A couple of weeks ago, there was a good deal of fuss concerning the premiere of the film The Dark Knight Rises. America was most concerned that due to time differences people in the UK would see it first and post "spoilers" on the internet. This resulted in them shifting the premiere in London to around 5am, so Britain and America saw the film at the same time and didn't spoil it. Oh, never mind the rest of the world who only got the film released a week or so later - doesn't matter if they accidentally see "spoilers" on the internet.
It is with the above in mind that I read, with great humour, the plight of Americans and Brits in regards of the Olympics. Tales of empty seats and the felt need to have missiles on the roof of peoples' were woeful, but the coverage problems call for a good old decent laugh from us down here in a "developing nation".
People in London being told to use their phones "only in emergencies" because their networks are struggling and broadcasts being affected is priceless, is it not? Whereas there was some network congestion when we hosted things like the World Cup, I certainly do not recall a plea from anyone about us kindly refraining from using our phones.
Americans crying about delayed coverage of the Games and "having to resort to 'illegal' internet feeds" is an interesting turnaround. All too often popular American shows are only shown a year or so later in the rest of the world, leading many to seek them out on the internet just to see them before every second of the shows are discussed on the internet.
There's a stack of flaws and problems in South Africa, for sure. But isn't it nice to know that when it comes to either hosting or simply watching World sporting events we seem to be a step ahead of these First World, developed nations? It's been a pleasure to watch both the opening ceremony and the events themselves live, using my phone as often as I wish to.
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