Chicago loses, nerds win

I think Paul Smith characterized it best: Obama the alpha-nerd was called in to save prom for the jocks.

Jocks v. nerds? Who gets the girl?

Actually, this Windy Citizen sees one aspect of this contentious dispute as a generational conflict which pitted empowered, autocratic baby boomers v. a frustrated trophy generation anxious to be heard.

Citizens hearings probably came too late to polish the public relations image of this fated endeavor.

The only outside feasibilty review of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid came from a firm which enjoyed more than a tangential business relationship with Chicago City Hall.

Chicago did come up a winner as citizens offered robust commentary on such new media sites as Windy Citizen.

Shall we wait until 2020?

The generational angle is an interesting one. Hadn't considered that. Care to expand?

Aside from ruffling the feathers of some nerds who took offense at me characterizing the debate the way I did, reaction to the piece has been pretty positive.

Windy Citizen commentary carried one recurring theme: Olympic organizers appear to have cooked up this $50Million extravaganza sans the valued input of those outside the orbit of power.

While this autocratic approach may have worked for some, it failed to endear itself to those who have yet to financially benefit from the spoils of the political process. If you're struggling to pay the rent, fight off parking tickets & find your first career opportunity deferred, devoting resources to an Olympic quest may seem ill-advised.

Interesting angle/analysis as well.

How and where do the responses of the African American community and political leadership fit into jocks/nerds? The South Side first - and West Side second - would have been the most directly affected by the Games building/contracting.

It would mostly depend on how they made their points, I think. If they made them in a nerdy way, then they'd fit over there. If they made them in a "jockish" way, then they'd break the metaphor a bit.