Fantastic things about the London Olympics 2012!

[Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt]

Spurred on by the other, less joyous Olympics thread I thought I would start this one! I'll kick off with a few:

1 - The way in which the miserable, right-wing British media has been made to eat its words over scare mongering that the games would be an organisational disaster, there would be airport chaos etc, etc

2 - The fact that the bet between the Australian Sports Minister and her Britsh Counterpart over who would come away with the most medals has been overwhelmingly won by the Brits. As a forfeit the Aussie loser has to row a length at Eton Dorney dressed in a GB Olympics kits

3 - The huge success and dedication of our athletes. It has been truly inspirational

 

[Trumpet]

4 - It's nearly over.

 

[Jade-clothing]

I have something to add - I love the way that the Olympics seems to have instilled a greater sense of patriotism into a lot of the country who seem to have been on a downer for a good while now about all things British, the government, the royal family and the general way the country has been going.
I think most people are very proud of how we have hosted the games and what a damn good job we have done and I bet even the most anti-royal of people have had the odd lump in their throats to see our national anthem played so often and seen so much emotion.
On a more trivial note - another of my favourite things about the games has been watching Mark Foster commentate on the aquatics (yes I know he is gay but he is a joy to behold!)

 

[db]

1 - The way in which the miserable, right-wing British media has been made to eat its words over scare mongering that the games would be an organisational disaster, there would be airport chaos etc, etc

aye, i have to admit to being struck by this one too.. just before the opening ceremony, i posted on facebook something along the lines of "Watching the build-up to the London Olympics 2012, I can't help but feel that we are about to make enormous tits of ourselves to the rest of the world" - boy, was i wrong!


in no particular order:

1) boris consistently being a legend - Olympomania, ZOINK!, zip wires, etc.
2) the opening ceremony - everything from Isambard Kingdom Brunel to Kes, via Dizzee Rarseclart and Mr. Bean
3) frenchwordsfrenchwordsfrenchwordsfrenchwordsfrenchwords NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE frenchwordsfrenchwordsfrench OBVIOUS ENGLISH ACCENT frenchwordsfrenchwordsfrenchwordsfrenchwords
4) aidan burley taking the opportunity, yet again, to demonstrate that he is an even bigger bell-end than the one jeremy hunt pulled off in some woman's face
5) the commentators coming up with more and more inventive ways to say "Well, they're obvious packed full of drugs," without actually saying it lol

also, the queen..

 

[db]

oh, and how could i forget??

jessica ennis

 

[Gramaisc]

I quite liked the chap from Niger who fancied a go at the rowing..

 

[tek-monkey]

I think its great we have something nice to talk about in the news, rather than the weather interspersed with the odd murder. People seem in a better mood this last week, they are talking about how well we're doing and more to the point aren't embarassed to be British.

Same with the queen related doobery the other month, you know the one with the boat on the river and stuff. People seemed generally happier then too. Much better than hearing about the financial crisis and politicians being, well, politicians TBH!

 

[db]

I think its great we have something nice to talk about in the news, rather than the weather interspersed with the odd murder. People seem in a better mood this last week, they are talking about how well we're doing and more to the point aren't embarassed to be British.

Same with the queen related doobery the other month, you know the one with the boat on the river and stuff. People seemed generally happier then too. Much better than hearing about the financial crisis and politicians being, well, politicians TBH!

very good point!

as anyone who knows me will testify, i am about as unsporty as one can get, so really wasn't looking forward to 10 days (or whatever it is) of solid TV coverage and olympics-based office conversation, but i've been amazed at how much i've been engrossed by it all.. and if i'm into it, you can pretty much assume most people will be - which definitely seems to be having a knock-on effect, as you say, tek

i love the way facebook blows-up (as i believe the kids say these days) when a big event is on as well (e.g. the opening ceremony, usain bolt, jessica ennis, mo farah, etc.) - it's like being in a massive, global pub with all your mates, except you're allowed to sit there in your pants, and there isn't a smelly racist in the corner that everyone avoids..

 

[hop]

It's really good value for money. We went bought 3 tickets to the velodrome which cost £41 in total. £20 per adult and children cost £1 per year of age.
Included in the price is a zone 1-8 travel card worth £19.80.

So we witnessed 2 records being broken for a couple of quid.

The velodrome is small so you can see all the action even in the cheapest seats.

Might even get some tickets for next weeks Paralympics.

 

[flossietoo]

I loved every second, from the torch relay to the cynic-confounding opening ceremony and then every obscure sport which defies understanding. I got completely hooked on the weightlifting. There can be few people LESS likely to get into weightlifting but for a couple of days, I was a bit of an authority. I have also wept buckets every time anyone won. Or lost. And when I cycle, now, I am being Bradley Wiggins, but without the sideburns.

