Things cranked up a notch this week on the topic of the old Olympics. There seems to be an ever increasing presence of athletes in adverts, in the press and in the general day to day discussions that I'm having - helped out of course by the fact we discovered that 'Golden Balls' is probably going to represent us in the footy. Anyone who really believes that his inclusion in the team depends on his form is an idiot. It's a dead cert in my mind that he'll be the focus of team GB.
Which is no bad thing. Getting people hyped is obviously part of ensuring that there is a strong legacy after the games. I'm sceptical as to whether the Olympic gift will keep on giving as much as we've been led to believe, but it will certainly serve to improve things for a little while at least.
I would actually suggest that the biggest, most lasting impact will come in the shape of the Paralympics. There is a greater job to be done here in terms of raising the profile of the athletes involved, but the fact that they sold out so quickly (almost twice as fast as the Olympics) is a good indication that people are genuinely interested.
I'd wager that by the time that we get to the Paralympics, people will be excited to see yet more epic feats of inspirational sporting prowess. In this respect, the only thing that can top the Olympics is the Paralympics. Column inches will stack up, athletes with impediments will become household names and people will have an increased awareness of the numerous organisations and charities involved in this sector. For this reason, I think that the legacy of this event will be more enduring and serve a greater purpose.
We only have to wait 8 months to see if I'm right...
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