Chicago out in first round of Olympic voting (3 Viewers)

[mikaloyd]

Oh look! A whole article devoted to how the Olympics cost a ton more money than they bring in. Dated 45 minutes ago.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100103891.html

Stefan Szymanski is a professor of economics at the Cass Business School at City University London and the author, most recently, of "Playbooks and Checkbooks: An Introduction to the Economics of Modern Sports."


The guy is obviously a shill of Glen Beck's working undercover out of some podunk English university. He knows nothing of profits or losses or Olympics. He just works against the Truth.

 

[saintsfan342000]

Alright, there will be a little tiny bit of cynicism in this post.

The one consolation here is that Obama's slumlord buddies who stood to make a quick buck from Olympic land grabbing will now have to swallow it and maybe actually spend their own money to gentrify an American city. But let's not hold our breath.

Haha. This post made me chuckle.

 

[GW93]

Boo Hoo. It's not like America has never hosted an Olympics evar! Aren't most Olympics net losses and boondoggles for the local taxpayers? Besides, why would I want some Katrina joke making jerks getting any Olympic glory anyway? Oh wait, considering the burdens that might entail, maybe I do.

Dude, don't judge a city of 3 million people on a few jerks at Soldier Field. I'd hate for people to judge N.O. based on some of the less-than-stellar posts that can be found here, for instance.

 

[SoonerJim]

Oh look! A whole article devoted to how the Olympics cost a ton more money than they bring in. Dated 45 minutes ago.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100103891.html

Stefan Szymanski is a professor of economics at the Cass Business School at City University London and the author, most recently, of "Playbooks and Checkbooks: An Introduction to the Economics of Modern Sports."


The guy is obviously a shill of Glen Beck's working undercover out of some podunk English university. He knows nothing of profits or losses or Olympics. He just works against the Truth.

Szymanski is a free market critic of public funding for sports venues. I recall reading his material when the Saints' tenure in NEw Orleans was an open issue shortly after Katrina.

I listened to Chicago native Scott Simon on NPRs' "Weekend Edition" and read the WSJ stories today. The IOC really wanted the games in Brazil this go-around. Tulsa Saint gives excellent background on this above. Someone in the US delegation couldn't or didn't count votes. As is said in legal circles, never ask a witness a question to which you already don't know the answer.

Just as important, Brazil guaranteed $14 billion; Chicago $5 billion, the latter all private. Charles Finley, the Athletics owner, said money talks and BS walks. The race between Rio and Chicago was a fabrication of the US media and their supplicants.

 

[mikaloyd]

Dude, don't judge a city of 3 million people on a few jerks at Soldier Field. I'd hate for people to judge N.O. based on some of the less-than-stellar posts that can be found here, for instance.

Judge Chicago just like any other town. The quality of their pizza.

 

[cdogg]

Judge Chicago just like any other town. The quality of their pizza.

They have pizza? All I've had are cakes with marinara and cheese substituted for frosting.

 

[mikaloyd]

Szymanski is a free market critic of public funding for sports venues. I recall reading his material when the Saints' tenure in NEw Orleans was an open issue shortly after Katrina.

I listened to Chicago native Scott Simon on NPRs' "Weekend Edition" and read the WSJ stories today. The IOC really wanted the games in Brazil this go-around. Tulsa Saint gives excellent background on this above. Someone in the US delegation couldn't or didn't count votes. As is said in legal circles, never ask a witness a question to which you already don't know the answer.

Just as important, Brazil guaranteed $14 billion; Chicago $5 billion, the latter all private. Charles Finley, the Athletics owner, said money talks and BS walks. The race between Rio and Chicago was a fabrication of the US media and their supplicants.

You have to applaud Rio for bringing somewhat plausible numbers to the IOC and their citizens during this part of the process. Athens proposed doing the Olympics for 1.5 billion when they got the nod and Greece eventually spent 15 billion give or take a few hundred million. Beiging isnt saying what the Olympics cost. Londons initial estimate to Britons was 2.34 billion euros which was later upped to 4 billion by the time they beat Paris. By 2006 the official government estimates for the Londonim Olympiad were well above 10 Billion euros. Not to much later the Brits quit updating the cost on a regular basis because they were going to hold the Olympics come hell or high water and the numbers were upsetting people. Most have resigned themselves to the reality that the London Olympics bottom line cost wont come in under 20 billion.

Maybe Rio can do it on the cheap for the 14 billion, but hosting the Olympics for anywhere near the initial projected figure is a rare and wonderful occurance.

 

[mikaloyd]

They have pizza? All I've had are cakes with marinara and cheese substituted for frosting.

For 5 bucks more they will pluck off the lions share of the cockroaches from it before they bake it

 

[Rickysmyhero]

Everyone railing on this decision because they don't like the Bears is absolutely foolish.

Everyone saying that because Chicago isn't pristine, it doesn't/didn't deserve the bid is absolutely foolish.

Everyone decrying the economic impact this would have had on Chicago is absolutely foolish.

Everyone CELEBRATING THIS LOSS as though it is something to be proud of should simply deport themselves.

Everyone saying that this makes Obama look less than capable is absolutely foolish.

Everyone spuriously championing this as a failure on Obama's behalf is absolutely foolish.

