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TheOtherView
Opinions from around the country
The United States Olympic Committee has chosen New York
City over San Francisco as he country’s candidate
for the 2012 Olympic Games. Although it is an occasion
that would be cause for jovial celebration in other
cities, New Yorkers are barely raising their eyebrows.
For that reason alone, one must wonder whether the Games
coming to the Big Apple would be as glorious as NYC2012,
the city’s bid committee, is building it up to
be.
Surely,
the Olympics would raise New York to even greater heights
of fame and truly cement its self-proclaimed status
as the capital of the world. The event would even expose
New Jersey to the world. Soccer games could be held
at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford and at Rutgers
Stadium. New York, already has more than enough glitz
to outshine any other city on earth and also holds a
sympathy card from its Sept. 11 wounds.
Nonetheless,
there are reservations to bringing an international
sports event to a compact metropolis that lacks such
a tradition. The foremost of these concerns is the financial
burden it would impose on a region already reeling from
budget shortfalls. It is also doubtful that the necessary
infrastructure can be built to efficiently accommodate
transportation circumstances of the event, given that
perpetual nuisances already exist.
With
over 10,000 athletes and millions of spectators flooding
into the city in a short period of two weeks, the task
is extremely daunting. Moreover, local opposition to
the construction of an 86,000-seat Olympic Stadium over
rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan persists.
NYC2012
will face a difficult challenge in the years ahead.
Not only does it have to compete with reputable cities
like Paris, Madrid, Moscow and Budapest, it must gain
the favor of a world already unfriendly to an America
exhibiting its hard power. Most importantly, it must
garner support from New Yorkers themselves who already
are convinced that their city does not need the Olympics
to be eternal.
This
is a staff editorial from the Daily Targum at Rutgers
University. This editorial was distributed by U-Wire.
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