Will Slater:'IS THE OLYMPICS THE BIGGEST SPORTY THING IN THE WORLD?'

AT THE end of my last column, I had just pressed 'submit' to enter the ballot for £4,300 of Olympics tickets. Ever since, I have convinced myself the Visa bill wouldn't be anywhere near that eye-watering figure, given all the reports of the millions of others trying for tickets too.

The only trouble was I didn't meet many people who had bid too. In fact, only one.

Suddenly I wondered if the suggestions of the nation in a frenzy to acquire tickets wasn't simply a ruse to persuade us all was really well with an event costing billions while the economy flatlines.

At my ticketing tale, my father casually mentioned that he passed on seeing the 1948 Games. He was doing national service and was stationed nearby, but preferred the lure of a good book instead.

It helps explain why I come from a family where sport is a particularly tricky crossword and the idea of spending large amounts of money to queue for hours to see some people run around, throw something or swim a length or two of a pool while consuming overpriced snacks and waving sponsor-laden foam hands is more akin to a vision of hell than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And put like that I would struggle to disagree. But strip out all of that stuff and sport can provide extraordinary, inspiring drama. For the most part it is just young people busting a gut to be the best they can be. Clichd it may be, but it is a powerful thing.

However, do I think the Olympics will inspire a generation of children? Nope. Do I think every athlete will be drug free? Nope. Do I think the foam hands and snacks will be good value? Nope. Do I still want to go? Yes.

So when I checked my account and found 443 had been taken for tickets I was jumping up and down and breathing a sigh of relief, if such things are possible at the same time. Through a process of elimination I have worked out we have seats for a session of swimming and another set for swimming, athletics or tennis.

Our daughters were jumping up and down too, particularly as they have started swimming competitively and are going to see the world's best doing the same events they do. Our son, not yet seven, did not want to miss out on jumping up and down, though he wasn't exactly sure why. "Is the Olympics the biggest sporty thing in the world?"

"Yes."

"Hooray!"

Hooray indeed.

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This article was originally published in the Scotland on Sunday , June 5th 2011