Chicago Wins U.S. Bid For 2016 Olympics
I was happy to see that today Chicago won the right to be the U.S. bid for the 2016 Olympics! About a year ago, when this process was starting, here in Chicagoland it was not thought to be serious. However as time went by, interest and backing within the area grew. When Chicago became a finalist with L.A. , it became even more interesting as to how realistic the chances were. Clearly they made a great impression on the USOC, as I assumed L.A. would win since they had hosted previous Olympics and had some supporters on the voting board for the bid.
The last cities to host the Summer Olympics in the U.S. were Atlanta: Nice place… but is not a big sports town and is not in the same league as Chicago. L.A.: Smog… horrible transportation system… and again.. not a big sports town. If these places hosted Olympics it in the past, I certainly like Chicago’s chances to outshine them in 2016!
Now comes 2 more years of lobbying the International Olympic Committee before the final choice its made. Anyone who knows Chicago or has lived here are aware that there are no better people to lobby and schmooze people like Daley and his minions. Locals know that the most scrutinized part of this process will be funding and who in Mayor Daley’s machine of cronies will profit from this. I think most people locally will support it as long as they don’t get hit with more taxes to pay for it or scandals that seem to hit everyone Daley knows.
While that seems inevitable, I would personally like to see the Olympics in this area. Chicago is a great sports town and a beautiful city with plans to have many of the Olympic events or near on the lakefront. Even the proposed Olympic village will be on Lake Shore Drive. While this is still yet not a reality, it’s exciting to think how Chicago can hit the world stage to display what a beautiful and fun place Chi-town is especially during the summer.
