The paying customer turns up, is thrilled by the experience and the good guys and women win gold. Satisfaction guaranteed. The atmosphere and quality of performance were routinely excellent on Super Saturday II, a week after Team GB won three golds in the Olympic Stadium within an hour.
The leading stars were Mo Farah and Usain Bolt, who share talent, drive and a very busy agent. They also have the capacity to inspire. The Olympic narrative will continue with the legacy slowly being unveiled or unravelled.
Farah and Bolt, though, have placed athletics at the forefront of the minds of a generation of young people. Athletics has been a sport in decline, a once-great spectacle that had been running downhill. Its retreat from the front line of sport had been hastened by drugs scandals and exacerbated by the neglect of television.
It is normally much harder to catch a glimpse of Farah and Bolt in action on screen than it is, for example, to watch a workaday Barclays Premier League player. Farah and Bolt were placed at the centre of the world sporting stage at the weekend and they gave dramatic, entertaining and inspirational performances.
They are at opposite ends of athletic disciplines and have contrasting personalities but both united to provide hope that athletics can find some elbow room in the mass public consciousness outside Olympic finals.
Bolt, of course, was irrepressible in breaking the 4x100m record with his Jamaican team-mates, then performing the Mobot celebration in tribute to his friend. He had an argument with an official about who should keep the baton, conducted a mass Mexican wave, entertained a series of press conferences with his observations and went on to party. Just another Saturday night for the living legend.
Farah was deeply impressive on and off the track. His performance in winning the 5000m was that of a man who believes both in his form and in his mind. He was not disturbed by the slow pace and with two laps to go he took a lead he never relinquished, despite strong pressure from opponents who have run faster than him over this distance.
He then celebrated by doing some sit-ups in homage to Bolt who had performed press-ups after his solo sprint victories.
However, Farah's most powerful influence may not be restricted to entertaining fans. He has the ability now to spark an upsurge in athletics in this country. Bolt is undoubtedly the headline news, but the 29-year-old Londoner has a story that can have some resonance with British youngsters.
He has overcome adversity to thrive in a sport that has fallen into disrepair. Farah's two gold medals have a totemic power. There were comforting words yesterday from the prime minister about continued funding for athletics but the sport also needs to find a way to extract some of the best candidates from the talent pool.
"We can inspire a generation," said Farah quietly in the wake of his historic double. "I am sure there are youngsters who saw us and want to be athletes. When I was growing up, it was all about football because I saw that on TV. If it wasn't for my PE teacher, I wouldn't be in the sport. There are a lot of youngsters we can inspire and if we work on that I am sure we can bring them on."
After leaving war-torn Somalia as a child, Farah has gone on to achieve greatness. He is only the sixth man to win gold in the 5000 and 10,000m in the same Games but he retains a humility that is as endearing as it is sincere.
He bluntly and quickly replied "no" when it was put to him that he is the greatest British distance runner ever, a verdict delivered by Lord Coe, whose opinion has some weight in these matters. But Farah is aware that he has a message for youngsters and did not shy away from giving it.
"If you want it, you can get it," he said. "Hard work and graft - what I have been doing has been unbelievable in terms of mileage. It just shows that if you work hard you will get there."
Farah, who racks up 120 miles a week in his winter training sessions, spoke of his gratitude at the help he received since he escaped the land of his birth, before adding: "I went to Somalia not long ago and saw the poverty, so very bad."
He has set up a foundation, saying: "I am trying to give back as much as I can. There are a lot of kids out there who would love to have a chance."
He knows, too, that he has created opportunities for athletics in this country. Farah is an avid Arsenal fan and has been asked questions about the prospects of his side in the coming season. The peerless long-distance runner was dutifully optimistic.
However, Farah's importance lies beyond amateur football punditry. Unassuming yet charismatic, he has the force within him to be the leader of a resurgence in British athletics.
His suitability for this role is unquestioned when it comes to his ability on the track where he combines a flowing stride with a character that will not be denied. It is enhanced, too, by the unflinching honesty of his message.
"There are days when I get up and I am tired," he said. "But when you have a vision and a dream then you dig in more."
Aspiring runners will be enthused by watching Farah. They will be made, though, by listening to his words.
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