GBR vs USA

When it comes to the Olympic games it's never really been a fair contest - at least in my lifetime! Even on home soil I wouldn't put my money on seeing significantly more medals for GBR.

Forecasters, however, are predicting a whopping 27 Golds for GBR... ahem...that'd be right... nothing like a bit of optimism! That would place us third overall. Chance would be a fine thing!

Haven't we been predicting another World cup win ever since 1966?

But what do I know? Apparently I've had my head out of the games (and out of Britain for too long)!

19 Golds for GBR back in Beijing wasn't such a shabby tally - placing my motherland in a fairly respectable fourth place. It's amazing what factual tit-bits a bit of Googling can glean. Apparently the UK did rank 1 in the Olympics, once - back in 1908 - just over a century ago.

London hosted the games then too. Maybe there's hope after all.....

But, those often elusive Golds - at least for us Brits - seem to come raining down on the Americans like April showers!

They bagged 36 in Beijing (110 medals in total) putting them in pole position for the last four Olympics on the trot. Maybe for once in my life I'll be on the winning side - well sort of. 

Boo hiss .... I know, I know!.... I'm a traitor to good old  (always on a losing streak) Blighty..... 

And anyway - it's the taking part that counts, isn't it - not winning? 

What a load of codswallup! 

What tripe are we teaching our kids these days? Of course winning matters. It sucks to be on the losing side all the time!

In all honesty (and in spite of how much we sucketh) I think my heart will always be rooting for GBR - and if they (I mean we) do manage to 'lord' it over the Yanks in any of the games I know I'll be right there with my old compatriots across the pond!

But my home and so much of my heart is now based in the USA - it would be just rude not to cheer my new fellow countrymen on also. And let's face it - they're just so much better at winning medals!

It'll be refreshing to be personally involved - and to see my adopted spangly flag flying - in so many more of the events.

Thanks to our recent visitors from across the pond, the kids have enough GBR paraphernalia to at least look the part of the stoic British fan.

Our eldest all kitted out ready for the
 Olympic open ceremony.

You never know right.... perhaps the soccer (oops, I mean football), or the rowing, or the sailing and dressage Olympians in Team GB may come up trumps, and the boys will get ample opportunity to proudly wave their Union Jacks at the TV.  

baby boy practicing his flag wave..

Without any TV hooked up to our cabin I'd been all set to miss the London Olympics (like I did Kate and Will's wedding and the Queen's recent jubilee celebration)..

However Daddy has somehow managed to set us up with live internet coverage and  - now that I can be - I'm brimming over with excitement!

It's the opening ceremony tonight!

Sadly Momma was the only one waving the Union Jack
 during the opening ceremony! The kids were too busy
 watching Finding Nemo! 

We lucky dual nationals get to revel in so much more of the glory...

Go GBR!... errr, I mean  Go USA, no... Go GBR......errr  USA!