A Small Mind sponsored by Hemorrhoids 'R' Not Us

There has been massive controversy over the last few days regarding the influence of sponsors on the 2012 London Olympics and the torch relay. It is without doubt that sponsorship has stolen what was once a great sporting event. Like football, loot has destroyed the authenticity of the game. It has made the quality better, there is no question, but the money makes the bile rise in the throat.

Sports stars, once proud to play for their country, now check their bank balance to make sure it is worth the effort to do so. Am I getting enough money from my sponsors to be bothered to make this effort? And with the money the whole event is sold out to the sponsors. They control everything.


If you were lucky enough to get a ticket for the Olympics, when you attend the event you need to make sure that the only thing you drink is Coca-Cola, the only thing you eat is a Big Mac, and you only make your purchases with Visa. My phone is a Samsung, so they wouldn't remove that at the gate because, you guessed it, they are official "partners" as well. If your trainers are not Adidas, you may find yourself in bare feet for the event too. If you get a chocolate bar out during your stay, just make sure that it is Cadbury's or your sugar intake might be gone.

All in all, it makes you feel proud.

The sponsors have also had their heavy hand on the Olympic torch relay, with their nice publicity seeking carriers. Why else would Will.I.Am be carrying the torch? Jedward too, and Didier Drogba as well, this gets it all in the papers, and the sponsors love it. It might be wrong, it may be sick, but we have to keep the sponsors happy. So what if the youngest ever British Olympian Kenneth Lester, who was coxswain in 1960, doesn't get to carry the torch. As long as Indian Steel magnet and official Olympic supporter, Lakshmi Mittal and his son get to buy, sorry honourably gain their chance to carry the flame.

Lakshmi Mittal: I am richy and I know it,

Sponsors they cry, are helping pay for the event, without them, we would all have to pay more to stage the event. However as already suggested above, sponsors are just driving the cost of these events up. When the sponsors finally find they have had enough, we shall all step back and watch our sports implode, especially football which is just out of control.

A more ironic situation is the iron fist that the IOC holds over the Olympics, condemning and banning anyone who uses the Olympics, the term 2012 and the rings in any little way, while selling its soul to an endless number of huge, multi-million pound entities. Even proud British filmmaker Noel Clarke has come up against Olympic bosses after he was banned from featuring the Olympics as the background for his new film Fast Girls.

Having said all these nasty things however about the Olympics, I will wave my flag and be an avid viewer in fifty days time when it all begins. Despite all the corruption of money, I still feel proud of the true effort that our athletes make and wish them all well as I drink my Pepsi, eat my KFC, while sitting in my Nike trainers. All having been purchased with my Mastercard. I am sure that it will all look great on my LG television.