My Response to Vancouver Winning the 2010 Winter Olympics (followed by some responses in italics from other people, followed by my response to the responses)


Vancouver got the 2010 Olympics. Big fucking deal. I hate the Olympics - meaningless "events," the athletes that everyone forgets a few days after it finishes and don't remember until the next Olympics. What a colossal waste of time, energy, resources, and cold hard cash. I'm sure all the people dying of AIDS in our downtown core (highest rate of HIV transmission in the world) or living on the streets (poorest neighbourhood in Canada) are thrilled that Vancouver will be getting a world-class luge route. I'm sure the dozen of biathlete fans will be jumping for joy, the ten of fans, the ones of fans....hell, that guy in the toque, going crazy as old what's-his--name tries to ski and shoot at the same time. Very cool.

And I'm sure the 35 million dollars we spent on the bid will seem like money well-invested, even if we had to cut the Vancouver School Board budget by 4 million dollars to do it.

Fuck the Olympics. Playground for the rich.


The Olympics might not really be that great of an event, but it should bring alot of money into the city, which in the long run will help those programs your talking about. The Olympics made Atlanta the city it is today, which is one of the biggest, fastest, growing areas in the US right now.


the 88 summer games helped seoul + korea tremendously. tourism + other financial gains were substantial, but most importantly, in general it boosted the country's self-image, on its way to first-world status.

(your mileage may vary with vancouver + canada, since it might not need such a boost.)

and thomas, plenty of atheletes are remembered long after their feats during olympics. greg louganis. karch kiraly. michael johnson.

(your mileage may vary with winter olympics. well, then again, there are plenty of skaters who are fondly remembered. and i'll never tire of the espn classic episode about the us hockey team beating the russians.)

so: summer olympics = very good indeed, winter olympics = not as good.


The Olympics made Montreal the city it is today - one billion dollars in debt with a giant crappy stadium.

It also made Lillehammer the city it is today. Which is to say, nothing.

The idea that a two week sporting event "made" a city is ludicrous.

It is a party that future generations will pay for. Any financial arguments presuppose that there are no other ways for a city to generate that kind of money. It is theorized that in order for Vancouver to prepare to hold the Olympics $500 million - 750 million dollars will have to be spent. For what, you may ask?

Well...so it will be safe to drive to a ski resort that is already one of the biggest in the world.

To build an athletes village which will later be turned into luxury condoes, despite a desperate shortage of affordable housing.

To pay for people to work at holding the Olympics, work that will end as soon as the Olympics is over, work that carries with it no transferable skills.

Am I living in the same world as everybody else? Cause in my world people are dying in droves from malnutrition, war, natural disasters, drought, floods, the ozone layer is swiss cheese, greenhouse gases are killing everything.

But at least the luge runners and the javelin tossers have a nice event to train for.


Speaking of obscure crappy sports, there are a bunch of ads on TV right now trying to make me feel guilty because 70% of Canadian Olympic athletes live below the poverty line. Uhmmm...so? Hey, you fucking whiner - get a real job! Throwing a spear or jumping over a bar is not a fucking job! Single mothers of three work five jobs.

Fuck. This pisses me off so much.


Thank you for your time.