Shattered Dreams

As the Beijing Olympics fast approach, those watching from Qatar will have a difficult time reconciling these 2008 festivities with the Olympic committees disappointing decision earlier this year to exclude Qatar from the final 4 cities vying for the 2016 games. The local journalism helps put the shear scope of the devastation in perspective (I have a sneaking suspicion that the photograph of ladies crying has NOTHING to do with Olympics).

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=222672&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

There's been plenty of 'talk' that the Olympic committee is biased against Arab countries, but while there are probably several reasons that Qatar was overlooked (heat, tourism, infrastructure, perceived terrorist threat, event attendance) the one that resonates with me is historical Olympic participation. Bringing the Olympics to Qatar would be like bringing the World Series to New Zealand - there's no connection. It might be a nice place (debatable in August), willing to pay for new facilities and infrastructure (if they complete)... but what emotional connection does Qatar have with the Olympics. Shouldn't a host country boast a resume with more than 2 Olympic medals?

There's actually a small Olympic store in one of the big malls here, and if the maroon and gold colored albatross-like mascot hanging in the window is any indication of the plans submitted to the Olympic committee, I can't say I'm sorry to see the likes of Rio and Tokyo battle for 2016 (although Chicago probably has the edge since Rio is dangerous and Asian/Europe are hosts in 2008 and 2012).

Luckily for family and friends the Olympic store refuses to offer a discounted price on the albatross stuffed animals, even 2 months after learning they missed their chance. Maybe they are waiting to see what becomes of the 2020 bid.