Team GB beats Team EU any day

After the celebration of individual achievement and teamwork it was clear that this Olympics had captured the attention, and affection, of many.

However, these feelings of connection were towards the individuals and their nations and not for the EU.

Unfortunately, Twitter accounts like EU_London2012 disagreed. In a recent post it stated that “The EU could be a good example for the rest of the world how relevant it is to work together” and asserted that the medals that were won by individuals who competed in national teams were “EU medals”.

This could not be further from the truth.

The exploits of the crowds in cheering on Team GB, along with others cheering on their respective nations, demonstrated that people felt connected to their nation and not to this EU entity.

It should also be said that this was also the case for the athletes who, whether they have originally been from another country or not, embraced their national teams, wrapped themselves in their respective flags and competed for themselves, their families and their nation.

The very fact that we did not see people waving an EU flag shouldn’t surprise anyone. People feel connected to communities that share common values and outlooks and not to bodies that impose themselves on both those individuals and communities.

Instead, EU_London2012, and presumably the EU’s institutions, think that the EU won 92 gold medals during this Olympics. This blindness to national pride is staggering but it is in truth representative of the EU’s misunderstanding of the people who live within Europe.

People don’t want to be told who to support. The outpouring of national pride during the Games showed that. What they do want is to support the individual athletes, their communities and their national teams – those entities which they feel closest to.

The EU may have competed for this affection during London 2012 but, in the end, they lost and teams like Team GB took the Gold.