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Was Chicago's Bid Worthless?


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My bitterness is beginning to lift a little, and I just thought we should share what Chicago has gained from the bid. Sure, it would have been nice to be on Olympic Island and celebrating at Washington Park in 2016, but Chicago did gain some international attention during the process. Also, World Sport Chicago was created to introduce inner city youth to Olympic Sport.

I recall reading an article a while back stating that candidate cities typically receive an economic "boost" from placing a bid because of the added attention.

First, do you think this is true, and how many of you internationals have a different view of Chicago because of the bid?

Also, at least the USOC may wake up and get their act together.

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I don't think it was worthless. 2016 was just destined for Rio and the shocking first ballot result seems to have shocked many at the top of the IOC.

Chicago just needs to retool a few things and the USOC needs to get their act together. Will it be there in 2020? Don't know. But up until Rogge said Chicago was out on the first ballot, I think nearly everyone thought that Chicago was Rio's biggest threat. But obvious, once Chicago dropped, Rio had no one threatening them.

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For one thing, the fact that Chicago lost and lost so brutally will make it a little easier for the U.S. to win votes the next time -- whenever that may be. (Mind you if the US retaliates by being obnoxious and money grubbing, this will be canceled out.) It is true, however, that A LOT of groundwork needs to be laid before the U.S. even considers bidding again.

I absolutely believe in Chicago. I believe it is the best potential U.S. host. I just hope that somewhere down the line there's a group of capable people, who possess great charisma and imagination to resurrect the bid.

Personally, I believe 2020 is too soon.

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I don't think it was worthless. 2016 was just destined for Rio and the shocking first ballot result seems to have shocked many at the top of the IOC.

Chicago just needs to retool a few things and the USOC needs to get their act together. Will it be there in 2020? Don't know. But up until Rogge said Chicago was out on the first ballot, I think nearly everyone thought that Chicago was Rio's biggest threat. But obvious, once Chicago dropped, Rio had no one threatening them.

Agreed

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I think the fact that Chicago and the whole US delegation bared body and soul to present an excellent bid will sit well in the goodwill reserve pool of the IOC. They will remember that. Plus, the comments from the IOC "elders" show that they really had an open mind this time except for the 'new frontiers' factor and that axis of evil: Samaranch and Havelange!!

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Despite being eliminated first Chicago was clearly the second choice bid. All the Rio supporters made sure the threat was eliminated early; then it was simply a no brainier. That not to say Chicago will win 2020 or 2024 if it enters but it is surely the USA's biggest hope for any forthcoming Olympic bid. I don't see LA, SF or NYC offering anything more than what Chicago did. It's all about timing,

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I appreciate the comments pertaining to a future Chicago bid, but do you think Chicago gained anything outside of a possible future bid/host slot (e.g. intl. attention).

Absolutely. I think World Sport Chicago will represent a nice sporting legacy for the city's youth.

The redevelopment of the Michael Reese Hospital site and the revitalization of the city's parks remain good ideas to pursue whether Chicago gets the Games in the future or not.

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Of course it was not worthless!

Nobody seems to win in the modern era without multiple bids....right?

Could there have been a more exciting city that RIO to be competing with at exactly the right time for THEM????? Perhaps only Moon-Base-Alpha could have been more intriguing, and only then if there where pretty moon maidens in skimpy metallic bikinis serving apple martinis to the IOC in little moon crater jacuzzi!!!! :lol:

I hurts, but it was a learning experience. There is something naturally exciting about Chicago, it is an encouraging city; the effect Chicago would have on the games and performances would have been unique.

Maybe 2020 isn't too soon! The Chicago Spire can be the cauldron (it might finaly be done, Calgary did it why not us)!

Oh and we gotta find funding for a more exciting stadium, someone mentioned rebuilding US Cellular hmmmm.

God I hate to see that graphic identity and branding wasted, it was amazing!!!!!

Oh and how about our bid comity prepare their LEGACY PLANS AND REMARKS BEFORE THE FINAL PRESENTATION!(maybe not a deal breaker but annoying as hell to watch). :angry:

calgary_tower_with_flame_poster-p228709440284187658tdar_210.jpg

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I appreciate the comments pertaining to a future Chicago bid, but do you think Chicago gained anything outside of a possible future bid/host slot (e.g. intl. attention).

I think there was a lot of pride cultivated for the city, the sting is quickly passing being in the race was good for us. The children of Chicago can learn many important lesson about competing, giving your all, and not being discouraged to get back on the horse that threw you. This is good for us.