Everyone playing the "but when Bush blah blah blah, you guys blah'ed back!" angle as though that somehow makes your childish antics okay need a serious reality check.

Much of the content in this thread utterly disgusts me. Some of you need to grow the hell up, and fast. Chicago has been making this push for the Olympics since about 2006. Laying the blame at Obama's feet is stupid, and I'm being generous when I say that.

Chicago didn't get it, Rio de Janeiro did. We don't know why they got picked. We don't know why Chicago was eliminated as a semi-finalist instead of a finalist. We do know that the USA has hosted the Olympics twice since 1980. We do know that that is two more times than South America the continent has ever hosted the Olympics.

I don't see how anyone can really blame Obama, but Obama needs to quit laying blame on the past administration for this. It's no one's fault. It is what it is.

 

[RazorOye]

I don't see how anyone can really blame Obama, but Obama needs to quit laying blame on the past administration for this. It's no one's fault. It is what it is.

I would actually like to see less of this as well - it's obvious that any President inherits the problems of the previous administration. And I'm not saying that the argument of that inheritance is invalid.

And so long as comparisons are made between the two, both sides have valid arguments, critical of Obama and Bush.

But at some point, I'd like to see this administration and their mouthpieces acknowledge and move on on more issues. And I'd like to see more backbone from Obama than I've seen thus far.

There have been opportunities for this administration to distance themselves from Bush policy and it hasn't - i'll cite one example: the perpetuation of No Child Left Behind. This is generally decried, even by educational laypeople, as an expensive failure.

And the problems from it that are still with us are certainly Bush's fault in part. But Obama deserves his share of the criticism.

What I'd like to see, though, is some accountability from the current administration to stop NCLB in its tracks and say "You know what, Bush did this to our schools and children and it's not working. We're going to discontinue the initiative. It might take some time and something this broad is not going to disappear overnight, but we're committed to removing it because it's completely contradictory to what this nation should stand for educationally"

It can be frustrating to see policies like this - which we know are detrimental - get carried over and into the future.

 

[blackadder]

Not if Beijing wasn't.

Beijing was an exception. Athens is hot in the summer also, but a dry heat and pretty pleasant at night.

I've just heard the feedback and looked at the list of places they go and there generally haven't been many choices with a tropical or semi-tropical climate in the summer. Southern hemisphere makes Rio quite agreeable in what is their winter.

Beijing is where the culture and politics probabaly trumped weather concerns again. I mean, we all know Biejing's air is filthy but China go it anyway as a political statement.

 

[bearsfanforever]

Not the 10,000 people that were at the square waiting to celebrate. It was like someone got shot.

But I understand locals not wanting the olympics in their city on traffic reasons alone.

Chicago is a very large City so if 10,000 was the oficial count that's not many people. A couple of Polls stated over 50% didn't want the Olympics.

Chicago is one of the most Politically corrupt Cities in this Country and most people were afraid of cost overuns and waste. Not to mention the Park district is infamous for missing budgets by massive amounts.

Not to mention Vancouver and Toronto Olymics but those cities in huge debt.

 

[Saint Tillage]

Everyone railing on this decision because they don't like the Bears is absolutely foolish.

Everyone saying that because Chicago isn't pristine, it doesn't/didn't deserve the bid is absolutely foolish.

Everyone decrying the economic impact this would have had on Chicago is absolutely foolish.

Everyone CELEBRATING THIS LOSS as though it is something to be proud of should simply deport themselves.

Everyone saying that this makes Obama look less than capable is absolutely foolish.

Everyone spuriously championing this as a failure on Obama's behalf is absolutely foolish.

Everyone playing the "but when Bush blah blah blah, you guys blah'ed back!" angle as though that somehow makes your childish antics okay need a serious reality check.

Much of the content in this thread utterly disgusts me. Some of you need to grow the hell up, and fast. Chicago has been making this push for the Olympics since about 2006. Laying the blame at Obama's feet is stupid, and I'm being generous when I say that.

Chicago didn't get it, Rio de Janeiro did. We don't know why they got picked. We don't know why Chicago was eliminated as a semi-finalist instead of a finalist. We do know that the USA has hosted the Olympics twice since 1980. We do know that that is two more times than South America the continent has ever hosted the Olympics.

lus-un2:

I bet condom companies are extremely pleased with the desicion.

 

[NCSaint]

The first thread is dead so I will post this here. This was really the only issue I had with this whole deal. I know many will say it was a cheap effort and in the big picture it probably is but still $1.4M is real money. And to spend some of it on Oprah just has a certain extra sting for me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_go_pr_wh/oly_obama_olympics_cost_1

Taxpayers shelled out probably $1 million or more for the president, his wife and others to fly to Copenhagen and back to woo members of the International Olympic Committee.

 

[BuffaloSaint]

The first thread is dead so I will post this here. This was really the only issue I had with this whole deal. I know many will say it was a cheap effort and in the big picture it probably is but still $1.4M is real money. And to spend some of it on Oprah just has a certain extra sting for me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_go_pr_wh/oly_obama_olympics_cost_1

Taxpayers shelled out probably $1 million or more for the president, his wife and others to fly to Copenhagen and back to woo members of the International Olympic Committee.

If you can find me the post where you complained about the cost of Bush flying to the olympics in China and then spending a few days there partying it up I will gladly call this a valid complaint.