At the London Olympics 2012

The tickets

I'd never thought I'd see the day when I could say 'I went to the Olympics!'. If I could go back 10 years to my self in the past and say 'Fiona, you'll see the Olympics', I'd thought you'd be balmy. I was still in Malaysia, the weather was hot, still relatively new in a boring job working with insurance agents and dealing with the day to day of ordinary life. (actually come to think of it, exactly 10 years ago I was in Istanbul, Turkey so impossible thoughts wouldn't have been too far away of being achievable)

Earl's Court Venue

But today, here I am....right in the middle of the London 2012 Olympics. A lot of Londoners took the opportunity to stay away because of threats of transportation disruptions and congestion but I wanted to be in the thick of it. It would also have been madness not to try for tickets being a lifetime opportunity. London has been eerily quiet on the streets which is great - wish the Olympics would never end as I could actually cycle on the road without the fear of being knocked over. For those who did remain, was the reward of the enthusiasm and excitement all over the city. For first time, we're all talking about sports and not the depressing economy...At work, with friends, on TV, FB.

Team USA(white) vs Team Brazil(blue)

To attend an event is to witness the peak of the excitement - the atmosphere was totally amazing. The game was between Team USA and Team Brazil for a preliminary round Group A with both teams almost equally matched though the crowd support was Brazilian-biased. There was never a dull moment as the emcee livened up the crowd prior and between the matches but the match itself was exciting as the USA fought to win 1:3 (3 of 4 matches)

Team GB(red) vs Team Italy(blue)

The 2nd match was the home team vs Team Italy. The home crowd was enthusiastic still (and this was at 1030pm on a school night). The game was less suspenseful as Team GB tried their darndest (ranked 97th vs Team Italy's 6th) but the real story is behind the team itself. This is the sport that Britain slashed Olympic funding, resulting the team living on no income, paying their way through their training on odd-jobs, sleeping on sofas...This was especially true within the women's volleyball team where whatever remaining was prioritized to the men's and beach volleyball. So to come this far was an amazing feat itself. It's the phrase echoed by the founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who said "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."