Olympics 2012
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11 Aug 12
14:41
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Date Joined:
13 Jun 08
We're all here to gamble on this site. We like a wager. It might be because we grew up with it, we have addictive personalities, or perhaps just like a flutter now and again, not to mention the social side of the forums.
Can I just say, for the record, how brilliant these Olympics have been. I too love a gamble but see sport as momentous and poetic and encompassing all the best (and sometimes worst) attributes of humanity. It has been real drama; real life writ large for the last two weeks. The highs, the lows, the sheer brilliance of human athletic achievement and we even got a fantastic Elbow song thrown in for good measure.
I don't hold a lot with patriotism, but I can safely say that the last two weeks have made me truly proud to be British. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
And to those who would seek to decry this post, fcuk off back to the football forums where your spite will be better served.
Thanks for a great games everyone.
Can I just say, for the record, how brilliant these Olympics have been. I too love a gamble but see sport as momentous and poetic and encompassing all the best (and sometimes worst) attributes of humanity. It has been real drama; real life writ large for the last two weeks. The highs, the lows, the sheer brilliance of human athletic achievement and we even got a fantastic Elbow song thrown in for good measure.
I don't hold a lot with patriotism, but I can safely say that the last two weeks have made me truly proud to be British. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
And to those who would seek to decry this post, fcuk off back to the football forums where your spite will be better served.
Thanks for a great games everyone.
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Replies: 28
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better to watch the Olympics than the world cup
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just looking at the crowd for brazil v mex, absolutely rammed
just about every session of every event has been so well supported it is unreal |
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I thought Sydney was the best Olympics I'd seen, but I honestly think this one tops it. Perfect celebration of sport. You can keep Bejing's regimentation for me.
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...in case you haven't seen it yet...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5WfsWF4dfE&feature=related |
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We just needed to harness all the things that make us brilliant.
Our snse of humour, our history our artistic heritage, which all came together in that spell-binding opening ceremony. Then our willingness to volunteer. The 'Gamesmakers' are the unsung heroes of these last couple of weeks. Their sense of humour, warmth and knowledge - which you cannot replicate from a conscripted peon - has been awe-inspiring. Our athletes were always going to respond to a home environment and by and large they have done so If only Bill Seetnham had been kept on as the Head of Swimming. All that and the release of the latent 'we're pretty damn good on the quiet' psyche that is there in the average Briton and there you have the ingredients for a magnificent Olympics. |
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It's been fantastic.
I think we've earned ourselves some street cred these last two weeks. |
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the release of the latent 'we're pretty damn good on the quiet' psyche
on the quiet? we call ourselves GREAT Britain! always wondered what the ROTW make of that. |
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Oh come on!
 We're foreverlasting apologising to all and everyone for our very existence as a nation! |
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great as in large.......
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Yes, that is one of the theories TheVis, but noone really knows. Either way, the "Great" part should be officially dropped because of redundance.
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Britain's not large compared to many countries like Mongolioa, USA, Brazil, Kazakhstan
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+ China, India, Chile (long)
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Along with the Royal family, but hey, I know that's a totally seperate debate. Bottom lin eis that it's been a fantastic two weeks :)
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That's right duncan idaho, but none of those countries were "discovered" when they decided they were "Great".
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great as in greater ie in geography the biggest of the British Isles
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Never heard that theory nif, where did you conjure that one up from?
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lol, see below
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Great_Britain_called_Great_Britain |
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Yes it's something to do with land mass.
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Given that it's also a prefix for Yarmouth it can't be about any implied brilliance...
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I win every time! 11 Aug 12 17:26
lol, see below http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Great_Britain_called_Great_Britain That link is just someone's opinion (obviously biased) and says that it was "Great" to distinguish it from Brittany in North West France or that it may have been because a Scottish King decided he was "King of Great Britain". |
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Safety...absolutely. What's your point fella? It wasn't presented as a definitive answer, just an opinion.
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So why the "lol"?
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look mate, I can see you're a bit narked for some reason. I was merely adding to the debate with what is a completely plausible explanation - the 'lol' had no deeper meaning, purely incidental.
Chill out and enjoy life  |
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I also presumed you were answering my question to nif, since he/she has decided not to respond.
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yes
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on the quiet? we call ourselves GREAT Britain! always wondered what the ROTW make of that.
Named as such several hundred years ago to distinguish our island ('greater Britain') from the 'lesser Britain' - the Kingdom of Brittany. Has nothing to do with the current meaning of 'oustanding'. |
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While we're at it, let's force New Zealand to call itself just Zealand. It's not like it's terribly new any more, and I doubt few people in the world know much about Danish geography anyway..
There are places in the world further south than Australia, so they should probably change their name as well. Oh, and the Democratic Republic of Congo isn't really all that democratic, so let's tell them to drop it. And I was in Chad for almost a whole week, and not once did I see one drawing of a large nosed man's head with 'Wot No XXX' written underneath it. So clearly that one's a misnomer too. Or, alternatively, we could just be proud of the way these games seem to have brought the best out of our country, and not turn this thread into yet another set of 'Britain isn't great at all' posts.. (PS: My favourite bits were the hilarious UK-themed fences on the show-jumping..) |
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hoarse from screaming
greatest moment in british olympic history for me ennis?? pfft |