Geebies take over...

It’s always been called Team GB in the past, according to our friends.  But this time, with the Games in London, Team GB was everywhere.  And its numbers grew as the Games went on. Quickly we turned Team GB into the “Geebies” and we watched them everywhere we went.

Geebie merchandise was plentiful and you could buy a Union Jack flag, the unofficial Geebie cape, on any street corner for a couple of pounds.  The Geebies were frenetic and I don’t know how many times I heard that they only won one medal in Atlanta.  Now was their time.

It's clear that the big winners at the Olympics were London and the Geebies. With them relishing the moment and having so much fun, how could the rest of us avoid having a wonderful time.  It was exhilarating and enchanting.

Pomp and circumstance went out the window with the opening ceremonies.  If nothing else, having 70 sheep on the floor was a first. And I would be surprised if just a few Americans knew that there were 4 British Isles and could name them (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).  The Geebies were bringing their world to us on a silver, er, should I say, golden platter.

You know the results now and the Geebies made an amazing 3^rd place finish with 65 medals, including 29 Golds. In the midst of a long economic depression (I’ll call it that, because it feels like it), here was a brief shining moment. And appropriately, it came from the land of Camelot.

All this euphoria overcomes the worries, quibbles, criticisms and problems that surfaced during the weeks leading up to the opening, including a threatened strike by border control staff which was called off at the last minute.

Recorded warnings from Mayor Johnson start playing on the underground, urging people to stay away. Increases in traffic congestion are predicted and then the private security staff fiasco forces the officials to bring in the military. By the time the Games opened, there were nearly twice as many servicemen and women on Olympic duty as there are in Afghanistan.

So how could we quell all this angst and start the Games on a high note?  Two words. Mitt Romney. “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out,” he tells an interviewer. And then, he questions the likelihood that the people of the UK will “come together and celebrate the Olympic moment.”

Viola! British pride swells. Mayor Johnson speaks to an audience of 60,000 at a pre-Olympic concert in Hyde Park and says, “There’s a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we’re ready. Are we ready?” To thunderous applause and rapturous cries of “Yes, we are!” the Mayor’s popularity shoots up like a rocket and, in spite of any concerns, it’s Game On.

The meetings I had were a breeze.  The crises we were prepared to control did not happen.  The Geebies made it a walk in a very lovely park and Jane and I had some fun.  We spent time with good friends, had a wonderful meal in the shadow of the Tower Bridge and watched some sports that we don’t normally see, most of which the Geebies won.

Rebecca was sitting across from me on the tube with her credential on.  It read “OCC Performer”. After a couple of bad guesses, I found out that OCC stood for Olympic Closing Ceremonies.  Rebecca was coming from Reading (pron. Redding) for a rehearsal.  She was one of the dancers in yellow, which is sort of like me telling you to watch for us on the telly. I’ll have the blue shirt on. But we studied every shot looking for her.

She had been making the trip in for weeks to a warehouse near the Park to practice.  She was excited and somewhat humbled by being selected. Between the opening and closing ceremonies, 15,000 performers had been chosen to participate. “I’m only 22,” she said. “How am I ever going to top this.” Rebecca is another of the reasons that this experience warmed my heart.

The Closing Ceremonies cost $30 million and, like all the other performers, Rebecca was paid 1 pound as a token. Tickets ranged from 20 pounds to 1500 pounds. Overall, 9.8 million people (mostly Geebies) visited venues across the UK. 600,000 pieces of luggage were handled at Heathrow Airport. The most requested service by the athletes (men and women) in the Village was nail painting. And Usain Bolt has given us all one new move to finally replace John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever pose.

London 2012 was a glorious event, start to finish. I’m proud to have had a very small role. My 10^th Olympiad is one to remember...with a pretty nice photo for the Christmas card, as well. I try not to look too far into the future and there’s more to Rio than meets the eye, based on our previous experience there with sailing races. But completely coincidentally, I have a good friend from the sailing days who lives in Sochi, so who knows. 2014 could be next? It’s been a blast sharing our experience with those of you who have chosen to follow along.  Most of you know me well enough to rest assured whatever comes next will be fun, exciting and completely unexpected. GO GEEBIES!