Atlanta And The Olympics -- Georgia On Their Minds -- How Could Ioc Choose Peachtree Plaza Over Parthenon?
Atlanta?
They're kidding, right? The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta?
How did this happen? What - Jerry Glanville promised to leave somebody tickets?
This is what we in the sports biz call a major upset. Everything pointed to Athens (the one in Greece, not Georgia). Greece is where the Olympics were born. Athens is where they were reborn - or, as they are in
clined to say in Atlanta, born again - in 1896. It figured that 100 years later, the Olympics would return home.
What happened to considerations of history, of tradition, of symmetry, of frequent-flyer mileage (if you fly 50 round trips from Baltimore to Atlanta, you earn enough miles for one trip ... to Atlanta)?
I guess it's true. They announced it Tuesday from Tokyo, where the International Olympic Committee members, all on expense account, met to decide the matter. I understand the determining factor was that Ted Turner, Atlanta's most famous resident, promised to drop the Goodwill Games, so at least some good was done.
Atlanta? Come on. Choosing between Athens and Atlanta seems a simple enough matter. Athens is called the Birthplace of Western Civilization. Atlanta is called Dogwood City. Athens gave us Plato, Aristotle, Socrates. Atlanta gave us Lester Maddox.
They named a city in Georgia after Athens, but you never heard of an Atlanta, Greece, did you? Athens gave us democracy, poetry, architecture, even geometry, which is not exactly a point in its favor. As far as I can tell, Atlanta's one enduring contribution to our culture is the hotel elevator that runs outside the building. What it comes down to is whether you'd rather see the Acropolis or Peachtree Plaza.
You've been to Atlanta, or at least you've been to the airport. It has been suggested that a disturbing lack of airport security in a dangerous part of the world hurt Athens' bid for the Games. Well, God help the athlete who has to connect in Atlanta, the commuters' Bermuda Triangle. I had friends never heard from again trying to get from American to Delta. As for danger, they kill more people every year in Atlanta than Athens lost in the entire Peloponnesian War.
Did I mention the weather? Why not just hold the Games in Ecuador? I'm pretty sure Dante spent a summer in Atlanta before he wrote ``The Inferno.'' If they didn't invent humidity in Atlanta, they sure perfected it, and each year it seems they try to improve upon it. Anyone who has been to an Atlanta Braves game - and, darn few have - knows exactly what I mean.
Atlanta, in sum, is an airport, Coca-Cola, Southern cooking, grits and a lot of streets called Peachtree. It is the supposed capital of the New South, which is said to be a good deal better than the Old South, and I guess it is. I know that one tourist who visited Old Atlanta - a fella named Sherman - was so displeased by what he saw that he burned the place down.
Not that the town doesn't have its good points. For instance, I can very easily foresee Stuckey's as the official restaurant of the Olympics and pecan pie as the official dessert. But, gosh, I wanted to see Athens. I've been to Atlanta, but I've never seen the Parthenon or the remains of the temple of Zeus or ever danced with anyone named Zorba.
Just imagine, being at an Olympics where they all began, back in 776 B.C. There was only one event then, a race of about 200 yards, and the guys ran naked, which explains why the Winter Olympics weren't invented until 1924. The discus toss and the long jump and boxing and a few other events soon followed. And then came chariot racing, when only the horses were undressed. The old stadium seated 40,000, which is why Athens never got an NFL team, that and the lack of locker rooms.
The Games ended in 394 A.D. because Theodosius, the Roman emperor of the day and apparently not a big sports fan, thought they were boring. A hundred years later, an earthquake destroyed the stadium, and there weren't any more Olympics until 1896 when Baron Pierre de Coubertin worked to start the modern Games. He chose Athens, of course, for the opener.
The Baron knew what he was doing. For my taste, the Olympics should be somewhere exotic, somewhere fascinating, somewhere you are introduced to new food groups, somewhere you hardly ever hear English spoken. That's what made the Los Angeles Olympics so perfect. In 1992, the Games move to Barcelona. As the songwriter said, I've never been to Spain, but I kind of like the music. But Georgia, I promise you, was never on m-m-m-m-m-my mind.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A PEAK AT ATLANTA'S OLYMPICS IN 1996
The 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics will be held in
Atlanta, which expects to spend $1 billion to host the event.
1. OLYMPIC STADIUM: Opening, closing ceremonies.
2. OLYMPIC CENTRE: several events including gymnastics,
basketball, volleyball.
3. GEORGIA TECH: New swimming facility; boxing at coliseum;
Olympic Village.
4. OLYMPIC PARK: Events include cycling, canoeing, rowing,
shooting.
5. CIVIC CENTER: Weightlifting.
6. BLACKBURN PARK: Tennis.
------------------------------ ------------------------------
WHERE MONEY WILL COME FROM FAST FACTS ABOUT ATLANTA
(In millions) POPULATION: 3 million in metro
Television rights $549.0 area; 10th largest city in the
Corporate sponsorship 324.0 U.S.
Ticket sales 149.1 ``CAPITAL OF THE SOUTH:'' More
Olympic coin program 67.8 than 80% of U.S. population
Other lives within a two-hour flight
------------------------------ of Atlanta.
Total $1.16 billion BIRTHPLACE: Martin Luther
King Jr.
HOME OF: CNN. Coca-Cola, civil
------------------------------ rights movement.
HOW MONEY WILL BE SPENT YUPPIE CITY: Fast-growing
(in millions) young, urban professional
Venue construction $358.8 market; average age: 28.9
Personnel, administration 150.0 CONVENTION CITY: Third
Communications 149.1 largest in the U.S.
Village construction 59.6 ATLANTA HARTFIELD AIRPORT:
Promotion, media 57.0 Second busiest in the U.S.
Security 56.0 WHICH PEACH TREE? 78 streets
Village operations 31.2 in Atlanta named peach tree
Ceremonies 25.0 but hardly any peach trees
Insurance 20.0 grow here.
Venue operations 17.6 TRANSIENT CITY: Only 40% of
Ticket services 15.0 Atlanta are natives.
Transportation 12.3
Other 53.8
-------------------------------
Total $1 billion
SOURCE: Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Organizing
Committee
----------------------------------------------------------------
COST OF U.S. TV RIGHTS TO OLYMPICS
Atlanta projects a total of $549 million for the TV rights to
the 1996 Olympic Games, an amount which includes non-U.S.
rights.
TOTAL SPENDING, BY NETWORK, 1960-94
Summer and Winter Games combined
CBS - $543.4 million
NBC - 795.9 million
ABC - 691,1 million
1960 Winter Games CBS, $50,000
Summer Games CBS, $394,000
1964 Winter Games ABC, $597,000
Summer Games NBC, $1.5 million
1968 Winter Games ABC, $2.5 million
Summer Games ABC, $4.5 million
1972 Winter Games NBC, $6.4 million
Summer Games ABC, $7.5 million
1976 Winter Games ABC, $10.0 million
Summer Games ABC, $25.0 million
1980 Winter Games ABC, $15.6 million
Summer Games NBC, $87.0 million
1984 Winter Games ABC, $91.5 million
Summer Games ABC, $225.0 million
1988 Winter Games ABC, $309.0 million
Summer Games NBC, $300.0 million
1992 Winter Games CBS, $243.0 million
Summer Games NBC, $401.0 million
1994 Winter Games CBS, $300.0 million
NOTE: Amounts no adjusted for inflation.
----------------------------------------