l i a m @ t h e g a m e s

Day 1, Sunday 10^th September: Arrived at venue early, after a little confusion over finding the entry - got in at 8.10. Wasn't feeling very well due to illness. Met Rob and Andrew (UNSW), then Alex (Uni Newcastle). More crew arrive at 8.30am and we are told where we can sit and wait - in the SOBO crew tent where we end up spending much of our time. Gretchen (UNSW) arrives as we talk to a British Broadcast information officer. Grace (EX - CSU)arrives at nine. First three hours are non-eventful and taken up drinking coffee and talking. It soon becomes apparent that the students I'm with are not my type of people to say the least, but if I'm working with them for 20days straight, well I'll just have to cope. In my spare time, of which there is a lot, judging from this first day, I walk around the stadium which looks impressive, and its quite a thrill to be walking around it when its empty. Unpack some camera boxes and place them in their positions. Takes about one hour. After an hour and a half lunch in which I sat under a tree, Gretchen and I put together the component parts of the radios. Made the most of my spare time my walking around the stadium under the assumption I would not have the opportunity to do it again. Learn the audio team will not be here until Tuesday. The van and equipment, plus Technical Manager and 2IC (Carlos & Johan respectively) are South African, while the rest of the crew will be from Belgium, save the administration who are American. Met Freddy, the audio technical manager. His English skills are limited and I predict this could be a problem at a later stage. Left bang on 6pm, feeling tired even though I feel I haven't done a lot. Told to turn up at 8:30am. Back to top

Day 2, Monday 11^th September: Turned up at 8:30 am - sat around for two hours drinking coffee and reading Seven Years Of Plenty. Walked around the stadium some more, until about 12pm when Freddy got us to roll out some cables on the right hand side of the ground - five to be exact. Freddy and Johan seem to have some disagreements, the language barrier is also a problem. Freddy has his ideas and so does Johan. I thought it would be a good idea to use the multi-core instead of the five single cables. Freddy sent us to lunch - after we would do the same for the other side of the ground. Freddy gets frustrated with the inadequate length of the single cables, managing to say "In Belgium we have..." and "...It is ludicrous to verk under zees conditouns". I empathise with him and he says we can go home. I hang around for a while though. Someone who looks important from FIFA inspects the ground, and seems unhappy with the ground even though it looks supreme. He kicks a ball onto the field and it rolls in a strange manner - as if to emphasise the unevenness of the ground - this shows the lack of communication between the federations and the organisers. Leave at 6pm. Back to top

Day Three, Tuesday 12^th September: Got on-site at 8pm - again the first on site. Met Michael - a physiotherapist who does statistics as a side job ($350 a day) and Rose, a camera assist from Newcastle. Again broke up the first three hours with coffee and familiarising myself with the ground. There is a schedule which says there should be a full test of all equipment done by 3pm. It has been said that as much equipment that can get in to the stadium should be in there by today, as the security will become tighter as from tomorrow, and will have to be checked before it goes in. There will be a lock down of the stadium in force while the police go over the venue with a fine toothcomb. Spoke to Johan about rolling out he multi-core on the left hand side of the ground which we made up with scrap of cable really - he says for me to just do it without Freddy there. We do that and it takes about 20minutes. The Belgian crew arrive at 1pm, have a quick briefing with Carlos and then have lunch. The briefing was in French, which was an interesting experience. After and hour and a half lunch, return where Freddy actually realises we have rolled out the multi and he seems happy, but gets us to roll back the five cables we had rolled out the previous day. Then all the lines are tested with the same microphone and all are operational. This takes until about 5.45pm and we go home, and are told not to come in until 10.30. Back to top

Day Four, Wednesday 13^th September: Got on site at 10.30am after soaking up some of the atmosphere of the city central. Experience difficulty getting into compound due to increased security. Do absolutely nothing for two hours as none of the Belgian crew are on site and there is not much we can do while the lock-down is happening. We are told we can go home at 12.30pm. Back to top