 

[andy w]

I like the fact a number of minor sports have been good coverage, although I am a keen football fan I sometimes think it is the be all and end all when it's covered in the media.
Great to see much effort put in by the competitors whether they won a medal or not.
Undoutbably Great Britain has been sucessful winning medals across a number of sports and has created a buzz and a feelgood factor around the UK
What is great is the feeling of togeatherness across the UK irrespective of your nationalality/ethnic group and being British binds us togeather.
Must have upset all them Guardian types with all that flag waving,competitive sport, the pursuit of excellence, Britain feeling great about itself

 

[Glam]

oh, and how could i forget??

jessica ennis

Is her the 1 Andreas Rex keeps drooling over on Facebook?

 

[Withnail]

Must have upset all them Guardian types with all that flag waving,competitive sport, the pursuit of excellence, Britain feeling great about itself

You really shouldn't feel the need to sound like a tw@ every time you have something to share.

I farking

the Olympics.

 

[andy w]

You really shouldn't feel the need to sound like a tw@ every time you have something to share.

I farking

the Olympics.

For some reason I get up your nose don't I, and cue the constant trolling( although I'm not alone as I've seen a number of forumites be at the point of your rapier 'wit'), shame I'm not allowed an opinion

 

[Withnail]

For some reason I get up your nose don't I, and cue the constant trolling...

Well you say that, but isn't -

Must have upset all them Guardian types etc

- included because for some reason i get up your nose, and is in itself a sort of pre-emptive trolling?

I like the fact a number of minor sports have been good coverage

I like that too, the thing i love most of all about the Olympics is to see sports you don't (without a Sky subscription at least, i guess) get to see at any other time - i've loved watching hockey, volleyball, handball etc good god they're good to watch...

Great to see much effort put in by the competitors whether they won a medal or not.

Absolutely - when you think of the four years of effort and determination that each one of them has had to put in to bring them to this one shot, the camaraderie of all is truly inspiring...

Undoutbably Great Britain has been sucessful winning medals across a number of sports and has created a buzz and a feelgood factor around the UK

It has been fabulous, hasn't it?..

What is great is the feeling of togeatherness across the UK irrespective of your nationalality/ethnic group and being British binds us togeather.

Sport does this better than anything - i know that there will always be many 'its-just-bread-and-circuses' downer type people, but quite frankly let'em moan...

So far so good -

Must have upset all them Guardian types with all that flag waving,competitive sport, the pursuit of excellence, Britain feeling great about itself

- WTF? Really a need?

... shame I'm not allowed an opinion

I'm not the dispenser of opinion allowance, perhaps you should have reserved the last bit for the 'Annoying things about...' thread.

 

[andy w]

You went out of your way to respond to my post whilst pretty much everything I said has been posted earlier even a comment that could be conceived as homophobic.
We all have our styles of posting, and I'm not going to make myself whiter than white, but I respond to people as if they are physically in front of me and thats why I took offence in your post as being told I talk like a tw@ would in a pub or at work be beyond the pale and we would be falling out. I'm all for rigorous discussion but there is a line where it transends into name calling and abuse

 

[andy w]

I meant perceived not conceived, talk about a one track mind

 

[Gramaisc]

pretty much everything I said has been posted earlier even a comment that could be perceived as homophobic.

Was it this?

On a more trivial note - another of my favourite things about the games has been watching Mark Foster commentate on the aquatics (yes I know he is gay but he is a joy to behold!)

Or am I missing the point?

 

[Withnail]

If i 'went out of my way' to respond, it's because i don't take kindly to being accused of stifling debate.

My posting 'style' in this instance was merely to express how much i agreed with what you had said... apart from the last bit.

As far as i'm aware, however much you may have said that has been said before, had 'pretty much' been said without any recourse to petty political point scoring.

And if you haven't been called a tw@ in a pub i'll eat my h@ - who hasn't?

Anyway, regardless of this interlude i think we can all agree that the Olympics have been, and continue to be, well, fantastic.

 

[andy w]

If i 'went out of my way' to respond, it's because i don't take kindly to being accused of stifling debate.

My posting 'style' in this instance was merely to express how much i agreed with what you had said... apart from the last bit.

As far as i'm aware, however much you may have said that has been said before, had 'pretty much' been said without any recourse to petty political point scoring.

And if you haven't been called a tw@ in a pub i'll eat my h@ - who hasn't?

Anyway, regardless of this interlude i think we can all agree that the Olympics have been, and continue to be, well, fantastic.

I was refering to your first post not your follow up and as an aside you are more of a tolerant person than me if some one called you a tw@.
Anyway I think it's time to move on from this little spat and kiss and make up