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I was in the middle of Daley Plaza when the information was revealed: Chicago had the lowest amount of votes and thus was taken out of the running for the 2016 Olympics. As Ileana, my co-blogger would say, “Womp womp”. And that was exactly the sentiment of other Chicagoans who had spent the morning at DP waiting (im)patiently to see if Chicago would win the bid.
I think that this picture perfectly sums up how Chicagoans were feeling before the let down:
Look at those people on the jumbotron! Flags waving, mouths wide open to scream and yell their support. The guy in the forefront of the picture was so dang happy, his eyes are glistening with tears. People were all smiles and filled with Chicago pride and I was really happy to see so many people come together for something.
When we lost the bid, it was so unexpected and the announcer was so nonchalant as he blandly rattled off that we had the least amount of votes, people were silent. No boos. No jeering. No nothing. They all just…left.
It was a mass exodus from Daley Plaza as people tossed aside flags and fans with the Chicago 2016 logo on the concrete and said nothing. It was so barren after the announcement that a reporter from a Chinese station in Chi had to interview…ME. The only person who was obviously sticking around.
I expected to see a little more reaction from Chicagoans, but I didn’t. Most people just shrugged when I asked for a reaction on camera or said that since Chi was out of the running, they hoped Rio would get the bid.
It got me thinking: Did Chicagoans (not just the Obamas, Oprah and Billy Dec) really want the Olympics to be held here? There was, from the start, a huge pull from No Games Chicago, an organisation made up of volunteers who vehemently opposed the Olympics being held here.
What does everyone think?
I will post a video of reactions from the celebrations later! :-)
Daley Plaza's fountain bled Olympic orange for the bid day festivities Friday. Now that Chicago has lost, I wonder if the fountain will go back to normal, or if the city will keep it orange in honour of the Bears.
Dev xx
Though the weather today is dismal at best, I could not resist taking a few snapshots of my train ride from Evanston to downtown Chicago. Despite the obvious groaning of the 7 a.m. riders, begrudgingly heading off to work, there was the unmistakable anticipation of Friday night debauchery to come, post 5 p.m. I’m sure anyone who rides the el will certainly recognize some of these sites. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera so I snapped these shots with my iPhone, but I think they still came out pretty well.
As I was riding along, I couldn’t help but wonder about the sad condition of CTA trains and tracks. Everything was under construction–no doubt completing some last minute maintenance to impress the Olympic officials– and the speed of which trains were moving were sluggish. Things appeared quite dangerous and its hard to understand, personally, how a shoddy system is expected to transport millions of more people during the Olympics (pending selection)? This Olympics bid is certainly a proverbial double-edged sword. With endorsementsrom f President Obama, Michael Jordan, and now Oprah, it’s hard to see how Chicago wouldn’t be selected. The Olympics would satisfy the city’s need for fluffing up the tourism industry, as well as creating jobs. But the question remains of what happens to these jobs after…will there be issues of public safety? What happens when the money stops rolling in?
Just thinking aloud. A little Friday morning rambling. Hope everyone is having a good day and enjoy the pictures! Let us know what your plans are for the weekend!
Protesting the 2016 Olympics in Chicago
LISTEN TO AUDIO FROM THE PROTEST ON THE LINK ABOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
In case you missed the Olympic protest today on Adams Street, here is an audio snippet and a couple of pictures! What do you think?
Dev xx