Day Five, Thursday 14^th September: A more busy day arriving on site at 8am - little done until about 11am when we refine some abnormalities and use our shotgun microphones. Three times we completely roll out all the audio and it is all operational. Mine is a wireless stereo shotgun with a battery pack to power the microphone (powered with three 9V batteries) and transmitter carrying the signal to a receiver which we have placed on the second level of the stadium, carrying the signal back to the OB van - all in place of a cable - which I am happy about. The is also no monitor, which I would have liked and no comms equipment - so I'm completely free. Two more interesting things today was the sight of watching about 20 non-sobo staff peeling the reasonably discreet advertising stuck to the walls of the reserve sheds in the aim of completely removing all the advertising - such was the priority that 20 men were assigned the task. Also, the Matildas came out on to the field for a while. The IBC were wanting a signal - so we were kept until about 8pm - it was good to see it under lights, as of course this is how most of the games will be played. We audio people seem to be getting on alright - and there is a bit of communication going on between the Belgians and us - though the language is a barrier. Nice catered lunch today. Also received a lunch pack with rations (chips and chocolate). There is also a coke machine in which you do not put any money!! Replaced a few dodgy cables. A bit of miscommunication between the cleaners who are carrying out their tasks on the Field of play, and us - the water they are using saturates some of our cables - which sets us back. We a re now familiar with the microphones we are responsible for. Mine are the crowd-stereo on top of the player tunnel, the standup microphone on the sideline and my shotgun - there was one other, a stereo, which is no conveniently permanently attached to a camera on the sideline. It should go smoothly. Back to top

Day Six, Friday 15^th September: Got on site at 9am as per instruction. Freddy got us down on the field of play by 10am. First job was to fix up the cable connecting up the transmitter which has to drop down one elevation in the stand - as the crow flies, this is only about six metres away, separated by a glass awning - to drop it across this however is not allowed. Hence we go the long way around - using about 60 metres of cable. Replace some water damaged cables and waterproof the cables with plastic bags also - as all the cables on the sideline are sitting in 3cm of water drained from the field. Carlos shares that they often use glad wrap - and for underwater sound use condoms - unlubricated - apparently they are rather hard to find in Australia. Finished all our tasks by 12pm, did one final test and had another nice catered lunch at 1pm. All is fine and operational - game tomorrow. Stick around in case the IBC need a test - and leave at three. Cameras seem to be fine, the crane guys are apparently nervous as this is the first time they have used them - there are out in the field for most of the day practising the manoeuvres. It seems the camera students are not at all busy and are really unsure as to what they are doing come game time - Andrew has regular siestas. Robert seems eager to help with the crane; Alex will be cable boy to the camera assist and David the camera assist. Should be testing tomorrow - two games - mens Australia v Nigeria and Womens Australian v Sweden - which should fulfill some boyhood fantasy. Back to top

Day Seven, Saturday 16^th September: Game day - arrive on site at around 1.30pm for a 5.30 kick off - final tests are completed and all the audio is evidently fine. Sit around and have lunch until 3.30pm when spectators start streaming in. It soon becomes evident that SFS make it exceedingly difficult for us to get onto the field of play. The normal route we have been using every other day is now deemed inaccessible - it seems it's just a whole lot of red tape. We have to go around through the stadium to get onto the field. As the ground fills up, the atmosphere becomes electric. A worry though comes in the fact that our microphone battery packs seem to be draining the 9-volt batteries very quickly. The kick off is merely half an hour away and my battery pack is three quarters drained and I've hardly had it on. Adding to this stress is the fact that there doesn't seem to be a ready supply of replacement batteries. A bit of running around looking rectifies the problem, but worryingly, I seem to be the one most concerned. I get replacements for my fellow Audio Assistants. It has become apparent that Rob and Andrew have become redundant as the are assisting the audio assistants, which I find amusing - even the camera assists have an assist. Come game time, I'm still concerned that my battery pack is low. The pack doesn't seem to be holding a charge, and I wasn't supplied with a monitor (headphones) to double check that it is actually picking up the sound. I do my job however and am wary to keep out of shot where possible. The first game is Australia vs Sweden Womens. Although Australia lost it was a good game and the atmosphere was amazing. Battery power had drained a lot, and the need changing every half. A short half hour between games was taken up with me going back to the OB van attempting to scrounge up some 9v batteries, getting back through the crowds was also and issue I had to negotiate, if the normal access were still open I wouldn't have to deal with this. I found just enough batteries to distribute to the rest of the assistants for the two halves. If the atmosphere for the womens game was amazing, the mens game was something beyond this. Dealing with a few heckles from the crowd was all part and parcel of the night, but generally I didn't have too many difficulties in this area. Nigeria scored two quick goals, though Australia caught up with two. It was an eventful game in that there was a fight which resulted in two red cards - Brett Emerton, Australian captain pushing over a Nigerian player was just a stupid thing to do. When taking corners, I really got up close to the player to clearly capture the chock of the ball, guided by using the big screen as my monitor to ensure I kept out of shot. No one had any harsh words to me afterwards, so I think everything was okay in the broadcast. After the game (Australia lost 3-2) we packed up all the equipment and went home about 10.45pm. My other audio assistants were complaining of sore legs. This I find bizarre because they share the other side of the field, and hence they only cover 50metres each and even then are fairly stationary for the duration of the game due to being out of the way of the cameras on their side. I, on the other hand cover the entire 100m on the other side of the field, and run with the ball. The excitement however far outweighs any strain on my legs. It is hard not to get involved in the game and sharing some of the crowds' enthusiasm. Watched a little bit of the game when I get home and am surprised that the audio levels are broadcast a lot lower than I expected, and what we normally get in Australia - I conclude that it is just something the Belgians do, and is part of their product. The vision is good and considering we've all been lumped together I think the product is more than acceptable. Regardless, I count myself exceedingly lucky to have been part of it all. Back to top

