Reply #22: I was at the games in Greece

[Renew Deal]

And they were not a disaster by any stretch. They were an overwhelming success when it came to the athleticism and presentation of the games. Remember, these are the first post 9/11 games. Greece was on a budget that was impossible to meet after 9/11.

Attendance was mixed. Greece is a small, not very wealthy country. Games in the afternoon that were inexpensive and interesting we're packed. Soccer, beach volleyball, basketball, handball, volleyball, water polo, swimming and some others did very well. Ticket sales will not be an issue in NYC. There are as many people here as all of Greece. There are fans of every sport here. Also the culture here is closer to a normal schedule than Greece.

Sports like gymnastics were a different deal. I bought tickets to the Mens all around final here before I left. They were $168 per ticket. Greeks don't have that kind of money. The event was filled with foreigners. Also events that were scheduled early in the day had trouble. Greeks party late and sleep late during the summer. They evacuate Athens during August for vacations. Some stayed behind to work the games, but many left.

There is some corruption with the games, but not any more than any other large organization. The Olympics were used as a way to bring peace to the Greek lands. Warring cities would stop fighting during the games. Peace is still a central part of the games. They talk about Peace throughout the world. There isn't another mainstream, large organization talking about Peace on earth the way the Olympics can. http://www.olympic.org/uk/passion/humanity/index_uk.asp

Your 4th point is completely dishonest or in other words a lie. The Olympics have the strictest testing of any sport anywhere. Here is something about how they handled doping in Athens. http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/athens2004/antidoping/index_uk.asp

To claim that "IOC wants millions of cancer patients to suffer additional burden on their livers and immune systems because there is currently no way to test for Neupogen blood doping" is just shameful.

Your 5th point is comical. You must not have been in NYC for the RNC convention. They used similar tactics to Athens. I never felt scared in Athens. I'm not sure what you mean by machine guns, but they won't be carrying anything that they don't carry already.

Your 6th point sells the reason why NY should have the games. The Olympic village (4400 units) is typically converted to low income housing. The tax revenue from hotels, fares, sales and other taxes will be used for the school systems. The subways will be expanded and improved for the games. Tourism will instantly go up with a major bump in 2012. Jobs and small businesses in particular will spring up all over NYC. There will be many projects to complete over the 6 years before the games. Some of the companies will stay after the games end. We're talking about thousands of new jobs.

NYC is the perfect home for the games. It's where they belong. This is the home of the UN. This is the capitol of the world. There are people from everywhere and they will come out to see their countrymen in potentially the greatest games of all time.