Some of the best things about the Olympic Games are less
obvious than Usain Bolt’s record breaking and the enormity of having the world’s
greatest sporting event take place 25 minutes up the road. One of these things
became obvious as I sat watching the Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade on
Wednesday.
The atmosphere in the stadium was already very good with the
weather playing nicely and a day of sport being enjoyed by all. Suddenly though
there came a strange chant from the far side of the ground, that sounded
remarkably like “Wiggo, Wiggo, Wiggo”. I immediately reacted by getting my
phone out and checking Twitter, (how clichéd of me), and found to my delight
that Bradley Wiggins had added a Time-Trial Gold Medal to his Tour de France
exploits. Without hesitation I loudly announced this, breaching all unsaid laws
of British-ness, and to the general pleasure of those around me. As I was
excitedly informing a man in the row in front that Chris Froome had also taken the
Bronze, the result was announced over the PA system to a cacophony of cheers.
The exploits of Wiggins and Co. have united a normally reserved nation in a way
that only sport, and tournaments of this nature do, and everybody there at HGP
felt a part of it, even though we were at an entirely different venue, in a different
part of the city.
Secondly, I was struck by the way the Olympics seem to
result in loads of things happening at once. Social networking, and the BBC
coverage of the Games, allows this experience to be even better than normal.
Even when I found myself enthralled by the Double-Trap shooting, and the chance
of a British Gold Medal there, news filtered through that there was something
happening in the Canoe – Slalom Doubles too. With three Medals, (2 Golds and a
Silver), confirmed within a couple of minutes, it really did feel like anything
could happen next, and if possible my attention increased.
The reality of hosting an Olympic Games can only be as good
as you let it. But if you’re willing to put aside scepticism and accept the
rough with the smooth, there is the opportunity to really enjoy these two weeks
in which the world watches and we experience the best sportsmen and women in
the world.
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