Day Eight, Sunday 17^th September: All technical crew had the day off, despite the call sheet saying all crew should be on site at ten am. The broadcast went well apparently, and the IBC were happy. Waiting in the production office for a couple of hours in case the IBC needed anything. Given the all clear at about 2pm to go home. An unproductive day - but apparently we had to be there. Back to top

Day Nine, Monday 18^th September: Fixed a few problems with my transmitter, by moving the receiver closer to the field of play. Interesting to note the battle between the ground staff and the tech crew - the sprinklers saturated one of the cameras and the ground staff did nothing to prevent it - even standing back and laughing when we tried to prevent it. They say the sprinklers are fixed and cannot be changed. Differing priorities. Also moved the crowd effects microphone to just above the players tunnel. Freddy and I seem to be getting on well. Grace had tickets to some other events and hence called in sick today. Freddy told Carlos I was a good assistant, a compliment I accepted. Left at about 2.30pm. Game tomorrow. Back to top

Day Ten, Tuesday 19^th September: Got in early at 12.30. The other assistants weren't there so I set up their allocated microphones. Gretchen arrived at 1.30pm. Finished everything I had to do by 2.00pm. All audio is operational three and a half hours before kick-off. It is interesting to note that this, the tenth day saw some airing of differences and personal politics. Mary Ruznak, Venue Manager decided she didn't want the assistants hanging around the production office anymore - this is something we haven't been doing a lot of but have on occasion been doing it talking to the tech crew. It is also something that Carlos - Technical Manager has encouraged over the last week, even welcoming us in to use the Intranet to access the latest results and even check our email. It was rather contrived then that Mary got Carlos to tell us we were now unwelcome in this area, mainly citing Rosemary as the problem - which she took to heart. I put this down to ten days straight without a significant break. A little bit annoyed at this change of mood and division of hierarchies, I complied knowing my place in the system. Have lunch and hang about until game time. Collect some interviews from colleagues for radio piece for this subject. Grace turns up at 4.30pm. Carlos not particularly happy. Game went well - Australia V Brazil Womens, then Australia v Brazil Mens. Australia lost both games. There was a streaker in the womens game which was amusing. Interesting to note the emotions that run thru the womens match after the game. It should be pointed out that the teams must be filled by players under 23years of age - with only three > than 23. Hence much of the Australian team is actually quite young... some I hazard to say around 16. Their parents are in the crowd and when they lose hugs and tear abound. Many of the parents are right behind me and its hard not to be affected by their profound disappointment. Emotions aside, technically the game went well and the sound was perfect, I had no problems with my battery pack and the atmosphere was again amazingly electric - I don't think I'd ever get dulled to the atmosphere. Getting used to keeping out of shot and the crowd heckles. Packed up and cleared the field rather quickly. Hung around for about half and hour to find out precisely what the schedule was for the next day - the news is that we have a day off - I'm a little disappointed, but it should ease some tension among the crew. Not needed until 5pm on Thursday, which essentially means two days off. Back to top

