When Games time was over Jake Jarman led the England team out for its final curtain call.
Jarman, an athlete few had heard of a fortnight ago, a gymnast who only made the reserve list for last summer’s Olympics.
Yet the 20-year-old was a perfect choice for the host nation; an over achiever at a sporting festival exceeding every expectation.
Nobody saw him winning four gold medals - the most by an Englishman at the same Games for 24 years. Just as no-one imagined Birmingham so spectacularly reviving interest in a Commonwealth showpiece many view as past its sell-by date.
Short on stardust it might have been, with too many headliners choosing to stay away.
But for 11 days in and around Britain’s second city 1.5 million spectators filled every stadium, arena, aquatics centre and road side.
They revelled in the stories only sport provides in an atmosphere consistently reminiscent of London 2012.
England, with 176 medals, enjoyed its best ever Games, Birmingham city centre reported its busiest fortnight on record.
“This has been an absolutely exceptional Games for Team England,” said appropriately named chef de mission Mark England.
The 427-strong team finished two medals short of Australia, 178 to 176, leaving the boss “hurting” at falling short of his “aspirational” target of topping the medal table.
“We left a few out there,” England admitted. “Still, it is by some margin the best home performance of any English team in a Commonwealth Games.
“In fact, it’s the best Commonwealth Games performance by an English team.”
By the time squash duo James Willstrop and Declan James won England’s 57th and last gold thoughts had turned to the Paris Olympics and how this momentum can be maintained.
“We've always looked at Paris as a home Games,” said England, clearly hoping British fans are tempted onto the Eurostar. “Paris is closer to London than Newcastle as the crow flies.
“We've turned it into a kind of a home advantage and our plans are exceptional for that. And we'd expect to see a significant number of the athletes that we've seen in the last 10 days in Team GB.”
That is for another day. As UB40, Ozzie and other proud sons of Brum partied into the night at the Alexander Stadium, the question was, what now for the Commies?
Will Melbourne in 2026 see a move to virtual competition? Do we really, seriously, need to go down the road of esports?
Competitive gaming was included as a pilot event in Birmingham, with ‘athletes’ battling with keypads and joysticks.
Data suggests 16 to 24-year-olds are more likely to watch esports tournaments than traditional sports events, with 44% watching live streams of video games.
Those who consider the Commonwealth Games an anachronism might have cause to reconsider.
Actually, scrub that, they already have. For which you can thank Birmingham.
