Will the olympics inspire a generation?

London 2012. The most highly anticipated sporting event of the past, what seems forever, in Britain, and boy what a show it has been so far. Britain has triumphed in the league tables, positioning ourselves comfortably into third place with a tally of eighteen gold medals. Yes, you heard right. Britain has finally excelled at what appears to be almost every sport. 

So this morning whilst getting ready I went to flick on to BBC one's breakfast show, as I do every morning, only to be met by olympic coverage. Somewhat disappointing, for I wanted to know the weather forecast - which, for the record turned out to be dire - but, alas, for a couple of weeks I can tolerate ITV 1's version. If I'm being honest, the reason I choose not to watch ITV 1's breakfast show is that the order of events and the commentary itself irritates me. They always have to focus on hot topics and question whether the government, for example, will live up to their promises or whether Jamie Oliver will really impact school dinners being healthy and so on. Blablabla. It's far too early for such intense thought on what are quite frankly mundane and bleak issues. 

The topic of today was, unsurprisingly, shrouded with the olympics. More precisely whether, the motto of the olympics, "Inspire a generation" will live up to its expectations. Not in the sense of whether children want to take up sport as such, but as to whether the government are going to be able to fund such activities. Because of course, children cannot learn to run unless they are on a brand new athletics track. Goh, what do you take us for? 

And then it hit me. BAM. ITV 1's morning show annoys the brains out of me because they never ask whether the children are going to eat healthily, they ask whether the government are going to fund such a venture. It's not always the governments place to have to fund every aspect of our lives, you know. Sure, we all live in a cohesive society but, we are all autonomous individuals so, it is actually okay for us to fund our own sporting ventures, or - heaven forbid - even to learn and play sports in a regular playing field. 

Beyond the discussed topic leads to the question what "Inspire a generation" actually means. Personally, and I could be alone here, but I don't see it as simply inspiring a generation to be fit, healthy and athletic. I am well aware that I am not athletically inclined as such, but I do my best in trying to keep fit by means of Pilates and exercise DVDs. In watching the olympics, it would be wrong to suggest that I am not immensly proud (and a teeny bit jealous) of the athletes' faces upon the realisation that they have won gold. It spells a story far beyond the single race they have just won, it tells a story of a journey of determination, hard work, endless hours of practice and extreme motivation. 

And that's exactly how I encapsulate the olympic motto; not just inspiring a generation to become athletically-minded, but inspiring a generation to work hard to achieve their own unique personal dreams. It would be hard to watch how well our country is performing in these games and to not feel the slightest bit inspired by it.