Day Eleven, Wednesday 20^th September: Day off

Day Twelve, Thursday 21^st September: Got on site at 5pm, unaware really as to what I would be doing, as there is no game. It seems to me bizarre the lack of information dissemination within the crew, especially considering the amount of times we are ALL on site - it would prove beneficial to have a briefing - but that's just how I would do it. It soon becomes evident that we are doing a full rehearsal for the medal ceremony. It also turned out that we had some cables to replace, as some of them had been water damaged. This took about an hour and a half and involved the dirtiest work I've done during my time there - pulling cables out of mud filled gutters etc. Of course because I'm the only male audio assist, I do the honours in terms of getting dirty. Freddy appears to be clinging to me, which is nice, but it does appear that there is an unequal spread of the workload. The camera assists have NOTHING TO DO. We weren't really required for the medal ceremony, so we sat in the stands for most of it, but here the camera assists had something to do. Finished at about 10pm. Not required until 4pm Saturday. Back to top

Day Thirteen, Friday 22^nd September: Day Off.

Day Fourteen, Saturday 23^rd September: Late start today with a call time of 4pm. Today it is Spain vs Italy. This game proves to be one of the most entertaining thus far simply in terms of the pure skill level involved. The stadium is packed, mostly filled with the Spanish and Italian communities. Spain wins after scoring in the last ten minutes. No problems with the sound whatsoever and Freddy seems very happy with the way it went. Afterwards discovered the press televisions with live feeds from every Olympics event. Never another boring moment. Lunches today were poor. Call time of 1.30om for an early game tomorrow. Perhaps more interesting at this stage is the alliances that seem to be appearing within the team. Grace does not get along with Rosemary at all and a lot of people say things about Grace. Friction only seems to be happening among the girls. Gretchen and I by now are getting along really well. Andrew is often left with nothing to do and can usually be found attempting to blag food from SFS staff, in the tent reading his sci-fi mag or asleep in the stadium somewhere. Alex and David seem to be hanging out with each other. Megan and Grace spent their time together. The social chemistry is interesting. It was earlier in the employment period I started likening the whole experience to being in a reality TV program - because we were placed in this situation where we all had to get along with no familiarity with each other. Extending this further - we have now reached the stage where, if the program were Shipwrecked, decisions are being made as to who was going to be thrown off the island. I get along with everybody and have changed my tune somewhat as to my first impressions of everyone. Back to top

Day Fifteen, Sunday, 24^th September: Get in at the call time of 1.30pm. Belgian crew is late so Gretchen & I hang around in the stadium for a while. Freddy arrives and we set up in a matter of 20minutes - all is fine except for a little bit of water on the cables, but not enough to effect their operation. All is ready for the game, which is not until 5.30pm. Have lunch and watch the live feeds from the press monitors. The game today is the women's quarter final - Norway and Germany. Though the stands are noticeably sparse, the enthusiasm of the crowd is no less intense, especially the Norwegian fans. It was a clumsy game, but the sound went off with no worries whatsoever and we are certainly getting everything down to a fine art. We had a fairly long, though difficult and disjointed chat with Freddy before the game in which he told us we could come and work with him in Belgium. He also asked us if we knew whether we would be covering the Mens Final at the Olympic stadium. At that stage it seemed unlikely that we would, as we had not been told that we were. Freddy said he would speak to Carlos about it. Freddy though it logical as we now know the processes and now have a reasonable level of communication. I was a bit concerned about setting up the stadium for football however, as it has obviously only been used for the Athletics thus far. It would be a huge job the set it all up for football. Regardless, upon signing off at night after the game we are told to turn up at Stadium Australia on Tuesday for a rehearsal for the medal ceremony. I'm happy about his, though I'm not entirely sure I WILL be needed for the ceremony as such - more the Camera Assists. It's a day off tomorrow and hence Gretchen and I travel to the IBC to attempt to get into the Roy & HG show - Olympic park is quite a spectacle when it is full of people - we get to the impressive IBC and although we are unsuccessful in getting into the show tonight, we are on the list for Wednesday. Back to top

Day Sixteen, Monday 25^th September: Day Off.

