by Dugald » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:19 am
The bid for the Commonwealth Games, no matter where they are to be held, is always a very controversial topic. I have two minds about these international sporting events:
Under Mind # 1, I would vote for Glasgow, and sincerely hope their bid is successful. I was in Scotland during the 1986 Commonwealth Games and met a number of very fine Scottish Commonwealth competitors, and was highly impressed by their attitude in general to amateur sports, and how they behaved themselves... they were very much a credit to Scotland.
One of the big advantages to the city of course, is the jag to the economy, and the number of fine permanent sporting facilities that will be inherited as part of the infrastructure. I'm particularly interested in Glasgow getting its own velodrome. I recall talk about this more than sixty years ago, but needless-to-say, it never got beyond the 'talk' stage. What the Edinburgh velodrome did for the quality of Scottish track racing is well known among Scottish cyclists, and I'd dearly love to see one in Glasgow.
(An aside: Regarding a velodrome, I wonder why it would be located in the east end of the city? The West of Scotland Cycling Association was always the strongest cycling association in Scotland yet a velodrome in the east end of Glasgow would serve a part of Scotland already enjoying some advantage from Edinburgh's velodrome. I'd prefer to see Glasgow's located on the south side and further to the west and within better reach for the Ayrshire riders... always rated among the very best in Scotland ).
I like very much the idea of $1 billion being spent on Glasgow's public transport, and the various aspects of this very important infrastructure item. The $1 billion of course is very impressive, ( a wee bit more impressive than the $125 million/year that it really amounts too) and will do much for Glasgow. I find this idea of river-based transport very interesting. Glasgow, away back when, already had such transport but it ended with the advent of tramcars. Oh, but they'll be exciting times for Glasgow!
Under Mind # 2, I'd vote against Glasgow hosting these games. One must bear in mind that the estimated costs of these sporting ventures are always a lot more than first estimated. Just last year Vancouvar was informed that the costs of hosting the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, has skyrocketed to three times the original cost, and still spiraling upwards. We in Canada remember well the cost of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal --we're still paying for them!
These days I find myself somewhat disenchanted with the direction international sport seems to be going. The joy of competing appears to matter very little now; one must, it seems, win at all costs, and amateurism is but a fond memory. This 'at all costs' of course, leads to lots of underhanded behavior among both judges and competitors. The ultimate aim no doubt, is to make money from participating in international meets. ( It seems another kind of "underhanded behaviour" is generating much controversy here!)
We see so many well-known athletes who owe their wealth to international competition, and the desire to join their ranks is a powerful incentive to take drugs and cheat. The most recent revelation in Canada is the "oxygen tent"-caper currently being defended by more than one Canadian medal winner, as a clean and legitimate competition preparation... as long as one has the $1500 required to buy such an aid. Not different at all from the 'blood-saving' gimmick used successfully by the Yanks in the 1984 Olympics.
What has all this to do with Glasgow hosting the 2014 Games? Well, one can view these games as another opportunity for international competition to foster the growth of drugs and cheating. If only we could return to the happy truly-amateur sport days: the days when finishing second was just as commendable as finishing first, and not, as has now become fashionable to be looked upon, as 'first of the losers' ! Yes, okay, I'm probably dreaming a dream that won't ever materialize.
Of my two minds, I think I lean slightly in favour of Mind # 2. Glasgow and Scotland won't run into a great debt, and, that improved public transit system will be built regardless of the outcome of Glasgow's bid for the Games. Similarly, and selfishly, the cycling venue will be built whether Glasgow hosts the Games or not, and Glasgow will become the home of Scottish cycling ( Glasgow should anyway, be the home of Scottish cycling.).
I was delighted when Toronto lost its bid last year to host the Olympic Games, and this delight stemmed from just the same reasons that if I were still living in Glasgow, and had a meaningful vote, I'd vote against Glasgow hosting the games.