... the saddest are 'it might have been.'In an hour or two you won't know Chicago ever bid for the 2016 Olympics. This was the scene an hour or so ago as I went to court to file something. Picasso still has on his wreath and his medal...
But the workmen are out in force tearing down the bandstand and the TV screens...
And everything else, besides.There wasn't a single banner left when I walked through City Hall just now. Not one. This morning you couldn't see the ceiling for the banners. Everyone was wearing a Chicago Olympics t-shirt. They were giving out t-shirts in the Daley Center Plaza. Office workers were lining up to get them.
"Now I'm glad I didn't wait," one woman said to me in the elevator at the courthouse. "Who wants a loser t-shirt?"
That seemed rather harsh to me. But, in Chicago, we're all about elections. And election losers... are losers. Trust me, I know firsthand.
I've been, at best, lukewarm about the Olympics and -- if I'd put money on the outcome -- I would have bet on Rio.
Honest.
And now the satellite trucks are packing up as fast as they can. There were more than these on Clark Street this morning.I am surprised that the U.S. got eliminated so quickly.
To me, it seems a slap in the face. Even if you were against the Olympics from the start, doesn't the seemingly curt rejection by the IOC rub you just the teeniest bit raw?
7 comments:
I suppose I would have felt bad for Chicago except for the fact that the last Olympic held in the U.S.A. was in 1996 (which would have marked the 20th anniversary had Chicago won the 2016 bid).
No Olympic has yet been held in South America. The point of holding Olympics is to promote international peace and cultural education. From this standpoint, it makes perfect sense to select Rio over Chicago.
ummm. no. sorry... personally i resented the money we spent at this time for them to go there at all. i think we have much bigger fish to fry. but that's just me.
smiles, bee
tyvc
The US did host it rather recently in 84 and 96, so it was unlikely they would get it again.
I'm not sure how the last day voting worked, you out and then a cut apparently, then Rio; but, I never thought anyone but Rio would win, assuming they had a viable presentation.
Yes, hugely disappointing for Michelle Obama, but life goes on. And terrific news for Rio. They know how to put on a party. I must try one someday.
Sorry I am so slow in getting to this post, but I have been wondering what you thought of not getting the Olympics in Chicago. I am not a great sports fan but I think dismissing Chicago so summarily (and then taking such glee in it at least in press over here) was in rather bad form.
I hope it works out well for Rio but what are they going to do with all the poverty and violence--it is hard to sweep it under the rug when company comes to town.
Post a Comment