Olympic Fever
From this week's issue of Naperville On Line Weekly:
I can’t help but notice the irony that we left London just after we won our bid to host the 2012 Olympics. This week we’re going to find out if Chicago is going to host them in 2016.
In England I found out the result by watching a live TV broadcast at home on my own one morning. This time I expect to be surrounded by hundreds of excited Napervillians at a street festival being held this Friday on Chicago Avenue!
In London, all we really worried about was how London Transport would cope with a massive influx of tourists and how much the event would cost us all. In Naperville, people are thrilled because they can see what a great model the Olympics are to our local children.
I’m not sure they actually realize, however, that if we do win the bid, it’s not terribly likely any Olympic competitions will be held in Naperville. Volleyball on Centennial Beach, rowing on the Du Page River, marathons along the Riverwalk or gymnastics at one of our high schools? Not sure I can see it myself. Perhaps we’ll just hold our own version of the games. Running along the tollway to get to Premium Outlets on Black Friday, balancing the books at the Nichols Library, weight lifting the bells in the Moser Tower, that sort of thing. But one thing I am sure of. If Chicago is selected, no one will be prouder than the residents of Naperville.
I can’t help but notice the irony that we left London just after we won our bid to host the 2012 Olympics. This week we’re going to find out if Chicago is going to host them in 2016.
In England I found out the result by watching a live TV broadcast at home on my own one morning. This time I expect to be surrounded by hundreds of excited Napervillians at a street festival being held this Friday on Chicago Avenue!
In London, all we really worried about was how London Transport would cope with a massive influx of tourists and how much the event would cost us all. In Naperville, people are thrilled because they can see what a great model the Olympics are to our local children.
I’m not sure they actually realize, however, that if we do win the bid, it’s not terribly likely any Olympic competitions will be held in Naperville. Volleyball on Centennial Beach, rowing on the Du Page River, marathons along the Riverwalk or gymnastics at one of our high schools? Not sure I can see it myself. Perhaps we’ll just hold our own version of the games. Running along the tollway to get to Premium Outlets on Black Friday, balancing the books at the Nichols Library, weight lifting the bells in the Moser Tower, that sort of thing. But one thing I am sure of. If Chicago is selected, no one will be prouder than the residents of Naperville.
posted by Hilary at
8:29 AM
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