At Last, Some No Games Love!

Ben Joravsky, writing in the Chicago Reader on August 3, 2016 said this about opposing the 2016 bid:

Let’s face it, folks: When it came to Daley, everybody in Chicago was a rubber stamp.

Well, not everybody. At this point, I’d like to distribute some symbolic gold medals to the few intrepid souls who had the courage to tell the mayor the Olympics were a terrible idea—to tell the emperor he had no clothes.

Maybe by doing so I can encourage a few other brave dissenters to break from the ranks the next time another mayor proposes a really bad idea.

No Games Chicago: A coalition of activists, led by Tom Tresser and Bob Quellos, that questioned the city’s estimates and showed up at hearings to debate Daley’s boosters. The group even sent a delegation to Europe to petition the IOC to vote against Chicago’s bid.

I’m pretty sure no one in a position of power around here will ever credit the No Games crowd for turning the tide against the games—you wouldn’t want to encourage other citizens to think they could actually beat City Hall from time to time.

Allright now! That’s what we’re talkin’ about – a little love for No Games. Thanks, Ben, you were a lone voice in the media arena speaking out against the bid all those years ago.

More Latecomers to No Games Chicago

Where were these guys in 2009?

Two more latecomers to the ranks of No Games Chicago!

Chicago Tribune sports reporter David Haugh writes “In retrospect…” David – we said ALL those things seven years ago. Where were you? Oh, yeah – you, like the paper you work for and the billionaire who owned it then (Sam Zell) were BIG boosters of the bid.

And Steven Malanga, writing in the City Journal, says “Chicago’s Olympic Escape – The City Should be Glad It Didn’t Get the 2016 Summer Games.” No shit, Sherlock. Where were YOU in in 2009.

Come on, guys, would it kill you to at least ACKNOWLEDGE there WAS a group of people – volunteers with no budget and no office – who DID see all this and more – ACTED on what they knew. Acted effectively and acted without regard to their careers or even personal safety.

You will NOT erase us from the pubic record.

No Games Co-Founder Tells Like It Was (and Is)

From WBEZ-FM Chicago Public Radio’s Worldview program from July 19, 2016 (35 minutes):

Hey, Tribune, You Can’t Erase Us From the Record!

A front page story from the Sunday, July 17 2016 issue of the Chicago Tribune complained about the “pricey legacy” of the 2016 Olympic bid. With two full pages of interior text – guess who was NOT included in the article? No Games Chicago. We were all over the sale of the Reese Hospital site, the costs of acquisition, demolition and securing the site – back in 2009. That was just one of MANY objections we had to the entire process that the Tribune then did not cover. Oh, and the owner of the Chicago Tribune at the time, Sam Zell, was listed as a major donor to the bid – giving at LEAST $100,000!

2016 Bid Still Costing Us – BIG Time

Tom Tresser was asked to weigh in on the ongoing costs of the 2016 Olympic bid. Mayor Daley demolished the Michael Reese Hospital site in 2009 in an effort to impress the IOC. That will end up costing us as much as $150 million!

Chicago Tribune Sees Light – Six Years Later

Holy cow! Where was Phil and the Chicago Tribune in 2009? You can read Phil’s amazing piece here.

You can download it as a PDF along with Tom’s somewhat aggravated reply here.

When the decision to award the 2016 Games to Rio was announced we said “Chicago didn’t just dodge a bullet – we dodged a cannonball.” We like Phil’s headline better.

Keep it up!

Who Profits From Olympics?

From CBC News, a great article, “Winner’s Curse? The Economics of Hosting the Olympic Games” – we might’ve re-titled it, “Loser’s Blessing”! – includes this video of a news segment reporting how the major corporate sponsors of the games, who pay around $100 million each, make huge profits from their association with the games and by supplying the operators with goods and services.

We Said That In 2009

An article from The Guardian on the 2012 London Olympics is titled “Will the Olympics get the economy growing again? Don’t bank on it.” It points out the academic research that shows (and showed back in 2008) that hosting mega-events is a stupid economic develpment plan. The article concludes

“Professor Stefan Szymanski, a specialist in the economics of sport at the University of Michigan, says the body of academic evidence shows “pretty conclusively” there are negligible economic benefits to hosting a major sporting event although it can be fantastic for a country’s morale. “Governments want to host these events because they are highly prestigious and hugely popular with the electorate,” says Szymanski. “If you tell me you’re going to have a party, that’s great – but if you tell me you’re going to have a party and get rich at the same time, then I’m not going to believe you.”

That’s pretty much how we called it in 2009.

Olympic Struggle of London 2012 Resisters

From The Red Pepper, a UK publication. “Resistance to the 2012 Olympics has been widespread and under-reported, starting with London’s bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Games back in 2004. Protests are planned to continue through to after the sporting events finish, in order to challenge the ‘legacy’ of a corporate spectacle. Many of the campaigns have organised around local issues, but the range of tactics has been impressive and has often strengthened community organising on issues beyond the Games.”

Read the full story. Our hearts go out to our colleagues in the UK who fought so hard, for so long. You were right.

Games Go WAY Over Budget

Watch this news report from CBS News. The London 2012 games are 100+ percent OVER BUDGET. All games go over bidget. It’s how they operate.