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Author: TriSec    Date: 01/10/2015 14:12:15

Good Morning.

You may have heard the news that a city near and dear to me has just been picked to be the United States candidate to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2024.



I was lucky regarding Olympics – in 1976, nearby Montreal hosted the Summer Games, and my parents did all the business of saving, planning, and getting us up there to see them.

I was a wee lad at the time, but I remember enough that it stuck with me. We weren’t able to get tickets for basketball, the ceremonies, or some of the gymnastics (We weren’t there for Nadia’s perfect 10), but we spent a lot of time in that stadium watching the track and field events.

Some twenty years later, just weeks after Mrs. TriSec and I were married, the games took place in reachable Atlanta. We had toyed with honeymooning down there, but the cost was prohibitive for “ordinary” folks to attend many of the events. So we wound up on the West Coast instead.

You know that in this century, Boston has styled itself as “City of Champions”. With multiple Baseball trophies, and a few in those other sports, plus colleges, marathon, Head of the Charles, and many other things...there’s a legitimate case to be made.

For years now, the city has submitted a quadrennial bid to be a host city. And for years now, the USOC has shaken us off and picked somebody else. But something finally clicked this time around, and here we are!

But no sooner had the news broke, than a long line of pundits, politicians, and ordinary citizens started lining up to tell the world why it was a bad choice.

“The city is too small”

“It will cost too much”

“There’s too much political corruption”

“Our infrastructure can’t support it”

“There will be too much traffic”

Some perhaps legitimate concern…except that last one. You’ve never been to Kenmore Square when the Sox were playing, or sat on 128 South headed for the Cape on a July Friday? Sorry, at least that point is invalid. We can’t have an Olympics because it will add time to your commute? Sorry, no. But I digress.

Two Aprils ago now, a couple of dunderheads blew some things up at a sporting event. People were killed and injured, and indeed the event was completely disrupted and cancelled. This city responded the only way we know how; with anger and defiance. (See also: 1775) While it’s a poor reason, and I’m the only person thinking this, perhaps the USOC saw how we handled this, saw how the city bound itself together, and saw what we did in the ensuing year to recover, and felt that maybe we had the wherewithal to handle an Olympics?

I shouldn’t have to tell you about civic pride. You all know my feelings about this City; perhaps to a fault. I was born here, grew up here, went to school here, got married here, and now am raising my own family here. I have so far spent my entire life no further than 10 miles from where I was born. I was tangling with a poster in a local website’s comments section yesterday. I told the haters that they had plenty of time to leave the city before the Olympics got here. The poster responded with something about it not being a lack of civic pride, but was more about the challenges and roadblocks faced to hosting such an event.

This is where I must disagree. Since the news broke, I have not seen anyone come out and say it’s a great thing, with the sole exception of Mayor Walsh. Every pundit, politician, and citizen has come out with a laundry list why we can’t have it here – nobody, but nobody has said why we CAN.

That isn’t civic pride at all – that’s Nimby Naysayer, front and center.
 

4 comments (Latest Comment: 01/11/2015 12:02:10 by BobR)
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Comment by BobR on 01/10/2015 14:24:57
I was living in Atlanta in '96, and managed to go to a few events (btw - they generally have the Paralympics immediately after the regular Olympics conclude, and tickets are ridiculously easy to get). The traffic actually wasn't a lot worse, because a lot of people decided to leave town that week, and most visitors chose to take mass transit.

Atlanta also leveraged the sporting venues they already had, and planned ahead on what to do with the new construction (the athlete's Olympic village became dorms for Ga Tech, who also got a new aquatic facility, the Braves got a new stadium), or made certain venues deliberately temporary (the bike racing facility at Stone Mountain).

Atlanta also marketed the Olympics like a whore, selling naming rights to practically anything (Official Condom of the 1996 Olympics™). They were the only city in recent memory that actually came out ahead when all was said and done.

I hope Boston can take some lessons from that. I also hope they come up with a better mascot than Atlanta did (Izzy the blue sperm.... oy)

Comment by Raine on 01/10/2015 20:26:23
Hey everyone! I would like to introduce you a the newest member of the 4F family!

Meet Sir Duke:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/raine1967/sirduke.jpg



and his theme song:
(now you know why I posted this song so randomly last night.



Comment by Will in Chicago on 01/11/2015 01:00:25
TriSec, I think that Boston can have a successful Olympics - with adequate planning. I wonder if the lack of civic support will doom the efforts to get the games.

Raine, Sir Duke is adorable!! How old is he and can you tell me about his breed and personality?

Comment by BobR on 01/11/2015 12:02:10
Quote by Will in Chicago:
TriSec, I think that Boston can have a successful Olympics - with adequate planning. I wonder if the lack of civic support will doom the efforts to get the games.

Raine, Sir Duke is adorable!! How old is he and can you tell me about his breed and personality?

In case you come back and read this...

He's a 2 year old English Setter. They are a hunting breed used to find birds. They are very athletic and energetic outside, but fairly mellow and affectionate inside.