“Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” Goodbye London: XXX Olympics End on Musical Note

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best…

And…always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the light side of life…

The XXX Olympiad in London ended on a musical note with many acts celebrating British Music.  Amid the spectacle athletes from the most of the 204 competing countries took pictures, some clasping medals that they won and others just taking in the moment as musical superstars past and present entertained the audience.  It was a nice show but despite the proliferation of great music the show was not nearly as memorable than the opening ceremony.

The Olympics were a massive undertaking that the British should be decidedly proud over. The challenge of traffic, transportation, potential terrorism were overcome and the weather which had been abysmal during July was for the most part excellent.

The opening ceremonies were light hearted with my favorite part being the appearance of Rowan Atkinson in a Mr. Bean type role in the Orchestra. My favorite part of the closing ceremony was Eric Idle of Monty Python singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” which though it comes from crucifixion scene of the movie The Life of Brian is really funny song. It is a typical British outlook on life going back to the days of the Nazi Blitz against London when Britain stood alone in the summer of 1940. It is kind of a “Keep Calm and Carry On” kind of song.

The United States led the medal count with 104, easily outdistancing the numbers put up by the Chinese. The USA men’s Basketball team won the Gold on the final day of the competition defeating Spain 107-100.  This was a big win as the team went into the Olympics having lost its big men and other key members to injury and defeated excellent teams from Spain and Argentina enroute to the win.

The British had their best Olympics since 1908 when the Olympics were decidedly different. Globalization has increased the competitiveness of the games. Even though large countries such as the United States, China and Russia, as well as those of Western Europe dominate much of the competition it is not uncommon for representatives of small nations to take medals.

Now Rio de Janeiro Brazil will undertake the gargantuan challenge of hosting the 2016 Summer Games while Sochi Russia will prepare for the 2014 Winter Games.

So until then regardless of how your days go try to “Always look on the bright side of life.”

Peace

Padre Steve+