It may sound un-Australian, but I think I’m already over the Olympics.

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Aussies triumphing in the pool and winning gold against the odds as much as anyone – but after all the hype leading up to the Beijing Games, I’m suffering from something equivalent to sporting post-natal depression.

The euphoria that comes only every four years – apparently – has been short-lived.

And I blame Channel 7, those over-enthusiastic Yankee swimmers and those awful-looking Australian uniforms.

I mean, what was wrong with the green and gold?

Apparently, they were not hip enough for our young stars. So we sent them out in something more like bad disco jackets from the 1970s – or jockey colours.

I’m glad I didn’t wait up until 1am to see them march out, because then I would have been really depressed.

The opening ceremony was spectacular enough. The Chinese put on a splendid performance to create the wow factor with a cast of thousands from a population of billions.

But it was downhill after that – and I’m not just talking about the bike racing.

Actually, the women’s cycling was more entertaining than most events, mainly because of the torrential rain and the odd stack or two.

I caught glimpses of the Olympics throughout the weekend, and my lasting impression was one of far too many presenters – some of whom knew about as much about sport as I do.

Channel 7, never one to fake live television that well, certainly created a new legion of enemies when it abandoned coverage in favour of a three-hour telecast of an AFL match between Adelaide and Richmond.

It was hardly a cliffhanger, and even as an AFL fan I was trying to work out the logic behind Seven’s decision.

And it seems I was not alone. The station’s official website was quickly swamped with messages of disgust from viewers, who labelled the incident “Seven’s AFL shame”.

Olympic fans missed Australia’s synchronised diving champions Sharleen Stratton and Briony Cole compete in the 3m springboard final and the chance to see shooter Michael Diamond in the men’s trap final, in which he finished fourth.

Australia’s victory over Greece in the preliminary round of the men’s water polo and heats of the rowing were also missed.

A Channel 7 spokesman said the broadcast was determined by previous contractual arrangements made with the AFL. The spokesman recommended viewers switch to SBS for coverage. I’m sure they’ve already done that.

Disgruntled viewers rightly labelled the switch sneaky, saying the official broadcaster had failed to adequately inform viewers of the interruption.

“Channel 7 ... do not say you have exclusive rights and then deprive us of seeing our favourite once-in-four-years sport, by showing regular weekly football. Have a heart guys.”

The Seven fall-out came as it was revealed that some of the footage of the fireworks display shown on television and in the stadium during the opening ceremony was recorded in advance.

Spectacular aerial pictures of footprints dotted across Beijing were not live, but were prepared more than a year in advance with the help of animation techniques and slotted into the live coverage, the Beijing Shibao reported.

Only the last of the 29 footprints was recorded live, the daily quoted an employee of a video company involved in the production as saying.

I’m almost shocked.

Pensioners need help now

The failure of the federal government to look after our most vulnerable – our pensioners – in the last budget was highlighted yesterday.

Almost 80% of Australians aged over 65 are on the pension, mostly with very little other source of income, the review found.

Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin said 13% of pensioners had no private income to draw on and the “vast majority” had less than $20 a week private income.

About 30% of pensioners have bank balances of less than $1000.

The single pension rate, which is 60% of the combined couple rate, was found to be lower than the average for OECD countries at 63%.

The government will now consult the public on the outcomes of the background paper with a final report due next February.

The government allocated $5.2 billion for seniors in its last budget, increasing the capital Utilities Allowances from $107 to $500 plus the payment of a $500 bonus.

Ms Macklin said that this action would hopefully ease pensioners’ cost of living pressures until the review report next year.

But I wonder whether we can really expect our pensioners to hold out that long, especially given the rising cost of fuel and basic food items.

If, as a society, we can’t look after our most vulnerable, we must look at our government spending – including the fact that we have three levels of government when we could get by just as well with two.