Somehow this didn’t quite happen for anyone last night!
It is very wet in the UK and that has probably good for those who have hosted the Winter Games in Northern Italy – it has kept us inside watching various sports we aren’t very good at. The failure of Great Britain to win a medal at anything has not stopped the BBC celebrating us getting a few fourth places nor encouraging us to get excited about acrobatics on skis and ski-boards.
I was excited by the prospect of the games, regardless of Brit performance – I have loved skiing in Bormio and Milan is a favorite town but I have spent a lot of the time I have watched these events hoping to love Italy but I have found myself feeling something isn’t quite right.
You don’t get the impression that the Italians are enjoying this very much – even if they seem to win quite a lot. You don’t get the sense that any of the venues are very full, they are mostly dominated by American fans who can make a lot of noise. But a sense that this is an Italian event went with the opening ceremony which trivialised any sense of Italian culture into Verdi and Rossini dancing to disco.
Come on, we have a better view of Italy than this
The Guardian make the point that this Winter Games is getting nowhere with the Italian public and it’s getting more and more dull for the Brits the more nonsense we are forced to listen to from the half-pipers. Last night’s half pipe competition was about the worst sporting event that could have been featured with no-one staying on their feet but the medallists who none of us could tell apart as they hid behind layers of protection.
Don’t get me talking about luge and other sports which we may actually get a medal at, this drives me to Sky – or more likely to read or listen to the radio.
Here is how Jamie Mackay, who should be loving these Olympics, feels.
The Winter Olympics should be about humanity, culture and, most of all, the collective enjoyment of sport. With these Games, Italy has been left to settle for a glitzy performance that speaks to no real public at all.
Milan, one of Europe’s most culturally exciting cities, has had scant opportunities to share its genuine talent with the world. The Dolomites, home to Italy’s most beautiful ecosystems, have been reduced to a luxury simulacrum of themselves, at the expense of longstanding rural communities.
As the athletes continue to dazzle with their skill, it’s impossible not to admire the sportsmanship. What a pity that the organisers have so tarnished the occasion by exploiting the very hospitality on which a successful Games depends.
