Hey, take it from an Atlanta guy. As soon as word came from Copenhagen on Friday that Chicago was history during the first round of International Olympic Committee voting for the 2016 Olympic Games, here's how Americans in general and Chicagoians in particular should have responded:After chanting "Hip, hip, hooray" from the top of the Willis Tower, they should have caught the "L" to Wrigley Field, raised a toast to the statue of Harry Caray and yelled in unison, "Chicago wins! Chicago wins!"
In this case, Chicago wins by losing.
I'm serious. The IOC just saved northern Illinois from a disaster of -- dare I say -- Olympic proportions, because this would have been ugly. I mean, you think they hate us now around the universe? You could have multiplied that by a bunch if they'd given the Summer Games to Chicago . And for every one who couldn't care less about how the world views the United States, there are plenty more who care about The Three C's of congestion, crime and common sense.
That's congestion, as in what would have been the case at ridiculous levels within several counties of The Loop. That's crime, as in why give Chicago's already staggering number of thugs more targets to attack. That's common sense, as in, since the Olympics never have been to South America, they deserve to be in Rio de Janeiro anyway.
Speaking of three, that's how many words come to mind at this point: Centennial Olympic Park.
That leads us to three more words: Olympic Park Bombing.
Which conjures up three other words: Chicago got lucky.
There is a reason why nobody in Atlanta ever reminisces about the city hosting the 1996 Olympics. Folks want to forget about it -- well, except for those at Coca Cola and those working for other local business who profited from it all. To the chagrin of IOC officials, there even were mighty bucks made by the City of Atlanta courtesy of those third-world-looking tents that local politicians had constructed around town to sell unlicensed Olympic paraphernalia.
There is a reason why nobody in Atlanta ever reminisces about the city hosting the 1996 Olympics. And, yes, the Atlanta area as a whole benefited when Olympics officials left behind nearly $500 million worth of former venues. And, yes, those venues included athletic facilities for the city's historically black colleges, a 2,000-bed dormitory for Georgia State students and the old Olympic Stadium that was converted into Turner Field for the Atlanta Braves. And, yes, those who ran the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games like to boast there was no debt afterward.
Everything else was bad.
It was this bad: Atlanta got the international and national attention it was craving by acquiring the games, but that attention came in the form of getting ripped by outside media on an hourly basis.
The bashing was justified, too. Despite having six years to prepare, the transportation situation was a mess. The subway system kept crashing, because it wasn't equipped to handle the rush of people. Then there were the buses from hell for Olympic officials, athletes and reporters. That group was victimized by drivers who didn't know where they were going, or who just didn't know how to drive -- at least not a bus.
Once, a bus driver ran into a concrete barrier, and among those injured was an Olympic kayaker who hurt his back.
The Olympic Village was overcrowded.
There were food quality issues.
It was hot.
Worse, in the middle of it all, former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell became the latest face of The Ugly American by telling a television station, "They should take the [Atlanta] critics out to the shooting venue and get rid of them."
He was kidding. I think. This is the same Bill Campbell who eventually served 26 months in federal prison for three counts of tax evasion.
No wonder you can drive for days, weeks and months around Atlanta without detecting that the 1996 Olympics ever were here. The only visible thing that remains from the Atlanta Games is the cauldron that Muhammad Ali dramatically lit during the Opening Ceremonies. It all took place at the corner of what now is a boring-looking parking lot that is a few large blocks from Turner Field.Unless you just knew the structure used to house the Olympic Flame, you would think it was something designed by one of those abstract artists and plopped at that site by his brother-in-law who called in a political favor.
The thing is, back in September 1990, Atlanta was Chicago, with nearly the entire population of Atlanta and its surrounding suburbs waiting near a television, radio or computer to hear what they wanted to hear. Unlike Chicago, Atlanta eventually heard from the IOC president that " Atlanta " was the winner.
Six years later, we discovered that Atlanta was the loser.
So take heart, Chicago, and be happy.
Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-05-2009 @ 8:30PM
wckline said...
Get a grip this had nothing to do about how wonderful Chicago is. Its all about how much money the selection committee is bribed. You pay, you get the games. You don't pay you get sent home first. Think of the scandal if the President payed up for his home town. This has been going on forever , just check out who is on the committee. Royalty looking to pad the bank account. If Rio thinks they are lucky just check out all the unused past facilities rooting away.
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10-06-2009 @ 3:25AM
tdbrought said...
Meh. You get more out of the Olympics than whoring yourself for 8 NFL games a year and vague assurances of consideration as a Super Bowl host at some date to be determined.
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10-06-2009 @ 8:10AM
Greer said...
