This week has been a very special one as we managed to get some tickets last minute for the Olympics. We saw GB take on Korea in the Women's Hockey. It is hard to put the whole day in to words as it was a strangely emotional experience. We had heard, like everyone else how chaotic it was trying to get in, the empty seats, extortionate prices and how disorganised it was but the truth is, that is a load of rubbish!
The experience starts from when you board the train as nearly every station has volunteers helping and showing you the way. When you arrive at Stratford Station there are masses of volunteers there to greet you, all smiling and eager to share your experience. Getting through security is very well organised and again everyone is so helpful and enthusiastic.
Then you have a long walk to the park itself which is when the realisation starts to set in that you are actually at the Olympics.
The park itself is breathtaking and it's only then that you get a sense of how big the buildings are. Where we entered was past the swimming arena and you could hear the crowds cheering from outside. As soon as you see the stadium itself, it does bring a lump to your throat and a real sense of pride of what the country has achieved. Instead of criticising all the time, we should take credit more for this achievement. Yes it has cost lots of money and yes the sponsorship regulations have annoyed us all but honestly, as soon as you are there, you forget all about it.
We couldn't wait to get into the Riverbank Arena to see the Hockey and as we walked across the park to the Riverbank Arena, we were in awe of how big it was considering it is only a temporary structure. Inside, the atmosphere was breathtaking. Luckily we had two matches to look forward to. First we supported Belgium in there match which was quite evenly matched to be honest but then, as soon as Great Britain came out to warm up the crowd erupted and the noise was deafening. We couldn't have got better tickets if we tried, the game was brilliant to watch all the way through and they did us proud by winning 5-3. I have never been that excited at a hockey match in my life but I still have got a sore throat from shouting too much.
Our Olympic experience gets better though. We also purchased some tickets for Womens Football at the Coventry Arena for tomorrow. We had no idea who was playing but it was a fair bet that one of the teams was going to be Brazil. But we learnt yesterday that the GB team beat them 1-0, so we are now watching GB in action tomorrow night which is another stroke of luck.
To top it all off, today we were talking about how exciting it would have been to get a ticket inside the actual Olympic Stadium. You can't see the Olympic flame from outside and it would have been great but those are the most prized tickets to get hold of. Then I thought about the Paralympic Games which are following a couple of weeks after, so after a lot of website page refreshing, I managed to get hold of some tickets for a Friday in the stadium. This time we are taking both parents as well so it will be a great family occasion to share and no doubt lots more pictures and lots more memories.
Also as i write this, today we have got a gold in the Shooting and an amazing Gold and Silver in the Kayak. I have never watched so much sport in my life as I have no interest at all in mainstream sports, especially men's football. After watching the hockey and seeing how they have the video decisions, it would make football better as it would stop all the bad behaviour and no more pathetic diving.
Anyway, enough excited ramblings and back to the TV. GO GO GB.....GO GO GB........
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