The Friday Feeling #2

This is the Friday Feeling. The second installation of a hat-trick of features which will appear on The Search for Excellence each Friday (you guessed it) during the Olympics. Expect some astute observations, irreverent opinions and priceless nuggets of information...possibly.

We've had plenty of time to get used to it, but the 2012 logo still looks silly

TODAY

So a week into the tournament and Team GB have rocketed up the medal table to 4th position. A slow start to the Olympics had the nation a bit worried but since our first gold medal, claimed by Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the women's pair rowing on Wednesday, everything is looking up. The tournament seems to have been a resounding success on the whole so far with plenty of talking points, many new world records set and barring the trouble with corporate seats being empty and the London Underground's Central line failing on occasion, has worked surprisingly well logistically. Today the Athletics competitions in the Olympic Stadium have finally begun, and many feel like this is where the true essence of the Olympic Games really comes to life. Jessica Ennis, Great Britain's poster girl, is wowing the crowds as I write this with some stellar performances in the hurdles and high jump to get things off the ground. With the 100m final to come over the weekend and the longer tournaments such as basketball,hockey and football yet to reach their latter stages, it certainly feels like the best is yet to come from London 2012.

THE MOOD

Personally, I'm feeling optimistic of Great Britain's chances of finishing in the top 3 of the medal table and am fully indulging in the feel good factor of staying in the host city of London 2012. But who cares about me? What do the masses think? Well let's have a look at Twitter, where we find...

This London-based singer-songwriter getting very much into the Games and supporting Team GB:

I'm getting way more excited about #Olympic2012 than I thought I would. I blame Danny Boyle. Anyway, FOURTH PLACE OVERALL #teamGB
— Eddplant (@eddplant) August 3, 2012

While this Paris-based PR girl is clearly a fan of heptathlete Jess...

THE ONLY WAY IS ENNIS #london2012
— Imogen Roy (@imogenroy) August 3, 2012

The Olympics is having such a strong effect on this guy that he is even changing his tennis allegiances:

Only during the Olympics will I support Murray over Djok and Fed. Come on Andy! #teamgb
— Jamie Lam (@jayteeyell) August 3, 2012

Evidently this chap is more excited today than he has been so far:

Finally! Athletics time, best part of the #Olympics! Come on @teamgb! #London2012
— Will Brinkley (@brinkley_will) August 3, 2012

But I guess you can't keep everybody happy...

Everyone's gunna hate me for this, but I think the Olympics are soo boring.
— Shelbs(@shelbymaas) August 3, 2012

Having been in Hyde Park yesterday when Sir Chris Hoy claimed his fifth gold medal, equalling Sir Steve Redgrave in that department, I can testify the mood of London's sports fans is arguably at an all time high. But that doesn't mean nothing has have gone wrong...


THE BLUNDERS

Locog have largely behaved themselves this week but a member of Team GB seemed to make a huge mistake last night. Philip Hindes, the German-born Brit who won gold alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny in the men's team sprint admitted to journalists that he had deliberately crashed in the heats to force a restart and ensure Great Britain recorded a better time. He later appeared to backtrack and say that he had genuinely crashed, and British Cycling said comments had been lost in translation as Hindes has only recently learnt English. However, it seems pretty clear that Hindes had admitted to a bit of gamesmanship, and while the IOC say the result would stand, and Team GB deservedly won the final, it is hardly great for the image of cycling.  While the Americans have been outdoing the Brits in terms of medals, across the pond their broadcasters have also been outdoing them in terms of blunders. NBC, who have the television rights for London 2012 have made mistake after mistake leading to the trend #NBCfail appearing multiple times on Twitter. From silly comments during the opening ceremony, including an assumption that, like the commentators, no viewers would know who Sir Tim Berners-Lee was; pretending that coverage of Olympic sports is live when it is actually delayed and getting an Independent journalist banned from Twitter for criticising their coverage it has been one huge PR cock-up for one of the biggest broadcast companies in the world. It is fair to say that over here, with their incredible online coverage and 24 channels ensuring all sports are televised, the BBC are doing a much better job.