Day Seventeen, Tuesday 26^th September: Arrive at Olympic Park early for a 12.00pm start, have a bit of trouble finding the entry to gate M - the media entry, but make it thru with plenty of time to spare. As cynical as I am, I come over all humble being on the field where only 15 hours earlier, Cathy Freeman got the already famous 100^th gold medal. I go to the starting blocks of lane 6 and have a run around, just because I can. There is no one in the stadium save for us students and a few security guards. The sunshine has given up after working overtime for the last few weeks - and light rain has taken over. Take a few happy snaps of the huge stadium. We were told to meet the Belgian crew there at twelve for a rehearsal of the medal ceremony. They arrive at half past one, without Freddy and Jackie, and there is no rehearsal. All we are told is that you need a bib to be on the field of play - which we have been doing at the stadium anyway, and then given until 4pm free-time, when the media bus will take us to the SFS. Walk around the IBC for a bit, laugh at the novelty of the names of the streets within it (my personal favourite is lamington drive) and nestle into the ridiculously overpriced 'Live Feed' - the cafeteria. Everyone is impressed that we managed to blag our way into Roy & HG, as it is now apparently booked out. Upon arriving back at the stadium we greet Freddy and set up the audio before dinner. Kick off is at 8pm. Freddy pulls me aside and says he was at the IBC - he was in a control room of some description, gleaning the information he needed. More to the point though, he tells me he specifically asked the broadcast manager at STA for me to cover the final, then suffixes the statement with - "but silence to the otheres" - which means "keep yer mouth shut tiger I'm doing you a favour". I'm exceedingly grateful, and we'll se how things pan out. I was under the impression that we'd all be covering the final - so we'll see what happens. The rain has effected some the cables and the behind the goals audio has suffered the worst, despite our best attempts at waterproofing. We replace a few but the others will be fixed later. All my audio is fine and it is mainly Gretchen and Grace's set up that is effected. All is set up in time for dinner - a great smorgasbord like in the first few days. Upon walking out of the tent, the rain continues, and it's getting heavier. It seems it's time to don the drizabone-esque jacket that I've been avoiding. Further, we wrap all our battery packs in garbage bags so the connections don't get damp. It's really uncomfortable out on the field as the rain pelts down. It's the mens semi final - deciding who goes into the gold medal or bronze medal match - Spain v USA. The rain eases a little closer to half time and all goes fine with the sound. The rain takes little away from the enthusiasm of the crowd who are resoundingly in favour of Spain - with lots of Spanish nationals in attendance. I'm really feeling comfortable in my position and am increasingly anticipating the play. Spain win 3-1 and are into the gold medal match with Morocco who beat Chile in Melbourne. We pack up as the rain threatens. Notable is an on doing problem where I have to get up to the second level of the stadium and go through the Olympic family lounge to get to a crowd microphone. This lounge is restricted to a zone 6, we production people have 4 & 5 - normally I walk straight thru but have a little trouble tonight, get through after about ten seconds. Fifteen minutes after the game there are lightning and hail warnings. Only the former eventuates, but is accompanied by a torrential downpour. We are stuck in the tent for a while until the rain eases somewhat - very little actually - before we start going home. Day off tomorrow - 2pm start on Thursday for the two womens games. Informed of a SFS closing ceremony where we can watch it on the big screen from the stadium on Sunday night - I was hoping they'd arrange something like this - but then I hear of Rachel Masters hopes that all the SOBO people go to the IBC to watch it and then take the night from there - which sounds more attractive, as all the students will be there - I'll decide later on - maybe both?! The alliances are only getting stronger and divides wider. Carlos and I have a bit of a joke around while the rain eases - which is good. Back to top

Day Eighteen - Wednesday 27^th September: Day Off - go to Roy & HG that night - the woody's are on.

