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Salt Lake City To Bid For Winter Olympic Games - Report


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I must have missed something in the news recently, did Germany cease to be a country at some point in the past week?..

http://www.gamesbids...1216136360.html

Is Qatar not a country either?...

http://www.qatar-tri...ection=first1_4

And what about another city that failed to make the 2020 shortlist..

http://www.aroundthe...w.aspx?id=41276

Africa has countries too..

http://sports.yahoo....59047--sow.html

As we know, what happens in other countries is always going to work different than it does in the United States. Nevertheless, that's 4 pretty public pronouncements right there from countries talking about 2024, including 2 that seem pretty well committed to pursuing a bid. Looks to me like foreign organizing committees ARE sounding off about 2024.

My quote said no one else is talking MUCH about 2024. I didn't say nobody was saying a word.

None of those stories is any more certain (apart from Qatar) than the USOC announcing that they are exploring a 2024 bid.

Paris hasn't said a word. Durban is in doubt. So are Berlin or Hamburg. The same type of stories exist here in the US and mention New York, Chicago, LA and Dallas.

So, I really don't see your point.

And zeke, if you think the government tells the people everything .... I don't even know where to begin with that.

You guys just like to fight. That's all there is to it.

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You guys just like to fight. That's all there is to it.

Not really. I believe it's to point out that some of positions you take, especially in trying to align everything for a US-must-bid-for-Summer-first dictum, are about as shotful of little holes as Swiss cheese. Stirrings and early tea leaves CAN be read and gleaned. You are looking at it through the prism of that stance.

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Not really. I believe it's to point out that some of positions you take, especially in trying to align everything for a US-must-bid-for-Summer-first dictum, are about as shotful of little holes as Swiss cheese. Stirrings and early tea leaves CAN be read and gleaned. You are looking at it through the prism of that stance.

My goodness.. such a sensible, agreeable statement. Once again, I agree entirely.

Here's the reality of the situation and Salt Lake is a good example.. they basically came out and said "we're ready to bid if the USOC wants to go for 2026. Now that they've said that, what more do we expect to come from them? Until the USOC makes any sort of decision (who knows when that will be), there's not all that much that the folks in Salt Lake can say or do in the interim. So it could be another year or 2, if not more, before we get anything of substance from them.

Ditto in the case of Germany.. there was a fairly key piece of information in the Berlin/Hambrug pronouncement where they said they're waiting for the 2020 host to be decided before they move forward. So that means, at bare minimum, it'll be at least a year before we see any hint of a commitment from Germany regarding 2024. You're not going to get anything before then.

The vote for the 2024 host is still 5 years away. The submission deadline is 3 years away. These things play out very slowly so to expect more than the occasional article or for a city or country (other than those Qrazy Qataris) to say "we're going to bid for 2024" is something you're not going to get. Athens.. they haven't picked a 2020 host yet and that vote is still a year away, so how much talk about 2024 are you expecting there to be? Just because we have several threads going here to speculate about 2024 (key word there: speculate), it doesn't reflect what's going on out there in the world. We saw how much decision-making was made and how much talk there was in the final weeks and days leading up to the 2020 submission deadline. There will come a time where 2024 becomes a focal point from potential bid cities and countries, but we are a long ways off from that being the case.

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There's a shocker.

You're picking and choosing facts and slanting them to your personal preferences.

Cue the accusations of hypocrisy....

At least you're admitting that you're being hypocritical.. that's a good first step.

I don't have personal preferences, so I have no specific bias where I need to slant facts. You, on the other hand, clearly have very strong personal preferences that you're more than happy to share with the rest of us (not that you're the only one, but still) and, like zeke alluded to, seem to get offended when someone suggests an alternative because you're not satisfied with our/their ability to "prove it." Then you make a statement of "no one has committed to 2024" which you clearly know is not true and CAN be disproved.

1 more time for those in the bleacher seats.. there is far too much time for all things 2024 to develop and play out. It's not about candidate cities and countries making "noise" as it is journalists reporting on what they see and hear. But if you're going to gauge interest in 2024 using what is or isn't being reported, keep in mind that there is a huge difference between an article written by a columnist in New York and an official statement from the head of the DSOB or the minister of sport for Azerbaijan or the prime minister of Kenya or a well-formed Utah Olympic Exploratory Committee. If you're looking for guarantees and commitments this far in advance of 2017, you're not going to get much. Instead, we're going to get tidbits of information to fuel the speculation and discussion that allows this website to function in the first place. And that really is all there is to it.

