The NBC news report covering the announcement of the location seemed to be caught totally unprepared when Chicago lost the bid. They kept showing clips of crowds of shocked people who thought that they might have been about to party for their town. Whether or not we wanted to host the games, most people in Chicago took for granted that the games would be hosted here. Now that they aren't, we ask ourselves why.
One theory is that anti-American sentiments took over at the convention, causing the one American city to be voted out of the running first. I found it disappointing that we, as a nation, would jump to such a conclusion. We never stopped to ask ourselves, "Oh, maybe Rio de Janeiro simply had a better bid than we did." Or, "Maybe since South America has never hosted the Olympics, they decided to give it a chance."
Rather, we immediately assumed that the whole world was out to get us and shoot down our bid. I find it frustrating that, in a situation like this, politics get in the way of what should be a fun and internationally peaceful event.
The people out in the streets ready to party knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that our city deserved to host, so of course we would be chosen. Is it possible that Chicagoans have developed a small sense of entitlement ever since Obama was elected president? Do we think too highly of ourselves?
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