Again I say: oh, Boris. Don’t ever change.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London gives quite possibly the greatest Olympic speech ever made; quite certainly the most entertaining. But why didn’t he bring up Poodle Clipping? That was an Olympic sport!
“Virtually every single one of our international sports were either invented or codified by the British, and I say this respectfully to our Chinese hosts who have excelled so magnificently at ping pong,” he said in a tongue-in-cheek speech.
“Ping pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century and it was called wiff waff.
“There I think you have the essential difference between us and the rest of world.
“Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner. We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play wiff waff. That is why London is the sporting capital of the world.
“And I say to the Chinese, and I say to the world: ping pong is coming home.”
Text excerpt from Sander Cohen’s Muse
7 Comments
I hate to sour the jollity engendered by this lovely little clip, and will bang on about it on my blog later (perhaps). Britain also invented jingoism. In the background are Moynihan and Coe, two of the most irritating odious little tits ever to have been involved in sport. Having this pair of twats popping up (albeit not popping up very far) is hardly worth the price of sporting achievement.
I thought they were toadies hired for their amusing laughter. Are you sure they are not?
Brilliant speech!
Seb Coe is such a tosser.
I’m hoping the Pankration will become an exhibition event. What do you say?
Wow–I’m surprised he didn’t mention that it’s due to British influence that the wogs are so good at cricket.
He will, Metro. He will.
yeah, give him time…
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