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So what's the problem here? That Athens said noone has commited to 2024? He has a point noone has physically applied and can't until 2015... Plus people say they will bid but doesn't always happen only guarentee i'd say right now is Doha.

If you haven't seen all this discussion play out, it's best not to ask. Mostly just a difference of opinion how we view these races and sadly, on occasion, merely a matter of semantics. The even sadder thing (and I'm willing to take my share of responsibility for this) is that a lot of times were arguing about how we've come to agree with each other. But you do make a good point that no one can officially apply for the 2024 bid until 2015 (just like Salt Lake can make whatever pronouncements they want about wanting to bid, even though they can't actually bid until the USOC says so.. we all know this) and I'm willing to bet we've spent more time here thinking about 2024 than some of the cities who are actually thinking about a bid.

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) and I'm willing to bet we've spent more time here thinking about 2024 than some of the cities who are actually thinking about a bid.

:D Altho I'm sure the Olympiacs amongst the city shakers-and-movers are also just biding their time before they start playing their cards. With an Olympix every 2 yrs rather than 4, it makes the time pass faster. And Durban and Doha don't have to send out a press release every week.

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It's still very possible neither Durban nor Paris will even bid.

Are you serious?! Stop the presses!! This is major breaking news!!! Why didn't someone tell us before! Someone start a new thread in the newswire section right away, this is a huge story! The world needs to know it's still very possible neither Durban nor Paris will even bid. What an amazing development, no one could have guessed it. I'm stunned. I don't know how I'm going to go about the rest of my day now that this is out there.

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Are you serious?! Stop the presses!! This is major breaking news!!! Why didn't someone tell us before! Someone start a new thread in the newswire section right away, this is a huge story! The world needs to know it's still very possible neither Durban nor Paris will even bid. What an amazing development, no one could have guessed it. I'm stunned. I don't know how I'm going to go about the rest of my day now that this is out there.

You talk about the "sad" tone of this thread and you challenge me when I suggest you enjoy picking fights.

Might want to take another look at what you just wrote.

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But it's very possible that at least Durban will bid. Or are they all going to sit 2024 out? :blink:

Therein lies the suspense. Have to wait and see.

There have been stories questioning the level of governmental support for both Paris and Durban. I don't know if one or both will bid for 2024 or not. They probably don't know themselves.

Who would've predicted Rome and SA dropping out of 2020? Who would've predicted Tokyo's front-runner status?

The point is that there's time for a great deal to happen. No one's plans (apart from Doha's, perhaps) are set in stone. Everyone has made equally vague comments about possible bids -- both foreign and domestic. Some will come to fruition, some won't. We can guess all we like, but really no one knows. We'll have to wait and see. That's my position in a nutshell.

If others are prepared to commit to strong statements about their expectations -- fine. That doesn't invalidate my point that there's time for all kinds of things to happen and we need to wait to see what unfolds.

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If others are prepared to commit to strong statements about their expectations -- fine. That doesn't invalidate my point that there's time for all kinds of things to happen and we need to wait to see what unfolds.

Marriage is a commitment. Joining the military is a commitment. Saying in an Internet forum to an audience of about 10 people that you expect Paris to bid for the 2024 Olympics is not a commitment. Especially since you can come back tomorrow and say "you know what, I changed my mind, I don't think Paris will bid" and who really cares.

I don't want to get into a big argument over semantics here, but this is what leads to all of these little petty disputes. We do NOT need to wait to see what unfolds. If you choose to do that because you don't want to make an educated guess, that's fine. We all know that these things are going to unfold over the next 3 years (with most of the more official decision-making coming towards the end of that), and some of us don't want to play it that way where we refuse to speculate because our opinions might be wrong (which are pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.. we're not exactly politicians trying to set economic policy or anything). You sometimes make it seem like what we're talking about here is some sort of binding legal statement. "Anything you say on Gamesbids can and will be used against you in a court of law!"

