HellToupee
Footballguy
Dear God no.Boston was picked as the usoc choice for 2024 summer games. Marathon day sucks to high heavens , couldn't imagine that over a two week period day after day.Can only hope the bid falls short.
http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2015/01/the_usoc_picked_a_fight_in_choosing_boston_as_its.html
Perhaps figure skater Nancy Kerrigan summed it up best more than two decades ago in her own quest for Olympic glory.
“Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!?!?! Whyyyyyyy????!!!!?”
Is this real life? In what logical realm is Boston, our Boston, a more logical spot to host the Olympic Games over San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C.?
And yet, here we are. Bizarro.
So, how you feeling, Boston?
“The USOC picked a fight,” said Chris Dempsey, the head of No Boston Olympics, a group opposing the idea of the city hosting the Summer Games.
Ah, yes, the United States Olympic Committee, presumably of sound body and mind, did indeed choose Boston (yes, our Boston) as its representative for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Boston will now go up against cities with potential bids including Rome, Paris, and Melbourne, presented to the International Olympic Committee, which will make its choice in September, 2017.
No, seriously.
"It is an exceptional honor for Boston to be chosen as the U.S.representative in the running for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement. “This selection is in recognition of our city's talent, diversity and global leadership. Our goal is to host an Olympic and Paralympic Games that are innovative, walkable and hospitable to all. Boston hopes to welcome the world's greatest athletes to one of the world's great cities."
So, just how the hell did this happen?
Only a month ago, reports out of California had Boston delivering the weakest bid to the USOC. Heck, only an hour before the official word came down, reports said that it was between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Suddenly we’re the country’s choice to host the Games in 2024?
Huh.
“Well, look, the boosters said they had a 75 percent chance of winning, so this is not a surprise,” Dempsey said. “I think what’s especially concerning for us is that there are reports that the bid was dramatically strengthened in the last 10 days, so our question is what promises were made to the USOC that could impact Massachusetts taxpayers and the communities that the Olympics would impact. This is yet another example of decisions being made behind closed doors.”
Dempsey wouldn’t venture a guess about what might have transpired over the last few weeks that heightened Boston’s candidacy in the eyes of the USOC voters, who made the decision Thursday during a closed-door meeting at Denver International Airport.
That’s perfect. The USOC made a decision for Boston’s future at a place that was more than a year overdue and $2 billion over budget. At least the committee has a taste for irony.
“We don’t know what promises were made behind closed doors,” Dempsey said. “We also don’t know the strengths and weaknesses of the other bids. None of this has been made public. So the fact that a bunch of un-elected ex-athletes and business executives at the Denver Airport can determine the next two years of civic conversation in Greater Boston is absolutely outrageous.”
To be completely fair, the Boston 2024 boosters should be commended for dreaming big for Boston, for recognizing potential in a city that, frankly, just isn’t ready to take on the magnitude of an international event like the Summer Olympics. It just isn’t.
It remains to be seen if it will be in another decade.
It also should be noted, however, that if this proposal were done even as recently as 15 years ago, the dreamers would have been committed.
“Today’s selection by the USOC is the beginning of an incredible opportunity for Boston," Boston 2024 chairman John Fish said in a statement. "It has already provided our many educational institutions, community and business leaders and elected officials a unique opportunity to collaborate like never before to promote our city to the world. Going forward, Boston 2024 is committed to a thorough and extensive process to discuss the potential opportunity the Olympic and Paralympic Games present our community. Boston is a global hub for education, health care, research and technology. We are passionate about sports because we believe in the power of sport to transform our city and inspire the world’s youth. A Boston Games can be one of the most innovative, sustainable and exciting in history and will inspire the next generation of leaders here and around the world.”
Boston has for sure made enormous civic strides in the past decade-plus. From the Big Dig to the Seaport, the city is less of a logistical headache (unless you ride the Green Line) than at any other period in our lives. The waterfront has gone from polluted dump to vibrant gathering spot. The Central Artery has transformed from grim pitfall to lush landscape. You can even buy beer on a Sunday these days.
But the Olympics? Reality is a hysterical farce.
The United States hasn’t hosted a Summer Games since 1996 in Atlanta, which will have been 28 years ago come 2024. There’s a significant chance that the IOC leans favorably toward the U.S. when it makes its decision two years from now, giving the city seven years to prepare - and pay - for an Olympic event that up to now the public knows nothing about. Boston 2024 boosters have promised transparency should they win the U.S. bid. And so, here we are, on the verge of hosting a Games that nobody wants to pay for, and that few think we can even actually handle.
We’ll just let you come up with a few ideas about how we ultimately came to this. Maybe it will be in your tax bill by 2018.
“This isn’t just about No Boston Olympics, it’s about the millions of people in Massachusetts who have real questions about the Olympics and whether this is a good thing for our Commonwealth,” Dempsey said. “The USOC picked a city and a state that has deep concerns. We hope that the people of Massachusetts - and we know they will - join us in saying, ‘enough is enough.’ This is not what we want in our Commonwealth.
