While Mo and Jessica have thrilled us with their brilliance and dedication to their sport, the coolest man on the planet has celebrated his lightening dashes with his impression of a thunderbolt and Bradley Wiggins has made cycling fashionable again, our overpaid, over pampered heroes have been lying on the beaches of Dubai, getting their new tattoos and revving up their baby Bentleys and Ferrari's. Yes folks, the Olympics are over and we are about to embark on another roller coaster of joy, depression and every emotion in between.
I have supported Aston Villa for over 40 years and the start of every season has been awaited with anticipation, passion and trepidation. You just don't know what you’re going to get with the Villa. One minute we are flying high getting to cup finals, beating Man United away and fighting for Champions League places; the next minute we are plagued with the most boring football ever witnessed at Villa Park and a flirt [nay a long snog] with relegation.
Last season, for me and thousands of other claret and blue stalwarts, was akin to being hung upside down by our toe nails and being poked with a red hot poker. Yes, Alex McLeish turned us into something almost unrecognisable. He demoralised us and totally embarrassed us. We Villa fans are pretty good at gloating and some would even say our domination of Midlands football has made us somewhat arrogant, but last season we came down to earth with a massive bump. Even the Baggies fans were laughing at us.
But hey, this is where we start afresh. We have a new, young, forward thinking man at the helm; a manager who encourages entertaining football and likes to - wait for it - see his teams attack and score goals. The more I think about it the more my excitement, anticipation, passion and trepidation bubbles over. This is the season we begin our recovery, this is the season when the feelgood factor returns to the Holte terracing. Yes, let the games begin. This is footie!