Glasgow 2014
wolvesdavid
Posts: 10,900 Forum Member
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Whilst accepting that its never going to be the same as the Olympics I have just been to, it should still be a good event. I have just registered for tickets.
Having never been to Scotland before I think its about time I went.
Having never been to Scotland before I think its about time I went.
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The one thing I have learned is that no matter how much preparation you take, and no matter how many emails you receive assuring everything will be OK, big organizations like that can't cope with visitors with unusual or rare disabilities.
I swear if one more 'jobsworth' had tried to insist that I didn't have the right to use the mobility access entrances to bypass queues in the Olympic Park, my partner would have hit them
The olympics & paralympics were the first and last major events I shall attend
It's a darn site less stressful watching it on the tele.
EDIT: Thats not to say I didn't enjoy a lot of my time at the Games but it was just too much of an emotional rollercoaster ride, not knowing if the next person I dealt with would just wave me through upon seeing the aforesaid emails, or be a pain in the butt about it.
Glasgow will put on a great show. Accommodation shouldn't be a problem if you get tickets because you can stay as far as Edinburgh and train in daily.
That would be safest.
Its also commutable from London - easyjet have a 7am flight to Glasgow from Gatwick with the last flight back being at 9.30pm. Just get in quick when they release their summer 2014 schedule!
I loved Manchester 2002, it was brilliant, and it stands out even now. But after the excitement of London 2012, I cant get excited about another multi sports event in the UK so soon. Its all about the rugby world cup in 2015 in England for me.
Glasgow has to be really careful, London 2012 will be a double edged sword, it will cause dramatic levels of interest, but also it will sky rocket expectations, and anything less than utter brilliance will end in disappointment
That's the thing. It's not that. The title gives it away, it's Commonwealth, not world athletes. It's great of course, but it's not the Olympics
"If you were glued to your television during the Olympics and wished you were part of it then don't miss your chance for Glasgow 2014"
They are trying to ride on the wave of London 2012, which is fine, but as I said, its a double edged sword they need to be really careful of.
And however nice the area is it's still Glasgow not London
Ha, Ha, Oh, tempted as I am to enter into some Glasgow / Edinburgh rivalry, it has to be said you can have a perfectly pleasant stay in Glasgow
Manchester 2002 - a great memory in the bank. The sun shone - everyone was happy and good humoured - saw Paula win her first major gold. Our tickets allowed us to take public transport to the stadium but we elected to walk with the crowd. Magic.
London 2012 - I hope when I unlock the memory bank I still feel the euphoria, the awe and the pulse racing excitement I felt as I watched world class athletes perform. Of course when it came to British athletes, decorum flew out of the wind as I cheered, stamped and screamed for our heroes.
Glasgow 2014 - be afraid, be very afraid.;)
Which goes to show that the Commonwealth Games is not for you. So you are right to choose not to go. It will never be the Olympics. Nothing else is to be fair not even the world athletics championships.
I will because I know what to expect. It will be rightly lower key with less emphasis on medal tables, more in the games themselves. You will meet people from the sub continent, Australians, South Africans and Canadians. There will be a cultural festival which Glasgow has great grounding in. The Locals will love it. I recall the atmosphere in Edinburgh in 1986 and how I fell in love with multi sports events by going there and deciding to go to Barcelona in 1992. I've been to every Olympics since and the great Melbourne Commonwealths in 2006. They were fantastic and not too long after the Sydney Olympics.
At Glasgow you'll get the cream of track cycling competing, fantastic swimming too.
Which means you would have to leave the City at about 8.30 to make he flight back ruling out evening athletics and swimming programmes.
I don't know how I'll feel at the time, but right now I just can't muster up any interest. It won't be a tube ride away for me like London 2012 was, and the gold medallists won't be the best in the world.
London 2012 has ruined all other sporting events for me.
And I know it's only the Commonwealth Games, but part of me fears that demand for tickets will be well high after all the London 2012 buzz. Well, I say fear because I want at least one ticket!
For the most part this is true. As there is no USA or China, then the swimming leaves a bit to be desired. Ditto this for the diving.
No China or Korea, so the badminton and table tennis takes a noticable nosedive.
But let's take a look on the bright side. In cycling, we get to see the young English pretenders take on Sir Chris Hoy as an adversary as opposed to having him as a team mate.
For the few fans of squash, netball and lawn bowls, these events ARE the Olympics for these sports. The contenders here would be the favourites for Olympic medals if they were in the Olympics.
Athletics is something of a mixed bag. No USA, Russia or Europe, so you are definitely missing something in the field. But just have a look at the mens track events. Most of the gold medallists are Commonwealth athletes. In fact, the only event that these nations failed to win was the 1500m!
It might sound controversial, but IMO the 5000m, 10000m and marathon Commonwealth golds are virtually as good as Olympic golds from a sporting point of view. Mo Farah will be up against about 90% of the Olympic fields he put firmly in their place. And those Africans will be thirsting for revenge!
And if Jessica Ennis thinks that the Commonwealths are an easy road to a hurdling gold then there is still the small matter of Sally Pearson to overcome - and she was one of those few superstars who actually did go to the disaster that was Delhi!
So I feel for the most part you are right and while it aint the Olympics, the events on the track should by themselves make these a memorable Games.
I bet that the organisers are wishing they had the funds to build a bigger athletics stadium! I reckon that the demand for the events on the track would be almost on the same scale as those for London.
The CG are are a smaller, more intimate competition - always fun, always friendly.
If they choose to compete some of the best athletes in the world are eligible - cyclists both British and Australian: Athletics - a huge number of gold medals came from Commonwealth competitors (including a certain Mr. Bolt.) The Australians may have failed to deliver in the swimming pool in London - but even as I write they are looking into their poor showing and I have a feeling we'll see a very different Australian swimming squad in Glasgow. As for the diving - well the young Mr. Daley proved he is 3rd best in the world and but for one disastrous dive in the synchronised discipline (despite which they finished 4th) I reckon it's safe to say they would have won another medal.
Sadly there'll be no triathlon, no tennis (depriving Andy of competing for Scotland) and I imagine some other sports will be missing - but what the heck, take the games for what they are.
I see no reason why Glasgow should fail to deliver - Manchester pulled it off magnificently in 2002 We will still witness some of the best athletes in the world and the home crowd will raise the roof.
I'll be there and (whisper this) I wouldn't be surprised to see the Scots heading the medal table.