Boston continues to enjoy its run among the best U.S. sports cities, with the Patriots entering the NFL playoffs this weekend. Its latest success: Winning U.S. Olympic Committee support to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
"I think it's terrific, and we've got some work to do," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told the Boston Herald.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker; Boston Mayor Martin Walsh (Getty Images)
And one not without questions. Take, for example, these comments from Boston radio station WEEI's website:
Has everybody gone insane? After all we've been through around here in our lifetimes, are we seriously for even one second considering having an Olympics in town? Doesn't any of this sound familiar to anyone?
Yes, the Red Sox are in their most successful era since Babe Ruth wore their flannels. The Celtics aren't close to their best, it's true, and the Bruins are in a middling NHL season.
The city's problems also are on display this week. Jury selection is under way in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and the same activity began nearby in the murder trial of former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
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And that's just scratching the surface, specifically the sports scene. With the prospect of major building proposals ahead, Bostonians are still trying to forget the Big Dig highway project.
That raises the question of how Boston residents will react. The city and surrounding area will be asked for plenty during years of infrastructure development and during the games' 17-day run.
M-O-N-E-Y. That's the biggest issue.
"I promise this will be the most open, transparent and inclusive process in Olympic history," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said at Thursday's announcement ceremony. "I also promise that I will never leave Boston with a large price tag of an unpaid debt."
Frugal. Remember the word and Walsh's promise.
"The mayor and the Council are in lockstep that no public funds go into this. There are more urgent needs," City Councilor Steve Murphy told the Herald.
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So, is this truly a "terrible idea," as ESPNBoston suggests?
As with any Olympics, this is a major regional project, as demonstrated by a map of proposed venues.
Rivals for the U.S. anointment are grumbling. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington are among them.
In L.A., Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke pooh-poohs the decision. While he sees Los Angeles as a potential site of Olympic milk and honey, he denigrates Boston as a site without venues and lacking cultural and environmental charm.
To sum up Plaschke's arguments about Boston: "It's just not an Olympic city, not like Los Angeles, not even close."
L.A., you must remember, is nirvana.
Boston will be considered when a decision on the '24 site comes before the International Olympic Committee. There are challenges for the USOC as it tries to mend relations and build support ahead of the 2017 site vote.
At least Boston is being considered with major international cities hoping to land the games, including Paris and Berlin.
All cities have problems. Boston isn't an exception. Here's what Victor Matheson, a sports economics professor at Holy Cross, told the Herald.
It will be a traffic and transportation nightmare for three weeks. Imagine three weeks of Yankees/Red Sox Friday night during the pennant race. We have that to look forward to.
It's well to remember the inherent problems. No place on Earth is without a slew of them; no place.
Good luck, Boston. You are going to need it.