Remember the concept of British Cynicism? What were all that about? Yeah, we’re getting increasingly suckered in by it all, especially now we’re not distracted by the Team GB football team (which is probably as close as we’ll ever get to seeing Wales in the finals of a major international tournament, yet we still found it hard to genuinely make any emotional investment in it).
One major factor in the London Olympics being so well received must be the excellent BBC coverage. As all talk Stateside has been about the many, many failings of NBC’s coverage (really, not even bothering to show the 100m final live? It happened at about 4.50pm EST on a Sunday afternoon, you clods), many Americans have been proxying up the live BBC coverage. Add in viewing figures of more than 20 million for the Beeb coverage here – as well as the 24 dedicated HD channels* on Sky and Freesat – and you’ve got a fresh clutch of evidence to suggest the BBC really is the finest broadcaster on the planet.
(*Coincidentally, our favourite Tweet Of The Weekend:
Excellent.)
So, how did the BBC cover the Olympics in the past? From behind a series of beige desks in London we imagine. Anyway, much more importantly, what were all the title sequences like? Were they all CGI? Were the titles for Moscow 1980 made from monochrome wireframe vector graphics? Where the Los Angeles 1984 titles a cheekily reworked version of the attract mode from Konami’s Track & Field arcade machine? And so on?
Let’s find out via the magic of Typing Quite Obvious Keywords Into YouTube’s Search Box...
Mexico 1968: You Can’t Spell Cheap And Functional Without ‘Fun’
A slide that doesn’t even count as ‘animated’ unless you’re being hugely charitable, containing as it does the rising rings and the words plonking themselves into place one by one. And, erm, that’s it. Well, unless you’re counting that timeless Sports Report theme, but to modern ears (well, ours) that only makes it come across like a pisstake of Olympic coverage from an episode of Fantasy Football League.
We do get a split screen dual clock and Frank Bough, though (see top of page). Plus, the fun of all the action taking place while any right-minded Briton is soundly asleep makes it all seem a bit more international, if you ask us.
Okay, we’re making excuses. A poor start.
RATING: KNOCKED OUT IN AN EARLY HEAT
(Another trot through Olympiads past tomorrow, chums!)
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