We Lost, Now What?

Hopes dashed. Dreams snuffed. Games off.

And Chicago, on the day of reckoning? Like David Byrne once melodically intoned: same as it ever was.

The Bears, still lovable. The 7-Elevens, still smelling of stale icing and tepid coffee. The cabbies, still hating credit cards.

But surely some things have changed. Well ... yes.

First, as crews are dispatched to remove the curio-worthy "Let Friendship Shine" posters, we'll hear the regionally indistinct accented voices of news anchors wonder "what's this mean for Daley?"

Some reporters might even point to his dismal performance at the Copenhagen press conference as the withering blow that diminished an otherwise remarkable campaign.

And then you'll hear questions about Obama. Did he injure the U.S. reputation by backing a losing bid? Did he walk away from the health care debate and neglect to engage on the Afghanistan problem?

Don't forget the entire Chicago 2016 organization.

As noted by Chicago Tribune columnist Dennis Byrne (an accomplished scribe not related to the aforementioned Talking Head), that's a mighty persuasive fundraising organization -- Daley could rededicate the group to improving the city.

But regardless of what happens in Chicago, the losing Chicago bid likely took America out of the running for any Olympic Games until 2020.

But, as Universal Sport's Alan Abrahmson observed, the U.S.'s chances of winning the games in 2020 -- after being rejected in 2012 and 2016 -- are very slim. And if the 2010 World Cup in South Africa goes well, the country starts looking like a natural for the 2024 games.
 

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