The Olympics

There is now just one more day to go until arguably the biggest sporting event in the world draws to a close. For me, it is probably one of the most productive two weeks of the year (or years) because I have little or no interest in watching it. The other broadcasters know that 99% of the population will be watching the BBC coverage in some form or another and so they hardly bother competing and the schedules fill up with repeats and rubbish.

I'm not going to rant on and on about how I think the Olympics should be banned or that there should be more choice on the TV but in case my views hadn't already been made clear, I'm not a fan. Don't get me wrong, I can understand why other people enjoy it but I've never had an interest in watching sports - I have even less of an interest in participating in them but the thought of sitting down and watching other people play them has always puzzled me. My views on football have previously been made very clear but being a sports fan is almost like a religion and missing a game / match like committing a deadly sin.

This year could have been different. The games were coming to London, the coverage this year would be inescapable as team GB competed to the home crowd but somehow this is better. I feel a sense of pride that my country is doing so well and living up to their expectations - I think it has done wonders to boost the morale of the country in what is otherwise a bleak and depressing time to live in. Wars are being waged here, there and everywhere, the economy is in meltdown having entered the dreaded double-dip recession and the outlook for the future isn't much brighter. I'm quite happy to see a headline in the news that says that someone has won a medal and that's all I need to know. I don't care about the 'tension' or how close the competition was - the end result is what counts. It's also nice to see the medal table summary which skips out the details about which event the medals came from - again irrelevant as far as I'm concerned - I don't care whether we are brilliant at the jumping or the running as long as we're good at something!

Having never paid much attention to the Olympics before, I had no idea what to expect from the opening ceremony. I gathered that there would be flashing lights and fireworks and performances of some kind but I couldn't have been prepared for the most gripping hours of TV that I was about to witness. Perhaps it was because I could relate to what was being shown, this was after all a representation of he culture and heritage of the country I've lived in my whole life but I loved every minute of it and could happily watch it over and over again. I'm equally optimistic for the closing ceremony which is rumoured to feature live performances from some top rate bands from the past and present. It also marks a return to the normal TV schedules and a decline in my productivity levels but I can cope with a disruption for a couple of weeks.

Finally some music. Since I've not posted for a while I've picked this gem from a while back. The new Gossip album is full of really good tunes with most of them having single potential and Perfect World is one of my favourite tracks of the year so far.