The Narocroc Weblog

So the Olympics are over. And I must say I enjoyed them more than I thought I would. And as predicted our boxers did us proud. All five of them. And all were beaten by guys who were eventual gold medalllists. A shame we don’t have a gold medal to celebrate ourselves but sport can be both unfair and cruel. Kenny Egan found that out the hard way but he can hold his head very high. If I ever meet him I’ll gladly buy him a pint. One of my favourite moments of the whole shebang was, when on the podium, Egan, smiling cheekily, turned to his Chinese conqueror, grasped his gold medal and gave it a kiss before shaking the guys hand. A classic moment.

So all in all a great achievement by a small but well prepared and determined boxing team. Disappointing to see Darren Sutherland come away with just a bronze. I thought he could, and wished he would, achieve the ultimate but it just wasn’t to be. I hope he now gets the chance to show the world his talent in the pro ranks (but mostly I hope he gets a chance to knock out the cocky James de Gale).

Fair play also to Paddy Barnes for being gracious in accepting his medal and smiling with pride despite his post-fight disappointment and disapproval.

I was delighted to see John Joe Joyce carrying the Irish flag at the closing ceremony. I’m sure the travelling community must be extremely proud of his (and John Joe Nevin’s) achievements. Vincent Hogan wrote a great article here on that very topic.

So we Irish learned that we’re still not very fast or very strong but we can throw a dig with the best of them. A few personal bests but admittedly most of our competitors were just happy to be there so they can tell their grandkids of their Olympian adventures. And there’s no shame in that.

Maybe we should ask the Jamaicans for some of what they’re smoking? But please don’t give it to our equestrian team or our horses will be so high they’ll float over the jumps.

I really enjoyed Gearóid Towey’s posts about competing and coping in Beijing. Superb insights, very well written with admirable integrity and no shortage of honesty.

I was concerned before it all began about RTÉ’s gargantuan coverage but in hindsight it must be commended. A few glitches here and there but that’s unavoidable with so many hours of live output. I particularly enjoyed the banter between the boxing experts. Andy Lee is a natural on TV but wears some questionable shirts while Micheal Carruth and Bernard Dunne really looked to be enjoying themselves in studio. They all gave some great insights into Irish boxing. Katie Taylor definitely has a face for TV but unfortunately a voice for airport announcements. Jimmy Magee’s passion for boxing is also very worthy of comment. And Colm Murray is slightly mad.

The dudes commentating on the basketball were fantastic. I couldn’t even begin to place their accents but they really got into it and livened it up no end. Hats off to those guys.

I also realised that Adrian Chiles (on the Beeb) annoys me. He’s probably a very nice guy in reality but there’s something about him that rubs me up the wrong way.

Pleasant surprises of the Games:

- BMX racing is an Olympic sport! And it’s brilliant to watch. Pure carnage at every turn. So fast and fearless.
- Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps eat lots of crap food like Chicken McNuggets but yet are the fastest men ever.
- Spain are very, very good at basketball. Just not quite as good as the Americans.
- The Dutch women’s hockey team are, ahem, very talented!

Disappointments of the Games:

- The Irish equestrian fiasco continues
- The crazy system of scoring in amateur boxing
- Having to listen to / read all about Britain’s record medal haul. Great achievements in fringe sports granted but, yawn, enough already.
- Getting to see very little beach volleyball action

So all in all a qualified success. And China can now get busy taking over the world.

And I see the Brits are now shitting themselves after the spectacle that was Beijing. Talking about going back to basics. Good luck with that! They’ll need more than Jimmy Page, Leona Lewis and a convertible red bus to raise the bar set by the Chinese.