(Note: this is my opinion and approach. You are welcome to your own.)
I watched the Olympics.
They made me laugh, they made me cry.
They made me want to hug random strangers.
The dedication, skill, perseverance, talent and courage of the athletes was simply awesome. The achievements were immense - whether medals were involved or not.
And now I look forward to the Paralympics.
I can't wait. Each advert I see makes me will the opening ceremony closer.
There are loads of political arguments around about whether they should be merged, happen one after the other, should paralympic athletes compete in the Olympics aswell...
My opinion? I'm sure there are pro's and con's to every argument. I haven't followed the debates or given it much thought, because.......THE PARALYMPICS ARE NEARLY HERE!!
I - and I suspect the entire nation - will see and love the same dedication, skill, perseverance, talent and courage of the athletes. And once again the country will buzz with excitement as the games unfold.
I don't have energy to spend arguing semantics or political slants, I don't want to sit there wondering whether I should use the term 'disabled' or not, trying to guess how able bodied people, or the government, or DWP will view the events, stressing over that fact that some people will react negatively to the games (after all, with millions watching, there will always be someone who reacts in a way that annoys me). Politics can wait.
What I want is to watch David Weir and Hannah Cockroft - yelling them onwards from my living room. (Plus a rapidly growing list of GB athletes as learn more about them) I want to see the INCREDIBLE skill of the visually impaired long-jump-athletes (saw it at the disability athletics grand prix in May. Loved it.) I want to laugh, cry, shout, hold my breath and punch the air in jubilation. I want to celebrate more fantastic athletes.
So please don't send me equality/disability arguments - I just want to watch these fabulous sportspeople show the world their skills.
I watched the Olympics.
I loved the Olympics.
They made me laugh, they made me cry.
They made me want to hug random strangers.
The dedication, skill, perseverance, talent and courage of the athletes was simply awesome. The achievements were immense - whether medals were involved or not.
And now I look forward to the Paralympics.
I can't wait. Each advert I see makes me will the opening ceremony closer.
There are loads of political arguments around about whether they should be merged, happen one after the other, should paralympic athletes compete in the Olympics aswell...
My opinion? I'm sure there are pro's and con's to every argument. I haven't followed the debates or given it much thought, because.......THE PARALYMPICS ARE NEARLY HERE!!
I - and I suspect the entire nation - will see and love the same dedication, skill, perseverance, talent and courage of the athletes. And once again the country will buzz with excitement as the games unfold.
I don't have energy to spend arguing semantics or political slants, I don't want to sit there wondering whether I should use the term 'disabled' or not, trying to guess how able bodied people, or the government, or DWP will view the events, stressing over that fact that some people will react negatively to the games (after all, with millions watching, there will always be someone who reacts in a way that annoys me). Politics can wait.
What I want is to watch David Weir and Hannah Cockroft - yelling them onwards from my living room. (Plus a rapidly growing list of GB athletes as learn more about them) I want to see the INCREDIBLE skill of the visually impaired long-jump-athletes (saw it at the disability athletics grand prix in May. Loved it.) I want to laugh, cry, shout, hold my breath and punch the air in jubilation. I want to celebrate more fantastic athletes.
So please don't send me equality/disability arguments - I just want to watch these fabulous sportspeople show the world their skills.
I have always enjoyed the paralympics, even years before I became disabled myself.
ReplyDeleteThe determination and courage is so amazing and the adverts that Channel 4 has shown have been amazing.
I can't wait either :-)
zec x
So excited!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to watch the Paralympics. My only gripe....... why is it not getting the same level of coverage on the BBC.... apologies, no politics!!
ReplyDeleteBring it on, Go Team GB!!
Arwedd xx
Arwedd: the Paralympics will be covered on Channel 4, not the BBC (apart from a few news bulletins obviously).
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to go to the Paralympics as well - I didn't care until the Olympics themselves opened, and one of my friends is going to the Para dressage but I've tried to get tickets several times the past couple of weeks and there never are any available. I'm more interested in the games (wheelchair rugby, tennis etc) than the athletics. I'm a Muslim and going to the Olympics themselves was never an option because it's Ramadan, so it would be nice to go and watch some of the Paralympics especially as there's been all the anticipation (and expense). If they are releasing banks of tickets I do with they'd tell us when, maybe by email.
Hi Matthew, I will be watching the Paralympics on Channel 4, but I guess that was my point, why Channel 4, not every BBC Channel, plus Red Button, plus live streaming online of every sport etc, etc.
DeleteIs there an assumption that us ablebodied folks won't want to watch, because we all know about assumptions. I, for one, would like to watch it all.
Hope you manage to get your tickets.;-)
Arwedd xx