George Hook's blog

There is something magical about watching a comeback. Witnessing the destruction of impossibility is incredibly exciting and when it happens in front of your eyes, it is all the more special. When I thought about it logically, it made perfect sense to me. I have never been comfortable with the concept of futility. I do not like to be told that something is impossible or out of reach because it renders my actions useless. And there is nothing more deflating and claustrophobic than the feeling of complete and utter redundancy.       

It was the Miracle in Medinah. I don’t think that is overstating it. What happened on that golf course in Chicago last weekend was truly the stuff of dreams and it will go down as one of the great sporting moments of our generation. For the players it was a nerve shattering, adrenaline fuelled experience that they will never forget. And for the rest of us watching at home? Ditto.    

We live in a free and open society. We live in a country where free speech is protected under the constitution and where one man’s grudge is another man’s call to rejoice. We all have different tastes and different outlooks on what we deem to be appropriate and acceptable but at the end of the day most personal fancies are catered for, within reason.

But there are boundaries. There are laws and limits to how much of ourselves we can impose on others. Just because we might feel like something is right does not mean that society deems it to be so. And that is what defines us as people; what is socially acceptable and what is not. Sometimes the line is very thin.

As far as competitive sporting jousts go, this was about as one-sided a match up as I’ve ever seen. I am not an American football expert, but my pre game research before Saturday’s match between Notre Dame and Navy at the Aviva stadium informed me that the result was almost a foregone conclusion. The atmosphere around Dublin from early in the morning was truly magnificent. There was something extremely satisfying about watching over 35,000 US visitors enjoying the hospitality and charm of Ireland’s capital city. When the weather is good here, Ireland is on a par with any other country you could think of.

I could write a book about pressure. I experienced its suffocating blanket for more years than I care to remember and it didn’t do me much good. I can recall many instances in my life where pressure became almost unbearable and I can say with certainty that it is not a pleasant feeling. It is a miracle that my health didn’t suffer as a result. There are, of course, certain types of people who respond well to pressure but there should be a caveat beside their names. Pressure in reasonable doses can inspire, but generally speaking, pressure brings out the worst in people.

The international broadcasting compound in London’s Olympic park stands four floors tall. From the outside it is not particularly impressive to look at, yet this single building is responsible for bringing the Olympic Games to every home in every country across the world. Inside its large white walls, thousands of journalists, broadcasters and technicians scurry tirelessly from one room to another with sheets and lists in hand. None of them admit to getting much sleep over the last fourteen days, but all seem happy and excited in their work. They are united in their purpose; to bring the London 2012 games to the people of the world.