In short.. if someone wants to say that Durban is bidding for 2024, you're right that they can't know that (even Durban can't know if Durban is bidding until they sign a piece of paper that makes it official.. and even after that, look at Rome 2020). But considering who we all are (nameless, faceless people on an Internet forum).. who really gives a crap. It means nothing

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As someone who writes a great many lengthy impassioned posts, you seem to care a fair amount.

Is your life going to be affected in the slightest based on who does or doesn't bid for the 2024 Olympics? If a city in the United States were to host, would you gain anything from that other than a sense of satisfaction that the Olympics are returning to your host country? This isn't economic policy or politics we're talking about which most, if not all of us, have a vested interest in.

On another board I post on, there was a thready about the New York Islanders moving to Brooklyn and in the context of transportation, someone said "gas prices are going to be over $5/gallon when the Islanders move." If I disagreed with him (I don't really have an opinion 1 way or the other), I could just say "I think you're wrong" or "what makes you think that?" But to take your tact would be to say "how can you commit to that now, we don't know what gas prices will be 3 years from now, we need to wait and see how it plays out" as if his assertion is some sort of binding statement when really all it is is some random person in an Internet forum most of the world doesn't care about. Which is to say.. don't get all worked up with your "we have to wait and see" when you don't like someone making a decisive statement and call them out for their inability to knowingly predict the future.

We're here because we are interested in the subject. That's all. It's mostly mindless chatter just like Twitter or Facebook or sports team fan sites. That's not to knock on GB because it's a great source of information and I wouldn't be here otherwise if it weren't and I'm betting that goes for a lot of us here.

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I have to say, I feel reality is getting a bit lost here.

You disagreed with my point of view and I defended it. I'm not arguing a legal case and I have no idea what you are going on about. Like I said, for someone who doesn't "give a crap" (your words), you sure write a lot. I'm not sure that defending your posts as "mindless chatter just like Twitter or Facebook" redeems much.

Moving on, Quaker...

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I just reread this thread and thought I'd pull out this one quote:

stop making it seem like no one is encouraged to post their opinions here unless they have hard facts to back it up.

I've always found that when two people disagree facts are useful to the conversation -- not irrelevant.

Quaker, post any opinions you want. I have never asked you to stop posting your opinions. I just voice my disagreement with your opinions and then you get irritated.

Your theory is based on guesswork and deductions that could turn out to be true or false. Far better supported theories (about Durban/Rome 2020, for example) have fallen apart. There is also some evidence to support the position opposite to yours. Under these conditions, you can hardly be surprised when everyone doesn't sing a chorus of "Alleluia! Amen!"

Go on posting your opinions. I'll post mine.

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I've always found that when two people disagree facts are useful to the conversation -- not irrelevant.

Quaker, post any opinions you want. I have never asked you to stop posting your opinions. I just voice my disagreement with your opinions and then you get irritated.

See, that's my thing entirely. If I say something like "I don't see much interest from U.S. cities for 2024," you're probably going to come back at me and tell me I can't prove it and don't have the facts to back up that claim. The funny thing is that you're not even disagreeing with me, but you'll still argue that I'm not right because "absence of information is not proof." And you may not even offer up evidence to the contrary, you'll just give us the old "we have to wait and see" and therefore you've made a valid point and my point should be taken with a grain of salt because "we don't know yet." Don't take a stand against my position if you don't have a position of your own to support. THAT is what irritates me (and apparently others here as well).

Your theory is based on guesswork and deductions that could turn out to be true or false. Far better supported theories (about Durban/Rome 2020, for example) have fallen apart. There is also some evidence to support the position opposite to yours. Under these conditions, you can hardly be surprised when everyone doesn't sing a chorus of "Alleluia! Amen!"

So you're saying I'm not psychic and all-knowing? All this time, I had no idea! Again, this is what I said earlier.. if I wind up being wrong or anyone else winds up being wrong, who the heck cares. I'm not expecting anyone to take my word as gospel. If you have a counter-argument to make, go right ahead. But if all you're going to do is throw out a little conjecture and tell me my position is not right and therefore your defense against it is wrong, I'm tired of hearing that from you. If I say "I don't see much interest in 2024," either show me where there IS interest or leave it alone. Either way, give it a rest with the whole facts/proof/evidence/commitment deal as if any of what we say or think here matters in the grand scheme of things.

I'm pretty sure I'm done here, so if you want the last word here, have it.

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