The spirit of the Olympics

[barfolomew]

Would Chicago really have that many unused venues? Between soldiers field, Northwestern, UIC, Allstate arena, Toyota park, wrigley and comisky (never the "cell"), would we really have that many unused stadiums that would've been built? Probably beach volleyball (hopefully temp) but that's all I'd imagine.

Less than I originally thought, but several would have had to have been built.
Per Wikipedia ():

"While some venues might have changed at short notice, the Chicago 2016 Bid Book indicated that the following venues would have been permanently constructed: an Aquatic Center, the Olympic Stadium (to a limited long-term degree), a Canoe/Flatwater/Rowing area at Monroe Harbor, a Canoe/Kayak-Slalom Course, a velodrome in Douglas Park, and Field Hockey Fields in Jackson Park."

[warriorchick]

Would Chicago really have that many unused venues? Between soldiers field, Northwestern, UIC, Allstate arena, Toyota park, wrigley and comisky (never the "cell"), would we really have that many unused stadiums that would've been built? Probably beach volleyball (hopefully temp) but that's all I'd imagine.

We would have been forced to build a ton of new crap because that is what the IOC wants to see.

There is no way we could have put the Allstate Arena in the PowerPoint.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I am SUPER glad from a financial standpoint we didn't get it. I shudder to think how many unused venues would be falling apart around the city and suburbs 10 years from now.
Plus, could you image how much SOCCER PLAYERS would be bitching about the turf at Soldier Field?!

I am in favor of the idea of picking a couple of small, underdeveloped countries and having multiple (permanent?) olympics there.

Cops America participants didn't complain. It actually looked like a nice field.

[forgetful]

As far as I can determine she served a suspension for a drug test failure in 2013 and then failed a test this year for having taken Meldonium which was just added to the banned list January 1. She was re-instated because it is assumed she may have tested positive for Meldonium that was in her system prior to the ban's start 1/1.

I was just glad to see that King didn't lose to her after all of the bulletin-board material she provided to Efimova.

I looked into the efimova stuff also as they seemed to make a huge deal of it. 

Her first positive test was for DHEA, which really does nothing but is likely in a lot of over the counter supplements.  Very easy to test positive unintentionally.  Also, DHEA is not going to enhance your performance.

The meldonium is also a head scratcher.  It is only used in Eastern Europe/Russia, where it is a very common prescription and is used by a lot of the population to treat a variety of ailments.  It isn't even known if it is performance enhancing.  It was banned, because a large population of Eastern European athletes were testing positive for it.

If she was trying to cheat, she was doing it wrong.  Those are terrible drugs to use to attempt to enhance performance.  After looking into them, I felt kind of bad for Efimova.

[dgies9156]

I am SUPER glad from a financial standpoint we didn't get it.

Our politicians would have stolen us blind!

$14 billion anywhere else has a magical way of becoming $30 billion or more in Illinois. That's just who we are.

[🏀]

Man, an Olympic Stadium that could've been retrofitted to a new football stadium...tear down Soldier...dreams

[4everwarriors]

Just 'bout all y'all would hit Efimova, peds and all, ai na?

[StillAWarrior]

Michael Phelps:  Greatest Olympian of all time or android?  Discuss.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Michael Phelps:  Greatest Olympian of all time or android?  Discuss.

Both?

[WarriorFan]

Allowing 3rd world countries to host the Olympics is a boondoggle from a development perspective because they cannot continue use of the stadiums and venues, so it's a waste of money, plus the whole thing invites huge amounts of corruption related to winning the bids, construction, etc.  If the Olympics want to have integrity, they need to stick to about 5 venues in capable cities where the infrastructure exists to support an olympics and just a few new venues need to get re-built each time they host. 

My other Olympic rant this year is that the NBC coverage absolutely sucks.  Due to living outside the USA, I watch through Apple TV NBC Olympic app.  The app itself is buggy and many programs freeze and stop.  The commentators all seem like they're 200 years old and were resuscitated just for this event, and there are no efforts to produce anything of interest... like a swimming stream or a rugby stream.  You either watch the one event NBC chooses for you or you watch their schmaltzy programming with a bunch of sob stories or you switch over to Ray Donovan. 

[GooooMarquette]

Michael Phelps:  Greatest Olympian of all time or android?  Discuss.

