| 4/8/2012 So I went to the Olympic event we got tickets for. Actually, my Dad got tickets for a variety of events, one of which was rowing, which my parents went to see on Saturday. I joined them for the Fencing Women's Epee Medal Rounds. Yes...the one where the Korean vs German Semi-Final was disputed (Shi vs Heidemann). The key comments Mum and I exchanged was that the controversy would at least make the British public notice the fencing, as it is one of the most under-reported and non-covered sports in British Olympic broadcasting. There was a bizarre delight in me when the story made the Daily Telegraph's front page the next day. I will say this though: I really don't get why the crowd wanted to boo the referee team. (Seriously, each one got booed as they were being introduced for presiding the bronze medal decider.) I think it's down to most of the spectators not understanding how the sport of fencing works. I remember when the German win was disputed the refs were taking freaking ages to figure out whether it was a positive score or not. Someone near us demanded a rematch. Yeah...there are no rematches in fencing. It was an interesting time to be sure. I rode over the Thames with Dad in the cable car (sorry, 'Emirates Air-Line'), and I got to see the revamped East London. That area around Canary Wharf is really becoming London's most futuristic-looking area right now. Seeing a true Olympic event felt no different than any other sporting event I've ever witnessed (more polished and fancy maybe). My one regret about the brief trip to London is not being able to stay another few hours. After finding out how empty the West End was, I wanted to gander over to Oxford Street and admire the spectacle of it being so empty. The articles about that made me laugh. |