Thanks for spoiling the score
I love watching badminton almost as much as I enjoy playing it...I'm looking forward to watching the re-run of the match.
As for the olympics themselves, I've sat back and listened to you all slating them over the past week - hinting at the politics behind it all and generally asking why anyone gives a c***. Well...I give a crap. I love the olympic games, I have done since I was a kid. I watch it all avidly when the time comes around again. Yes I know there's politics behind the whole thing, and yes I know that the whole "which country got the most medals" thing is a complete farce. But to me the olympics is all about personal achievement. Its about running harder, jumping higher and throwing further than you have ever done before, to achieve the highest accolade that your profession can bring.
This whole thing with Paula Radcliffe dropping out of the marathon yesterday illustrates my point perfectly. She's been slated by the media today for "Letting the country down"...thats just ridiculous, does anyone actually believe that those tears by the side of the road were because she thought she'd let her country down?? Not a chance. She was bawling her eyes out because she felt that she'd let herself down. She drove herself into the ground. She pushed herself harder than she'd ever done before, and when she saw the runner comfortably overtake her to slip into bronze position - she knew that she couldn't push her body any further than she had done already. The poor girl realised in that instance that no matter how hard she tried, her dream of an olympic medal had come to an end. B*ll*cks to country pride. The olympics is a personal thing.
Put quite simply, the olympics is the greatest collection of sportsmen and women pushing themselves as hard as humanly possible to try to acheive the ultimate accolade in their profession. The inter-country politics was inevitable....and I doubt that any single athlete present at the games gives a flying ****.
Oh but saying that, I do have to say one thing to our US brethren.....basketball....lithuania....ROFL!!!