When Marco Tilio used his left instep to put Australia two goals ahead against the might of Argentina and into a euphoric dreamland, it was a wonderful reminder that anything really is possible.

And let's face it, right now, we're going to need plenty more of these moments in the coming days, with no end to lockdown in sight and limited vaccines available.

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Part of Melbourne City's first-ever A-League title, Tilio was only a late call-up for the Games when the squad numbers were expanded to cope with demands in the Olympic COVID bubble.

Now he's capturing the attention of the football world and daring the wider Australian public to believe the Olyroos could emerge from a group including Argentina, Spain and Egypt to be part of the knockout rounds.

Without a couple of jabs of Pfizer, the Olympics are the shot in the arm we need in the present environment.

Oddly, Tilio's goal and the Australian victory reminded me of Illawarra endurance swimmer Jarrod Poort's performance in Rio de Janeiro.

Poort had the nation holding its collective breath five years ago by boldly swimming solo and challenging the pack to chase him over the 10-kilometres journey.

Like the Olyroos now, no-one expected him to go on and win gold, but in the moment thousands of people who had never previously invested time in the sport were willing him on.

And even though they did eventually overwhelm Poort in the closing stages, he was the subject of office water cooler conversations the next morning, in a seemingly far-gone era where social distancing was much less of a concern.

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COVID numbers are ballooning, particularly those Delta variant cases out in the community as politicians grapple with the lockdown rules and how long it is going to take to have a critical mass of vaccinations in the community.

Having a state premier declare a national emergency, just months after NSW seemed the gold standard example of pandemic management, was a worrying window into the immediate future for a tolerant but fraying community.

As Tilio's goal offered a thrill in the present, the formal announcement Brisbane would host the 2032 Games allows hope for the future and what a post-COVID world will look like.

I was in my HSC year during Sydney 2000; my kids will be 14 and 16 by the time the Brisbane Games rolls around and hopefully it has the same massive impact on their young lives.

Associated Press has predicted Australia to win 16 gold medals in Tokyo, the best haul since Athens in 2004. The Olympics is helping to show the next generation - anxious about the future - what is possible.

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