Boston Wins USOC Bid!!!

Shawn H wrote:

Boston is a great city, but Boston is hot as hell and humid in the summer. Can you imagine the Boston Marathon in August? Talk about "Dual in the Sun"! Where else would they hold the marathon except on the famous Boston course?

Hotter than Atlanta? Athens, Greece? It's also very humid in Japan and Korea.

It's in most places in August. That's why there are normally no marathons in August. In Boston, you might get hot humid weather, but you could also get some relatively pleasant weather.

I agree. I've lived in Boston for only 30 years (the last 10 within the actual city and not 5 or so miles away) and have changed my tune since the decision was made. Previously, I had succumbed to the pessimism expressed my many, but after reading too many, "We shouldn't/can't do it[s]" I started getting pissed off and switched. Heck, long after making my fair share of Big Dig jokes, I consider it a triumph, and a case study from which many lessons can be learned.

Boston you're my home wrote:

I have lived in Boston 50 out of 60 years and I am 100% in support for the Olympic Games coming here.

For those who think Boston isn't up to it, I've got news for you - Boston will rise to the challenge, as it does for the marathon, the world series in baseball, the NFL playoffs, the Stanley Cup, or the NBA championships. It will mobilize resources and respond to the challenge, because that is the nature of Boston.

For sure, we will need forward looking visionaries to get involved so that the post Olympic legacy will be for the good of the general public. Let the doubters and nay-sayers have their voice, but this is an opportunity for positive growth and dynamic change that will transform lives as well as bring tremendous vitality and energy to the host city.

I think the final decision for 2024 will be a telling point on how future bids for major international events are headed.

The USATF picks a younger less popular candidate because they think IAAF is getting too old and is looking to go younger and more diverse. USOC picks Boston over larger cities because IOC says they want to rein in the out of control cost which is limiting choices and making its product stale and increasingly irrelevant.

Boston is a tough city to navigate but big enough to have the resources to get things done. Maybe small enough not to get bogged down with big, big time politics of the likes of an LA or San Fran. One could argue that after the Chicago bid failure USOC didn't want to throw in another big city bid. So maybe the Boston bid with all its faults which are many may present something unique and just what the IOC wants to project this time.

My guess is as this past year has shown with World Cup and T&F Champs the biggest bidder will prevail in the end.

Shawn H wrote:

Where else would they hold the marathon except on the famous Boston course?

Perhaps on the inner-city loop course they used for the Oly trials a few years ago?

Ben There wrote:

Shawn H wrote:

Where else would they hold the marathon except on the famous Boston course?

Perhaps on the inner-city loop course they used for the Oly trials a few years ago?

I can't imagine that they would not hold it on the traditional marathon course.

I was fortunate enough to be running Boston the year they held the trials on that loop course day before the main race.

It was extremely exciting and fun to watch. If you stood in the right spot you could see each athlete come by something like 8 times. You really got a feel for the race. I wish all major professional marathons could be run that way.

Bid+ wrote:

Happy to see Boston get the USOC bid for 2024 which many experts predict will be the last Olympics due to the advancement of global telecommunications and electonics technology.

Why would this be predicted? What are you talking about? Who are these 'experts'?