Colman’s Call: It’s great that even minnows can get a fair go to advance at Commonwealth Games
DID Channel 7’s Jim Wilson really just say, “we’re only getting started”? Surely not. There’s only so many renditions of Advance Australia Fair a man can take, writes Mike Colman.
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DID Channel 7’s Jim Wilson really just say, “we’re only getting started”?
Surely not. There’s only so many renditions of Advance Australia Fair a man can take.
Now I know how Americans feel at the Olympics.
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m starting to feel sorry for the English. Did half of their team catch the wrong plane? And who were those two blokes wearing the Brownlee brothers’ singlets at the triathlon?
Still, we can’t let England’s insipid performance spoil our enjoyment of the greatest sporting event in the history of Channel 7.
As someone said to me yesterday, “The great thing about the Commonwealth Games is that it’s not just about the heavyweights. Every now and then something totally unexpected can happen and a minnow will pull off an upset that no one saw coming.”
“You mean, like Malawi beating New Zealand at netball?” I said.
“Actually, I meant Bronte beating Cate,” he said.
What about those Campbell girls hey? Did you know they’re in ninth spot on the medal table, just behind Scotland and ahead of Ghana?
Channel 7 will give them their own app soon.
Speaking of Channel 7, what do you think of the coverage?
Every morning I get an email telling me how many billions are tuning in. By my reckoning, the only people in the world not watching are blindfolded and being held hostage somewhere.
But are they making any money? I mean it’s all very well having 98 per cent of the world’s population glued to their sets, but isn’t the idea to sell advertising?
Seems to me all the ads are promoting their own shows. Picking which one looks to be the most appalling is more confusing than the points’ race in cycling.
At this stage, I’m giving gold to Getting Back With The Ex, silver to Dance Boss and bronze to MKR.
If you ever see me watching any of those three, you can tell Dane Sampson to shoot me on the arm with his air rifle.
While we’re giving out awards, here’s a few more:
Best tattoo: no contest. That amazing lion on the arm of English breaststroker Adam Peaty leaves the entire Samoan rugby sevens team in the shade.
Best post-event celebration: It’s another big win to the Malawi netball team.
Best event still to come: Given that many of the world’s best athletes aren’t lucky enough to live in a Commonwealth country, there will always be those who consider these Games a second-rate competition — but there is one event in which that is not the case: the rugby sevens.
All the top teams are here. Can the Fijian men and Australian women repeat their Olympic wins? Can the Kiwis, South Africans or Australian men turn the tables? Did England send a team?
All will be revealed. As Jim Wilson said, we’re only getting started.
Originally published as Colman’s Call: It’s great that even minnows can get a fair go to advance at Commonwealth Games
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