I walked around today feeling like a big loser. I think everyone in Chicago did.
Like the Americans we are, we thought we would win.Las Vegas was betting with us. Like the Chicagoans we are, we thought we had “greased enough palms” to win. I mean come on, we had the A team on this one. The Obamas and Oprah! Who can resist that star power? Well, I guess 80 of the 98 members of the International Olympic Committee did.
I don’t mind losing every once in a while, but to come in dead last? Chicago was eliminated in the first round. Geez! Now that is embarrassing to come in after Tokyo. Chicago got 18 votes in the first round and we spent, what about $70M in putting together our bid? We spent almost $4M a vote? Think of where that money could have gone?
Why did we not get the Olympics? While I was hoping to win, I picked Rio to actually get it. For it to be in South American simply proved to irresistable for the IOC members. (Although I thought we would come in second). Maybe its payback for what the international community feels about how we have behaved militarily abroad the last 8 years. We will never know.
So where does Chicago go from here? After our pity party today feeling real good and sorry for ourselves, we should follow these steps which I detail in my book, Bounce!
1. Humility– Realize that sometimes we lose despite our best efforts. Things like this can right size our ego.
2. In Failure, Give Up the Shame– Okay so we came in 4th, but we raised the money to put together a credible bid and handled ourselves respectively in the process.
3. Realize that Failure Gives Us Choices– We were able to raise alot of corporate dollars to sponsor the bid. The committee came up with ways to build wonderful venues. Let’s use this as a basis for further economic development and planning in Chicago.
4. Let Go! and move on! After we are done feeling sorry for losing, we have to let go and move on to other things that can give us a chance at success again.
5. Set New Patient Goals. Now without the Olympics as our focus, let’s set new goals to improve the infrastructure of our city or new causes we can rally around.
6. Value Action- Above all, let’s go do something, get on a new path. Only the experience of future successes will build our confidence again.
What do you think Chicago should do to Bounce?
Sure Barry, “Maybe its payback for what the international community feels about how we have behaved militarily abroad the last 8 years.” Still blaming that stupid redneck ex-prez for everything that goes wrong in your little world? Really? Wow.
Maybe, just maybe Chicago lost the bid in reaction to our current arrogant, snot-nosed punk of a community organizer / president. Or how about the fact that there are few places in the civilized world a thinking person would rather be LESS than Chicago.
My apologies if I offend, but you, sir, are a moron.
BKJ
Chicago should still come together around sports, in an intramural way.
Kids need something to do. Expand sports programs, not just to build athletes but to get kids active – remember, we’re the second fattest city in the US. Then cascade this through adults.
Let’s do more than cheer on the White Sox or Cubs, let’s cheer each other on. It sure beats shooting each other…
mp/m
Maybe its because there are shootings every day and the death rate is so high. Its sad to think of this being the place that is scarey to visit. Long ago, Chicago had the reputation of being the place where mobsters like Al Capone came from. If you went to another Country and said you were from Chg, the foreigner would show his understanding by pretending to shoot a machine gun. Our reputation hasnt changed.
We lost! Way to deal with it head on, Barry.
We should take full advantage of those plans to upgrade the train system. A faster rail network with Chicago in the middle would have gotten a boost from the Olympics, but as you said, maybe this is a chance to be “patient” and do it right.
But to really build some fast trains, everyone needs to think bigger. I think China is spending around $225 billion on new trains. We’re spending like $8 billion.
I’d like us to win on this one.
Chicago can hold its head high. Even without the games we promoted our world class city on a very large stage.
While I was very disappointed I quickly remember one thing. The will do the games again in 2020, and that number sounds even cooler than 2016.
@BKJ- I have been called much worse than a moron. Thanks for your comment. You have to admit that after the last 8 years, we are not the most popular country in the world.
The IOC voting system is archaic and politics runs deep.
Barry, I think it’s a relief! Let’s take the funds and enthusiasm and create spaces to serve Chicagoans, avoiding the distraction of creating temporary uses for the Olympics!
Blaming the loss on how we behaved militarily for the last 8 years? Gimme a break…
How about blaming it on Valerie Jarret and the rest of the incompetent Chicagoans in the White House?