Day Nineteen - Thursday 28^th September: Begin at 2pm today for the two womens games. Norway and USA for the gold and Brazil and Germany for the bronze. The first game starts at 5pm and there is, disappointingly, not many people here for the game. There is still a fair bit of sun, which is creeping across the field - probably causing havoc for the colour balancers. It is an okay game. The sound seems to do fine and we have a large enough break to go back to the tent and have dinner before the gold medal match. It was good to see that the crowd had augmented for the gold medal match and it was an absolutely amazing game. From a broadcast point of view it went seamlessly - the game went into extra time - USA was up 1-0 at half time - two quick but messy goals to Norway saw them up 2-1 at full time, but in the last ten seconds of injury time USA scored an easy goal. Sudden death extra time saw Norway score in the 11^th minute. The crowd was without question in favour of Norway and the atmosphere was awesome. There was a streaker-type person, the security guards didn't notice until he was sitting on top of the goals. The medal ceremony audio was mostly picked up by the microphones of the cameras. We picked up the crowd. Packed up reasonably easily and the broadcast went well. Back to top

Day Twenty - Friday 29^th September: The Mens Bronze Medal game - USA vs Chile. Get on site for what thought was late - 5pm for an 8pm kick-off. We set up really quickly and all is ready. As this was the final broadcast from the SFS - there was a lot of exchanging of email and photos taken - I make sure Freddy has my email - he seems keen to have it. Upon entering the stadium I notice the Chilean crowd is the most vocal I have ever seen - and outcry the US supporters by the power of ten. There is also a lot of local broadcast crews on the ground - the press photographers are also numerous - packed behind the goals - the ridiculously huge telephoto lenses following the ball is a funny sight to see. Still, I am the only person on my side of the ground. The game is okay with Chile coming out on top. More a spectacle however is the riotous Chilean crowd who are literally deafening - "ole ole ole ole - Chi-le Chi-le", particularly a pocket of about 200 enfrenzied Chileans on my side the ground. Of course I collect the sound which is truly amazing from an aural perspective. People are being pushed against the fence, which is buckling outwards from the pressure. The Chilean players after the game envoke a near riot and I am not helping by holding a microphone on the scenario. The press photographers and local broadcasters are perhaps more the problem, who in attempting to capture this amazing spectacle are adding fuel to the fire. This continues for than 20minutes, with a swarm of police and security guards calmly overseeing the chaos. It appears the crowd does not want to go home, and a venue manager cover over and tells us all to go away - I go because our feed has ended anyway, but some of the others have to be more forcibly removed. The stadium staff are instructed to turn the stadium lights off. The crowd eventually leaves, but the celebrations and dancing continue outside - it is truly an amazing spectacle. We are via a memo from the Olympic Stadium that all audio staff are to be on site there at 7am. It takes me forever to get to sleep - maybe sue to excitement, maybe the Chilean chants going over and over in my head. I end up getting about an hour and a half sleep. Back to top

