The underwriter would like to state before continuing that this is not a political article since he is a believer in the separation of sports from politics. During the selection of the cities for the 2016 Olympics in Denmark, there were many cities that were competing. The cities were Chicago, Rio De Janeiro [the underwriter’s choice], Tokyo, and Madrid. The presence of some head of states appeared to make sense from a political point but not from the view of sports.
It appeared that the President of the United States Barack Obama decided to go to Denmark to present the case for Chicago being the host of the Olympics under the advice of those who work for them. It is of the impression of the underwriter that Chicago was a city that could host an Olympics secondary to its sports infrastructure such as the stadium for the Bears, White Sox, and Cubs. The people who gave Mr. Obama advice to go to Denmark felt that his mere presence would swing the International Olympic Committee into supporting Chicago.
The people who were supporting the bid by the Windy City to host the 2016 Olympics fell into this form of narcissism and neo colonial attitude without taking into account the high crime rate that exists. They refused to acknowledge that the problems with the visas, as well as the system of security designed by the Department of Homeland Security as well as the bureaucracy did not help Chicago. It was also a refusal to acknowledge that maybe the United States of America has fallen out of its pedestal since the Bush II years that might have helped the cause of Rio de Janeiro.
The International Olympic Committee may also have wanted to award the 2016 Olympics to a city and a continent that has yet to host the games. They also wanted to show the world that theye were not mere puppets of the United States of America. If the city of Chicago was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games, the impression that the International Olympic Committee was a mere pawn of the USA would have been quoted in the media. The comments were just simply theories that have yet to be proven.
Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama suffered loss of prestige when the International Olympic Committee eliminated Chicago as a possible contender for the 2016 Summer Olympics for the reasons previously mentioned. It also distracted the public from the issues that could have been discussed including health care and ways to improve the decaying infrastructure in America. The lesson that should be learned is that no political figure should go to the International Olympic Committee to lobby for their city.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 