Maybe the international community looked at what Obama and friends cooked up in his first 8 months in office and said we don’t want these folks running an Olympics.
Gee – I wonder how the IOC would have voted if Mitt Romney was President and made the pitch?
If you look at the vote, it seems that Chicago and Rio split the first round, because in the second round all the Chicago votes went to Rio
Greetings from Europe Barry.
You’re probably not far off on the speculation about the international community’s feelings about what they often perceive as American arrogance (even if it is also a part of the same traits they admire–pride, persistence, and determination).
But I also think that most of the world felt that Rio would take the prize. Olympic games in that part of the world are long overdue.
I’m saddened to see some of your readers, perhaps from Chicago, talking about crime in such a self-derogatory way though. Chicago has the same level of crime as almost any large metropolitan region. It would be nice to reduce homicide in the tougher parts of Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris, Glasgow, Madrid, Tokyo, or Rio de Janeiro. But all of these cities offer so much more worth boasting.
Chicago is a marvelous city and it can now benefit from the momentum of participating in this competition. The city will be spared horrendous debt and overrun costs from the Olympics too. And yes, maybe it can re-build the old infrastructure, replace deteriorating concrete over-passes, save its green spaces and lakefront envisioned by Daniel Burnham…and make bigger plans for the next international event.
Warm wishes from Sweden.
@Mary
Nothing bad about Rio, they will do a great job! I am just disappointed we didn’t win and came in last!
Hi Barry. I liked what you said. After spending so much time and money coming up with a bold plan, the city should not abandon it. Mayor Daley should keep the spirit alive, as well as those Chicago 2016 banners, by announcing a grand 7-year redevelopment and revitalization project that would be fully-realized in the year 2016. We should not let the IOC and international politics derail many of the great ideas that sprung from our Olymbic bid.
I don’t think we came in last. We survived the first round playoffs between other American Cities such as LA, NY, SF, etc.Then we made the second round – 7 international cities selected, cut down to 4 finalists. We were eliminated in the first round of voting in the finals. You could say we made it to the final four. Not too shabby for our first run at this in half a century!
Why didn’t Chicago get it? Three things to consider…the first two you’ve read about, my third point hasn’t really been discussed….
1.) The delegates to the IOC are really unknowns. They are not heads of state or heads of corporations but former athletes and folks connected with the sports organization world. They’re interests, biases, and views are
unpredictable and since the voting is secret, we will never know why they each voted the way they did.
2.) If you look at the vote breakdown by each round, it becomes clear that there was a significant block for each city, with no clear favorite. Each area of the world was voting for the city in their region (Europe delegates for Madrid, Asian for Tokyo, etc…) The North American block is small and the U.S. delegates couldn’t vote as long as Chicago was in the running. Chicago had the smallest base to start with. Rio was the second choice of everyone except the European block. As each round concluded, the votes of
the losing city went to Rio.
3.) Counting Vancouver next year, 6 the last 16 Olympiads have been in North America — four of them in the U.S., since 1980. While, 1980 to 2016 is 36 years, it’s not really a long time in “Olympic years”. No other country can claim even close to four “hostings” as the U.S. can — Lake Placid, L.A., Atlanta, and Salt Lake City — in such a short time span.
The U.S. had a drought of not hosting between 1932 and 1980 but since then it’s hard to make a case that there has been some kind of conspiracy against the U.S.
It was South America’s turn and Rio is deserving — although read last week’s New Yorker about the crime/gangs in Rio. It makes Iraq look like Switzerland.
Two other things to consider: first, the bickering over the T.V. rights/contracts and the USOC’s attempt to start an Olympic network is inside baseball but may have had more impact on the vote outcome than the IOC will ever admit. There are huge dollars at stake here.
Second, if all of the above is even half-true, than one must conclude that Chicago’s chances of getting the Olympics (despite what the betting parlours said) was really a long-shot. Of course, the Chicago 2016 Committee could never reveal that — I mean, if we’re going for it, we better act like we’re really in the running. But in retrospect, I don’t think our chances were ever real high. And if that is true, than one must ask, was the Chicago bid worth it?
@jonathan Great comments and analysi