At the Olympics, Proud of the U.S. and the U.K.

As an American living in London during the build-up to the 2012 Olympics, I’ve felt torn for some time now. On the one hand, I knew I’d be rooting for Team USA. But as a permanent resident here, I also found myself hoping the Brits would come together to pull off something  truly spectacular that would impress even the Americans.

Mitt Romney’s gaffe-tastic visit certainly helped unite this complex, multi-cultural country in record time. (My prize for best Romney diss goes to former White House economist Austan Goolsbee, who tweeted “Romney in Gdansk: Lech, thanks for being here. And hey – how about that shipyard there? Is that a rusting pile of crap or what?”)

But it was more than just #romneyshambles that’s pulled this famously standoffish island nation together over the last few days. Personally, I still have no idea what Danny Boyle was after with that opening night extravaganza.

I only drank two Coronas but am I right that there were two countdowns instead of one? And who was that dude strumming the guitar? I know one thing: I’ll never be able to look at Kenneth Branagh with a straight face again.

Read the rest of this post at The Washington Post’s She The People blog

 

Image: Olympics 2012 – Team GB T-Shirt by Daniel Bevis via Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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