August 1, 2008
Underwhelmed by Beijing Olympics
I'm a sports nut. So you'd think I'd be excited that the Beijing Olympics is due to start in a week. But I feel no enthusiasm for this imminent festival of sport. Not a scerrick.
I remember being captivated by the Munich Olympics when I was in London in 1972. But that was well before the introduction of silly "sports" such as synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics! I'm more of a purist and much prefer watching the athletics and swimming.
When I give the matter some serious thought, I do acknowledge that I've seen some stirring Olympic events over the years. Cathy Freeman's victory in the 400 metres track final in Sydney comes quickly to mind. And I'm sure there would be many more if I thought harder.
But the excitement just isn't there. Maybe it will come. Perhaps Roy and H.G. will awaken the Olympic spark within me!
Posted to Sport by Keith PittyI know how you feel. Although my enthusiasm was increased when I watched the Athens Olympics in 2004. For a number of reasons;
1. I was a stay at home dad and was able to have the TV or radio on all day.
2. I was in London, so the timezones weren't a problem
3. I was in London, so my coverage came from the BBC
4. By 2004 the UK had fully embraced multi channelling so I could pretty much pick which sport I wanted to watch, they were covering at least 4 different events at any one time. For instance, I got to watch most of the sailing - when was the last time you saw that on Channel 7?
The good news is that the Australian media are going to embrace multi channel broadcasting starting next year so by the London Olympics in 2012 this part of the world might just have caught up.
Posted by: Andy Todd at August 2, 2008 8:35 PM