NBC have been infuriating Americans all week long

THE QUESTION

On Sunday night, arguably the most-anticipated Olympic event yet is set to happen. Can Usain Bolt cement his place as the definitive athlete of our time, or will his friend and training partner Yohan Blake usurp him in the 100m final? The iconic Jamaican, who spent the warm-up period prior to the Olympics based in Birmingham with the rest of his nation's athletes, holds the world record of 9.58 seconds, as well as the Olympic record of 9.69 seconds, with which he clinched gold at Beijing back in 2008. However, Blake, three years Bolt's junior, beat the Olympic champion in both 100m and 200m at the recent Jamaican trials and appears to be in better form going into the race. If Bolt is in peak condition, scientists have stated that it is physically impossible for anybody to beat him. But if he isn't Blake won't give him any second chances. Tyson Gay, the American, remains an outside bet but the most glorious of Olympic golds is surely set to head to one of the Jamaican speed demons.

Blake, left, and Bolt will not be too pally on the track this Sunday

THE VILLAINS

Eight Asian badminton players were thrown out of the Olympics this week after deliberately trying to lose their games to ensure a preferable draw later in the tournament. The women's doubles players, two pairs representing South Korea, the others representing China and Indonesia, were all desperate to either avoid their compatriot teams until the final, or simply end up with a perceived easier draw in the knockout rounds. Regardless, their tactic of hitting shots into the net, deliberately over-firing them and generally not bothering to perform was disgraceful considering plenty of fans had shelled out up to £75 on tickets. It is fantastic that the IOC decided to throw them out of the competition the next day, but tragic that such a situation even occurred in a tournament which is meant to represent the pinnacle of sporting achievements.

THE SUPERHEROES

Heroes have been left, right and centre over the past week, starting with the Opening Ceremony where Sir Steve Redgrave, David Beckham, the Queen and even Mr. Bean fall into that category for varying reasons. But a huge congratulations has to go to the rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.  Just when the nation's optimism was at a low, the coxless women's pair claimed Great Britain's first gold at Eton Dorney on Wednesday morning. Not only that but they were the first British women ever to win a gold in rowing at the Olympics. Stanning is an officer in the Royal Artillery and Glover only began rowing four years ago, but this unlikely duo got Team GB off the mark when they needed it most. Elsewhere Michael Phelps has to be given huge amounts of credit for his performances, where despite being labelled as past his best, has picked up two gold and two silver medals to take his overall haul to 20. This makes him the most successful Olympian of all time despite only being 27 years old and having won medals in just three Olympic tournaments. The man who set a record by winning eight medals at Beijing 2008 is not going to be forgotten any time soon. And finally a shout out has to go to last week's Friday Feeling superhero Bradley Wiggins, who bounced back from Team GB's road race failure by claiming the gold in the time trial. Wiggins, who became the first Brit to win the Tour de France just last month is almost certainly a shoo-in for the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Long live the mod.

Glover, left, and Stanning kick started things for Team GB

Something different will land on The Search for Excellence tomorrow with a special guest post by another super-talented writer. Before then, make sure to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012

Disappointment for the Manx Missile but Brits still in party mode

At least Cavendish wasn't bringing up the rear like these four

After last night's Opening Ceremony of epic proportions, directed to perfection by the ingenious Danny Boyle and leaving the vast majority of cynics enamoured with the Olympic Games, the sport began in earnest on this sunny London Saturday. I headed to Richmond Park to catch some of the road cycling, which is arguably the premier non-ticketed event of the Games, with the chance to get up close to Mark Cavendish and co, albeit for only a few seconds. Unfortunately for Cavendish and Team GB things didn't exactly go to plan as Kazahkstani Alexandr Vinokourov claimed the Gold, leaving the 'Manx Missile' all the way back in 29th place after Team GB's tactics went awry and the leading pack proved impassable.

Nobody told the guy at the back that you can't enter the race in a car

It has proved an underwhelming day for the host nation who are yet to win a medal, but Cavendish and co will be feeling hard done by after their tactics were simply too predictable and their reliance on other nations compliance found out. Everybody knew that the British 'dream team', consisting of Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, runner-up Chris Froome, national champion Ian Stannard and the well-respected veteran David Millar in support of Cavendish, would try to get the world champion to the front of the pack by the time the peloton reached Buckingham Palace and then let him show off his sprinting prowess. The larger numbers of cyclists who pushed forward earlier on however, ensured that Cavendish never got his chance.

