The Olympics euphoria sweeping the country is unprecedented. I wasn’t around in 1908 or 1948, but I’ll bet the price of a ticket to the 100m final that it wasn’t like this.
It wasn’t like this at the Beijing Olympics either, when Team GB won 47 medals. Four years ago, there wasn’t blanket coverage on the Beeb every single night, breathlessly covering every single moment of the Games. The news agenda was not dominated by the Olympics sporting action. It certainly wasn’t obligatory to go around grinning and being nice, just cos the country was winning a few medals.
Why not revel in the feel-good factor, and wave the flag for Great Britain?
But this time it’s different. We are the hosts, inviting the world to our party. And a damn good one it is, too. Well, we’re enjoying it anyway (I’m not so sure about our guests – has anyone heard from them lately?)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. It is only right and proper that we celebrate the sporting victories at the Games we are hosting. As a keen sports fan, I’ve been lapping up the action, jumping on the sofa as Jess powers over the finishing line, welling up as the Archery team crashes out in the early rounds.
If it’s a bit over-the-top, if balanced reporting has completely gone out of the window, then so what? Why not revel in the feel-good factor, and wave the flag for Great Britain (so much more comfortable than waving the flag for England, that’s for sure. Don’t go Scotland, we need you!) Plus, as Sir Chris ‘Our greatest Olympian’ Hoy noted, it’s nice to dispel all the doom and gloom that has monopolized the news headlines of late.
Sir Chris is right, of course. And yet…