Team GB One man(no dog) watches.

A excellent post from Eye on Wales over the failure of Ryan Giggs to sing the English National Anthem
From the Telegraph "as it happens coverage"  and what some the response was on Twitter.

According to the Telegraph as it happens coverage.

The players all stand to acknowledge the national anthems. It appears not many of the Brazilian's know the words to theirs, a couple of the British players make the effort to sing God Save The Queen but notably that didn't include any of the Welsh members. Stuart Pearce on the other hand looked like he was thrashing out an Oasis song at one of their gigs.

So it seems the reaction is proof that that the very ideas of a Team GB is not even working with those who are Unionist in nature.

In my local where there a room with a large TV for watching such things . The rest of the pub was crowded but only one person was in there watching the match.

And this was Brazil remember the most romantic national football team in the World.

Perhaps the idea of a under 23's side being led by a 38 year old Welshman who retired from playing for his country in 2007 slightly ridiculous and especially so as a "Team GB " has no Northern Ireland or Scotland players in the squad.

I suppose if the squad were to reach the semi final the media coverage may get hysterical and increase public interest but at the moment interest seems on the same level as men's hockey.

As for the anthem I hope that any Welsh gold medallist standing on the podium as he Union Jack is raised and God save the Queen is played  will in their heart seeing Yr Draig Goch fluttering and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau in their heads..

They won't be seeming any Driag Gochs in the crowd as I believe you wont be allowed to wave them in the events.and they will be confiscated .

Hopefully in my life time we will see a similar report about Welsh Athletes.


At the 1936 Olympics, in Berlin, Japan got the rest of the world to think that one of their very own countryman - a Japanese - had won agold medal in the Olympics games for the marathon when in fact the winner was a Korean. The press and IOC (International Olympic Committee) likewise did not recognize the existence of a Korean. Everyone was considered Japanese.

The winner, Kee-Chung Sohn (1912~2002), struggled and protested during his remaining lifetime to reclaim the name of his motherland and his real birth name on official Olympic records.

Finally in 1989, his nationality and name were changed on a monument dedicated to Olympic marathon winners. In the year 2011, nine-years after his death, the IOC --- after 75 long years --- officially made a bold decision to changed back all records to reflect his original birth granted name of Sohn, Kee