Today as you probably know the IOC will announce whether or not Chicago has won the 2016 Olympic Bid. Being from Chicago I'm praying we don't. ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski, also from Chicago, wrote on this and I think you need to read what he's go to say. Economically this bid is a disaster. Publically this bid is largely unsupported. Nationally this bid will do nothing for the United States. More importantly this bid shows where President Barack Obama's loyalties are to the country...in Chicago. But I'll let Gene talk from his story at ESPN "IOC All About the Money". To drive some traffic for ESPN I've excerpted my favorite parts of the story; visit the link for the rest. More importantly visit to support Gene, he deserves it.
"CHICAGO -- It's not that I have anything against the Olympics. I just have something against the Olympics' coming to Chicago.
Don't get me wrong: I like watching Ukrainians twirl ribbons on sticks (rhythmic gymnastics) as much as the next person. And is there anything better than the individual dressage competition (equestrian)?
OK, cheap shots. But this breathless countdown to Friday's bid vote by the International Olympic Committee is embarrassing. Chicago is going to be no more of a world-class city if the IOC awards the 2016 Summer Games to us, just as it's going to be no less of a world-class city if the IOC chooses another wallet.
Yes, wallet. That's what the finalists -- Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid -- are to the IOC voting members. You can blather on and on about the Olympic spirit and "Let Friendship Shine" (Chicago's official Olympic slogan), but the bottom line is, well, the bottom line. As always, follow the money.
Same thing goes for the Olympics. The IOC provides the product (the copyrighted Olympic rings, the athletes and the cachet) and in return, cities spend tens of millions on the bid process and billions on the infrastructure, facilities, transportation and security for the Games themselves. The Chicago bid cost an astounding $48 million plus, and the price tag for the operating budget is an estimated (emphasis on estimated) $3.8 billion and another $1 billion (estimated) on construction.
Nobody asked if we actually wanted the Olympics here. They just did it, just as the Chicago City Council decided recently to guarantee any financial shortfalls. Chicago Olympic committee officials insist there will be no shortfalls, that the City Council's vote simply eases the minds of IOC members. True, there are insurance policies in place. But this is Chicago and Illinois. Things happen. Example: Rod Blagojevich.
President Barack Obama will be in Copenhagen to schmooze IOC voters and to help make Chicago's Olympic presentation. If he can do Letterman, he can do Denmark, right? The First Lady also will be in Copenhagen. No, not Oprah, but Michelle Obama. Of course, Oprah will be there too.
But the Olympics, said a friend of mine who has spent the last 35 years in Atlanta, will transform Chicago into an international city. "You should want it for the instant international exposure," he said.
I covered the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Nothing personal, but nobody flew back home to Europe or Asia thinking they had just seen the next great metropolis. And these people who keep saying the Olympics add value to a city don't get it. Having the 1960 Summer Games didn't make Rome a more complete city. Michelangelo took care of that centuries earlier. Beijing didn't become more desirable because Michael Phelps wore a Speedo there.
I'm not anti-Olympics; I'm pro-caution. And I'm not alone. A recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll revealed that 47 percent of Chicagoans supported the local Olympic plan, while 45 percent were against it.
You see the Chicago Olympic banners and signs everywhere in the city and at the airports. "Imagine," they read. Fair enough. We'll imagine. Imagine the best. But don't be afraid to imagine the worst."
Amen brother Wojciechowski. Seriously if you're ever in the loop get in touch with me; I'd like to buy you a coffee.