The fans were out in force to cheer on Cavendish and pals

Tipped as our best chance for an early gold medal, it is a bitter blow to Great Britain particularly because of the boost Wiggins' Tour de France win had brought to the table so closeto the start of the games. Added pressure will now be placed on other big names such as Tom Daley, Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Mo Farah and Rebecca Adlington over the coming fortnight to bring home the goods. The team shouldn't be too down-heartened though as at every Olympic Games there tends to be a few surprise medallists and new heroes establishing themselves on the world stage. Wiggins will go again on Wednesday where he hopes to claim gold in the road cycling time trial, an altogether different kettle of fish, as each rider sets off 90 seconds apart and races against the clock rather than a peloton.

It wasn't only humans who turned up to see some Olympic action

Another reason to be positive is the fantastic support shown for the Olympics by the British public so far. After the Opening Ceremony attracted more viewers than any other programme so far this millennium (I myself witnessed it on the big screen in Victoria Park where thousands had turned out to show their support), the Olympic fever showed no sign of dying down today as an estimated one million people lined the streets of Surrey and London to watch and cheer as the cyclists sped past. At Richmond Park the atmosphere was jovial and full of excitement as the cyclists came through for the second time in the day (they initially travelled through in the opposite direction shortly after the start of the race at 10am) and there was a consistent crowd, three or four people deep, on either side of the road. In the bushes of the park, stags' antlers could be seen poking above the leaves as the wildlife kept out of the way of an unusual influx of humans. It's not every day a load of Union Flag waving, cheering Brits turn out to watch probably less than a minute of sporting action, but the spirit of the Olympics means that for the people of London, it almost seems rude not to.


The Search for Excellence will return tomorrow for more Olympic action. Don't forget to follow @TSFE2012 for James's thoughts in brief throughout the games.




 All photographs by Helen Crane

The Friday Feeling #1

This is the Friday Feeling. The first installation of a hat-trick of features which will appear on The Search for Excellence every Friday (you guessed it) during the Olympics. Expect some astute observations, irreverent opinions and priceless nuggets of information...possibly.

A huge advertisement hoarding by the Olympic Park 

TODAY


So the day has finally arrived. The Olympics are due to officially launch this evening with Danny Boyle's much-anticipated Opening Ceremony. Although in reality the tournament is already underway as earlier this morning legally blind ( I know?!) South Korean Im Dong Hyun recorded the first world record of the tournament with the best score in the men's Archery individual ranking round at Lord's Cricket Ground, with his country also triumphing in the team ranking round and setting another world record along the way with a score of 2087 (Team GB came 8th out of 12 scoring 1994 ). The women's archers are also in action this afternoon and of course, the first round of the football tournament has already taken place, although none of the games took place in London. But tonight, approximately four billion people are expected to tune in for the much anticipated ceremony where a bunch of people will prance around a stadium for a couple of hours before somebody lights a fire. It's all very exciting. But what does everyone else think?


THE MOOD


How else to judge the mood of the public than with the instant opinion generator that is known as Twitter.It's a pretty mixed bag of thoughts judging by the following:


It must be noted that this first girl is a 16-year-old Australian who is a self-confessed One Direction fan.

already sick of the Olympics and they haven't even started! #olympics #london2012
— maddie cameron (@maddie_cameron) July 27, 2012

This girl from Surrey is certainly getting into it...

Olympic fever has officially set in, beyond excited... #teamGB #backtheteam #london2012
— Emily Spencer (@elspencer1) July 27, 2012

As is this fellow from Dover...

8hours and 12minutes to go :D #OpeningCeremony #London2012 amazing times!!
— Richard James-King (@RichardKing_RJK) July 27, 2012

This man from Cornwall is clearly not at all interested.

Are the #london2012 Olympics over yet?
— Nicky (@cashinol) July 27, 2012

Whereas this woman from Kent is clearly over the moon! Not exactly sure what 'me my pants' is meant to mean though.

