According to ESPN, American city Chicago was a front runner for selection as host city for the 2016 summer games. However the city was the first one eliminated from the selection process despite an eloquent plea from our President Barack Obama.
The winning city was Rio de Janeiro of Brazil who will be representing South America as a first time host of the Summer Olympics. The fact that the rest of the probable host cities had been from countries that had hosted the games repeatedly was not lost on the IOC voters who apparently were ready to address what was touted as an imbalance by the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Footage of the disappointed Chi-town faithful filled the television for several minutes as the ESPN anchors rushed to explain what was described as an upset of some sort. Chicago had been considered a front runner for a large portion of the process, and there is only speculation as to what changed in the hearts and minds of the voters.
According to ESPN.com there is speculation that a voting block from Asians in support of Tokyo could have sealed Chicago’s fate. There is also talk that the President’s speech was to brief and didn’t show the voting IOC members the proper amount of respect.
In all fairness to the IOC it could easily be the fact that South America has never hosted the International event after several tries to do so. In this modern world there is no logical reason why one entire continent is neglected in the process of celebrating international unity, in other words it was about time.
Leave it to ESPN to find ways to derive controversy from what should be an inspirational story about a country finally getting the chance to present itself and its citizens on the world stage.
The sad part of all this is the fact that the true meaning of the Olympic Games is overshadowed by the baseless gamesmanship of ESPN and the arguments they put forth in reporting on this instance. We, as a country that has had the luxury of hosting several Olympic events, should be celebrating alongside Rio in their opportunity to put on a great show as host city to the worlds Olympic Games.
Rio 2016 - Promotional Video:
