I worked on Atlanta Olympics - it's very political and at least in the past bribes have been

[ddeclue]

required to get the games for your city.

By bribes I mean things like free college educations for people's kids, not merely vacations at Disneyland.

Also, the IOC people were not happy with the Atlanta Olympics and that may have soured them on other US venues.

Also there is a general anti-American bent out there and a few months of Obama isn't enough to overcome it.

Finally things like American gun violence/crime rates, public transport and medical care for Olympic tourists weigh against American venues.

Obama gave it a good try but years and years go into making these bids and testimony by celebrity advocates like Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan aren't really going to be enough. Of all of them, probably Michael Jordan would have carried the most weight.

You can't win'em all and there's plenty of other problems to move on to.

[Thickasabrick]

1. I just read a comment on the Guardian and people were making

fun of the Atlanta games.....they called it a Redneck homecoming with trucks. Really? I don't remember them and I lived there at the time.

[ddeclue]

10. Well you know I think they were unhappy with some of the events:

like...

Monster truck car crushing...

the tractor pull...

synchronized square dancing...

beer funnelling...

the still chucking contest...



:rofl:

Just kidding... I lived there from 84-96.

[paulsby]

2. good points except remember that

rio has a horrendous crime rate. they make chicago look very safe by comparison

[ddeclue]

9. True but Chicago vs. Madrid or Tokyo, Chicago is worse.

[grantcart]

3. The bribes have been taken out but there remains a strong history of

personal ties. The fact that Spain did not get it show that the personal ties are less important than before.


There is a more likely reason: Brazil had a better bid and were willing to commit more resources to it. Of course the emotional part of never having it in South America was a factor but they wouldn't have given it to them without confidence that they could have done it well.

on edit

We should be good sports and simply congratulate them.

[ddeclue]

6. I don't know that Chicago should have won but their going out in the first round is fishy.

[Warpy]

11. You might consider a few things

like how we're paranoid and fingerprint and photograph all visitors entering the country. We harass them in the airports. We have the world's worst health care and visitors have to live in terror of getting sick while they're here.

The right wing will never think of these things. All they can see is a personal defeat for a president they didn't elect. Spite sells.

However, there were a lot of considerations here besides who managed to give the best bribes. My own feeling is that the biggest bribes in the world wouldn't compensate for the disaster this country has become under 40 years of unbroken conservative rule by both parties.

[ddeclue]

12. I agree about these points and mentioned some of them.

I don't agree that bribes have no impact on the IOC - It got the Olympics to Atlanta and Salt Lake City. I would suspect it got them to Beijing as well.

[2Design]

17. we really do treat visitors as criminals and we have such crime ridden cities

our guns, and crime and no health care - that is enough to drive everyone away

[TomClash]

4. Hold on there . . .

If you had a choice would you go to Rio or Chicago?

No bribes necessary.

[ddeclue]

7. I'd rather go to Chicago...

:P

[TomClash]

13. I feel sorry for you . . .

Rio = :party: :toast: :smoke:

[ddeclue]

15. I've lived and traveled all over the world... I don't need to go to Rio..

getting to Chicago is a hell of a lot easier and cheaper.

I lived in Europe for 7 -1/2 years and have lived and traveled to 18 countries on 5 continents. I don't think Rio would be worth the trip. I'd rather go to Austrailia personally.

[TomClash]

16. I wasn't trying to be cheeky

And I actually like Chicago. But it's nowhere near as much fun.

You would like Rio. It's worth a trip.

[TahitiNut]

8. The Summer Games being held during the winter in the Southern Hemisphere?

Irony.

[AllentownJake]

5. I just love the balls of this country

We boycott an Olympics in 1980 over the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan and than go to the IOC and ask for one while we are occupying the same country.

[TomClash]

14. That's funny

I just emailed similar thoughts to a buddy of mine.

[malaise]

18. Check out Salt Lake City and the Wunter Olympics

I few IOC members received scholarships for their kids to BYU.

From Havalange was involved with the Brazil bid, anywhere else was in trouble/ That one led FIFA for years - they are the dons of the international sports mafia. Check out Andrew Jennings website Transparency in Sport. He wrote two classics about Olympic corruption (one which the IOC tried to have banned).