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I appreciate the comments pertaining to a future Chicago bid, but do you think Chicago gained anything outside of a possible future bid/host slot (e.g. intl. attention).

I'll be really honest and I hope I don't sound like an arrogant ar*e, that's so not my intention. I know the many positive points in Chicago being the choice for the USOC, because it tops almost all grand cities within the USA. IMHO, the ones that could surpass Chicago would be Miami and San Francisco. On a personal level, though, I'd love to see NYC as an olympic city one day because man, I love NY. But that's another subject.

For the part concerning international attention (the part I said I'm gonna be real honest about, and I hope you don't hate me) I think the US media is doing even more harm to a possible future Chicago bid, and other affairs.

I was just watching fox news and cnn feeds from the time of the annoucement, and the impression an average world citizen (outside the US) would have watching that (I didnt have it, I know it was honest Shock from the broadcast guys) was that the US American media didn't give a tiny fart* to the rest of the world and just thought about themselves again. But when the world sees that, they will not think US American media. They will think US American Attitude/mentality. (Again I know the media of a country not necessarily represents what that country thinks. Countries are like colours on a pallete - different people/diverse opinion. I am talking about the media, please don't take this to the wrong side)

The guy at CNN ghastly repeating non-stop "Chicago is Out? Chicago is OUT? Madrid and Tokyo are still in? Chicago is out[/i]?" hurt deeply the ones that supported these cities and even the ones that didn't because they too can could have the right to host and to win. It's just a matter of luck! I know that somewhere in Madrid, for example, when it was announced that Rio won, someone would be having the exact same reaction, but man, to shove it on people's face before INTERNATIONAL television? CNN is watched EVERYWHERE and people have to be careful of what they say!

As for Fox News, the moment it was announced, they started Bashing the Obamas IMMEDIATELY, searching for a reson that would explain what is not explainable! Bash your own president in front of the world, a man who just had the best inttentions was not very smart either.

I KNOW that media everywhere in every country have that kind of attitute, but the US Media is highly watched outside your country! You cannot allow these people to make crap of your image when your president is trying to do EXACTLY the opposite: clean the 8 Bush years from people`s minds outside before the world.

hope you understood my pov.

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I think there was a lot of pride cultivated for the city, the sting is quickly passing being in the race was good for us. The children of Chicago can learn many important lesson about competing, giving your all, and not being discouraged to get back on the horse that threw you. This is good for us.

As for the aspects of this lost for you guys, I think you`re 110% right.

BTW gotta love your signature.

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As for Fox News, the moment it was announced, they started Bashing the Obamas IMMEDIATELY, searching for a reson that would explain what is not explainable! Bash your own president in front of the world, a man who just had the best inttentions was not very smart either.

You bring up some good points, but I can explain this part. Fox News is known to be a conservative network, which is in opposition to Obama's liberal viewpoint. Fox News will take any opportunity to bash Barack Obama, and they did so even before Chicago was voted out.

You may not think that it's right of them to do so (take it up with Rupert Murdoch), but it's part of the dynamic of our democracy for a good part of the country to be critical of those in power.

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Absolutely. I think World Sport Chicago will represent a nice sporting legacy for the city's youth.

The redevelopment of the Michael Reese Hospital site and the revitalization of the city's parks remain good ideas to pursue whether Chicago gets the Games in the future or not.

The sad thing is, if Chicago were to bid again in the future, that prime site for the Olympic Village with it's private beach won't be available any more.

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You bring up some good points, but I can explain this part. Fox News is known to be a conservative network, which is in opposition to Obama's liberal viewpoint. Fox News will take any opportunity to bash Barack Obama, and they did so even before Chicago was voted out.

You may not think that it's right of them to do so (take it up with Rupert Murdoch), but it's part of the dynamic of our democracy for a good part of the country to be critical of those in power.

Completely understand. Happens in every democracy. Happens here in Brazil too. But for us that don't know/didn't know/will never know Fox news was just playing the old democrats x republicans cat fight before the eyes of the world it will just sound as 'f our president for not being able to take the olympics for us, we deserved it more that the others'.

I even saw people bashing Oprah in television! Poor woman! She has her business and minded leaving the country to do something for her city and ended up being called names, and even one person said something about throwing Oprah under a bus. It is a ridiculous think to be said in televison/media that will be watched everywhere.

Again it's not how I feel. I understand what you said. It's just the way I think the average citizen of the world might perceive it, and that's why I said that maybe all of this is doing even more harm for another good Chicago (or any another US American) bid.

