It's Sam & Dad at the Olympics 2012!
We were very lucky to obtain tickets for a day of athletics in the Olympic stadium, and duly made our way south one bright and sunny Thursday morning. As advertised on the news, security was mostly in the hands of the military, was very tight (including a very intimate search), and extremely professional. Well done boys and girls!
Once through the tented security we found ourselves looking straight at the Aquatics centre, and it was big. Very impressive as a first impression.
We'd aimed to arrive at Stratford station, and the huge main gate into the park there was, of course, called the Stratford Gate. Sam was first to spot the Olympic stadium and the Orbit, and we were both super-excited!
From this distance the stadium looked "fairly" large but looked great, and the entry roof of the Aquatics hall poked into view from the left. Bienvenue indeed.
Seeing some more of the venues in the park made us wish we'd been able to see events in all of them. Impossible of course, and a good reminder of the transient nature of the Games. Remember all this little dude!
The final ticket check was smooth and easy, Sam was off through the gates quicker than you could say "Mo-bot", and we were in!
As at Wembley a few days earlier, Sam was glowing with excitement and nervous energy as he ascended the steps to see inside the stadium for the first time.
And WOW! Outside it's a nice stadium, but inside the colour, crowd and noise all combined to give an unforgettable moment. I don't know exactly what Sam was feeling but Dad had a major attack of goosebumps.
Just like on the TV, there, burning away, was the Olympic flame. It was all there, what did I expect, huge score boards, hustle and bustle on the tack and infield, and the weather again smiled on us, and did its very best to make the view absolutely perfect.
We were keen to try and spot the BBC studio - and were surprised to see that they were always sitting outside in the open air, on a special BBC balcony, complete with astroturf walls. See the two umbrellas roughly in the middle of the picture? The yellow blob in between is, in fact, Denise Lewis! We could see it much better with the binoculars, and she was accompanied by Colin Jackson, Michael Johnson and Johnathon Edwards. It wasn't just BBC-spotting that the binoculars improved....
4 comments:
I wonder how many of Sam's friends can say 'I was there!"
True, but I took him to make a memory for us to share, and I hope one day he'll take his children to the next UK Olympics.
Wow! Looks and sounds like it was something you will both remember forever, a very special 'dad n dude' moment :)
You look so lovely together, it is easy to see how much you both mean to each other! Sam is one lucky dude!!
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