11 thoughts on “Blame it on Rio”

  4. Rio doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle this event. Been there a few times. They can’t even control the criminals who roam the city and live up in the slums.

  5. Having been through the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, I am feeling sorry for the Brazilians. They are are about to go way into debt and have very little to show for it after a year or so. I am wondering how many tourists will become statistics due to the outrageous crime in Rio?

  6. We already had problems with the Pan in 07. They had to spend a “brazillion” (rimshot!) to finish everything on time and everything that was built then is now abandoned.

    I don’t even think about the poor tourists… Forget Rio! Go to Disney people!

  7. You send 3 O’s to Denmark to seal the deal on Chicago and they hose it up. Why were they involved in the Olympics?

  8. Each city had their dog and pony show: Rio had Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Madrid had King Juan Carlos and his wife the Queen, and Japan had Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. And of course the mayors were there also. Brazil sent Pele, and former basketball players Hortencia Marcari and Janeth Arcain, gymnast Daiane dos Santos and yachtsman Torben Grael, so it would be unfair to suggest that the US had overkill with their delegation. The buzz was that Rio had a great chance all along. The fact that having the Olympics in South America for the first time was the biggest factor in choosing them. Oddly enough, Madrid had the most votes the first time, but as the field narrowed, it appeared that there was little support for Madrid as votes for them barely grew each round until finally Rio was the last one standing with a huge 66 to 32 vote count vs Madrid. Oddly enough, when you consider the way the vote worked out, more IOCC members didn’t like Madrid as they only gained 4 votes in three rounds.

  9. That’s awesome! They look so excited! I was hoping that Chicago would win out, but I’m happy for Rio. It’s the first time the Summer Olympics have been in South America…very cool!

  10. Dot – I am like you–I live near Chicago and am very glad Chicago lost in the first round. As Richard mentions, I did not want to be saddled with the debt that comes with the Olympics. I think I heard that the last Olympic games that was profitable happened in 1960.

    I enjoyed going to Atlanta in ’96; perhaps I will be able to go to Rio and only have to pay for tickets–not pay all the taxes needed to fund the building and loses.

  11. From what I have heard one reason the Chicago got axed early was because of our scary passport screening. It’s Orwellian even for a citizen.

Leave a Comment