[Dog Gone]

The whole premise of the article is stupid. Why would a two-week event change any city or state? It was a very expensive advertisement for the place that the city orchestrated, and they used it to justify a bunch of government projects like light rail, etc.

But after everyone has left, what has really changed? How many St. Lake residents are ever going to try out the bobsled run or ski jump?

Nothing is going to change. It didn't change any previous city. Heck, if anything, it was bad luck for Sarajevo. They became ground central in a civil war.

St. Lake City isn't going to have any permanent change as a result of this. And that's a good thing, because the people there like it the way it is.

[Utah Girl]

I did go up to the ski jump last summer, took some out-of-state friends there. This is one Utahn you'll never see do a ski jump! And SLOC worked really hard to make sure that the venues would be used after the Olympics are over. It will be interesting to see how many more Utahns (the young ones) take up Olympics sports, we now have world-class facilities.

And John McCain has been complaining about Utah getting light rail and a reconstructed highway. We got TRAX earlier because of the Olympics, it was scheduled to be built here a few years later.

And the NY Times did miss the point, you are absolutely correct. Salt Lake City is the way it is because of the people. If we changed, then SLC wouldn't be SLC anymore, it would be a little NYC or San Francisco (heaven forbid!)

[Grig]

Why would a two-week event change any city or state? ... Nothing is going to change.

I wouldn't say that. It's long been known in the church that 'Utah Mormons' were not quite the same as the rest of us who live very much in the minority in our communities. I bet more than a few Utah Mormons got a taste of what it's like for the rest of us, and I expect they came away from these games with a deeper gratitude for Utah's uniqiness and a greater commitment to their faith.