Day Twenty-One, Saturday 30^th September: The big one - the Mens Gold medal Match - Spain (favourites) Vs Cameroon. I will prefix this journal entry with the claim that this was one of my most memorable days not only of my time with SOBO, but I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say - my life. Get to the venue at about 6.30am and have a look around 'the shed' the IBC control rooms, concerned at how little sleep I got. Was a little concerned as to what precisely the extent of set-up would be required. Gretchen and I are somewhat stressed at this (kick off is at 12pm) until we are told that we all three of us would be using the radio microphones I have been using - and that all the receiver have been set up, and the audio assistant that have been working at the venue for the entire period would be setting up the field mikes. Additionally we retain our positions on the field of play, with me covering the far sideline, Gretchen the right and Grace the left. Hence we test our set-up - all is fine by 9am. Freddy asserts the importance of how perfect the sound must be for this game. Jackie, who rarely says anything to us - says in his best English how "precise" the sound must be. I'm sort of glad we've not had much to do with him - his limited English makes him sound harsh. We have a look around the Park for a while - also inside the packed Olympic Superstore - until we have to be back on the field of play by 11.15am. Of course we get back much earlier ready for the kick off. The audio assistants who help us out are a bit condescending and ill-advised (one wanted to set up a mike in the middle of the FIFA officials - which to say the least - is erm, not particularly allowed by the federation). I get over this quickly and assume my position on the far side. It is most immediately quite a change from the SFS, which has a capacity of 40, 000 to the STA, which holds 110, 000 - the crowd is scarily huge and vocal. It is also quite hot on the ground. I have comms for the entirety of the game - which is an extra load and I realise this when I try and run to cover the ball. One quick goal to Spain in the first 50 seconds suggest this game would be a shoe-in. The sound goes well - perfect even. To be certain - all the batteries are changed at half time - even though it is unnecessary. The density and enormity of the crowd is truly breathtaking and took look around and all you see are people seemingly looking at you - is bizarre. The game - through a series of exceedingly exciting events ends in a 2-all draw - even though Spain saw two of their players sent off with red cards. The amazingly exciting 30 minutes of extra time fails to bring about a result even though Cameroon spent almost the entirety of the time in Spain's half. It seems through the underdog element, that the crowd have adopted Cameroon as their own. It is time for a penalty shoot-out. I hear through my headphones that mikes 1 & 3 are to follow the Spanish and Cameroon bench. I am number two and it eventuates I am not required for the shoot-out. I leave my microphone on however and pull up the best seat in the house - behind the goals that are being used for the shoot-out at the Gold Medal final. I was absolutely overcome by the enormity of the event - I don't think I will ever be in an environment so amazing ever again. I could not be closer to the action - the field of play bib I was wearing gave me absolute access anywhere of the field - and I took full advantage of it. 110, 000 people screaming in the most dramatic possible finishes to a game. It was unbelievable. I took hold of the truly unique opportunity and took a couple of photos. Finally, after seemingly endless shots, Cameroon (now the crowd favourite) got up. The response from the crowd was absolutely phenomenal. With my microphone still on I followed the jubilant Cameroon's around the stadium along with the flurry of cameramen - it was inevitable that they would use this footage - eventually they asked for my audio, but they had it anyway. This continued for about five minutes until preparations are under way for the medal ceremony. The control room was muddled in its instructions as to which microphone was to cover which team ("1&2 on Cameroon, 3 on Spain", then "1 on Chile, 2 on Cameroon, 3 on Spain", then endless combinations within these to make it sound like we were ordering a hamburger). Eventually it was decided what we would each cover - though it took forever for the teams to enter the field - eventually we got world they were delaying the ceremony until the sun passed over the stadium and the dais for the best TV coverage. Again this was an extraordinary thing to witness as Juan Antonio Samaranch presented the medals. Captured beautifully what we had to catch, while keeping out of the road of the flurry of TV cameras from many accredited broadcasters. Followed Chile around and got the word "it's a wrap" about five minutes after the ceremony - were thanked for a faultless coverage - which topped off an amazing day. After packing up - went back to the IBC food hall to relax with the Belgian crew, as they would be leaving the next day. Was sad to see them go and there were a few awkward moments - Freddy was ready to give me a kiss - as is Belgian tradition (well I hope so anyway). We were thanked profusely for our help. It was a truly memorable day. Back to top

Appendix: Closing Ceremony Party at the IBC, Sunday 1^st October. Today I started back at normal work. From the greatest highs of the last few weeks, the mendacity of the everyday is bordering on depressing. Couldn't wait for the day to end so I could go back to the Olympic Precinct and soak up the final drops of atmosphere. Got to the IBC at around 7.30pm - a few students around, until about 8pm when the closing ceremony got underway. The ceremony obviously was only a matter of 300m away - so we could here it live, or watch it on the many screens in the huge IBC food hall, which for tonight was morphed into a club. The laid-back atmosphere of the ceremony was definitely transferred to our party - the most amazing atmosphere - dancing - catching up with people. The final fireworks we could see and there was the most amazing rush outside to see them live - t was like they were for us - then the F1-11 bomber carrying the flame - amazing. After the closing - all the students who were working on the closing ceremony flooded in (including many Macquarie people I hadn't seen since the Olympics started) and the party atmosphere shifted into top gear. maybe it's a reflection on the poor state of my life, maybe my want to hang on to the Olympic atmosphere, maybe my want to hold onto the past, but that night was the close the most fun I've had in a long long time. It was the perfect, ultimate conclusion to my phenomenal three weeks with SOBO at the Olympics. Back to top