tomorrow, perhaps. For today, I’ll just share my Instagram photos. And a really strong recommendation to pay a visit to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to go check out the Olympic Journey exhibition they have running. Be quick – it closes on the 12th August.

The exhibition is free of charge, which makes it a must-see for all showstring travellers straightaway. You probably will have to queue though. Depending on when you go, expect to wait from ten to thirty minutes. We waited twenty. It was worth every minute. You walk through several rooms telling the story through words, pictures and audio. The sets are excellent.

Finally, you are discharged into a room full of mementos and exhibits borrowed from the Olympic museum in Lausanne. From Jesse Owens’ running show to Kelly Holmes’ signed top. But most interesting was the display of all the torches that have featured in every Olympics since 1936. I hadn’t paid so much attention to the London 2012 torch till now, other than to note it looked ok. Actually, when lined up against the ‘competition’, it’s a very elegant design.

There are also the medals,a gold, silver and bronze from every modern Olympics. I have to confess that I had been unaware that the design on the medals is largely unchanged. Except for the silver medal, where a little national creativity is allowed. Having inspected them all, I’ve come to the conclusion that creativity shouldn’t be allowed. I’d rather win bronze. My photos from the Opera House? Alas. No photography allowed. So I leave you with a taster. The exhibition trailer…