“They’ve really got a fight on their hands.”
And so it begins, like a crippling club to the back of the knee.
http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2015/01/the_usoc_picked_a_fight_in_choosing_boston_as_its.html
Perhaps figure skater Nancy Kerrigan summed it up best more than two decades ago in her own quest for Olympic glory.
“Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!?!?! Whyyyyyyy????!!!!?”
Is this real life? In what logical realm is Boston, our Boston, a more logical spot to host the Olympic Games over San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C.?
And yet, here we are. Bizarro.
So, how you feeling, Boston?
“The USOC picked a fight,” said Chris Dempsey, the head of No Boston Olympics, a group opposing the idea of the city hosting the Summer Games.
Ah, yes, the United States Olympic Committee, presumably of sound body and mind, did indeed choose Boston (yes, our Boston) as its representative for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Boston will now go up against cities with potential bids including Rome, Paris, and Melbourne, presented to the International Olympic Committee, which will make its choice in September, 2017.
No, seriously.
"It is an exceptional honor for Boston to be chosen as the U.S.representative in the running for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement. “This selection is in recognition of our city's talent, diversity and global leadership. Our goal is to host an Olympic and Paralympic Games that are innovative, walkable and hospitable to all. Boston hopes to welcome the world's greatest athletes to one of the world's great cities."
So, just how the hell did this happen?
Only a month ago, reports out of California had Boston delivering the weakest bid to the USOC. Heck, only an hour before the official word came down, reports said that it was between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Suddenly we’re the country’s choice to host the Games in 2024?
Huh.
“Well, look, the boosters said they had a 75 percent chance of winning, so this is not a surprise,” Dempsey said. “I think what’s especially concerning for us is that there are reports that the bid was dramatically strengthened in the last 10 days, so our question is what promises were made to the USOC that could impact Massachusetts taxpayers and the communities that the Olympics would impact. This is yet another example of decisions being made behind closed doors.”
Dempsey wouldn’t venture a guess about what might have transpired over the last few weeks that heightened Boston’s candidacy in the eyes of the USOC voters, who made the decision Thursday during a closed-door meeting at Denver International Airport.
That’s perfect. The USOC made a decision for Boston’s future at a place that was more than a year overdue and $2 billion over budget. At least the committee has a taste for irony.
“We don’t know what promises were made behind closed doors,” Dempsey said. “We also don’t know the strengths and weaknesses of the other bids. None of this has been made public. So the fact that a bunch of un-elected ex-athletes and business executives at the Denver Airport can determine the next two years of civic conversation in Greater Boston is absolutely outrageous.”
To be completely fair, the Boston 2024 boosters should be commended for dreaming big for Boston, for recognizing potential in a city that, frankly, just isn’t ready to take on the magnitude of an international event like the Summer Olympics. It just isn’t.
It remains to be seen if it will be in another decade.
It also should be noted, however, that if this proposal were done even as recently as 15 years ago, the dreamers would have been committed.
“Today’s selection by the USOC is the beginning of an incredible opportunity for Boston," Boston 2024 chairman John Fish said in a statement. "It has already provided our many educational institutions, community and business leaders and elected officials a unique opportunity to collaborate like never before to promote our city to the world. Going forward, Boston 2024 is committed to a thorough and extensive process to discuss the potential opportunity the Olympic and Paralympic Games present our community. Boston is a global hub for education, health care, research and technology. We are passionate about sports because we believe in the power of sport to transform our city and inspire the world’s youth. A Boston Games can be one of the most innovative, sustainable and exciting in history and will inspire the next generation of leaders here and around the world.”
Boston has for sure made enormous civic strides in the past decade-plus. From the Big Dig to the Seaport, the city is less of a logistical headache (unless you ride the Green Line) than at any other period in our lives. The waterfront has gone from polluted dump to vibrant gathering spot. The Central Artery has transformed from grim pitfall to lush landscape. You can even buy beer on a Sunday these days.
But the Olympics? Reality is a hysterical farce.
The United States hasn’t hosted a Summer Games since 1996 in Atlanta, which will have been 28 years ago come 2024. There’s a significant chance that the IOC leans favorably toward the U.S. when it makes its decision two years from now, giving the city seven years to prepare - and pay - for an Olympic event that up to now the public knows nothing about. Boston 2024 boosters have promised transparency should they win the U.S. bid. And so, here we are, on the verge of hosting a Games that nobody wants to pay for, and that few think we can even actually handle.
We’ll just let you come up with a few ideas about how we ultimately came to this. Maybe it will be in your tax bill by 2018.
“This isn’t just about No Boston Olympics, it’s about the millions of people in Massachusetts who have real questions about the Olympics and whether this is a good thing for our Commonwealth,” Dempsey said. “The USOC picked a city and a state that has deep concerns. We hope that the people of Massachusetts - and we know they will - join us in saying, ‘enough is enough.’ This is not what we want in our Commonwealth.
“They’ve really got a fight on their hands.”
And so it begins, like a crippling club to the back of the knee.
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