[NU Sports] Chicago, Obama and the Olympics

[MHRJGScott at aol.com]

Well written, and a great day for America indeed. Let me be the first to  put 
the arm on you for Olympic tickets, Pat Ryan, even though I have met him  
does not know me from Cornelius Ryan, my great Grandfather.
 
 
In a message dated 1/20/2009 5:05:10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
Alan.Abrahamson at nbcsports.com writes:

The IOC  vote is some nine months away, for those interested. The
chairman of the  Chicago 2016 bid is, of course, Pat Ryan, whose name you
might find on  football facility at Northwestern.

At any rate, with list guru Mr.  Nolan's permission, I share my blog
today at universalsports.com, and  include the  link:


--


http://wcsnblogs.com/olympics/alanabrahamson

The  44th  president
<http://wcsnblogs.com/olympics/alanabrahamson/alanabrahamson/2009/01/20/
the-44th-president/>  
January 20th, 2009 

The world turned Tuesday. Everything  changed.

There was Barack Obama, declaring in his inaugural address of  the United
States of America, "We are ready to lead once more,"

And  there, just a few minutes later, in a Marine helicopter heading off
into  the distance, was George W. Bush, president no more.

The promise - and,  yes, the hope - that is America rang out Tuesday over
a sea of people  crowded into the National Mall and, of course, via
television to the far  corners of the country and the world. Here was
Obama, "a man whose father  less than 60 years ago might not have been
served at a local restaurant,"  standing before the world "to take a most
sacred oath."

The new  president proclaimed, "Now, there are some who question the
scale of our  ambitions - who suggest that our system can not tolerate
too many big  plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten
what this country  has already done; what free men and women can achieve
when imagination is  joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."

He also said,  "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility
- a recognition,  on the part of every American, that we have duties to
ourselves, our nation  and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly
accept but rather seize  gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is
nothing so satisfying to the  spirit, so defining of our character, than
giving our all to a difficult  task."

The new president now must confront an extraordinary array  of
challenges. An extraordinary array of constituencies awaits, too, to  see
the direction these United States move under his  leadership.

Among those constituencies will be the delegates of the  International
Olympic Committee, who on Oct. 2 will pick the site of the  2016 Summer
Games, choosing Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid or Rio de  Janeiro.

It is far too much on this Inauguration Day to proclaim that  the pick of
the 2016 Games marks one of the new president's immediate  priorities. It
does not, and should not; he surely will be occupied with  matters of
different gravity. Soon enough, however, the IOC vote will  approach, and
one of the fascinating things to watch will be the role that  the
president, from Chicago, opts to play in the IOC decision.

The  past two IOC votes have proven unequivocally that the appearance of
a head  of state can make the deciding difference in an IOC election.
Tony Blair,  then the prime minister of Britain, appeared in Singapore at
the 2005 IOC  vote for the 2012 Summer Games; London won. Vladimir Putin,
then the  president and now the prime minister of Russia, appeared in
Guatemala City  at the 2007 IOC vote for the 2014 Winter Games; Sochi
won.

No  American president has made such an appearance before the IOC.  Will
Obama?

No one knows. Just last week, Chicago Mayor Richard M.  Daley called
Obama the "quarterback" of the city's 2016 bid team. Still,  will Obama
appear in Copenhagen, site of the 2016 decision, in October? No  one
knows.

Already, however, the world knows things not only will be  different than
they were yesterday; they are different. Obama, in the first  sentence of
his address, underscored that he already understands what so  many want
from the United States - to take its rightful role among the  leaders of
the nations of the world but to assume such leadership with  humility.

He said,  "I stand here today humbled by the task before  us, grateful
for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices  borne by our
ancestors."

Godspeed, Mr. President.  

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