Despite having one of the strongest bids by a North American city since the games were in Atlanta in 1996, despite the efforts of President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and a certain talk show host with more money than we will ever be able to count, it was not to be for the Windy City.
The Windy City will not be hosting the 2016 Olympics. Instead, the games will go to Rio de Janerio. It seems that the IOC doesn't like cities with broad shoulders, ivy covered walls, deep dish pizza and a fellow named Sosa. Personally, I thought that Chicago had a chance. It would actually be SUMMER in this part of the world, while Rio would have finished Carnival and would be WINTER. Having the games in Chicago would have been great for the American economy and would have given those that wanted to work jobs as well as show off a great city.
According to the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune, some even agreed that the Windy City had a good bid. And before you start to even suggest that there is crime in Chicago and that the city has an image of nothing but Al Capone and gangsters, let me say this in defense of Chicago. First, all cities have their share of crime, so not all who wash are clean, as Jesus told Peter at the Last Supper and second, Mayor Daley and President Obama didn't drop the ball.
"I think Chicago had a good bid and good people," said Switzerland's Denis Oswald, a frequent critic of the United States Olympic Committee and a key figure in revenue-sharing battles with the group.
"The kind of instability shown by USOC in recent months has not helped. We had been dealing with some people, and suddenly we heard one has disappeared and one was nearly fired, and you had to start with totally new people. It's also a human relationship. It's always easier to deal with people you know and have full confidence (in)."
Granted, no South American city had ever hosted an Olympics. The last Latin American city to host the Olympics was Mexico City in 1968. Maybe they had more star quality than Chicago did. Maybe they had better deep-dish pizza or maybe their cows didn't kick over a lantern and star a fire like Mrs. O'Leary's (by the way, the cow was later found not guilty). There are some that are saying that this failure will hurt Obama's chances in 2012. I don't think so.
There is an upside to all of this. Rio is an hour ahead of Atlanta, which means that we'll be able to see some events live and not on tape.
So here's my advice to Chicago. Bid for the 2020 games. You've been through the fire, you've probably talked to people from Los Angeles and Atlanta, who have gone through this process before. At least you know now what to do and if that means bringing Oprah out of retirement at age 66. Get every friendly Chicago face you can dig up (even Bartman!) and get that bid. You deserve it.
There are some that think that there's anti-American bias and personally, I don't blame them. All I have to say is that there better be baseball and softball in these games.
Hey, Rio, here's a heads up! Not everyone in the world plays soccer, you know! (Notice I said soccer and NOT football!) Make damn sure your air is clean enough to eat off of, not like Beijing's. Make damn sure that your criminals are in jail and not out shooting your guests. And one more thing... not everyone speaks Portugese. The official Olympic languages are French and English.
Life will go on on Wacker, State and Michigan Avenue. The city that Harry Caray made famous will go on. They will be somewhat angry and who can really blame them.
The Chicago Olympic Committe posted this on an email I get from them weekly. It reads:
Thanks to all of the supporters of Chicago 2016 in the city and around the world. Thanks also to the International Olympic Committee for giving us the opportunity to compete against these world-class cities on the world stage. While we were not fortunate enough to be selected as Host City, Chicago has won in many other ways.
The city and nation united behind our bid. The international competition raised Chicago's profile as a world-class city. Countless businesses and philanthropic organizations helped stage events that inspired young people to engage in sport. And the bid's legacy organization, World Sport Chicago, will continue to reach thousands of youth in the years to come. As a direct result of the bid, more than 300,000 Chicago youth have already begun to realize the benefits of the Olympic Movement through activities and educational programs.
Be sure to continue to visit World Sport Chicago to find out more about the lasting positive legacy our bid has created for the city.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Chicago 2016 over the years!
Anyone up for gold medal baseball at Wrigley or US Celluar? I am!
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Comments: 32
Can't help thinking that the instability shown over the summer by citizens and the antics in DC by the politico's helped to derail any serious concideration for the 2016 bid.
We can do better............and will!
What I can't understand is how the traitorous Republican dogs applauded when a UNITED STATES city was not awarded the games. SO MUCH FOR AMERICA FIRST!
You're entirely off base here.
Were the Atlanta, of Salt Lake City, or Lake Placid, or Los Angeles games about political agendas?
What makes these games different?
That's the stupidest thing I've read today, except for George's always nonsensical post. The President was in a no win situation. He lost if he didn't make the appearance, and traitorous losers here applauded when the bid failed. He gets blamed either way.
George;
So the president of Brazil, the Prime Minister of Japan, and the King of Spain were all doing it for political reasons? Having George Bush support an AMERICAN bid for the Olympics is just political?
See those things waving before your eyes? Those aren't your eyelashes, those are your tonsils. That's how far your head is up your a##.
You pseudo-patriots should be publicly flogged.
I made it easy as I could for you.
So what's the difference, Jack of no Brains?
Chicago could offer millions, but Rio, well Rio
could offer a Brazilian.
My brothers will most likely be competing in the rifle competitions by then.
The one thing I did not like about the speech given by Brazil was that they made it sound like South America was intentionally kept from being able to host the Olympics when that is not the case. This is the first that a South American country has been both financially and politically stable enough to host the Olympics.
I figured the Olympics would either go to Madrid or Rio...and I'm glad it's going to Rio. Though it also has it's share of crime and problems, I think the Brazilian gov't and people will do a great job.
The thing about Rio, there is no "safe" part of town. The crime is high everywhere. The slums are Rio, Rio is a slum.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I am disappointed. I think that it would have helped our city immensely. And, I do think that Chicago throws a great party. Chicago does have its troubles with certain social problems. So, maybe, we can concentrate on those matters to be better prepared for the next opportunity. One can only hope.
As for the crime issue, every major city in the world has crime and a lot of those have worse crime problems than Chicago.
National and civic pride aside, the costs to host the Olympics may have many in Rio/Brazil going ouch soon enough. Chicago dodged that ugly truth by missing out anyway.