Memory Lane Olympic 2012 Memories

[Ricey]

Managed to ignore the whole thing.Thank God.

****ing Pratt!

 

[Kent Shrimper]

Managed to ignore the whole thing.Thank God.

Got to say Barna, you missed an amazing spectacle and your existence is poorer for it

 

[manor15]

Great experience, was lucky enough to get 3 sets of tickets, all in the latter stages of the Olympics. I spent pretty much the whole time glued to the TV watching whatever sport I could, I'd never watched half of the sports before like the beach volleyball or shooting or some of the others, but they all seemed like the most fascinating sports around! The first event I got tickets for was to go and see the 2 finals of the fencing with my brother as it's something he's quite interested, I had absolutely no idea about the sport but read up on it but didn't know much. When we arrived at the Excel Centre was the first time I really saw the Gamesmakers in actions and they really were fantastic, and made the whole event so much better just by their attitude and approach to it all. When we got inside the atmosphere was incredible, and after a few points of fencing I felt like an expert. Seeing the emotions on the faces of the athletes was fantastic too, the Italians one the first final and they celebrated in the way that Italians do, they didn't hold back! Despite knowing almost nothing about the sport it was almost impossible not to get caught up in all the emotions of it and join in the celebrations.
The next event I got to go and see was the quarter finals of the football at Wembley when Mexico played Senegal, and we had seats right up in the gods, about 3 rows from the back in the top corner, but the atmosphere was amazing as well, lots of Mexican waves and a very family-friendly atmosphere and everyone had a great time. One of the best memories of that day was coming back out after the game and walking back down Wembley Way and some Mexican fans decided to stop and start playing songs and dancing right in the middle of Wembley Way, and everyone just joined in.
The best was saved until last though as I was fortunate enough to get tickets for the athletics at the Olympic Stadium and the Park. We got to the park as early as we could to make the most of it, and explored as much of it as we could, and even with all day to do so it still felt like there was so much more to do. Was amazing how you could sit in the parks and relax and could have been anywhere and then you'd hear a cheer and realise that just behind you am Olympic final was going on. When we got into the stadium for the evening session of athletics, it was better than expected and our tickets were just a few rows from the front and just beside the Olympic Flame, which was nice as just a few weeks earlier I carried the Torch through Northampton, and it felt like I'd completed the journey by making it to the stadium! Although there wasn't much success for Team GB that night the atmosphere was unlike anything I've ever experienced before, I've been in some amazing atmospheres in Champions League semi-finals at Anfield, big matches in the Camp Nou, finals at Wembley, etc, but nothing compared to that atmosphere, and it was great that everyone was just cheering regardless of who was winning or competing because the support was for the event and all of the participants, it was something I'll never forget.
A few weeks later we got to go back for the Paralympics, and saw Hannah Cockcroft win her gold medal in the 100m, and the atmosphere then was just as good and the stadium was at full capacity, something that no-one seemed to expect for the Paralympics, but it was just as good as the Olympics for me, and just as inspiring!
I don't think it's possible to describe how much I enjoyed the whole event, I'll never forget the atmosphere both at the Games and in the country as a whole, everyone just seemed to be in a good mood! I don't think that's something that you can put a price on, and carrying the Olympic Torch was an unforgettable experience which turned out to be just a teaser of the excitement of the next few weeks.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Got absolutely no problem with people having enjoyed the experience, just didn't do a great deal for me. Yes, I rejoiced in the successes of some of our team members, but I certainly wasn't glued to the tv for any of it. Each to their own, I guess.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Just because your lot were crap I suppose.
Bore off Barna.

Got to say Barna, you missed an amazing spectacle and your existence is poorer for it

FWIW,
I also deliberately avoided the 92 Olympics when they were held in Barcelona.We flew to the UK to attend a wedding in Worcester then caught a plane from Gatwick to Greece for a fortnight's holiday.Let a couple of friends from San Sebastian house sit for us.Never regretted it for a moment.

 

[Davros]

I just had a funny memory come back.

