Rooting for Rio

It's perfectly curmudgeonly for me to wish Rio well in the race to be "awarded" the 2016 Olympic Games. I live in Chicagoland, and Mayor Daley wants the Olympics so badly he can undoubtedly taste it. I have been indifferent about it, but I've come to the conclusion that we'd be better off if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selects Rio or Madrid or anywhere but Chicago. I just don't see the benefits to the metro area.

Much of the planned development for Chicago's Olympics appears to be temporary structures, so the long-term benefit to the City and region escape me. It's unclear how many low income Chicago residents will be displaced by The Games. What it seems to come down to is "bragging rights" and "civic pride." Neither of which mean much to a region that is already drowning in municipal red ink and regressive taxes. It would certainly be a better legacy for the current Mayor Daley than the 1968 Democratic Convention was for his father.

If the final decision by the IOC can be massively influenced by the involvement of President Obama and his wife, that also makes me wonder what on earth is going on. Initially, the President wasn't traveling to Denmark and was sending his wife to "represent" him. He was criticized by some for not being sufficiently supportive of Chicago's effort. He subsequently decided he would join his wife in Denmark for the IOC meeting, and he was criticized by others for focusing on the Olympics rather than our health care and financial systems mess. What can the Head of State and the First Lady possibly say in one on one conversations with the IOC members that would seal the deal for Chicago? Beyond "we have a Great Lake" (Lake Michigan), what does the President have to say about running an Olympic venue? I'm guessing not much beyond his obvious star power. If that's the case, the entire selection process seems to be just another sham of smoke and mirrors.

The biggest reason I'm rooting for Rio is that based on the media coverage of Chicago's efforts to this point, if Chicago is selected, it will be absolutely miserable place to be between now and 2016. This week we were subjected to hanging a ceremonial Olympic medal around the neck of the Picasso monkey in Daley Center. Several protestors were arrested for trying to disrupt the medal installation. The local "news" outlets (and I use the term "news" very lightly) positively gushed over the "cute" image of the statue with the medal. They're running "countdown" clocks to the IOC vote. Cripes.

There's no telling how obnoxious and ridiculous the media coverage can get over the course of the next seven years. If Chicago gets The Games, it can only get worse.

Edit 10/1/09: It's good to know that Tribune columnist John Kass agrees with at least some of my concerns: his 9/30/09 column.