Last years Olympics

andy 3654

Does any one else still watch video clips of 2012 Olympics and still get that over whelming sense of pride for how well our cyclists did?

simonhead

Yup, not just the Olympic cycling though. The BBC site has loads of clips on and i quite often find myself watching Jessica Ennis during my lunch break.

Every time my godson visits he wants to watch the 2003 RWC final, its his favourite DVD and he wasnt even born then.

englander

Funnily enough, I rewatched the TT on Monday, before going out and retracing the route. I was flabbergasted all over again by the average speed Wiggo completed the course in.

IanREmery

I can't help listening to David Bowie "Heroes" without thinking of it. Such an amazing summer, feels like such a long time ago now :-(

Anonymous

I often feel really sad that its all over. It was such a great experience (even though only got tickets to football :-()
I watched the mens road cycling live in Cineworld.

The mrs and I (and probably kids) were screaming at Mo Farah to win his second gold while in a tent on a campsite in Cornwall. It was pouring with rain that evening and every other tent would have heard.

Have it all on Blu Ray but not watched any as think it will be too emotional at the moment :oops:

Its one of the reasons I want to ride the RLS100 in Aug.

IanREmery

Carbonator wrote:

Have it all on Blu Ray but not watched any as think it will be too emotional at the moment :oops:

Its one of the reasons I want to ride the RLS100 in Aug.

Seconded on both statements, I think I'd get emotional again watching it and it was the main inspiration for me to sign up for the RL100 (and to spend over £1500 on bike stuff this year so far alone).

Ed-tron

Reliving the road race with no information on time-gaps - agh! I remember shouting at the TV

Bobbinogs

Personally, I couldn't stand the complete hype over the olympics at the time and I still don't look back with any fondness. The sheer scale of money spent on it with no adherrence to agreed budgets, or the lies/false justifications about legacy that just mean we have been left with some very expensive white elephants. The country could do with some of the billions spent but, like most public funded projects, the focus always seems to be on spending one's way out of poor due diligence.

Oh, and don't get me started on the complete sell out to corporate greed (Ronald McDonald as a role model for the next generation of athletes?).

As I said at the time, bah humbug!

VTech

My dad used to have a VHS collection of great sporting moments, his fav were bothams ashes from the 80's.

The problem in general with the british is that we only perceive success as a win, not from doing well or achieving the best we can.
In football we cheer our team on and when they go out, normally to a better team they are called names and ridiculed, the thing is, going out to germany isnt a real issue, they are a better team so maybe we should be happy that they get so far ?
Its like pushy parent syndrome where doing well is no longer fashionable, winning is all that matters.

Pross

Carbonator wrote:

I often feel really sad that its all over. It was such a great experience

This. I went up for the opening weekend and watched the start and finish of the men's road race on the Saturday (sat in front of the big screen in Hyde Park in between). Having left the screen with GB looking like they had the break under control and then the feeling of deflation when I was stood 1km from the finish hearing that a fresh break had gone and GB had given up. Second day I watched the horses at Greenwich and even though it was only the dressage day of the 3 day event (booked for the wrong day, I'd wanted cross country :oops: ) and there were torrential thunderstorms in a stadium with no roof it was still a superb experience. Watching the closing ceremony I was sad that it was over and we are unlikely to have it again in my life time.

MountainMonster

Bobbinogs wrote:

Personally, I couldn't stand the complete hype over the olympics at the time and I still don't look back with any fondness. The sheer scale of money spent on it with no adherrence to agreed budgets, or the lies/false justifications about legacy that just mean we have been left with some very expensive white elephants. The country could do with some of the billions spent but, like most public funded projects, the focus always seems to be on spending one's way out of poor due diligence.

Oh, and don't get me started on the complete sell out to corporate greed (Ronald McDonald as a role model for the next generation of athletes?).

As I said at the time, bah humbug!

Wow, just wow. I can understand the money side of things in a way. However, you fail to realise that the Olympic spending vs. the revenue brought in broke even, so we lost nothing, and had some darn good games to watch.

Anonymous

It was sunny, it went well, we did well, we had fun as a family and my 11 year old daughter knows who all the main Team GB cyclists are.

She will always remember when the Olympics came to town, how good it felt, how well we did and the fun we had.
Every other olympic games will be a little bit more special to her now, not just sport on TV, but something very real.

We went out cycling together yesterday and she loves her new road bike. I like to think her smile was a little wider than it would have been had last year not happened.

It may or may not have been expensive..........but it was priceless :P

chrisaonabike

Carbonator wrote:

Its one of the reasons I want to ride the RLS100 in Aug.

Yes, me too. I loved the Olympics, and I've watched a lot of it since many times, especially the cycling.

I was a carping cynic like so many others until the opening ceremony, which blew me away. And then the games themselves, the stunning success of Team GB, and the stupendous goodwill it all seemed to generate made it all rather special.

I've heard all the miserable sods moaning about the expense, but bugger them all, I say

I wouldn't be a cyclist now were it not for the Olympics and the Wiggo factor.

VTech

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Its one of the reasons I want to ride the RLS100 in Aug.

