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"Blame it on Rio." Or "How I learned to stop worrying and love the Olympics for 72 hours."

Every story must begin with a relatable anecdote:  I worked at WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee for 5 years.  It is the flagship station of the Green Bay Packers radio network.  This happened to be during Favre's glory years, so playoff appearances were pretty much a guarantee. 

Every year, fan expectations followed a predictable pattern.  They were cautiously optimistic on Monday morning.   "We're facing a formidable opponent, we shouldn't take (team) for granted," they would say.  By Friday, they were yelling "SUPER BOWL!!! TITLETOWN!!!! LOMBARDI!!!! WOOOOOO!!!"  The Packers would then lose on Sunday, and the same people who were cautiously optimistic just seven days before came into work looking like their dog died. 

Which brings us to Friday.  

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The Picasso wore a "medal."  Turns out it said "participant" on the other side.  I heard there were 20 thousand people in Daley Plaza for the Olympic announcement. 

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I'm willing to bet most of them were ambivalent about the Olympic bid...until the hype machine cranked up this week.  

It wasn't too hard to get caught up in the craziness.  Every news story leading up to the Friday's IOC meeting was a sign Chicago had it in the bag. 

Oprah was going to Copenhagen!  Obama was going to give a speech!  The national media will be here to cover the announcement!

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Even Charlie Gibson was flying to Chicago to anchor ABC's World News.  They must have some inside info!

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The rally itself was a combination of screaming Olympians and a halfway-decent cover band.  Swimmer Rowdy Gaines was the master of ceremonies.  Scottie Pippen pumped up the crowd.  The lead singer of the cover band flawlessly copied the vocal styles of Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Robert Plant.  Cubs fans brought their "It's Gonna Happen!" signs.  Ronnie Woo Woo got kicked out of the press area.

The IOC opened the vote at 10:12.  It began with each bid city getting assigned a random number.  Chicago got 4, and everyone cheered.  The vote closed five minutes later.  IOC President Jacque Rogge then said Chicago got the fewest votes, and was out.  The four year effort to land the 2016 games was over in two seconds.  People at Daley Plaza had no idea what to do next.  

I had to do a live shot on WGN, and it wasn't that good.  I had no clue what to say.  I had to resist the temptation to say "we gone!"

The people who brought the "It's Gonna Happen!" signs took markers and wrote in "It's NOT Gonna Happen!"  The signs remained pristine through TWO consecutive playoff three and outs, but the fans break out the markers for a failed Olympic bid?

I didn't see anyone crying.  Most said "screw it" and went back to work.  Those who did stick around cheered when the IOC picked Rio.  Classy. 

Rio's Olympic rally was a huge event on Copacabana beach.  Made the Daley Plaza rally look like the dog and pony show it really was.

In the end, I got to interview Scottie Pippen (asked him if the IOC members' memories of the original Dream Team could help the Chicago bid), and I have another credential to add to my hall of failure:

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There will be a lot of blame to go around in the coming days and weeks.  I think it's unfair to pin this on Obama.  Daley, of course, will have to wear it. 

I, on the other hand, blame Mark Buehrle.  We haven't been awarded a single Olympics since his perfect game.

SouthSideSox is a community driven site. As such, users are able to express their thoughts and opinions in a FanPost, such as this one, which represents the views of this particular fan, but not necessarily the entire community or SouthSideSox editors.

4 recs  |  Comment 15 comments

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Nice rundown...

Its like you know how to share information with a larger audience.

Anything that travels that far, ought to have a stewardess on it..

by DrEmilioLizardo on Oct 3, 2009 4:38 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Damn Cub fans ruin everything.

Look yonder, fellow SSSers. 2010 looms bright!
And fns. -wu

by oahu420 on Oct 3, 2009 5:40 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Would you agree that many of the members of the Chicago media, specifically the ones in Copenhagen,

were guilty of cheerleading? Being the first city eliminated, it seems to me that it was fairly obvious the rest of the world still hates America. Was there really no clue of that or were they too busy worrying about Oprah and the First Lady that no one bothered to ask.

FifthFeather.com

by El Duque's Raft on Oct 3, 2009 5:52 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Covering the IOC is like covering any other legislative body.

The Chicago reporters were at an instant disadvantage from the moment they landed in Copenhagen. It’s not like they were on the IOC beat for years, and developed numerous sources giving them insight on how people would vote.

The closest guy I know who is on the “Olympic beat” is Phil Hersh of the Tribune. Otherwise, the local press had to talk to people from aroundtherings.com for IOC insight.

The Trib interviewed IOC members following the vote. They said they had no problem with the Chicago bid team, or the presentation itself. In fact, most of their issues had nothing to do with Chicago at all.

They wanted an Olympics in South America. So it was going to be Rio from the git-go.

Most of the voting members thought Chicago was a solid number 2, so they cast symbolic votes for Madrid, thinking Chicago would make it to the next round.

There are also some hard feelings between the IOC and the USOC.

In the end, trying to handicap the IOC vote is just as difficult as trying to handicap a vote for the Pope. There are no broad issues or easily identifiable external forces prompting people to vote a certain way.

Sounds like the Chicago bid was solid, but unremarkable.

by 67WMAQ on Oct 3, 2009 6:10 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

great read! mahalo!

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love 2010

by Nordhagen on Oct 4, 2009 9:02 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I enjoyed reading this.

...take your hobbit circle jerk to another thread
by larry on May 18, 2009 8:58 PM PDT

by rhythm on Oct 5, 2009 12:20 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Good work.

And good to see you are out of the closet, Rob. 67WMAQ my ass. ;) You and Jim/SoxMachine have no fear.

I was a Catholic boy, Redeemed through pain, not through joy - Jim Carroll

by winningugly on Oct 5, 2009 3:52 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Well, that ain't my name.

But I like your spirit. I was referring to your nametag pic.

I was a Catholic boy, Redeemed through pain, not through joy - Jim Carroll

by winningugly on Oct 5, 2009 6:56 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

It was a nod to Slap Shot

Dickie Dunn was the bad local sportswriter who covered the Chiefs hockey team. Always said he tried to “capture the spirit of the thing” in his game stories.

I hesitated posting the picture of the credential with my actual name, but the shot at the Cubs was to good to pass up.

by 67WMAQ on Oct 5, 2009 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ah, whoosh for me. Good reference.

I was a Catholic boy, Redeemed through pain, not through joy - Jim Carroll

by winningugly on Oct 5, 2009 7:13 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Oh why not, I'm feeling generous

let’s give it some green

No animals were harmed during the making of this comment.

by ChicagoPete on Oct 8, 2009 7:27 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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