ContinueThe final mass celebrations for this summer's glorious Olympic and Paralympic Games, with thousands of people gathering in Edinburgh and Cardiff on Friday to pay tribute to their stars, have been done.
Now the real hard work begins.
It is crazy to think that only six weeks ago, the Olympic Torch entered the Stadium in Stratford to signal the start of that wonderful month.
But what happens now? The sports stars will be honoured by the Government at New Year, the BBC, both nationally and regionally, before Christmas and various governing bodies and sports writers associations up and down the UK.
Legacy has been talked off a lot, particularly since the Olympic Flame died out in the early hours of August 13, just over a month ago.
And, in a less-than-scientific survey carried out by yours truly, it seems that participation levels at clubs around Wales - where I am based - have gone through the roof. Even those sports which did not get much attention - fencing and judo, to name two - have seen waiting lists at local clubs set up as kids hassle their parents to get a piece of the action.
Handball, almost unknown in the UK before the Games, has seen interest rocket, particularly when one of its' supporters during the Games was the Duchess of Cambridge.
That is what legacy is all about, not really the cash that will be doled out by Messers Cameron, Osbourne and Co (not Lord Seb, that last one), but the enthusiasm, energy and drive of the youngsters who try out sports which have always played second fiddle to the almighty football and cricket in the leytime between Olympic and Paralympic cycles - and actually like them.
The hard work really does start now. The political parties will score cheap points at their respective party conferences in the coming weeks but, fast forward two years, and where will that legacy be?
We, the privileged who were inside that Olympic Bubble for two weeks, will never forget those Olympics. Friends who also covered the Paralympics say the same of that glorious 11 days.
But when the dark winter nights draw in over winter and the kids start getting bored and tired of yet another evening going to gym club or of pulling on their shorts to go training at the local athletics track in the cold and wet, what do we do?
It would be far easier, warmer and less physical to sit in front of the computer screen with the Playstations and XBoxes.
Here is a suggestion. Without National Lottery funding, athletes like gold medalist Greg Rutherford and Taekwondo's Jade Jones would never have got near the podium, not because they do not have abundant talent but simply they need to train every day, every week with sufficient recovery time between. You can't do that while holding down a day job, particularly a physical one.
One friend sprouted an idea recently which is not foolish but actually has some credence. Premiership footballers have had little influence in the Olympics and Paralympics other than those couple who were in Team GB - by the way, it is a national scandal that neither of our men's or women's football sides will be in Rio in four years.
So why doesn't Wayne Rooney, John Terry or Steven Gerrard, among the hundreds of highly-paid players in the biggest league in the world and who earn anywhere over £100,000 every seven days each, donate just a single week's salary to a rising talent that could become the next Jess Ennis in Rio?
The top-end of the Lottery funding is a meagre £26,000 a year, which the likes of quadruple Olympic sprinter Christian Malcolm have been on.
Just that one week's salary from a dozen Premiership footballers would fund athletes all the way to Rio and, with a top-up of Lottery funding and support from physios and trainers, and wouldn't they be grateful? How do we expect to win gold medals when our athletes are earning LESS than the average wage of an office worker?
And what of the Paralympians? There are a number of those who are on Lottery funding and, with crowds of 80,000 a session packing into the Olympic Stadium during their Games, there is no doubt that they, too, have caught the UK sports public's imagination and said General Public want to see them succeed in Rio.
But will they fade away as football once again dominates the sporting pages and websites? In two years time, ask a friend who David Anthony is and I bet he won't know. David, from Neath, was the Man with the Mohican who was like a Tasmanian Devil on the wheelchair rugby court with Great Britain.
Ask who Mark Colbourne is and you may get the same reply even though Mark won a gold and silver in the Paralympic Velodrome.
Will the BBC or Channel Four be at the Paralympic Cycling World Cup next year? There is an interesting question.
What about those footballers donating wages to help the next big Olympic star? Very doubtful?
And what about legacy? Is that going to be down to everyone to keep the momentum going or the dedicated few? Don't rely on politicians, other than London Mayor Boris. As soon as election times approach, they will forget in favour of health, education and employment issues when election time arrives.
Personally, in the month since coming home from London to the normal job in sports PR and freelance journalism, many friends have said: "Great while it lasted - now back to reality for you."
But why should this be the reality? In fact, I am still on Cloud Nine although the 'angel's wings' are flapping hard to stay up there and the crash down to earth could come soon.
Beijing began all the enthusiasm for the Olympics four years ago as athletes staked their claims to compete in London. The home Games was the highlight of a lifetime for everyone there - but now we cannot allow these 'Olympic and Paralympic' sports to crash to where we were in the past.
Tomorrow morning, on Sunday and throughout next week and beyond, after the crowds have left Cardiff and Edinburgh and their medalists have gone home or on well-deserved holidays, is when that hard work begins. That's when the kids will want to pull on their trainers, urge the Bank of Mum and Dad to fork out for a track racing bike or membership to the hockey club.
And, if we are lucky, the kids will be the ones to keep driving their parents onwards by saying 'I want to be there in 2016, 2020 or 2024'.
Let's all hope so.
