Now I know theres already been threads about the olympics so sorry if this is too repetitive but I thought it touched on a different area anyway... I was privellged enough to get tickets to the olympic stadium on monday night and saw some great sport including a great 400m hurdles final. Of course it was dissapointing to see Dai Green fail to meddle and all of the crowd wanted him to. However when the winner was announced and then when he collected his meddle the roars where deffening. Now I wonder how many times we have applauded opposistion teams even when they have scored brilliant goals, I can only think of once against Wallsall when I was already ecstatic cos we'd already sucured promotion. I love a good atmosphere and getting behind the team but perhaps its time to appreciate great sport even if it happens to not be provided by the collection of players we call our team. I personally found the atmosphere (in a session atmidelly not GB's most successfull) electric and anything as good as ive experienced at SMS however I came away in such a positive mood because everyone was so positive about ALL the athletes no fing and blinding when we lost. Anyway sorry for the essay but I wonder if this could ever be the case in football cos seriously experiencing the Olympics first hand has just been incredible and if football could be more like that then well that would be great!
What I've learnt from the Jubilee and Olympics is that if you throw a party the British will turn up.
The Olympics (and other sports like Cricket) are a lot less tribal than football and in the eyes of a lot of fans (though maybe not many on this forum), their team is the only team that matters. They are fans of their team rather than fans of football as a whole, particularly fans of glamour clubs like Man U. Don't know how you could change that.
People at the Olympics are there to have a great time and there is nothing like live events (whether sport, theatre or music). I'm not overly interested in events not including British interest watching at home, but I'm sure that if I was at the stadia I would love every race. It is a spectacle about triumph and despair...emotions we all share. However, if GB lose I get over my disappointment quickly, whereas it can take me days or even weeks to get over a Saints loss. Much closer to home.
I don't know whether it's my football supporter background or a tribal nature in us all but can't get overly excited about an event with no serious GB participation. I can appreciate Bolt and other great performances but not with the same excitement as Mo Farah or Sir Chris Hoy. I can't help it but it's medal. Meddle was something Scooby Doo did.
I applaud the opposition on a regular basis in cricket. Not just obviously when a player scores a 100, or walks off the field havig taken five wickets, but also just when they hit a boundary or pull off a decent bit of fielding. So whilst it's good to see us appreciating non-British Olympians (I too experienced this first hand, having been in the Olympic Stadium yesterday), it's nothing unusual for me.
Well, it's natural to support your own nation first and foremost, but I've personally gotten very excited about games not involving GB. Hungary vs Iceland in the Handball, Algeria vs Italy in the Volleyball (admittedly that was in person) and I was pretty excited about Bolt as well, but the thing that struck me most is that at every single event I've been to (and seen on TV) including football, there's been no chants directed at the opposition (well to be fair I couldn't understand what the Germans were chanting but it didn't seem to be anti-American chants) and it's more about supporting your own team than throwing insults at others (as well as celebrating achievements by the opposition), that's the way it should be really!
I'm sorry to say that I've never been sporting enough to applaud a goal from the opposition. For most footy fans it's all about winning and I'm no different, but if you look at clips of Matty's top ten goals or even Rickie's goals from last season there are people in the opposition's crowd who are clapping, so it can be done but not by me. I honestly thought I could take or leave the Olympics before they had started but right from the opening ceremony I've been hooked. That ceremony, the enthusiastic crowds, the athletes performances and their attitude towards competeing has all been superb. In truth though, it's the whole event that is the attraction. I could never see myself turning on the telly to watch a cycle or rowing event that didn't have an Olympic medal at stake. I'm glad you enjoyed your night at the Olympic Stadium TBD.
It just shows how different attitudes prevail in different sports. I played a lot of cricket and regularly clapped the opposition but couldn't do it as a spectator in footy.
I remember when I was 5 or 6 and my dad had taken me to Saint Mary's. We conceded, and everyone started clapping. Confused, I asked my dad what was happening, and he said "When the opposition scores a good goal, you should applaud them." Never seems to happen anymore, although that has made me be as sporting as possible all through my life.
What we can learn: Any national team associated with England will always leave the tournament on penalties.
I think I've applauded when the opposition's scored a good goal, though it's more polite applause but even still. Likewise in the Olympic Archery I applauded whenever someone got a ten I think, even if they were shooting against a British archer. It's it's a scrappy last minute goal, then maybe I'd be somewhat less inclined to applaud.
