Olympic Partners and Pomp

This doesn't refer to athletes shaggin' in the village, although I'm sure that does go on.

The days of the Olypics being an amateur event about sport are obviously long gone.  It seems to now be an odd trend between pointless ritual and money, with some events thrown in the middle somewhere. Let's face it, the games themselves are about 3 weeks? Just over? While the worldwide cash in campaign is months, if not years.

Companies (the partners of the title) will throw any possible amount of money at the organisers just to get their name associated with the event. Some of these just don't make sense. Two obvious one's stick out, McDonalds and Coca Cola, two things criminally bad for health, I enjoy partaking in both, but in no way do I think Big Mac meal with a coke, let's do some triple jump!Is unhealthy food really who the IOC want to be associated with? Of course, as they have the most money to give them.

Others on the list just make you think, why? P&G are on there and it's plastered all over their adverts. But once again... what's the association? Are the risks of Paula Radcliffe shitting on the pavement again so high, they've got the manufacturers of pampers in just in case? Or have they got some discount Ariel out of the deal and the athletes wash their (hopefully not shit stained) clothes in it?

UPS? Well I suppose if I was an athlete I wouldn't want to use bastard Yodel either, who would? Fucking Yodel.

Visa? Naturally the more active or accurate or... ummm, of the payment methods...

Nature Valley? Will those business people falling into the haystack on the advert be being replaced with water polo players?

There are some obvious matches, Airwave a radio supplier, going to need them. Ticketmaster, yep going to need someone to sell tickets, addidas, sportswear... yeah cool, technogym, running to techno music? I not sure but it sounds like something that makes sense.

Basically any company with enough cash and the urge to have their name associated with such a global spectacle of an event can become an Olympic partner, I don't like that.

Then there's all the pointless ceremony. Friday I've taken the day off work, the reason? A good percentage of Cardiff will be closed while people run through the streets holding the Olympic torch, so everyone can get to see it. Wow, a torch. Yeah, I'll hang round for that...

Then the bastard thing is following me and will close bits of Merthyr Saturday, for gods sake I've got things to do!The idea that this torch thing has to go within x distance of everyone's house baffles me. I understand it some attempt to involve the whole country, but I don't give a shit. I don't want to see the torch, I don't want a T-Shirt, I don't want a mouse mat, or a mug. I momentarily thought about getting tickets to the football, but as my beliefs are no Welsh players should be involved (Bale, Ramsey, Williams, Allen, etc this means you) I thought no, plus they were expensive!

There'll be an xbox game, it'll be crap, they're always crap, so I don't want that.

I also don't want to watch drug cheats such as Dwaine Chambers compete, but looks like I'm stuck with that too. I won't celebrate if he gets a medal, luckily he shouldn't.

I'll watch and enjoy the Olympics, don't get me wrong, but all the BS that comes with it, I can do without. I'm now resigned to however many decades of having this shit stuffed down my throat. It should be about the athletes, not cash.