Chicago received a first-round knock out on Friday courtesy of the International Olympic Committee, which voted against Chicago’s bid for hosting the 2016 Olympics.
Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are now left seeking approval to host the 2016 Summer Games. The host city is to be announced around noon Chicago time.
To some observers, it appeared that Chicago’s bid had been fast gathering momentum in the last week. Daley and others began to show their confidence as one piece after another fell into place. From First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey’s early commitments to travel with them to Copenhagen, to President Barack Obama’s late decision to go, to bad news trickling out about the Rio’s bid, indicators looked to be going Chicago’s way.
But members of the International Olympic Committee are known for being unpredictable, even impulsive, when they gather to pick a host city.
And in 2016, it won’t be Chicago.
The 2016 Summer Games were to be Mayor Richard Daley’s legacy. Now the mayor comes home to face recession-driven budget woes and concerns about violence that plague Chicago, without the ability to change the public dialogue to Olympics talk.
Daley and his Olympic bid team will now have to decide whether to regroup and try again for the 2020 Games. Conventional wisdom in Chicago cuts against extending the effort, partly because the bid has been so closely tied to Daley. At 67, the mayor’s political plans may not include remaining in office long enough to see through another run at the Games.
I live in Chicago and most of the talk on sports radio leading up to today was about how the city was the favorite to win the 2016 Olympics. To be knocked out in the first round is no doubt a stunning blow to the city, as well as those who thought Chicago had a choke hold on the games.
At the very least, people figured that Chicago would make it to the second round, especially with President Obama and Oprah (I thought it was illegal to say no to Oprah?) making the trip to Copenhagen. But apparently not.
Oh, well.
