Well that’s the opening ceremony done and dusted! We can now get on with the real business of the next fortnight or so. Oh yes the birging and corfing! Although you may never heard of these terms, let alone used them in a sentence I can assure you that if you possess even a passing interest in sport you most certainly have indulged in either or both!
Birging is in fact ‘basking in reflected glory’ whilst corfing (cutting off reflected failure) is at the opposite, glass half empty end of the scale.
Put simply if you were a supporter of the women’s 4 x 100 metre freestyle you’d be birging for the rest of the week! Phrases such as ‘I knew they were up to it’, ‘never in doubt’ will be heard in the tearoom. It’s your team and you zero in on each and every opportunity for discussion. Life is great and you want nothing more than a chat about the winning race.
On the other hand if you were a fan of their male counterparts you’d be far more reticent in spruiking your support and would attempt to divorce yourself from the fourth place result. You probably won’t entertain the prospect of even thinking about the race much less actually discussing it.
So as you embark on your working week spare a thought for those around you and remember the words of Rudyard Kipling:
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same… Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it.”