Hooray for Chicago!

They didn't get the Olympics!



Which is MUCH better than their having gotten it.



Yes, I know that Mr. and Mrs. Obama - as well as Ms. Winfrey - wouldn't agree. And let me just emphasize that I still think Chicago is the greatest city on earth. I always try to go back to visit at least once a year so I don't kill myself (last week's pilgrimage was, of course, delightful).



And I really need to emphasize that Chicago - wonderful, glorious heaven that it is - should be thrilled to death they didn't get The Big Show.



Here's why -



1) Millennium Park. This should pretty much say it all - this thing was dreamed up in 1997 (when I first moved there) and, when I moved away in 2005, it still wasn't done. It is finished now and is heralded as a great architectural achievement. Me, I think it looks like a giant cosmic cat was scampering through outer space, accidentally swallowed the Space Station, and then hacked up a giant metallic hairball onto the western shore of Lake Michigan. Then the people who lived there figured they might as well plant some trees and put in an amphitheater. Millennium Park is at the top of my "Favorite Things To Miss If You're Visiting Chicago and Running Out of Time" list. But the central point here is that it shouldn't have taken years and years to create this thing...but if Texas is the state where everything is bigger, than Chicago is the City Where Everything Takes Longer. If they HAD won the Olympics, nothing would have been finished by 2016, trust me.



2) I didn't talk to one person living there who thought it was a good idea to have it. Now, as Jay Leno (I believe) once said, "While New York is the city that never sleeps, Chicago is the city that never shuts up." Trust me, EVERYBODY in this town has an opinion, and the opposition to having the Olympics was far, wide, and loud. For one thing, why spend good money on this? Chicago already has a diverse, international community, so bringing in another diverse, international community really wasn't a big selling point. Chicago is already overrun with tourists (and residents) who don't speak English, and everybody who does speak it doesn't want to lose the tiny advantage they already have. And the El is already too crowded. Seriously - I think most of the people there saw the Olympics as being one huge, unnecessary pain-in-the-ass, and they're right. Chicagoans may be vocal, but they're also sensible.



3) Chicago is already a top tourist destination. It has some of the best shopping, restaurants and museums in the world. And the World knows this. Chicago doesn't need the Olympics to bring up its self-esteem, because it already knows how fantastic it is. A city like Cleveland or Detroit, on the other hand, could use the business and the hoopla. There are plenty of towns that could use an international pat-on-the-back, the building of an Olympic village, and an influx of business. Yes, Chicago has been impacted by the recession, no doubt. But I was thrilled to see that in my old neighborhood, rents have gone up, not down. Property values in some areas of the city continue to rise. So, relatively speaking, Chicago is probably hanging in there better than most and doesn't need the world's mercy.



4) We've had plenty of cities in the U.S. who have hosted these games: LA, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City, just to name a few. But heck, I had no idea South America - and entire CONTINENT - had never hosted the games. About damn time they did. And I'm glad they will!



And Chicago? Don't feel sorry for them. They would just laugh and laugh if you did.