A glorious embarrassment of riches

So those really were the days of miracle and wonder, the time of times, or any other lyric you might care to think of. 2012 — never has a year of sport provided so many thrills and tears, so many shivers of disbelief, so much joy. From Manchester City winning the Premiership with the last kick of the season, to England’s demolition of the mighty All Blacks; from the first British winner in the history of the Tour de France to the first British men’s Grand Slam tennis champion since the war; from the Ryder Cup’s Miracle in Medinah — beating the Yanks from 10-4 down thanks to the spirit of Seve and Ian Poulter’s red-hot putter to cricket’s Marvel in Mumbai when England, against all expectations, won a Test in India by being better at playing and bowling spin than their hosts. Did all that really happen?

And of course a gold rush at both the Olympics and Paralympics, where the sun shone, the capital flowed and we had the time of our lives.