Tampa tried to host the Olympics in 2012.  They failed.  The man who chaired their commission to secure the bid said that Birmingham has “as much chance as an ice cube in Tampa.”  I think he’s being a bit polite.

The very notion of hosting the Olympics in Birmingham - an idea floated by none other than mayor Larry Langford - is so absurd that even responding to it gives it more justification than it deserves.  Dan at Daily Dixie took a stab at addressing some of the reasons the Olympics wouldn’t be hosted in The Ham, but the actual list is much longer than ten reasons.

Just think about it.  Jefferson County could become the largest municipal bankruptcy in the country.  Ever.  Larry Langford is under investigation by the SEC.  The “ice cube in Tampa’ article lists more reasons.  Birmingham would need to more than double its number of hotel rooms.  The city “must guarantee the financial success of the games.”  See the previous bankruptcy and SEC investigation points.  The article states that there must be cooperation between city, county, and state governments.  Do I even need to address that one?

It also costs a lot to host the games.

More than $15 billion was spent on the Athens games in 2004, driving Greece into debt. And China has spent a record $42 billion on this year’s games, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

$42 billion!  Isn’t that just about what the Huntsville-Madison County Metro Jail will cost by the time they finish it?

Hey, I say go for it.  I don’t live in Birmingham, so my tax dollars won’t be wasted.  I think it will be amusing to watch them try.  Think about the proverbial dog chasing the car.  What do you do when you catch it?  Worst case scenario is that they actually win and screw up the Olympics for the entire world.

• Jeff Co on precipice of bankruptcy
• I’m glad I don’t live in Birmingham
• Did China field underage gymnasts?
• Reason #234,489 I’m glad I don’t live in Birmingham
• I could have told them it was a bad idea

This entry was posted by Brian on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Alabama, Idiots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.