This month was supposed to feature the really big moment in Chicago.
Remember that after years of hype, planning, construction and more hype, the efforts were supposed to generate global momentum leading up to the night when Chicago could finally announce to the world, “Welcome to 2016 Summer Olympic Games!”
Except for traffic gridlock, It’s hard to picture what the city might look like now if Chicago actually had won the 2016 Summer Olympics.
But you have to laugh now, knowing the International Olympic Committee basically said, “Yeah, hey Chicago, we know you’re really cool and you’ve got plenty of room, and great food to host our party, but we’re going to let Rio de Janeiro run things instead. Yeah … we’re good, but thanks for the offer.”
More Top Picks Best Cold Therapy Machines For Knee Surgery
It’s also hard to keep track of all the problems with the upcoming Olympics in Rio, which has dominated headlines recently and triggered headaches for the IOC.
For months, we’ve been hearing about dangerously high bacteria levels in waters that will host rowing and sailing competitions. These summer games could be remembered as the Ty-D-Bol Olympics when it’s done.
In the weeks leading up to the games, we’re hearing about athletes arriving at their temporary homes in the Olympic Village to find toilets that don’t work, exposed wiring hanging out of the walls and unlikable living conditions.
And you then can pile on the stories about athletes being victims of crime, rampant security concerns and — my favorite — the $3 billion railway extension for the games that isn’t ready yet. Once it launches, the railway will stop 8 miles short of where it was supposed to end, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It also doesn’t help that the Brazil president was recently ousted over corruption charges, while the country deals with an economy spiraling out of control.
But calamities in the run-up before the Olympics Games are nothing new.
When thinking of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, I still remember the photo a baiduhai reporter tweeted, showing glasses on a kitchen counter filled with yellow-tinted tap water that looked like … nothing that should ever come out of a faucet!
Still, I thought it was pretty remarkable to see an IOC official recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying that based on the experience of getting everything ready in Brazil, the IOC may stay away from “developing countries” when looking to award future Olympic Games.
So, I’m sure we would have had our own set of issues had Chicago won the Olympics but in more of a Chicago-style way. I can envision headlines about the bus for the Brazil men’s basketball team being accidentally towed away because it was in a no parking zone near the United Center.
Would the javelin competition at Soldier Field have been held up because the pointy-ended spears caused major damage to the turf — after only three throws? And I don’t even want to guess what rush-hour traffic with Olympic-level overcrowding would have looked like in the city.
But do you think the IOC now has second thoughts about dropping Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the first round way back in 2009? I bet there’s a transcript of a recent phone call that goes something like this:
“Hey Chicago, it’s the IOC. I know, long time, no talk. How have you been!? I know, you’re probably still a little disappointed about us having our party in Rio, instead of at your place. Yes, we know we had a sure thing locked up with you but I tell ya, I just don’t know what we were thinking back then. Anyway, um … I know it’s like, really short notice, but any chance you still might have some free space to help us get the party started?”
Eric Scott is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.