The Olympics and Paralympics are, sadly, over, but what a summer they have provided us with. It has been glorious to see so much live, real action on our screens.
But what now? Team GB’s victory parade has been held; talk has already moved to what will be done with the Olympic Park in Stratford now that the party is over, and we are all left to wonder what will fill the void left after the six weeks of wondrous sport we have witnessed.
Does the full Strictly line-up, which includes Olympians Louis Smith and Victoria Pendleton; X-Factor, or the hours of football, that will all be streamed into homes throughout the land over the next few weeks, start to come close to being a substitute. Well, absolutely not.
Strictly and X-Factor at least have some entertainment value, whereas football is just a load of overpaid, soft individuals who fall on the floor at the slightest opportunity and roll around helplessly. Our Olympians and Paralympians certainly showed the footballers how it is done and brought even more into question the amounts that footballers are paid. I have never understood the fascination with the game where it seems all about celebrity and egos.
I hope the legacy of the Games will be more sport in schools; more interest in a wider range of sports; more funding for what may have been considered side-line sports; more sports televised on our screens – let’s give the footballers a run for their money (if they can stay on their feet long enough that is).
The Olympics and Paralympics have been great and we did a tremendous job of hosting them. Oh how they will be missed.