2020, uh, 21, uh, who knows Tokyo Olympics thread

That's been happening for a long time and it's just getting more pronounced now. One big reason Beijing got the 2022 Winter Games is that it was the only viable bid. The winter resorts that used to host Winter Games just aren't big enough anymore as far as the IOC is concerned. Lake Placid was really the last one and that's 40 years ago.
As for the Summer Games, the number of US suitors is down to one, LA. Chicago, which could so with relatively minimal disruption, has stopped trying after they didn't get the 2016 Games. Toronto, which the IOC would love (great for American TV ratings with no pesky Americans to deal with) has never tried. The Rio experience means South America will wait a looong time for another host city. Erdogan's reputation has taken Istanbul, once a strong contender, out of play. Bottom line is that Asia has the largest share of the world's population and thus has more big cities capable of hosting Games, Winter or Summer.

 

I suspect that it winds up with two (or perhaps four) permanent sites. What's really going to be fun is when a city decides to back out on their bid. The deficits are just too big and too consistent for cities to continue to build hugely expensive infrastructure for a single use. No matter what they design, this seems to happen more often than not.

 

YES.

Handball is my favorite obscure Olympic sport. I have become a huge fan of the Norway women's team -- their fast break is a thing of beauty.

I got hooked when I first saw them play in the 2008 Games, and the clincher was their semifinal win over Korea, when Korea came from three goals down in the final minute and down two with 35 seconds left to tie it. But after Korea's last goal tied the game with 6 seconds left, the Norwegian goalie instantly fished the ball out of the net and fired a long outlet pass to start the break, and the great Gro Hammerseng finished with a buzzer-beating shot for the win. It reminded me of the Bryce Drew play for Valparaiso in the NCAA tournament.

The wild final minute starts at the 38:00 mark.

 

Little known fact: Hakeem Olajuan started out playing goalie in both soccer and team handball. Imagine trying to get a ball past a guy with that reach and agility.

 

Here's the photo of Hammerseng I used with my post in the Dallas Morning News Olympics blog.

 

You’ll have to give China something, and better summer than winter, as I expect to be plain for the world to see here in 6 months.

I’d go five spots, to be able to check that extra box:

Summer
— LA
— London
— Paris
— Beijing
… Sydney? Brisbane, I guess? India somewhere?

Winter
— Sochi
— Oslo
— Japan? (PyeongChang and Beijing don’t make the cut for your Asian hub, IMO)
— Alps (Milan? Turin?)
— Denver (kidding. Salt Lake)

Sochi has the facilities … and purpose-built world for the Olympics. And dictators and the Olympics go hand in hand. But you need an Alps Olympics and also Norway is as natural a home for a Winter Olympics as is possible.

You think the selection process is fucked up now, just wait until they vote on permanent sites.

 

Guess Vancouver would have something to say about it all, too.

 

Permanent sites mean no more getting wined. dined, and blown/bribed for the members of the IOC. That's going to be a very amusing thing to watch happen.

 

Wait, is this something that's happening, or are we just speculating?

 

Vancouver didn't have enough snow when it had the Olympics. Moving forward it's only going to get worse.

 

I think you'll see regional/ multinational Olympics in the future.
Along with "opposite season" venues so major professional sports can have their Olympic competition in the "offseason."

Hold baseball/softball in the Caribbean or Australia during the Winter Games.

 

I was at a lot of events in Vancouver. The games were a success, but the outdoor events around the city were always at risk it seemed. Whistler is a great venue, and it added a little alpine ambiance, but even there the weather is unreliable.

Calgary faces a similar problem because of the risk of a Chinook wind. Quebec City would have been a great Canadian venue for a winter games, too bad it never happened.