The Third London Olympics 2012. The Greatest Show on Earth is about to begin

It is finally happening. Tonight sees the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics which is happening in my own borough. After years and years of waiting and countdowns, it is about to start. Travelling back yesterday to London from a family wedding abroad I noticed on Greek TV news that they were describing it as, "The Third London Olympics". I knew about the 1948 Olympics but had forgotten about the 1908 event.

The opening ceremony will take place about a mile or so away from me which I will watch on telly. I will look out of the bedroom window to see if I can see the fireworks.

I haven't got any tickets yet. Watching competitive sports has never been my thing. However, I do feel genuinely excited and pleased at the prospect of the "Games".  I think that the investment in Newham and the rest of East London has been well worth all the construction works and expected congestion. It has brought together the community in a way that nobody expected.

My elder sister is a sports fanatic and a professional gymnastics coach (who is currently hopping around with her foot in plaster after yet another break). I can remember when we used to fight as kids during Olympics over what to watch on the telly (in those days there was only ever one). She wanted wall-to-wall sport while I wanted anything but.  She still reckons it is best on TV rather than watching live since she doesn't miss anything. No change there then.

I will try and get some tickets to some of the less popular events so I can say "I was there" but I won't be that disappointed if I can't. There will be more than plenty to do during the next few weeks.  I'll try and post as and when.

What is it with “Sport”?

At work I am astonished that colleagues are getting up every day at 3am in order to watch live Olympic events. Others race off home at night in order to spend their entire evenings watching “wall to wall” sport.

People have come to work genuinely excited and pleased at the British sporting successes to date.

Personally, I am only vaguely interested in watching the actual races and competitions. I am more concerned with China and its human rights record, while fascinated with the interaction of the female Russian soldier who won gold in the shooting event (of all things) and the Georgian who gained silver.

I am somewhat pleased when Brits do well but the prospect of actually watching the stuff fills me with horror.

I live within walking distance of the London Olympic site and have volunteered to “help out” at the 2012 games. But this support is really because of the massive regeneration benefits that I hope East London will gain from hosting the Olympics.

Perhaps this is genetic? My lovely eldest sister is a professional gymnastics coach who I know to my cost will be glued to her telly for the next few weeks. Amongst my earliest memories are of fighting with her to turn off tennis on the TV in order to try and watch cartoons (she won). She happens to be my half-sister since her biological Mum died when she was a toddler.

Or is it “environment”? At school it was definitely an advantage to be “good at sports”. I have also come across many people who when you first meet them will ask as a matter of course which football team do I support. When I reply, “none” they are genuinely flustered about what to say next. Why do certain countries with small populations such as Austrialia do so relatively well?

Is the love of sports the new “opium of the people”? I have come across arguments from the “left” attacking sports because of this. However, many seriously religious folk and loads of “far left” are equally in awe of “Sport”.

I was put in my place this morning by a work colleague who had been up since 3am to watch the live Olympics. She responded to my stated incomprehension on “why” by stating “John it must be very similar to your love of trade unions – when you go on about such things I just don’t get it. But I just love watching the Olympics as much as you love your unions”.

So maybe it’s not genetic or environmental perhaps it’s just me?