LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 9/03/07
The annual Ogden and Salt Lake Marathons draw runners from all over the planet. Deer Valley has been holding international World Cup mountain bike races for over a decade. America's hottest triathlon, the XTERRA, comes back year after year to Snowbasin.
There are world class tracks and gymnasiums at both BYU and the University of Utah. Utah's Tour de France contender Dave Zabrisky honed his chops right here on the Watsach Front.
What do all these events have in common?
They are all Olympic sports. The venues which host them are of Olympic quality. And Salt Lake is an Olympic rarity: one of the few cities in the world that could host both the Winter and the Summer Games.
Remember the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics? It was a wonderful time to be in Utah. The entire state was united; galvanized with a glowing and tangible goal: to flawlessly host the largest event in the world and to invite the world to come here and celebrate it.
It wasn't flawless, of course. But that unity, that sense of purpose; oh, it just felt so good. And it always feels that good, whether you live in Torino or Barcelona or Athens or Calgary. The Olympics has lasted more than three thousand years because of the way it makes people feel: the pride of country, of state, the awe of watching excellence, the satisfaction of hard work's payoff when the fireworks go off for the opening ceremonies.
The Beach Boys once wrote a lilting love song to memories of the past, singing, "Let's get together and do it again..."
Well, why not? Why not get together and do it again, but this time make history by putting on the Olympic Summer Games; something no other host city has ever been able to do.
Utah is known for the greatest snow on earth, so another Winter Olympics is a no brainer. But the state pays less attention to its summer attractions, which are considerable. Compare a Wasatch Front Olympics to the grubby Games of Atlanta; clean mountain air instead of the gritty smog of a city; a scenic valley surrounded by rose-red mountain peaks instead of a skyscraper jungle, and the chance to show the world how Salt Lake looks in another season.
For the bottom liners, take a look at what Utah got from hosting the Winter Games. Aside from the lingering influx of increased tourism bucks, the IOC and the Federal government gave Utah money to redo nearly every street and highway and fix up some infrastructure as well. As city planners all know, the Olympics has become a sort of municipal welfare system from which even the bid cities prosper.
And that is a big key as to why Salt Lake should plan a bid for the Summer Games, starting now.
You see, it will take a long time for the IOC to seriously consider such a bid, especially since there is still a lingering grudge over Salt Lake's expose of the corruption into which the bid process had fallen. But during that waiting time, there will be constant publicity over Salt Lake bidding for the Summer Games after having hosted the Winter ones. It will be a free touting of the marvels of the Wasatch in summer; the biking trails, the sporting venues, the western beauty of the mountains. People who are not winter vacationers might begin thinking of spending their two weeks in June or July coming to explore the Cottonwoods or Temple Square or Park City.
It may take 20 years for Salt Lake to be a serious contender for a Summer Olympics; 20 years of people talking about Salt Lake in summer. Meanwhile, the roads and infrastructure will be, as always, falling into decay. As Salt Lake becomes more of a bid contender, more millions will be bestowed on the Wasatch by the Feds and the U. S. Olympic Committee.
During that time of bidding and being rejected and bidding again and again, people will form committees and boards and organizations. They will work and plan and have a purpose. They will unite and feel the taste of future glory. They will feel love for their city and for each other, and as before, they will be like a magnetic core that attracts more and more people to the dream.
Then on one glorious day, as thousands and thousands gather on the grounds of the City/County Building to watch the announcement live, the announcer will say, "...to Sa...." and that will be all anyone will hear, because the screams will drown everything else out. Then the whole city will come together to plan again the biggest party on earth, and the joy of doing it will be a highlight in the lives of millions of people. As it always is, in every Olympic city.
So thank you, Beach Boys, for the suggestion. It's a good one. Yes, let's do it...Let's get together and do it again.
Wina Sturgeon