The Olympics

[Mad Max]

As above, i've heard varying reports on the radio etc as to the "enthusiasm" or rather the lack of it, in some parts of Scotland for the forthcoming games, it would be interesting to hear views on this as i know that a lot of people in Scotland seem to be totally disinterested, and would rather see the money spent on something else, so whats your take on it.

[denphone]

l think the Olympics is a once in a lifetime event and as such we should alll get behind and support this magnificent spectacle as it will not come again in our lifetimes.

[LondonRoad]

I'll be taking my daughters to see the torch in Glasgow on Friday evening. They've both been doing school projects about the olympics so are very enthusiastic.

There is a element of the Scottish population that doesn't feel part of it but I suspect that's for political rather than Geographical reasons.

My view is that Scotland is part of the GB so it's as much our olympics as you want it to be. You're certainly not going to ever be closer to an Olympic games. We've also got our own Commonwealth Games in 2 years time so I'm sure we can learn a lot from all the venues used for the Olympics.

Personally I always look forward to the Olympic Games but much prefer Games that are in my timezone.

[Mad Max]

They've both been doing school projects about the olympics so are very enthusiastic

Good stuff, it seems from what i've heard that most of the schools have embarked on some sort of olympics projects, this is really good as it may enthuse the children to become more active in sports, and lets face it, it's something really needed in the UK as far too many children aren't taking part in sports anymore and would rather sit behind a desk at their PC or XBox etc, my kids have been out of school for years now so i'm only commenting on what i've seen/heard via the media, showing my age eh?.......

[LondonRoad]

Part of 7 year old LR's project was to find out about one particular olympic sport.

She picked Beach Volleyball without any encouragement from me. In fact I tried to steer her in a different direction for fear of her teacher thinking I'm an old pervert.

She picked it because that's her favourite game on the Wii.... Honestly


.....still what a cover story to explain my browsing history

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

Part of 7 year old LR's project was to find out about one particular olympic sport.

She picked Beach Volleyball without any encouragement from me. In fact I tried to steer her in a different direction for fear of her teacher thinking I'm an old pervert.

She picked it because that's her favourite game on the Wii.... Honestly


.....still what a cover story to explain my browsing history

Of course she did LR.......

Originally Posted by Mad Max

As above, i've heard varying reports on the radio etc as to the "enthusiasm" or rather the lack of it, in some parts of Scotland for the forthcoming games, it would be interesting to hear views on this as i know that a lot of people in Scotland seem to be totally disinterested, and would rather see the money spent on something else, so whats your take on it.

I would say to the scots to stop being such party poopers and mind their own business cos it's not their money we are spending

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by martyh

I would say to the scots to stop being such party poopers and mind their own business cos it's not their money we are spending

We ain't all party poopers... and considering over £9 billion is coming out of the public purse, i'd say thats from taxes collected etc, wouldn't you?

[Hom3r]

Well the Opening ceremonys ruined, Paul bloody McCartney top of the bill.

Originally Posted by Mad Max

As above, i've heard varying reports on the radio etc as to the "enthusiasm" or rather the lack of it, in some parts of Scotland for the forthcoming games, it would be interesting to hear views on this as i know that a lot of people in Scotland seem to be totally disinterested, and would rather see the money spent on something else, so whats your take on it.

We have been sending Olympic-themed mini-projects into school with two of our children for weeks now (torches, models of proposed Olympic sports, etc). I have no doubt the torch relay routes will be as busy around here as anywhere down south. On the Saturday morning it passes by us we will all be at Blue Peter live in Dumbarton and I suspect we won't be the only ones.

I have found that famous British reserve is far more pronounced in Scotland than it is in England and it doesn't pay to assume that reserve equals indifference. We are all very excited about the Olympics in our house. Cannae wait!

[MovedGoalPosts]

I find nothing to excite me about the Olympics and indeed find that the whole thing is overhyped. In our area roads will be closed much of the weekend for a cycle race. Yet the cyclists will be through in less than a minute. Is that inconvenience justified? Roads are being dug up so that a few cyclists will spend less than a second traversing a junction, yet we suffer traffic congestion and diversions for a week. Many events that would normally be run over summer but are now cancelled because of closures, staff and security issues. We are lead to believe the Olympics is a benefit, but has anyone really considered the real costs of disruption to everyday activities?

I am really excited for the Olympics. I have tickets for the gold medal ceremony of the Canoe Slalom event, it's taking place in my town, in a park where I literally used to ride my bike a lot growing up. That itself is pretty cool. I also have tickets for Basketball quarter finals. I am going to Victoria Park to watch the Opening Ceremonies on a large screen.

It's going be very cool. The Olympics will be in London and for the major events people around the world, millions and sometimes billions of people, will be watching how we do. They will be watching London and Britain host the games and hopefully we'll put in a show that will impress them.

It's sad when people make economic arguments alone. Is it a waste of money? Will we recoup any of that money? Why are we hosting a giant party when making cuts elsewhere? That misses the point completely and is a fairly miserable way of looking at life. There are some things that matter more than money, that are worth losing money, and when I die I will have had more pride and enjoyment at having watched the Olympics held in a park where I used to play than knowing the Government reduced the deficit by 0.001% in the Summer of 2012. Likewise I suspect the millions of people that will see the Olympics being held in their city, or their country, will remember that for the rest of their lives. I think that outweighs any monetary loss.

^This.

[LondonRoad]

^This also

We're actually getting quite excited about having a family evening out tomorrow to watch the torch relay.

There might be a few showers about but I'm sure we'll cope.

[Mad Max]

There might be a few showers about

Yup, and they'll prob' be on the Buckfast....