That was the summer that rocked … Pt 2

So there I am at work in my home office and the phone rings. It is LOCOG asking if I would be interested in being put forward as part of the Presentation team for London 2012. I asked how they had got my name and I was told that I had been recommended by someone. Now as I said in part 1, I had taken the decision that I did not want to do basketball commentary.

I asked what sport they were considering me for and they said that that had not been finalized. I was asked if I had a choice what would I want to do?

I knew exactly what I wanted to, so and I said, “Wheelchair Rugby”!

The lady on the other end of the line thanked me and said they would be in touch.

Some weeks later I got another phone call telling me that LOCOG were planning a series of Test Events in the lead-up to the Games and would I be interested?  I said yes.  She told me the dates and and I checked my diary to find out I was available. The first 2 events I would be involved in was Beach Volleyball taking place at Horse Guards Parade and Basketball, taking place at the Basketball Arena at the Olympic Park.

To be honest I was absolutely delighted.

Although I had seen many photos of the Olympic Park I had never been there and I was really looking forward to it.  The Beach Volleyball venue was rather the same as I had never been to Horse Guards Parade but I knew that it was to be a temporary venue built on that very famous site.

And so it is that I make my way to London for the first of the Test Events that I would be involved with and that would be Beach Volleyball.  I had never commented on Beach Volleyball but I had seen it on television and of course I had done numerous Volleyball tournaments in recent years.

I turned up to the venue and to put it mildly my heart skipped a beat.  To me, this was the start of the London 2012 Olympics.  The venue was stunning with tight security and a wonderful atmosphere.  It was Women’s Beach Volleyball and the crowds absolutely loved it.

I have to admit that I had some great moments at this event the first of which was a message from a pal of mine, and regular at the Sheffield Sharks Phillip Brown, asking if I was doing the Beach Volleyball, as he was walking past Horse Guards Parade and heard my voice.  He said he recognised it straight away.

Another great moment was asking the crowd to give a MANCHESTER welcome to the contestants as they took to the sand.  The crowd had a good laugh at that.

On a sad note, this time in London was a difficult one as there was rioting in the streets and there was a definite tension, not at the Beach Volleyball but everywhere else and the pictures were dominating the television screens.

Now I do not know if you know where Horse Guards Parade is but it is adjacent to Downing Street and on one faithfully afternoon news came through that the Prime Minister was hosting a COBRA meeting to discuss the riots in Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, hence the name, and we were required to turn the music and commentary down.

We didn’t argue.

From the Beach Volleyball it was on straight to the Basketball.  To say I loved this is putting it mildly.  The basketball venue is stunning and some top teams had been assembled for this event, Australia, China, Croatia, France, Great Britain, Serbia.

There were some great games and I got to meet one of my favourite NBA players Tony Parker. Now Tony was suffering with a facial injury and was used sparingly by his head coach.  This meant he spent long periods on the bench and I am delighted to say that I caught his eye and asked him if I could get my photo taken with him.

The answer was yes, and another awesome moment for me.  While taking the photo he whispered something into my ear.  I am not going to repeat it here but it gave me another one of my greatest moments.

The Tournament was awesome with some great ball played.  Unfortunately it was a baptism of fire for Great Britain who had some tough nights. I hadn’t seen the team in some time and Chris Finch had a full squad but at times GB really struggled.

France would run out winners of the Tournament with Great Britain finishing in 5th position.

A Spokesperson for LOCOG, said after the event:

It has been so fantastic to see competitive sport played in Olympic Park for the first time and see spectators soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying world class sport within the Basketball Arena. We will now sit down with FIBA as well as working with the athletes in order to do a full debrief which will aid our planning for next year.”

Debbie Jevans
Director of Sport, LOCOG

So that was that for the Basketball Test Event and to put it mildly everybody went home happy…it had been a massive success.

And so 2011 turns into 2012 and the phone call that I wanted more than any other finally arrived.

It was LOCOG asking if I was available to commentate on the Wheelchair Rugby Test Event.  Now just in case you didn’t know,  I have loved Wheelchair Rugby from the first day I saw it and above all, this was the event I wanted to do at the London 2012 Games.  It was not going to be in the Olympics but it would take place at the Basketball Arena in the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Some months earlier I had predicted that Wheelchair Rugby was going to be one of the hits of the 2012 Games.

The dates were put in my diary and I was also booked to do the Test event for Goalball another spectacular Paralympic sport, diametrically opposite to Wheelchair Rugby.  While Wheelchair Rugby is one of the loudest sports around, Goalball is played in absolute silence so that the players can hear the ball.

Both Test events were awesome and my love for Wheelchair Rugby was simply enhanced.

Great Britain had a great event and finished in the runner-up slot taking Silver behind the awesome Australians who include in their line-up one Ryley Batt who is simply stunning.

In the planning and run up to London 2012 I have had the pleasure of seeing some awesome athletes and I would put Ryley Batt right at the top with Mr Patrick Anderson of the Canada Wheelchair Basketball team.

The only way I can describe how good these guys are at their respective sports is like this, and I promise that this is in no way a criticism of David Beckham.  If Beckham was as dominant in his sport as Batt and Anderson are in their respective sports then England would have lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy on at least 2 occasions since 1966.

So that was 4 Test events done and next would be the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.  The wait was now on to see if I would get selected to do any of the actual events.

I wanted to do the Wheelchair Rugby but the choice was not down to me…It was now up to LOCOG

Next time I will tell you about my next visit to the Olympic Park which amazingly was nothing to do with LOCOG but at the invitation of a group of individuals I had known for almost 10 years.

Later

Mike S

Photo credits

Beach Volleyball – Beach Volleyball News

London Riots – Boston.Com

Ryley Batt – Channel 4

Patrick Anderson – Patrick Anderson