Who Gets the Winter Games No One Else Wanted?

The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 29, 2015 | MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

[Hot Tabasco]

Michigan would be a great place to hold the Winter Olympics...but where?

There's no place in northern Michigan high/long enough to host the alpine skiing events........

[tacticalogic]

Do it in Antarctica. Then you could have them in the summer, when it’s warm.

[equaviator]

“There’s no place in northern Michigan high/long enough to host the alpine skiing events...”

Build it and they will come!(?) There are probably a lot of excavators and earth movers looking for work in Lower Michigan.

[Hot Tabasco]

Build it and they will come!(?)

You can't realistically build a mountain that would require a 2 mile run. Men's downhill courses must have a vertical drop of between 800 meters and 1,100 meters for championship and world-cup events and there is no way that can be man made on any recreation ski resort that is not in the mountains............

[equaviator]

Yep, it’s pretty much impossible.

[Alberta's Child]

I don't think it cost very much to host the Winter Olympics there in 1980. There were only six venues for all of the events, and most (if not all) of them were built as training centers for U.S. Olympic athletes. There were only 38 different events, and the U.S. won gold medals in only six of them. Remarkably, these included the "Miracle on Ice" gold medal in hockey, plus Eric Heiden's five gold medals in speed skating. That's it.

Another interesting bit of trivia ... The Lake Placid Olympics in 1980 were the last time the speed skating events were held outdoors. It's really strange to see video clips of those events with trees and mountains in the background, and spectators bundled up in the cold!

[Norm Lenhart]

I’m from there. (just up the road.) Trust me when I tell you. It tanked a lot of businesses and cost money that was not there to spend. And when you are a town of a few thousand, it takes decades to replace tens of millions of dollars that the state screwed you on.

[Hot Tabasco]

Yep, it’s pretty much impossible.

I was a competitive slalom skier in high school back in the late 60's in northern Michigan. Back around 1985, I took a ski trip to Alberta, Canada and stayed at Sunshine Village where the 1984 World Cup championships were held.

I had the opportunity of skiing the slope where the Husky downhill was held and all I can say is OMG!

Watching these events on television DO NOT even come close to conveying the actual courses these skiers have to compete on.......

[equaviator]

Very impressive, HT. My favorite skiing competition is the giant slalom. BTW, whatever happened to barrel jumping? I like barrel jumping a lot more than curling.

[Hot Tabasco]

whatever happened to barrel jumping?

LOL! I haven't heard that sport mentioned in over 40 years.......