Pretty awesome how he schooled the South African guy despite the cupping nonsense.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Agree, NBC has been awful. During the volleyball game they missed about 20 points of the match due to commercials, it was really obnoxious.

Besides that though, how good is the women's gymnastics team. Winning by nearly 9 points is unheard of.

[MarquetteDano]

Would Chicago really have that many unused venues? Between soldiers field, Northwestern, UIC, Allstate arena, Toyota park, wrigley and comisky (never the "cell"), would we really have that many unused stadiums that would've been built? Probably beach volleyball (hopefully temp) but that's all I'd imagine.

Chicago also had the largest percentage of temporary venues ever proposed.  One of the reasons they didn't get it.  As said above,  as a Chicago resident, given our finances,  I am quite happy we didn't.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Chicago also had the largest percentage of temporary venues ever proposed.  One of the reasons they didn't get it.  As said above,  as a Chicago resident, given our finances,  I am quite happy we didn't.

I think Boston was planning a lot of temporary venues too.

[mu03eng]

I think Boston was planning a lot of temporary venues too.

Having spent a lot of time in Boston....hosting the Olympics would have been a mitigated disaster.

[real chili 83]

Twin Cities put in a bid for the Olympics 20ish years ago. 

[jsglow]

Both?

Exactly.

[GGGG]

Denver was awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics but had to withdraw in 1972 after voters turned down a bond issue to pay for some of the venues.  The games were then moved to Innsbruck.

Time for the "what if" game.  Had Denver approved that bond issue, the 1980 games would likely not have gone to Lake Placid.  (Although they were the sole bidder for the 1980 games.)  Had the 1980 games been held in Europe somewhere, would the "Miracle on Ice" ever had happened?  Doubtful.

[MU82]

Had the 1980 games been held in Europe somewhere, would the "Miracle on Ice" ever had happened?  Doubtful.

It depends on your answer to the question:

Do you believe in miracles?

[wadesworld]

It depends on your answer to the question:

Do you believe in miracles?

YES!

[dgies9156]

Man, an Olympic Stadium that could've been retrofitted to a new football stadium...tear down Soldier...dreams

The Olympic main stadium would have been in Washington Park on the south side. It would have been a temporary facility and would have been torn down in 2017.

Soldier Field would have been 20,000 seats too small for an Olympic main stadium.

[Galway Eagle]

Chicago also had the largest percentage of temporary venues ever proposed.  One of the reasons they didn't get it.  As said above,  as a Chicago resident, given our finances,  I am quite happy we didn't.

Huh didn't know that but as a Chicago resident that could've rehabbed a house in south oak park or Berwyn and then made bank renting that out this week I'm a little upset that we missed out on the bid

[wadesworld]

Just read up on Lilly King.  Obviously Efimova's steroid use is an issue, but that was, what, 2013?  Do we just ban any and all athletes who have ever failed a drug test?  I guess maybe for the quad that they failed the drug test in might be understandable.  But to continue to comment on a failed drug test as a result of melodonium is stupid and uneducated.  It wasn't on the illegal substance list at the time that Efimova took it.  The fact that they can give her a drug test for something that was legal at the time she took it is the problem.

One of USA's own athletes competing in the Olympic games failed a drug test for the exact same reason.  Max Holt was prescribed melodonium by his team doctor while playing volleyball for his club in Russia.  It wasn't an illegal substance when he took it, but was later added to the illegal substance list.  If Lilly King takes ibuprofen right now and at noon central time the IOC decides to add ibuprofen to the illegal substance list and test all athletes for it immediately, should we ban Lilly King from ever getting in a swimming pool again?  Seems pretty dumb to me, but according to Lilly King that's how it should be.

[warriorchick]

Huh didn't know that but as a Chicago resident that could've rehabbed a house in south oak park or Berwyn and then made bank renting that out this week I'm a little upset that we missed out on the bid

Any money you would have made would have been more than eaten up by the increased taxes the city would have had to levy to pay for everything.

[mikekinsellaMVP]

Any money you would have made would have been more than eaten up by the increased taxes the city would have had to levy to pay for everything.

+1

In fact, we're paying for an Olympics we didn't even host:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-olympics-chicago-2016-met-20160715-story.html

Don't get me wrong Boxer - I was as hopeful as anyone in 2009, but with seven years of hindsight, Chicago ended up avoiding an even bigger economic disaster.