I wouldn't be a cyclist now were it not for the Olympics and the Wiggo factor.

Same same.

cornerblock

VTech wrote:

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Its one of the reasons I want to ride the RLS100 in Aug.

I wouldn't be a cyclist now were it not for the Olympics and the Wiggo factor.

Same same.

What a legacy that is!

nunowoolmez

I also love the Olympics, it will always be special to me. Ever since I watched the Seoul 88 Games on a little black n white telly, I was hooked. I miss it terribly when it ends & I have to say that last years was the best I have seen. I am thankful in a way of the injury to my ankle which put me off work for months & thus allowed me to watch ALL of it!

For me the Super Saturday sticks out as just being unreal! Then Mo doing the dou le was nearly too much for me, I was so happy. So many memories, I remember the canoeing well too as my old mate ET ( Etienne Stott) won an unexpected but brilliant gold.

I watch the DVDs lots.

I just don't get those who cannot understand the Olympics & what they mean & stand for. It is these ideals we should all try to stick to in life.

simon_masterson

Armitstead and Vos fighting it out on the Mall in the womens' race was superb. In retrospect I wish I'd taken some time off and gone down to watch...

ddraver

I think the living abroad is a great thing and I would nt have changed the experience I ve had, good or bad bits, but one of my biggest regrets is that I wasnt in the country for those 2 weeks. As much as the Dutch really got into it (big screens in stations, faux english areas where you could sit and watch (hockey usually) it just wasnt the same.

I was cycnical too and at the start just hoped that we wouldnt screw it up, but before we went and got bladdered in Brussels me and a few french friends watched the first few bits of the opening ceremony and they were fawning over it. I don't think we put a foot wrong as a nation for the whole 2 weeks.

verylonglegs

I enjoyed it in the same way I've found moments to enjoy in any olympics (Atlanta was a tough one though, jeez.) but in some ways it didn't feel like it was in the UK to me, it is awarded to a city and not a nation afterall and London isn't really representative of England so I didn't connect with it in that way. Moved on from it pretty quickly too, watched a few highlights in the weeks after the event but that was that for me. I do like watching a lot of different sports though so there is always a next event for me...Ashes summer this year!

ddraver

I did wonder vll if one had to be in London to really "get it"

verylonglegs

You are probably right. I did get the train into Liverpool St. a few times in the years leading up to the olympics so saw the stadium and site slowly take shape and kept telling myself this as I watched the events but it didn't alter how I felt about it.

chrisaonabike

ddraver wrote:

I don't think we put a foot wrong as a nation for the whole 2 weeks.

Exactly, and the combination of relief, and shock that this was for once the case, I'm sure enhanced the overall experience. It could so easily have been like Eurovision, which I used to quite enjoy but I just can't bear now.

ddraver wrote:

I did wonder if one had to be in London to really "get it"

I'd like to think that this isn't the case. I didn't actually go in person to any of the events at the Olympic Park, just watched a lot of it on the television. Even so, it was somehow quite emotional watching Mo, and Jess, and the Brownlees, Grainger/Watkins, and of course Wiggins in the TT and Vicky P's struggle with Anna Mears, amongst others.

I did go down to watch the men's and women's road races as they went out of London but they went past so fast that it wasn't much of an experience.

diy

Every time I go past the A24 I remember sitting in the middle with my kids picnicking and chalking up the splits on the laps. People thought we were a bit sad at first, but by lap 4 everyone around us was checking the data to work out what was actually happening.

elderone

For me the olympics was superb,a spectactle to behold and made me proud to be british.The fact we won gold in the sport I love most (slalom canoeing) was the icing on the cake.
As for the money,so what it was worth every penny and my only regret was not being there in person.
Awesome event.

IanREmery

ddraver wrote:

I did wonder vll if one had to be in London to really "get it"

I wouldn't say you needed to be in London to really get it, but it probably helps to be near some of the activities.

I'm work in Cardiff which hosted the first footie match 2 days before opening ceremony, the atmosphere in the city on that first day was electrifying, much more than even a 6 Nations decider day (quite a statement in itself). We had the Olympic Rings outside the Council Hall that I walked past into work every day. I nearly cried when they took them down...

Slo Mo Jones

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

ddraver wrote:

I don't think we put a foot wrong as a nation for the whole 2 weeks.

Exactly, and the combination of relief, and shock that this was for once the case, I'm sure enhanced the overall experience. It could so easily have been like Eurovision, which I used to quite enjoy but I just can't bear now.

ddraver wrote:

I did wonder if one had to be in London to really "get it"

I'd like to think that this isn't the case. I didn't actually go in person to any of the events at the Olympic Park, just watched a lot of it on the television. Even so, it was somehow quite emotional watching Mo, and Jess, and the Brownlees, Grainger/Watkins, and of course Wiggins in the TT and Vicky P's struggle with Anna Mears, amongst others.

I did go down to watch the men's and women's road races as they went out of London but they went past so fast that it wasn't much of an experience.

The olympics came to your city and you didn't go to watch any of it?

VTech

We should have another thread of Olympic photos taken by forum members. I reckon that would be interesting.