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BidIndex last update... Madrid momentum?


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Lessons for poor Madrid:

1. Barcelona is TOO SOON -- especially Barcelona also just hosted those FINA's a few weeks ago.

2. Get your economy in order.

3. Have a better story to tell next time -- all those "reasons" were really just weak excuses and everybody saw thru them,

4. Forget the Juan Antonio Samaranch name. 60 people in the IOC now do NOT owe the old man or his son ANYTHING!!

5. Your supporters should be less arrogant.

And I really wouldn't mind visiting Madrid and Spain again in the fall -- just NOT SUMMER!!

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Lessons for poor Madrid:

3. Have a better story to tell next time -- all those "reasons" were really just weak excuses and everybody saw thru them,

Exactly. How many times did Juanito say "Madrid 2020 makes sense". It was so fricken annoying & presumptuous.

5. Your supporters should be less arrogant.

Hear, hear. Such a turn off. Arrogance never helps. They shoulda learned that from Athens 1996 & Rome 2004. Is it a Mediterranean thing.

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What is with this urge to rub it in and be cruel about Madrid's loss. It really says a lot about you. I haven't seen arrogance, I've seen stubbornness and an unwillingness to back down against the barrage of "reasons Madrid's bid sucks" from most of the anglo commentators on this forum. What else do you expect from Spanish people? Not to support their bid? God you have got to be kidding me...

I'll take a Mediterranean attitude any day over the sarcasm and viciousness of my own countrymen that you and Baron display, FYI. What a couple of grade A pricks.

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You're so classy, aren't you. Why only hone in on me & Baron. Did you miss all the other comments against Madrid made in jest by other members, even in this very thread? Just go & shove it already. I've had enough of the barrage of "vicious" & senseless "attacks" from the Spanish camp.

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What is with this urge to rub it in and be cruel about Madrid's loss. It really says a lot about you. I haven't seen arrogance, I've seen stubbornness and an unwillingness to back down against the barrage of "reasons Madrid's bid sucks" from most of the anglo commentators on this forum. What else do you expect from Spanish people? Not to support their bid? God you have got to be kidding me...

I'll take a Mediterranean attitude any day over the sarcasm and viciousness of my own countrymen that you and Baron display, FYI. What a couple of grade A pricks.

Wasn't it JAS, Jr (or Blanco) who uttered the "Good luck too to Tokyo and Istanbul....for 2024"? And what I posted was really sincere lessons for Madrid. Poor losers.

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At the risk of adding oil to the fire, interesting take in light of arguments here from insidetherings on the press conferences in the past few days:

I actually was wondering if the cockiness that was coming across from a lot of the reports and comments here could ultimately blow back on them!



Nick Butler: Press Conference politics sheds final light on 2020 race as judgement day looms

It is unclear just how important three days of press calls will be in swaying the minds of dithering International Olympic Committee (IOC) members on the eve a vote to decide the host city of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Yet as Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid now take the briefest of pauses before bigger tests tomorrow, a media assault combining "patsy questions" and thunderbolts - mostly in the latter case from my tenacious editor at insidethegames Duncan Mackay - was a lot of fun and revealed huge contrasts in strategy, style and success.

As a novice to the mirky machinations of the Olympic movement what has struck me the most is how many issues there are at stake and how far beyond the sporting world these go.

As the respective leaders Shinzo Abe, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mariano Rajoy jet in, presumably not on the same plane, from the G20 conference in St Petersburg it is international politics most in the foreground.

In particular this involves a trio of concerns encompassing radiation levels, popular protest and economic woe.

Up first was Tokyo and - to be completely honest - their handling of the Fukushima nuclear incident seemed akin to a ten-year-old who has not yet learnt the value of honesty as opposed to a stubborn refusal to confront a problem head on.

Time and time again the line that radiation levels in Tokyo are no higher than in London, Paris and New York was put forward but they appeared utterly incapable of admitting that that the issue was one of public perception as much as reality.

Their final press conference today was an improvement where the Fukushima issue was addressed more stringently.

Yet by then they dug themselves into a metaphorical hole so deep that all the strengths of their bid were obscured in, ahem, a green glow of self induced hysteria.
This is a pity as Tokyo's unveiling of an formidable array of athlete ambassadors, including double Olympic silver medel winning fencer Yuki Ota, the previous day was one of many impressive features of what remains a strong bid which cannot be dismissed.

But their technique in relation to Fukushima begs the question of whether they have the appropriate nous and durability to survive a seven year planning process and then the biggest event in world sport.

In comparison Istanbul did display spontaneity and openness and, while it may not be enough tomorrow, they gave Tokyo a lesson in how to handle a difficult question.

As they unveiled 50 young ambassadors in the "surprise element" of their presentation, the first question concerned not the innovation of such an approach, but "whether any of the youth ambassadors have an opinion on the riots in Istanbul earlier this year?"

After a collective intake of breath the microphone was unceremoniously passed to high school volleyball star Esen Kucuktutuncu who, as a volleyball player should, reacted quicker than anyone else in the room by pointing out that such protests "are a normal part of democracies where people have the right to protest" and that they even "happened in other places including London."

Comparing Istanbul and London is questionable but the consensus was that no better answer could have been given in the circumstances.

Bid chairman Hasan Arat received criticism in some quarters for not dealing with the question himself but he should be applauded for his bravery in giving Turkey's youth the opportunity to display its fine credentials.
To win a race like this you have to gamble and in this case it paid off for Arat just as much as Tokyo's inflexibility did not.

Madrid adopted an opposite but similarly successful approach and this can be best summarised as one of unmitigated but efficient dullness.

Yet as one of their consultants said afterwards "dull is good at this stage" and as they parried a range of questions covering economics, doping and past failures they gave off an air of utter confidence they would never be caught out however many questions they fielded.

As they swept into each press conference invariably between 15 and 20 minutes late and made no attempt to speak in a language other than their native tongue, an almost arrogant confidence in their chances came across.

Their use of basketball superstar Pau Gasol, along with those clever machinations to gain the support of Lionel Messi earlier in the week, was similarly successful and a real head of steam behind the bid is appearing.
What is most amazing is how they have turned their economic problems into an asset to the extent that their sustainable "austerity games" legacy message has led to a clear toning down of rhetoric of extravagance from both Tokyo and Istanbul.

Madrid have had two recent failures but the suspicion is building that, as Pau Gasol hoped for, it may be "third time lucky" come this time tomorrow.

For now though all we can do is reflect on the merits of Tokyo's obduracy, Istanbul's bravery and Madrid's functionality and - as journalists, bid cities and IOC members alike enjoy yet another steak dinner on the eve of the vote - more fun and games will be expected tomorrow.
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What is with this urge to rub it in and be cruel about Madrid's loss. It really says a lot about you. I haven't seen arrogance, I've seen stubbornness and an unwillingness to back down against the barrage of "reasons Madrid's bid sucks" from most of the anglo commentators on this forum. What else do you expect from Spanish people? Not to support their bid? God you have got to be kidding me...

I'll take a Mediterranean attitude any day over the sarcasm and viciousness of my own countrymen that you and Baron display, FYI. What a couple of grade A pricks.

:rolleyes: Even sharing cultural aspects -Being Hispanic American-, Yes, the Spanish bid was full of arrogance. Only a blind can't see that. The "pathetic" joke, El Mundo report and the entitlement sense by many of the politicians -Ana Botella and Rajoy among others-. Actually I saw the news in a spanish newspaper and they thought Madrid was in the final -_-

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