Today there was the very tragic news of the accidental death of a luger from Georgia.  Today also marks the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

This brings me back to an intense but rewarding experience I had last year. As part of my company’s support for Chicago’s bid for the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, I spent a significant amount of time working in the Chicago 2016 offices.  I’ll never forget the experience.  It was of course pretty cool to work directly with many of the team’s leadership, as well as with some senior representatives of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), and City of Chicago political insiders.  Like everyone else, I was devastated by Chicago’s first round elimination during the selection process.  I don’t know any of the real, underlying reasons for Chicago’s early elimination.  It certainly wasn’t because Chicago’s bid was deficient in any way (my opinion).  Chicago would have made a spectacular place for the Summer Olympics; there is no question about that.

I think in retrospect that there was too much of a disconnect between the USOC and Chicago 2016.  Chicago, the city of politics, was greatly outpoliticked by its competition.

Anyway, I learned a great deal about the whole Olympics experience, the process, the details, the pressures, and yes, the politics.  As I worked with many others on supporting the Chicago bid, I learned about the importance of being prepared for the unexpected.  The sheer volume of important details that local organizers have to keep track of is mind-boggling.

Surely the Vancouver Olympic bid organizers are hard at work right now, trying to figure out the best way to handle the difficult situation for the athlete’s family, teammates, and for the luge competition in general.