From the beginning, I was never in favor of the olympics being hosted here, and especially in Chicago. I mean, if anyone didnt believe Obama's push for Chicago was anything other than a gift to the union members of that city who put tons of money into his election, then they are clueless. Nothing but reciprocity. Is it just a coincidence that Chicago is Obama's hometown? No, I actually cheered when I heard that Chicago was eliminated. It also has to be a stunning defeaat for the Obamas who thought they walked on water, when in reaality it was nothing but white guilt and political correctness which got them elected in the first place. It appears the "world" doesnt love them afterall, and hopefully this painful smackdown puts a little humility into the remainder of their only term. The 2010 elections are coming, lets vote for a more humble, less condescending, less arrogant President(and a first lady who actually knows how the dress!). They came, they "graced" the audience with their presence, they expected...but they got a rude awakening, and now they are standing in silence trying to understand what happened? The world is beginning to see the "man behind the curtain" for who he is...and they dont like what they see. The world rightly took this opportunity to say they dont like the ultra arrogance of Obama who is making the phrase "ugly American" an apt description of us again. I would have voted down Chicago too...bravo world.
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10-06-2009 @ 9:18AM
tdbrought said...
I will grant this: I was not pleased with the way Obama handled this vote. I think he should have done one of two things. Either commit fully to schmoozing and spend a week in Denmark, the same as every other country vying for the Games, or don't attend at all. Flying in the day of the speech, going directly from the airport to the convention, chatting for less than an hour, and then racing from the podium to Air Force One before the vote is even held (telling the IOC to just call you on the plane and tell you the results of the vote) was a halfassed strategy, frankly. Either go all in or don't bet IMO. I would also agree that this shows hubris on Obama's part (thinking he didn't have to try, just show up), and I hope he learned from this.
Here's the thing. To me, Obama didn't lose in Copenhagen. America lost. Similarly, if Chicago had won, Obama wouldn't have won -- America would have. Obama didn't build Soldier Field or the L Train system to move people around during the Games. He did not personally convince 3 million people from every country on earth to move to Chicago and recreate their lives in a new land. He is not the one that has been working for five years to bring the Games to America again. Hosting the 2016 Games would have been an honor for every American, and an opportunity for all of us to show our national pride. I do not understand the conflation of Party with country, and it honestly disturbs me how prevalent the mindset is among some on the right. I don't recall liberals saying that Atlanta or SLC shouldn't get the Games in 2000. To the best of my memory, no one argued that America should lose because Atlanta was a corrupt cesspool of redneck racists, or that Utah is nothing but religious whackos. But the right happily disparages Chicago. Because to them, Chicago isn't really America. It's Communist, like San Francisco or anywhere north of Virginia. Since Chicago isn't really American, it's ok to root for them to fail. I don't agree with this mentality at all.
I am not going to fault or mock someone for trying and falling short. While Phoenix or Wasilla may not be my favorite American towns, I guarantee you if they are going against the rest of the world head to head, I'm picking the one that flies Red, White and Blue over a foreign nation. I wish conservatives could do the same for their country. "Country First" my ass.
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10-07-2009 @ 12:20AM
jzz3skys said...
Everybody knows that Rio was considered the front-runner, simply because there's never been a South American Olympic games and it's only fair that there should be at some point. However, the US was considered a strong contender, so had President Obama not gone to Copenhagen, he would now be accused of costing Chicago the Olympics as the only leader not to show up to help his country's chances.
A titular head of state like Spain's non-ruling monarch, Juan Carlos I, may be able to afford the luxury of a week in Denmark "shmoozing" IOC voters, but it's a sucker's argument to suggest that the leader of any Western democracy, let alone one with as much on his political schedule as our own President, could have done the same. And like tonight's Twins Tigers game - or any sporting competition, for that matter - the outcome is usually far from certain and the winner is often impossible to predict. President Obama knew all that, yet he was willing to take a shot, and I applaud him for it.
Two. London and Madrid have both experienced serious terrorist violence in recent years, and it hasn't prevented either of those cities from bidding on the Games. The Atlanta Olympic bombing was carried out by a home-grown wing nut who could have struck at any event or location, which, in fact, he already had. Unfortunately, it's one of the hazards of modern living.
By most accounts, the Atlanta Olympics were a success, however, if they were a burden on the citizens of that city, then it's a pity. However, I'm not buying the sob story that it was a failure because it didn't leave a single piece "souvenier" architecture behind, like the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows or the Olympic Tower in Munich. Tough cookies. You got Turner Field.
And while you mention it, the state of the art, synthetic track surface at those games was formulated to favor sprinters, and so Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey set world records, however, it murder on distance runners, and don't tell me that that couldn't have been predicted.
The combination of the hardness of the track and the extreme heat, made it impossible for the world's reigning distance champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters to compete in both events and win gold for his country.
If memory serves me, I think he lobbied for them to at least wet down the track, which they wouldn't do. After winning the first event, his feet were a mass of blisters and it was impossible to compete in the other event, with qualifying heats, etc. I don't even think the 5,000 and 10,000 meter finals were televised. Only highlights.
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10-07-2009 @ 1:16AM
Justin Sears said...
Terrence, you've been watching too much Fox News. I sincerely hope you're not a Republican, because these were the same arguments I heard Michelle Malkin and all those losers use to argue against the games.
You act like the folks in Chicago would be clueless about planning for the Olympics. This isn't the first time this thing has been tried dude!
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10-07-2009 @ 2:29PM
Dane said...
"you pay, you get the games"
...if that were the case, there's almost zero chance chicago wouldn't have participated in the bribing ... they would've won if it were as simple as a bribe.
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