After our class discussion on the Olympic bidding process, I had a conversation with a friend about all of the information that is taken into account: the years, money, and planning on even asking to be a host city. She said to me "well, I guess ya gotta be pretty, and rich or you ain't gettin" and she went on to speak of the commercialization our world has moved to, and the manifestation of money/power in athletics. I found it really hard to believe, as she is a younger, less educated student- especially in sports (she's an education major).
But after discussing this information with her, I was even more interested in the concept of planning for an entire Olympic event. A lot of different factors have to be considered some of those are climate, culture, location, finance, touristic appeal, and costs. It's a huge decision for a nation to consider, and especially actually attempt to host the Olympics, because it costs so much money and takes so much time. For this reason, it makes sense that some cities have hosted the games multiple times. Some of these include London, Lake Placid, Paris and Athens.
I think I would enjoy working for the IOC, because I really enjoy and thrive at sports planning. However, I would also have a lot of anxiety because of the distance in time between each games. I don't know if I can wait that long in seeing the results of my work. Definitely want to attend an Olympic game, preferably summer- but want to experience both at some point! London 2012 would be amazing!!
But after discussing this information with her, I was even more interested in the concept of planning for an entire Olympic event. A lot of different factors have to be considered some of those are climate, culture, location, finance, touristic appeal, and costs. It's a huge decision for a nation to consider, and especially actually attempt to host the Olympics, because it costs so much money and takes so much time. For this reason, it makes sense that some cities have hosted the games multiple times. Some of these include London, Lake Placid, Paris and Athens.
I think I would enjoy working for the IOC, because I really enjoy and thrive at sports planning. However, I would also have a lot of anxiety because of the distance in time between each games. I don't know if I can wait that long in seeing the results of my work. Definitely want to attend an Olympic game, preferably summer- but want to experience both at some point! London 2012 would be amazing!!
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your suggestion that commercialization is almost threatening to overshadow athletic events/competitions. For a large athletic competition, there are so many companies marketing their concepts and products in order to contribute the financial backing necessary to sponsor these significant events. There are times when watching a sports event on television, it seems like more time is spent watching commercials for Adidas, Budweiser, etc. than watching the actual game competition. The Olympics is certainly is a great example of this struggle between the athletes/sports and power/money. It is mind-boggling to think about the amount of time and financial investment that is necessary to execute the Olympics.
Stephen