November/December 2009 | Sports Destination Management

November/December 2009

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Sports Destination Management Magazine

November/December 2009

On October 2nd I received an e-mail alert notifying me that Chicago had been officially eliminated as a contender for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Shortly thereafter I learned that Tokyo, then Madrid had been removed as well, leaving Rio as the ultimate choice. Agree or disagree, the reverberations around the globe were immense. With President Obama and Oprah in attendance, the IOC decided on a different path for the 2016 Olympic Games. Chicago, at one time considered the favorite, placed a distant fourth in the balloting. In her article, "The Makings of an Olympic City", Juli Anne Patty explores some of the factors involved in this decision.

A week later, the IOC made another dramatic decision: It decided golf was now finally worthy to be an Olympic sport for the first time since the early 20th century. Based primarily on the global impact of Tiger Woods and the burgeoning international success of players from non-traditional golfing countries (the Masters and the PGA Championship were won by Angel Cabrerra - Argentina and Y.E. Yang - Korea, respectively) the IOC decided to capitalize. In her Site Selection article, Mary Helen Sprecher examines golf facilities and what to look for when choosing a site.

In this issue

Community Enthusiasm: The Roar of the Crowd

BY: Joan LaRosa

The power of the crowd is amazing. Imagine you are an athlete on the field ready to go up to bat, dribble a basketball to the net or run for a touchdown with hundreds or thousands of people counting on your every move. You are preparing mentally to bring your team closer to a win when you start to hear the crowd. A thunderous noise comes from the stands: clapping, cheering and stomping of feet to lead you to your goal, to virtually carry you to your destination. It makes your hair stand up and the more the crowd cheers the more they become involved in your win, your drive, and your goal. more....