MANCHESTER — The Summer Olympics in London have a special meaning for Aaron Wilson, who plans to follow the games intently on television.

But the 24-year-old native of London narrowly missed being able to attend many of the events in person, as he arrived in Manchester — New Hampshire, not England — on Friday for a summer job teaching soccer to kids.

“I had tickets to see the women's (British) soccer team, but I couldn't go because I had to come here,” Wilson said.

He shrugged about the wasted tickets, saying the soccer match, which is being held at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, is far away from his home in London — about a three-hour drive, according to Google Maps — and that he may not have gone anyway.

Wilson, who was watching the Manchester Monarchs street hockey tournament near the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday, said the time leading up to the games wasn't always easy, but that he believed the headaches of traffic and construction were worth it in the end.

“At the beginning, I was thinking it was a big inconvenience because a lot of the roads were shut off and things like that,” he said. “But after seeing the opening ceremony (Friday night) and the build-up to it and stuff like that, it is something special and I'm proud to have it in London, definitely.”

Wilson said his favorite Olympic sports are soccer, track and field, basketball and tennis, where he's rooting for Roger Federer of Switzerland and not Scotland native Andy Murray, who represents Great Britain's best hope for a medal in that sport.

Federer, the world's top-ranked player, won his opening round match in the tennis tournament, which is being held at Wimbledon.

“I think the Olympics is brilliant. I love it, I really do,” Wilson said.

Reactions from some New Hampshire residents to the games ranged from enthusiastic to almost disinterested.

Susan Leaver of Manchester said she watched the opening ceremony and plans to watch the Olympics each day until they conclude with the closing ceremony on Aug. 12.

Her favorite events are gymnastics, swimming — she's a fan of Michael Phelps, who came in fourth in his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, on Saturday — track and field, and tennis.

“I do want to try and watch as much as I can,” she said.

Leaver said she's never had the opportunity to attend an Olympics live, but would love to.

“Oh absolutely, if I could,” she said.

For Jen Pearl of Concord, though, the Olympics means diverting too much time away from other summer activities.

She said she thinks the Olympics themselves are fine, but that she just can't take the time to sit in front of the television.

“There's a lot of interesting stuff — the gymnastics and the swimming,” she said. “If I did have time, I'd probably follow those events.”

Liz Butler of Milford said she and her family plan to watch the games daily, especially to watch American tennis player John Isner, whom they saw play live recently and who won his opening Olympic match Saturday.

“We watched the opening ceremonies until we fell asleep,” she said. “Probably every night we'll watch it for awhile.”