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to add more to what I said, I think this article posted by someone somewhere in the forum ( http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-oly...,7643606.column ) is a good example of what the mass US media should have talked about on the time of the hurtful Chicago elimination. The Chicago tribune have done their research and blamed on something much more probable to be the guilt of this infortune than the President or cities, including Chicago. This is the example of Good media, and while I know the media can talk about whatever they want the style they choose, it's such a pitty that a country like the US will always have biased eyes on them, because your country is watched from outside too.

the odds of being the USA.

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to add more to what I said, I think this article posted by someone somewhere in the forum ( http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-oly...,7643606.column ) is a good example of what the mass US media should have talked about on the time of the hurtful Chicago elimination. The Chicago tribune have done their research and blamed on something much more probable to be the guilt of this infortune than the President or cities, including Chicago. This is the example of Good media, and while I know the media can talk about whatever they want the style they choose, it's such a pitty that a country like the US will always have biased eyes on them, because your country is watched from outside too.

the odds of being the USA.

I understand what you are saying, it's a problem. But freedom of speech is more important to us than international perceptions. I trust the international audience knows we can not control the media, you have to take it all in and choose what to believe just like us.

Good luck Brazil, I'm expecting for a 12billion dollar extravaganza ^_^ !

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The sad thing is, if Chicago were to bid again in the future, that prime site for the Olympic Village with it's private beach won't be available any more.

Yeah. See..that's the thing with US bids...those sites on prime land ARE NOT going to sit around empty waiting for the old farts at the IOC to make up their minds. Happened in NYC, now in Chicago; the land reserved for the SF bid is also gone. LA of course will use its USC/UCLA dorms. SO I think a US bid should always play the IT's Now or Never card. and to hell with the consequences. They could not get worse than 2012 and 2016.

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Thanks Soaring for the thread. Like other Chicagoans, I'm still perplexed how we got booted after the first round. These positive comments are surely appreciated especially this dark and rainy Chicago weekend.

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Also about the media thing...yea it's unfortunate sometimes when you want a full solid backing from them. But then again that's always wishful thinking. Mayor Daley sort of complained about it especiallyafter the loss in Denmark. He wished that the Chicago media could've been more forceful behind the bid as much as the Brazilian media behind Rio when he visited the city for the PanAm games. But then again, it's freedom of speech at its best.

Denis, you quoted Chicago Tribune for a sample of good story--which is cool. Actually that Philip Hearsh story is right on. But, it's also the same newspaper that has questioned the Olympic bid from all directions. So I guess they're trying to put some "balance" into it. As for CNN, you would expect that they would be a lot more "international" but sometimes I do get irritated when they seem to be more of an Atlanta primetime news channel rather than an international one with their heavy local Atlanta coverage. Oh, well. I would rather have Atlanta news from CNN rather than conspiracy theories/fear mongering nitwits from Fox.

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Also about the media thing...yea it's unfortunate sometimes when you want a full solid backing from them. But then again that's always wishful thinking. Mayor Daley sort of complained about it especiallyafter the loss in Denmark. He wished that the Chicago media could've been more forceful behind the bid as much as the Brazilian media behind Rio when he visited the city for the PanAm games. But then again, it's freedom of speech at its best.

Denis, you quoted Chicago Tribune for a sample of good story--which is cool. Actually that Philip Hearsh story is right on. But, it's also the same newspaper that has questioned the Olympic bid from all directions. So I guess they're trying to put some "balance" into it. As for CNN, you would expect that they would be a lot more "international" but sometimes I do get irritated when they seem to be more of an Atlanta primetime news channel rather than an international one with their heavy local Atlanta coverage. Oh, well. I would rather have Atlanta news from CNN rather than conspiracy theories/fear mongering nitwits from Fox.

In the years leading up to 1996, the Atlanta Journal-Consitution was also ALWAYS questioning ACOG's decisions. That's what the press is there for...to keep things honest.

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The now-or-never phenomenon in the U.S. is very real. I don't know if anybody in the IOC took that into account.

This isn't to say that cities can't still mount bids, but as the land is developed, the options shrink. Without that Olympic Village site, a Chicago bid would be significantly weaker. The IOC would notice this as well, saying, "but what happened to that great Olympic Village? The first plan was much better." To which the US would have to respond, "We agree with you, but that ship has sailed. There's nothing we can do about it now."

Trying to look on the bright side of this mess, the U.S. really has nowhere to go but up. I don't think it can get too much worse. Unfortunately, I think the rebound is going to take a very long time.

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