Op-Ed: Chicago Still Is Second City

The people of Chicago are pretty used to being second or third or whatever place they may be ranked. Chicago sent their famous residents to make a pitch for the Olympics, but fell short of getting enough votes.

Rio de Janeiro wins the prize. It is a great city. I hope they have a great Olympics and it will bring great pride to the area. It is the first time the Olympics will be held in South America. However, Chicago would have been a good choice to host the Olympics. The city offers enough venues for all events. It certainly has great culture and restaurants. It has the world's busiest airport. Chicago was eliminated from the running after the first vote from the International Olympic Committee. What a shock! The people of Chicago have endured the second banana label for so long. People have said the city was not as glamorous as New York. It was not as sophisticated as New York. The city's skyline was not as striking as New York's. The former Sears Tower in Chicago is the nation's tallest building, but people don't talk about it like the Empire State building in New York. Sports fans in Chicago know all too well about finishing out of the running. Just look at the Chicago Cubs. They have been around so very long and have not been to the World Series. The other baseball team in the city, the Chicago White Sox finally won a World Series in 2005 after about 80 years. The Chicago Bulls never won anything until Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson came along. Have you noticed they haven't won anything after they left? There has been a surge in murders among black youth in Chicago recently. Did that have any effect on the voting? I don't know. Rio actually has its share of crime and slums. Was there some backroom dealing among the International Olympic Committee voters? I don't know. Maybe Chicago will try again to host an Olympic event. The people there are used to hearing "maybe next year".