#HomeAdvantage - You Bet There Is

No doubt in my mind - I have witnessed Britain's best sporting day ever.

No doubt in my mind - I have witnessed Britain's best sporting day ever.

So lucky to be in the Olympic Stadium on 4 August 2012 - I sang my heart out with 80,000 others to the National Anthem as Jess Ennis received her Heptathlon Gold.

I shouted as far as I could across the field as Greg Rutherford jumped as far as he could that night - and won.

And I screamed til I was hoarse as Mo Farah glided into first place in the 10,000m. Waves of excitement following him around the stadium as he pursued his dream turning into a cacophany of delirious Britons as he surged across the line.

We Brits are often considered to be a dour lot. The glass is half empty sometimes - just unable to believe we can win anymore.

And many of the headlines in the run up to the Olympics and especially since the magical Opening Ceremony have focused on the negatives.

TeamGB sometimes must have wished they could run far away from the doomsayers.

And the pressure to perform in front of the 'home' nation has been immense.

Often that pressure leads to British disappointment and the early days of the Games saw some of that.

But it seems the chemistry between TeamGB and the nation should - quite literally - be termed alchemy.

The #HomeAdvantage seems to have kicked in on the track, on the water, on the court and on the course.

Whatever happens now - these London games have put the 'great' back into the hearts of many of us.

This may only be a temporary moment in the midst of our economic woes and it is wrong to extraplote the wider hopes of a nation entirely to sporting endeavour. Its not just about our hearts but also about our minds.

The per capita performance of TeamGB is sensational.

The Olympics have cost us around £9bn. Worth it? You bet. And they have another week to go.

Where is the legacy say the doomsayers. It is right there before our eyes.

And that's not just the amazing Olympic Park which has transformed East London or endeavour of our team.

I feel that especially for young folk who have such brilliant role models in TeamGB - role models promoting long term endeavour and personal sacrifice. Role models worth their weight in gold compared to the instant gratification of 'get famous quick' reality shows.

I didn't think I would get the chance to fly the flag and sing my anthem but I did.

London Olympics Day 8 - August 4 2012 - in my mental scrapbook forever.

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