Well if you take the view of my other half that essentially all sport is bollocks - then obviously so is the Olympics. I feel the same way about ballet, opera and a lot of classical music but that gets me branded as a philistine.
More seriously though, if you take the view of community activists you would also conclude correctly that the claims to be giving a social and economic leg-up to a particularly depressed part of London are nothing more than a thinly disguised bit of big business' brand promotion and nationalistic willy-waiving.
Despite acknowledging the politics of all this, even so I have found myself applying for tickets today - for boxing, judo and wrestling. I can't even claim to be a follower of any of these sports - although they come closest to my own martial arts - so I suppose I am just going for the spectacle. My dad still talks about going to the 1948 Olympics and it simply feels too much like a once in a lifetime opportunity to let pass.
Although I do hope for suitably shambolic opening and closing ceremonies. Something quintessentially British - maybe a brass band, morris dancers and Bruce Forsyth as master of ceremonies. Recalling the grandiose Fascistic precision of the Beijing celebrations still sends a shiver down my spine.
Although I do hope for suitably shambolic opening and closing ceremonies. Something quintessentially British - maybe a brass band, morris dancers and Bruce Forsyth as master of ceremonies. Recalling the grandiose Fascistic precision of the Beijing celebrations still sends a shiver down my spine.
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