Rio would be a great bid...if it was going up against Liverpool, Saigon, or Baghdad

When we think of the four candidates for the 2016 Olympic bid, we think of classy, exciting, somewhere where i would actually like to see the Olympics. So when I found out who got the bid, I was shocked and appalled. Rio de Janeiro. Really. Now, don't get me wrong, Rio would be a great bid...if it was going up against Liverpool, Saigon, or Baghdad. There is only one time I would ever want to go to Rio, Carnival. But for the other 361 days of the year, Rio is just a mess where gang violence runs the city. Rio has the number one most gun crimes in Brazil and in 2006; there were 2273 homicides in Rio. Not only are the deaths by civilians off the charts but the police are just as bad. American police killed only 347 people in all of the United States during 2006. In Rio, the police killed 1,063 people, in just one city. Rio will also have the second smallest main stadium in over 60 years, with Olimpic Stadium holding only 60,000 people. (Madrid in 1992 was the first) Madrid's main stadium will hold 73,000. Chicago has one stadium for nearly every event, as well as the second largest convention center for indoor events like gymnastics and weigh lifting, not to mention, it would house all IOC (International Olympic Committee) and USOC (United States Olympic Committee) press offices. Chicago's main airport, O'Hare International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world. The Chicago region is served by two other major commercial airports, Midway and Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport, along with several smaller airports. The city is served by all major worldwide airlines, and O'Hare is an international hub for both American and United Airlines, while Midway is a hub for domestic carrier Southwest Airlines. There is also a considerable network of rail lines and interstate highways in the region. Chicago has over 30,000 hotel rooms in the immediate downtown area alone, and it has the largest skilled-labor workforce in the US catering to conventions and other large-scale media events. Also, the USOC planned to build a 80,000 seat stadium adjacent to Soldier Field which would result in dueling Opening And Closing Ceremonies. Why wouldn't you want that? I know I would be enthralled by it.

So now we're stuck with Rio. Now if I'm in Rio in 2016, which is where I would like to be only for the fact that there would be an Olympic Games being held, if i was there I would probably be enjoying myself. I'd go and enjoy the tram up Sugarloaf Mountain, see Christ the Redeemer, visit the famous Botafogo neighborhood, and enjoy the world's game in its purest form. All this while hiding from the drug lords running the Shantytown which actually spill into the tourist areas. Unlike most major cities, where there is a buffer zone between the upper class and the drug-lord-run towns, in Rio, its everywhere.

There has been a lot of discussion about why exactly Rio got the 2016 bid. Most seem to believe that it's because of Rio's need for an economic boom. But at this point, what city doesn't need an economic boom. Now the citizens of Rio will be stuck with a massive price tag which may or may not be offset by the economic gains of the Olympics. In Chicago, the McDonald's Corporation was expected to help cover many of the costs similarly to the way Coca-Cola did in Atlanta. Since the McDonald's Headquarters is only 20 miles outside Chicago and McDonald's is already a title sponsor of the Olympic Brand, it was the perfect fit. In addition, according to Chicago2016.org, the official Olympic bid website, all debts not covered by the sponsors, will be covered mostly by the Federal Government. The state would only be left with 15% of what the Federal Government was covering.

Why the IOC didn't choose Chicago we will never know, but the real question here is why was Rio chosen. I congratulate the citizens of Rio on 6 years of construction, millions of headaches and tax dollars spent. See you in 2016!

Brett Rosen

Co-Editor in Chief