Got some tickets for a random night at the Handball. Me and my best mate went, and spent a small fortune on overpriced beer that night. Anyway, the first game was Spain vs Croatia. For some reason, all the Brits around us were supporting Spain, so we decided to get very vocally behind Croatia. Spain made a strong start, and we were looking silly, but Croatia's superstar ( not sure if he actually is) Pucic came to life , and thus we started making random charts for him etc and so on. With 5 mins to go, Croatia were a point or two up, and the group around us were now supporting Croatia due to our efforts. Th final whistle went, and we went a bit mental as the plucky Croats had pulled off a great victory. Needless to say we bustled to the front of the upper tier, as the players exit was below, and hailed our new favourite player with chants of 'Pucic' as he left, which he greeted with a laugh and a wave.

Good times!

Also the BMX was a great feel good event. Went with an Aussie mate, and being a roasting afternoon, piled up on overpriced beer once again. Atmosphere was electric, spurred on by mental sports action and a quality DMX DJ. Had already been in the stadium that morning with another mate to watch some Athletics, then the two of us who had watched the BMX joined back up after to sit in the green areas in front of the big screens to watch the 200m final. Good day that

 

[Davros]

Few more



In terms of getting "close to the action", that mountain biking pic I took wad pretty hairy stuff!

 

[OldBlueLady]

Few more

View attachment 2406

In terms of getting "close to the action", that mountain biking pic I took wad pretty hairy stuff!

Great pic that Dave! I took the kids from school down there to a cross country event, fortunately their course didn't go over those rocky bits. If there is one good thing to have come out of the Olympics for us in the area, it is that development down at Hadleigh Country Park.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Few more

View attachment 2404View attachment 2405View attachment 2406View attachment 2407View attachment 2408

In terms of getting "close to the action", that mountain biking pic I took wad pretty hairy stuff!

That is a cracking shot of the mountain biking Davros, it was great being able to get so close to the action. Here are a few more of mine...


I was especially pleased with the third one which is the moment the winner Kulhavy took the lead on the last bend.

Great pic that Dave! I took the kids from school down there to a cross country event, fortunately their course didn't go over those rocky bits. If there is one good thing to have come out of the Olympics for us in the area, it is that development down at Hadleigh Country Park.

Saw a bit on the local news the other night about Hadleigh from what I can gather while it's not open to the general public yet, they do have school visits and let the kids ride round sections of the revised course. I can't wait for it to be open to the general public so I can have a go!

 

[Davros]

Yes, had my head poking through under the bottom of the fence for that one, lol

I was wondering the other day when the track will be open to the public. Doing a 10k cross country event over there in a couple of Saturdays myself, which will hopefully incorporate some of the track.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I was sitting on a large trading floor and the Olympics where shown on all the huge TVs that hang from the ceiling.

It is a pretty multicultural place with people of all nationalities working there and the thing I remember most was e standing ovation on the floor when Alistair Brownlee won the triathlon.

 

[GrumpyBlue]

Managed to ignore the whole thing.Thank God.

Me too apart from the rowing which I was actually interested in.

 

[londonblue]

I had an amazing day that will live with me for a very long time. That day was Saturday 11th August. We took the boys to the kayaking to see Ed McKeever win his gold medal. Friends and family of his were wearing t-shirts saying "I'm a believer in Ed McKeever". For some reason that has stuck with me.

When we got home from that we took the boys to the park. We then took them home and handed them over to a baby sitter whilst my wife and I went off to the Olympic stadium for the evening session. We saw the mens 4x100m relay final (so we saw Usain Bolt) and we saw history in the making when Mo Farah won the 5000m. We had amazing seats, pretty much opposite the finish line.

I remember with about one lap to go I turned to my wife and said, "he's not gonna do it." But not long later when I saw his face on the big screen, and could see how completely in control he looked, I turned to her again and said, "I've changed my mind!".

GBR won three gold medals that day, and my wife and I saw two of them.

View from our seats:

 

[Davros]

Already looking forward to the 2015 Anniversary/Diamond league meeting..

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ectations-for-successful-reunion-8735690.html

Also hoping to get tickets for the New Zeland vs Africa Qualifier game in the 2015 world cup.

Sadly, according to the article, the stadium will very different then