Chicago Is the United States Candidate for 2016

balls.

1. "pull together and be supportive?" that's like saying we all have to support the war so that we provide a united front to the world. boo.

2. is rio an option? RIO!! RIO!!

Great. Just great.
Remind me why we're ENCOURAGING that idiot Daley to sell off chunks of the city to pay for his legacy?
Wake up, people! Or more to New York!

Of course Daley won't be mayor in 10 years. He'll be the chairman of the 2016 games either officially or unofficially. He'll be the one who controls who gets to build what and when and where, guiding the process along cementing his legacy in the process while his friends make a lot of money off the whole thing. In the end Chicago will only get the games because of Daley - he is the lone Chicagoan who has the ability to get things done almost at will for better or worse.

LA didn't even try. Look at their logo, it was asstastic - total amateur hour, stock art looking design.

Unless the Pan American Games this year are a stunning success, the drug dealers can be squashed without a return of a dictatorial regime, the overall economy of Brazil continues to improve, corruption in the Rio state government from previous terms can be overcome, and a sincere effort is made to curtail air and water pollution, Rio doesn't have a prayer.

Despite Beijing hosting the games next year, I think Chicago's strongest competition will be from Asia or even the middle east. Tokyo would have to be considered a front runner, and if security concerns can be assuaged, Dubai has a wealth of resources to spare.

If Chicago wins the Olympics, and if Daley is alive with no legal problems, he will still be mayor. His ego would not allow him to watch someone else bask in the glory.

Prague is in interesting darkhorse. It has flourished after communism and has become a popular tourist destination. Also no Eastern European city to my knowledge has hosted the Olympics, unless if Moscow counts as one.

I'm lovin it

Brazil's probably going to get the 2014 World Cup, which I'm sure your average Brazilian would much rather have than the Olympics. Vancouver's hosting the 2010 Winter, so Canada's unlikely. There's also Dubai, but apparently it's 110F and very humid in the summer there, plus they've only ever won one medal. All signs point towards that fifth star!

"so it seems likely North American will host the 2016 summer games."

Wow...now that chicagoist is out in front , that definitly gives us the push we need. Come on..can we have a little more journalstic integrity?

How can they not pick us? We've got that kick ass logo!

Wow, I have to admit I'm surprised Chicago won over Los Angeles, which had a much lower-risk bid, but that's now in the past.

I think tremendous credit is owed by all of the Chicago area to Akif Malik, who is the visionary who initiated this effort going back to the early 1990's with the Chicago Metro Organizing Committee. He is the one with the grand plan that Daley supported, then droppped in the late 90's, then supported the idea again in 2005.

Malik is a global, international, big picture kind of guy and he may be the key to winning an international bid.

I'm happy for the city (us). I can understand some people's reservations, but to those who would complain that they would much rather see the money going towards the improvement of the CTA and other infrastructure, hosting the Olympics would all but guarantee just that. Do you really think Daley or whomever is in charge is going to let our embarrassment of a public transportation system continue to decay when all the eyes of the world are upon us, especially when one of our selling points was how close together all the Olympic events and buildings will be situated, tied together by public transportation?

Ever since the winter games in Lake Placid, I have always looked forward to the Olympics. I enjoy the convergence of cultures and the spirt of competition waged by amateur athletes who have devoted most of their young lives to this pursuit. I enjoy the televised segments that focus on the lives of the individual athletes, as well as the history and culture of the host city. And because I love this city so much, I think it would be an honor to host these games. This would be a major event in Chicago history, and as others have debated, probably even worthy of a fifth star...

There was such a palpable buzz in the air when we hosted a handful of World Cup matches back in 1994, and the U.S. had/has yet to catch on to soccer like the rest of the world. I can only imagine the energy that the Olympics would generate. And I'll reiterate the one thing on which most of us seem to agree. We really do have a kickass logo--it would be a shame if it didn't get out there...

It just sounds so cool to hear that our town of Chicago is in direct competition against other great world cities like Toyko, Rome, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Prague, Cape Town, etc.

If the games are worth it for those cities, it's sure worth it for Chicago. Just this competition alone will improves civic pride and the profile of the city.

Personally, I worried about Madrid the most - that city has the infrastructure and an incredible vibe, and Barcelona's games were so legendary.

Cape Town and Rio aren't really frontrunners - they've already have shot their wad hosting World Cup events in 2010 and 2014.

Good news to all those whining about the possibility of Chicago hosting the olympics in 2016: Assuming that we get the nod in 09, you have about 7 years to pack up your belongings and get the hell out of here. But why wait? You can be proactive and start packing up now. Until then, however, please get the sand out of your vaginas and appreciate the positive worldwide recognition that Chicago has and will receive as a result of this nomination.

@ thundercougarfalconbird -- Atlanta was always a very busy airport, the Olympics did nothing for that. Delta is the 2nd or 3rd largest US airline and a lot of their traffic is routed through Atlanta.

It did make it easier for Delta to secure an "Official Olympic Airline" sponsorship since they could pretty much make direct flights from anywhere in the world to Atlanta.

nutsacky- excellent Silver Spoons reference.

Personally, I'd prefer if we didn't win the final bid, as I'm not convinced we really WILL do what it takes to get mass transit up to snuff for all the crowds, but maybe I'll be proven wrong. I'm sort of torn, though, because there's also a certain amount of pride involved- as in, hell YEAH we're better than LA!

