Clam...do you realise that because of the 100 yard gap we could secretly plot the overthrowing of the system and no-one would find us ? Fantastic.
I should do some homework to be more specific. Australia did really lousy in an Olympics (Montreal?) and our Government spent many millions setting up an Institute of sport.where live-in athletes of all persuasion could devote themselves full time.
In Australia, sport is the opiate of the masses. A good sporting win helps the sitting government to be re-elected. Our PM, John Howard, delights in describing himself as a "cricket tragic".
Personally, I'd much rather think about Australia's sporting victories than our involvement in Iraq. It's much nicer.