Olympics - Chicago's out - it's Madrid or Rio - what do you think?

[amazinblue]

I live in Chicago and was really hoping that we'd get the nod and host the Olympics in 2016. I don't know if you've been following things - but, if you have, I'd welcome your thoughts.

Maybe Michael Jordan should have gone and taken on Pele. Maybe Oprah shouldn't have used a helicopter to commute around Copenhagen. Maybe Barack Obama's star appeal doesn't cross the Atlantic.

This does come as a surprise for me. Since, I thought Tokyo was out from the start since Beijing just hosted. And, that Madrid would be out since London's got the games in 2012. So, my thought was that it would be a Rio vs. Chicago thing. And, though I know Chicago's not perfect - it is an awfully good city with a strong ethnic / international flavor and Rio's got a bit of a challenge (even more daunting than Chicago's) and a lot of crime.

Who knows, maybe 2020 is the year for Chicago...

[cartyboi]

Personally, I thought Barack trying to push the point of Chicago hurt it's chances. I would love to see it in Rio. It's a beautiful place.

[bigboyBlue]

Rio it is, awesome, just another excuse to go there..

[michAGAIN]

If the Olympic committee needed corruption and graft, Chicago would have been their first choice.

[cartyboi]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/mobcarty/rio-de-janeiro-2.jpg
Wonderful!

[gator]

Glad it didn't go to Chicago....or anywhere else in the States for that matter. No need for the taxpayers to subsidize this crap. Although they always try to talk it up as being good for the economy, it would probably cost this country $2 Billion....money we don't exactly have. Not to mention that Obama and his Gestapo Chicago buddies would have made out like bandits, using the tax dollars to transform their property holdings (mostly slums) into prime real estate for the games. That press conference today was a victory for American taxpayers.

P.S. That photo of Rio is amazing. Never really wanted to leave the US for any reason, but I might have to visit there.

[cartyboi]

P.S. That photo of Rio is amazing. Never really wanted to leave the US for any reason, but I might have to visit there.

I agree. I've never seen anything like it, I've already planned on going to watch the U.S. dominate in the first ever Olympics in South America. USA!!!!!!!!

[michAGAIN]

The truth has finally come out as to why Chicago didn't get the Olympics...............Lou Holtz gave Barack, Michelle and Oprah a pep talk before they left!!! The outcome becomes painfully obvious after this speech:

"Barack, Michelle and Oprah, you are about to face the IOC and convince them to bring the Olympics to Chicago. You're going to win today. The good Lord put eyes in the front of your head rather than the back so you can see where you are headed rather than where you have been. In your case Oprah, it also makes it easier to survey the buffet table. Oh and another thing: Do you ever wonder how the olympic torch always has fire, but when you are looking to light up your cigarette you can never find a match? What does that have to do with your trip? I don't know and I don't care. There's a rule in life that you are either growing or dying. Do you ever wonder why hamburgers come in packs of eight and hamburger buns come in packs of twelve? On this trip you may be like the bumblebee. Every aeronautical engineer says it is scientifically impossible for a bumblebee to fly because it's body is too big and it's wings are too short, but fortunately the bumblebee can't read without a teleprompter, so it flys all over. Nothing is as bad as it seems and nothing is as good as it seems and somewhere in-between reality falls. We cannot change the past but we can control the future. The way you play today is critical for your future. I'm not talking about this presentation, I'm talking about life. Three years from now, you're gonna get laid off your job, the banks are all gonna be bankrupt, Iran's gonna blow the Middle East off the map, you get home and find your two kids dating Republicans and you aren't even going to flinch. You're gonna say I met the challenge with the IOC and I'll meet the challenge now. Now let's GO and get that Olympic bid!"

http://cafeanant.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/lou-holtz_2.jpg

[gator]

michAGAIN, that is freaking classic!!

Now where is our resident Holtz translater, so I can read it with the lisp.