Waaahhh! I hate Chicago!!! Daley doesn't care about me!!! There is pothole on my street!! Boo hoo! The Olympics are the worst thing since Hitler!! My Alderman are corrupt!! Whine Whine Whine!!!! The Blue Line is slow!!! I don't have a good job because evil capitalists reward people that work hard!!! There was police brutality last month!! Woe is me!! A condo got built where there was an abandoned building!

All you complainers spend your whole lives whining, never spending a moment to improve the society you claim to care about. When you die, no one will remember your name.

Prague has no chance as it's too small!
Atlanta was the smallest city to host the games since WWII & they couldn't really handle the mess.
Atlanta got it because the fools at the IOC got mesmerized by the thought of SYNERGY!
Meaning that the combo of CNN & Coke, both Atlanta based, would propel the games into the stratosphere.
Didn't happen & the Atlanta games are considered to be the worst run of all the post war operations.
The IOC bosses were especially disgusted with the flea market atmosphere around the city. The vendors didn't very well either!
It's probably between just Chicago, Tokyo & Rio.
Madrid won't get it because Barcelona had it in 1992, plus London in 2012 would mean two in a row in Europe.
Tokyo is a possibility, but since Beijing gets it in 2008, will they want it in Asia again in 8 years.
Rio is close in time zones to the US so what ever network has the rights [they haven't been sold yet for 2016] won't have to do much time shifting.
Rio's problems are crime, far worse than ours & Brazil has the World Cup in 2014, can they afford it.
Whichever net gets the rights has a huge input as the US TV rights are around 50% of the IOC's revenue. Chicago's Central Time Zone means all the events will be shown LIVE! The American people won't stand for the weirdness of time delay anymore. The rest of the world all gets live Olympic feeds. Much of the 2016 games will be on cable & satellite, no matter where the games are.
Chicago just might get it by default!
The only real problems are a fourth world transportation system & the temp stadium.
Watch the IOC to "SUGGEST" a permanent stadium for Chicago, which will mean a different location, probably west of McCormick Place or replacing the almost bankrupt Michael Reese Hospital.

@Johan

I had no idea what Rio was like and I just thought it was a wild card in this race primarily because Madrid and Prague seem to be using this as a "practice" run, which whittled it down to Tokyo-Chicago-Rio for me. And you're right, I just have romantic ideas about Brazil and I have no idea what it may actually be like.

And if anyone thinks Dubai has any sort of shot, you're crazy. And I also think our recent misadventures in foreign policy have no effect on how the IOC would see an American city. They know if how much money they stand to make from the sponsors if the Olympics were in North America. This seems to be the primary reason Atlanta beat out other worthy cities such as Melbourne, Tokyo, and Athens (for the 100th anniversary of the modern games even!)

@Abhay

You're right, it is a major hub. I should have done a better job of fleshing out that Atlanta did use the Olympics (for a little while, at least) as a draw for conventions and tourism. Of course, with the bomb that went all out the window, but still... Atlanta expanded rapidly after 1996 and went a long way into shaking off the slow, stupid, southern reputation.

But also remember, for YEARS Chicago wore the "Busiest Airport in the World" thing like a badge of honor. We seem to be insecure about stuff like that and "World's Tallest Building" being taken away from us.

And +1 to "The Sky is Falling!!!" I feel the same way when I read all these comments sometimes.

Atlanta was booming before 1996, and would have continued booming even without the Olympics. It's a Sun Belt city with a friendly business climate and low cost of living compared to large northern cities. You can't twirl a dead cat in Atlanta without hitting a NY or NJ transplant.

People, people, please! You're forgetting what the Olympics are all about: giving out medals of beautiful gold, so-so silver and shameful bronze." As always remember that the "Children are our Future."

I also +1 The Sky is Falling. If the city were competing to host the world's largest hot dog or perhaps the world's fluffiest cat awards, these same people would hate that, too.

Matty, you are an idiot when you write: "You're all a bunch of snide children on this site. I grew up here and have seen chicago go from the hell hole it was in the 70's and 80's to the global city it is today. hooray for the chicago olympics! godspeed to the people who put this together."

My thoughts exactly. Virtually every US city has improved since the 70s & 80s. Times Square was decrepit and you couldn't walk 5 feet through Washington Square Park without being offered hash or coke. In DC, the Navy Yard area was an open air drug market; next year it'll be the site of the Nationals' new stadium. Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital was sketch, now it's surrounded by condos. Pittsburgh was overrun by industrial smoke, now their air is better than Chicago's. Riots erupted in Miami's Overtown, which is now feeling the condo boom. Hell even downtown LA, with its infamous homeless problem, is going condo.

We don't see the likes of the Boston Strangler, Wayne Gacy, or Son of Sam these days.

Yes, Daley has planted flower pots and improved a few things, but a change in police tactics, the 311/911 system, an improved economy, and the distraction of video games & the internet have a much bigger impact on crime rates.

Joe: There are tons of NY/NJ transplants in Atlanta because NY/NJ is unaffordable (and that's why I'm here!) You will also find NY/NJ transplants in PA, DE, VA, NC, and SC as well.

Justin: Times Square, though safer, is a hideous, obnoxious mess. It's all a suburban transplant in the middle of the city, and general waste of time (unless you like Disney and suburbia on steroids). Now Giulliani did solve NYC's crime problem, but he used tactics that were probably illegal and that most people really haven't figured out (What did he do with all the homeless people during his admin?)

smussyolay: "Sand in the vagina" is a South Park reference.