I’d always imagined I would be blogging about the Olympics just past for the simple reason that as a blogger that sometimes, by way of light relief from the some of the heavier stuff I blog about, I like to reflect on major sporting happenings. And there is nothing more major than the Olympic Games.

What I didn’t reckon on was this would be my second blog about the Olympics. My earlier blog, following soon after the opening ceremony, raised matters of deep concern because of its satanic nature (see here). While that same concern can be said about the closing ceremony, it didn’t anywhere nearly attract the same amount of outrage as the opening ceremony (maybe because of the subtlety of Lucifer coming down to earth as an angel of light would have been missed by most)  and, moreover, would have been eclipsed by an occasion when the joyful celebration by those who had participated in this two-week event was the focus. Then there were the political aspects e.g. the exclusion of Russia from the games, the pressure put on athletes not to hob nob with those from countries that their government disapproved off, what was acceptable or not regarding participant imagery for causes they wanted to push, e.g. regarding the current Palestinian conflict, the extraordinary financial and other incentives for certain athletes to do well and the matter of biological males participating in woman’s events, e.g. boxing.

Having got that off my chest, I want devote the rest of this article to reflect on the reason why most follow the Olympics, which is their love of sport and desire to see the best in the world, at their best (many having been preparing these past four years), compete against each other, including unlikely winners, unlucky losers and numerous acts of sportsmanship – all excellent reasons for watching. I had thought to give a montage of photographic images of iconic moments in the games but I would end with the few above, recognising we were spoiled for choice. Those that were selected I did so because they happened to represent some my own highlights of a games that was largely played in the right spirit and in the best traditions of the Olympics. There were some fantastic performances.

I have been critical of the BBC for its biased news reporting but as far as this Olympics coverage went it was superb. I loved the way they brought together seasoned commentators and past Olympians to provide their own insights into what was taking place. It was possible to spend the whole of the two-week games from morning to night tuned into the BBC coverage and not get bored, especially as so many sports, some like climbing walls as fast as possible or surfboarding with parachutes I had never given much thought to, all featured at the same time. My challenge was to be selective and check out what I was particularly interested in, and as a sports lover that was hard. If there was a criticism it was their focus on the British performances when there was so much worthy of attention from the participants of other nations. There were so many moments that left a sweet taste to counter the earlier bitter one following the devilish opening ceremony. What I loved besides the extraordinary sportsmanship on display, especially between representatives of countries that were at enmity with one another, along with dedication and passion, was the number of times individuals used the opportunity to give glory to God.