Oprah Got Her President. Can She Get Her Olympics?

Jake Kalish — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:35:00 GMT

Let no one ever doubt the power of Oprah Winfrey. She's a one-woman empire of kindness, and probably the single most influential person in American pop culture. We read what Oprah tells us to read. We voted for who Oprah told us to vote for. (Yes, that one's more complicated. But Winfrey was Obama's biggest endorsement - far more than political figures like Ted Kennedy or even Colin Powell.) Hell, one woman devoted an entire year to doing whatever Oprah says.

So will Oprah's support of Chicago's 2016 Summer Olympics bid get Chicago the 2016 Summer Olympics?

Ms. Winfrey talked up Chicago to the 13-member Olympic Committee - and was met by protesters:

"What I'm hoping is we can have a real, honest conversation about how great this city is and the possibilities it will bring not only for the citizens of Chicago, but the citizens of the world," Winfrey said.

A red carpet was rolled out for Winfrey and other luminaries at a Columbus Drive entrance. Winfrey was greeted by a crush of reporters and more than 30 protesters chanting: "Hey Oprah can't you see, we don't want the IOC," referring to the International Olympic Committee's evaluation team.

"It's huge, it's enormous, I don't know what they're complaining about," said Winfrey before heading into a night of lobbying, entertainment by Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor and a dinner by award-winning Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano.

"It's only going to be good for everybody," she said of the possibility of bringing the Games to Chicago.

Maybe. It's hard to calculate the worth of Summer Olympics to cities, because often the changes implemented for the games have gigantic effects - both positive and negative - for decades. Los Angeles 1984 was a huge financial success, but Montreal's 1976 Olympics damn near destroyed that city's economy. Literally, the effects are still being felt, greatly, almost 33 years later:

The Mayor of Montreal said when the city was preparing for the 1976 games that the Olympics "can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby".

Three decades later, it's a statement that still provokes sardonic laughter among Canadians where smokers continue to pay taxes on their cigarettes to finance the games.

So no, Oprah, it won't necessarily only be good for everybody. We're not saying a Chicago Olympics would fail, but hosting the Olympics carries enormous risk for a city - risk that should not be ignored.

Chicago is competing against Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio De Janiero - and Rio's initial budget for the Games, 14.4 billion, is almost as much as that of the other 3 cities combined. This 13 member committee reports back to the full 107-member IOC, and the official decision comes in October. So it'll be interesting to see if Oprah can again work her magic...

PREVIOUSLY:

The Summer Olympics: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

Olympics 2008: The Actual Opening Ceremony In 30 Seconds

Another Sex Scandal At Oprah Winfrey's South African All-Girls School

Today On "Oprah": Q&A With Polygamists

Today In PSA's: Oprah's Broadcast Is For "All The Rihannas" -- But Tyra's Got Something To Say Too

The Remote Island : 2016 Summer Olympics

Oprah Got Her President. Can She Get Her Olympics?