I think I could almost me my pants I'm that excited about the Olympics. Cannot wait for the opening ceremony tonight #Olympics #London2012
— Tracy Crampton (@tracy_crampton) July 27, 2012

Judging by the 60,000 who turned up in Hyde Park for the torch relay and the huge numbers expected to be watching tonight, it does seem that the overall mood is of excitement and anticipation. So what could possibly go wrong?!


THE BLUNDERS


Well already there has been a couple of high profile cock-ups. The worst being the mix-up of the North Korean and South Korean flags on the big screens at Hampden Park ahead of North Korea's women's football match with Colombia. Such an amateur mistake, with the two flags hardly being similar (see picture below) is inexcusable at an event as high-profile as the Olympics and the North Koreans are not exactly the sort to take it lightly. In fact it is believed that the women storming off the pitch in protest was as much due to their fear of getting into trouble with North Korean authorities as it was down to their being genuinely offended. This was followed up yesterday with the official match program at the Team GB vs Senegal men's football game listing Welsh midfielder Joe Allen as being English. While this is a less serious offence, it would certainly have irked many Welshman, including those within the Welsh FA who were hardly receptive to the idea of their Welsh footballers competing under the guise of Team GB. Yet another blunder has occurred at the Westfield shopping centre, next to the Olympic Park, where 'Welcome' has been written in many different languages but the Arabic version was written backwards rendering it illegible. The irony is that Westfield is in the borough of Newham, which happens to be the UK's most multi-lingual region. Oh dear.

Quite a difference...The North Korea flag is on the left

THE QUESTION


The big one today has to be, who is going to have the privilege of becoming the final torchbearer and light the flame in the cauldron at the Olympic Stadium tonight? In recent weeks it has looked like a two-horse race between Sir Steve Redgrave, the legendary Olympian who won a gold medal rowing at every Olympics from 1984 to 2000, and Sir Roger Bannister, the now 83-year-old who ran the first sub four-minute mile back in 1954. However, this morning the odds on Daniel Craig, the current James Bond actor who is set to be involved in the Opening Ceremony tonight, have dropped rapidly to 3/1 at the time of writing. David Beckham, controversially omitted from Team GB's football squad remains in the running as does the Queen, whose odds have also dropped overnight and are now at 6/1. Whoever does step up tonight is certainly going to be winning some people a fair bit of money.

The Queen and Daniel Craig, two of the contenders to light the torch

THE VILLAIN


Whoever was behind the Korean flag blunder could be a contender for this accolade, as could Phillips Idowu, the triple jumper who seems bizarrely adverse to complying with the BOA and the rest of Team GB. But head and shoulders above the rest is Voula Papachristou. The Greek triple jumper has been expelled from the Olympics by the Greek Olympic Committee after making a racist joke on Twitter. Following reports of mosquitoes in her home country carrying the West Nile virus, the 23-year-old tweeted, 'With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile Mosquitoes will eat home made food!' She later apologised but the damage had been done and the Greek authorities said her tweet was 'contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement.' The tweet was clearly tasteless, offensive and unnecessary so it is not surprising that the Greeks have now banned all their athletes from tweeting opinions during the Olympics. Is it really that hard not to say something stupid? Apparently so.

Papachristou will not be gracing the sandpits of London this year

THE SUPERHERO


Who else but Bradley Wiggins, who has handed Team GB a huge boost going into London 2012, by conquering the Tour de France last weekend. The first ever Brit to win the famed road cycling tournament, he has his eyes set on gold in the Time Trial next Wednesday. Before that he will be competing in the Road Race tomorrow, although he will be focused on helping his Team Sky and Team GB team-mate Mark Cavendish to gold, even if the two don't always see eye-to-eye. If Cavendish, the sprint-specialist from the Isle of Man and mod-loving Wiggins bring home the medals then 2012 will surely go down as the very greatest year for British Cycling. A golden era may well be upon us.

Wiggins, right, will be assisting Cavendish, in tomorrow's Road Race

From today The Search for Excellence will be posting articles daily for the duration of London 2012! Come back tomorrow for some Road Cycling fun and don't forget to follow James on Twitter @TSFE2012