Friday, April 03, 2009

Olympics

The Olympic Evaluation Committee is in Chicago for six days casing out the city to determine if it's the best choice for the 2016 Olympics. Suddenly I see signage on buildings, buses, and streets everywhere saying We support the Olympics and other such messages.

I can't get into the spirit, though the signs are lovely, with their yellows and oranges. For one thing, I'm not a sports fan and usually don't watch the Olympics. For another, I'm still not convinced that somehow the taxpayers won't be stuck with a large portion of the bill, though Mayor Daley says otherwise. I don't live in Chicago, but I work there and grew up there. It seems the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Still, even if none of the expenses were borne by civilians, my chief concern is terrorists. It's happened before with Olympics and it could happen again. I've heard all the arguments about not giving in and getting on with life since 9/11, but I still don't like the idea of Chicago setting itself up as a target. Even with top security, I foresee problems.

Am I being too much of a scaredy cat? What about you? Would you like the Olympics in your City or town? Please share.

16 comments:

  1. I love watching the Olympics and think Chicago would be a fine choice. Life does need to go on.

    I do think it's ironic the committee always selects one of the most congested cities in a nation in which to host the Olympics. I know they do it so that there are enough facilities, but it seems odd to take an already overcrowded area and dump another million or two people into the city. Atlanta is a nightmare to drive in right now and I cannot imagine how horrid it was during the Olympics.

    L. Diane Wolfe
    www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
    www.spunkonastick.net
    www.thecircleoffriends.net

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  2. Anonymous6:52 AM

    I love sports although mostly pro sports - I don't usually watch the Olympics unless it's the basketball tournament. But I'd LOVE to have the Olympics in Detroit - the sagging economy could use it there.

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  3. I'd be good with the Olympics being in my town. They never will be though. It's such a tiny town.

    It is a valid concern, but you can't stress yourself out over a slim chance and a maybe. The whole who will end up paying for it would be my big issue. I'd be mad if the mayor said one thing then later backed out of it. That's when you get him to do a big press conference saying no tax payer money. :D

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  4. I watch the Olympics, off and on, when I happen to turn on the TV. I like them. And it's amazing to see how a city converts and builds and then has the facilities left afterward for their own use. I don't think I'd want to actually live in the city where the Olympics are being held, though. What chaos!

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  5. I do get into watching the Olympics, and on one hand I think it would be neat to get the chance to attend an event if it was held nearby, but on the other hand, the Olympics in Chicago don't make sense. I can't see the city having any use for all of those new buildings that would be constructed. And where in the world would they build them? It's crowded enough as it is.

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  6. When the next Olympics were granted to London I was over the moon. It is such a plus that so many people will be able to see the some of the greatest sporting events and people in the world. My whole family are very pro sport, and also very proud of our country (England that is)

    One of the reasons that London got the Olympics is that all of the facilities are reusable even to being able to be removed and sited in another location, or existing location... so no white elephants.

    Now I will tell you WHY the US did not get the 2012 Olympics. this made huge headlines throughout the rest of the world but did not get a mention in the US except for a couple of small papers.

    Part of the being granted the Olympics is that you also take the Para Olympics which follows straight after using the same locations. These are the Olympics for handicapped people etc.

    After the 2004 where US had every paper and TV station for the Olympics NOT ONE US TV station or paper covered the Para Olympics. This made FRONT PAGE headlines throughout the rest of the world, and nearly every other country had large TV coverage. Headlines stating US did not care were huge in places like Germany and Australia.

    There was no way with the upsurge of feelings about US and coverage the a US city would get the 2012. It did not get much better for the 2008, with one small station that many of us could not get had a few hours of coverage of these Para Olympics.

    So I would not get my hopes up or down about Chicago being granted them. The Olympic committee has a long memory.

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  7. I'm in the Chicago 'burbs and I love the idea of Chicago on the world stage as the Olympic city in 2016 -- but -- I do not want the city to suffer and that happens all too often with Olympic venues. I don't think about the safety issues as much as I think about the aftermath.

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  8. Am not that much into sports.. I would love if my city host the Olympics.. You are over worrying!

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  9. I stopped watching the Olympics a few times back. Didn't like the politics that went along with them.

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  10. I watch certain things at the Olympics--Opening Ceremony, gymnastics, sometimes ice skating.

    Like to watch the discus, shotput javelin, and high jump because one of the announcers for that is Dwight Stone (son of a woman I went to high school with), he's also the one who wouldn't wear the Olympic T shirt and wore things like Mickey Mouse shirts when he was doing the three above sports.

    I had a grandson and granddaughter who threw discus and shotput, now I have two great granddaughters doing same.

    Marilyn
    aka F. M. Meredith
    http://fictionforyou.com

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  11. Really interesting question, Morgan. I'm actually not sure what to hope for--so much depends on how it's handled. I happen to love watching many of the Olympic events, but the politicking (sp?) that goes along with being a host city worries me. We've had enough political scandals lately in Chicago as it is :).

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  12. My wife, or soon-to-be-again wife, is from Chicago. It might be interesting to have the Olympics in her hometown and my kids could go if they were interested. We don't live that far away.

    But I'm more interested in that new highrise they've been talking about. The selection of Chicago might bring in the revenue to get that project off the ground.

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  13. Would I want to see the Olympics in my City? OH YEAH!!!!!

    I love the Olympics. Have since I was about 8 years old and watched Mary Lou Retton tumble her way to All-Around Gold in gymnastics.

    Wherever the Games are held, I just want to see the buildings USED after they end. I hear that the buildings constructed for the Athens Games are empty and falling apart--and it's only been 4 1/2 years since those Games ended. That seems like a lot of wasted moeny spent. I think having the Games in Chicago would boost the economy for the city, but I don't want to see a lot of time, effort, and money put into something that will only be used for 2 weeks.

    Lynn

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  14. Hmm, ya think Blago could run a rely race with the Feds behind him?
    Really though I worry about the cost, and what happens afterwards. I suppose Daley expects to be Mayor then, huh? But I get to watch tennis, so it's all good!! You know me.

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  15. I live in Orange County, which is right-next-door to Los Angeles, who did host the Olympics. Many of the events were down in our county, and everyone worried about traffic and security and the influx of people, yada yada.

    Turns out it was much ado about nothing. Traffic was light, there weren't any crazies (c'mon, in LA, who'd notice?), it was altogether a pleasant experience.

    Don't worry. Chicago can handle it.

    Gayle Carline (aka GeeCarl)
    http://gaylecarline.blogspot.com

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  16. I love to watch the Olympics and having them in our town would be fantastic. Of course I would rather watch it on tv than see them in person. Just too much traffic and the crowds are too much for me. But for the most part I enjoy it all! Can't let fear stop you from having fun.

    Cindy Hernandez
    http://cindyzcreations.blogspot.com

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