Olympics: How Much?

I'm not a sporty person. Sport is something that happens to other people as far as I am concerned. I'm happy for others to play sports, I'm happy for others to enjoy sports. Just so long as they don't involve me.

When it comes to the Olympics, I just don't care really. It is my understanding that the Olympics will happen this year. Fuck-A-Doodle-Do. It will have zero impact on me, other than occasional disruption to the TV schedules. Again, I'm happy for those who will enjoy the Olympics. Means nothing to me.

What does matter to me is the 2012 Olympics; because they are happening in the country (and, indeed, the city) I live in. During the Olympics, I expect the city to grind to a shuddering halt. I don't think the city has the capacity to cope with the Olympics. Still, that's not my gripe, because London always looks like it is going to collapse under the weight of those people living in the city. The archaic, unpleasant transport system just cannot cope. It is fact of life in London - we don't need the Olympics to further make the point.

What really fucks me off about the Olympics is the cost. The Olympics is a national vanity exercise. It is the host country showing off, like a spoilt little shit of a kid at a school play. It is an ego-boost for the government that wins the election, so the cost is simply about giving the already massive ego of Tony Blair a bit of a boost. And what a massive fuck off cost it is!

£9.3 billion. The figure is astronomical. A vast amount. A massive sum of money that is being pissed against the wall for no real reason. I despair of it. I really fucking do. Why does the government have to pay for this? I know all the arguments about the Olympics bringing investment into the country; but if this is the case, why can't that investment pay for the fucking games in the first place? Why does it have to be the poor bastard inhabitants of the host country who pays for this glorified school sports day of an event?

If you are happy to contribute to this £9.3 billion through your taxes, good luck to you. But I know I can't be alone in thinking that this fuck off wodge of taxpayer's money being spent on the Olympics might be better spent by the government elsewhere. Or, as crazy as it sounds, not spending that money at all.