Great Britain 3-1 United Arab Emirates on Flickr.

The only event I was able to get tickets for the London 2012 Olympics was the football, but at least it was a Team GB match I was able to go and see.

I’ve been to my fair share of Premier League matches before - at the likes of Craven Cottage, Stamford Bridge, and mostly White Hart Lane - and I’ve been to Wembley once before to see a sell-out crowd rock to the music of Muse.

But this felt different.

While there were a few empty seats for Senegal vs. Uruguay first, pretty much all the seats were taken by the time GB and UAE kicked off and it was the largest ever attendance for an Olympic football match.

There was a little more respect towards other teams than I’d experienced before, even when watching Denmark vs. Australia once (the only international I’ve ever seen). There was also more of a family atmosphere than other matches and obviously more spectators who would never normally go and watch football.

The atmosphere was really rather good - everyone sat together (a few Sengalese, UAE, and Uruguayan fans scattered here and there, and mostly Brits), but also Americans, Canadians, Colombians, and all kinds of other nationalities.

It was a great Olympic experience. To be honest, it’s the kind of crowd that I believe ought to be at all sporting events, Olympic or not. The mix of ages, nationalities, respect, positive actions and sentiments was what these occasions should always aspire to.

Too often sportsmanship and respect get kicked into touch when sports, and particularly football, get embroiled in testosterone and tribal rivalry.

This was the best of what it is to be British in my opinion, and it’s what I’d like the rest of the world to enjoy for the rest of the Olympics and the Paralympics. I hope this carries on and any negative elements can be kept calm.