Unfortunately Channel 9 in Australia only deigned to broadcast Murray's final winning shot (slotted in between women's basketball and men's gymnastics)...but The Guardian website did a fine job keeping me up-to-date on the developments before that.
Would have been great to see the whole game. I bet the crowd were going ballistic.
I think that makes a real joke out of all of the garbage about how whoever hosts the Olympics never makes a profit and usually goes into debt. I'm very sure we will hear a ton of whining after the Olympics about how much there was in OVER-spending.
Know What? Who the heck cares!! IMHO the Olympics is probably the single good reason for enduring a lot of gouging and over-pricing. There just aren't that many occassions where people can lay aside their differences and play with each other good and hard!!
Greece really was horribly hurt by the Athens Olympics, but I've never heard of any other stories like that. My impression is that cities that are properly prepared profit from all the business the Olympics bring in.
I think the games has given a lot of people a lot of joy, and there's very little to be joyous about nowadays. Today, I watched a British tennis player win a tournament of international significance at Wimbledon in front of a crowd of absolutely rabid spectators. Totally worth the billions that have been spent on the games, just for that.
My understanding is that there has only been one Olypiad that did not go into terrible debt over the Games. Wish I could remember which one that was. All the rest of the Olympic Games have been real financial losses. There was a report done not very long ago---I think after the Chinese Olymnpics---or maybe just before--- that reviewed a number of places that had held either the Winter or Summer Olympics. It was pretty depressing. Athens isn't the only place with derelict buildings and un-used venues. The promises are always greater than the Reality. The simple fact is that an Olympics is a one-off event. Without the sort of activity that the Olympics generates, there is really no real use for the network set-up for ---well--- an Olympics. FWIW.
BTW: Having vented my opinion...there is also this for people who want the other side of the coin. Its from W-P so have yer salt shaker handy.
To be fair, most of the Olympics venues already have roles earmarked for them post-Games. And we've got form for making it work after a major championships - we only hosted the Commonwealth games a few years ago in Manchester.
I see some muppet threw a bottle onto the track during the 100m's final.
Nice to see British people keeping up their international reputation for exemplary behaviour and decorum.
We're not the only country that has idiots that can disrupt the Olympics:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/lithuanian-fan-arrested-making-monkey-chants-report-035227686.html