Chicago or L.A.? There's no comparison
Windy City should land 2016 Olympics because of pizza, comedy, high rises
 | Even though Chicago's lovable losers, the Cubs, have had a cloud over their World Series bid for decades, the city and it's fans are hoping to get the U.S. Olympic Committee's nod on Saturday to host the 2016 Games. |
Jeff Roberson / AP |
CHICAGO - It boils down to this: Do sports fans want to attend the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Los Angeles or come to Chicago for Da Games?
It’s likely not a question the U.S. Olympic Committee asked as it comes to a decision — to be voted on and announced Saturday — on which city to recommend to the International Olympic Committee as the nation’s candidate to host the 2016 Games. But it should be.
The fact is both cities will have stadiums, pools and Olympic villages. And it’s not as if one doesn’t have enough room for the whole 26-mile marathon. So that leaves the experience each city offers fans when they’re not watching all the running, swimming, twirling and shot putting.
And that’s where Chicago has it all over Los Angeles. From hot dogs to high rises and comedy to culture, there is no comparison.
Start with the food. There’s the Chicago hot dog and the Chicago beef sandwich. There’s also the pizza. Deep dish pizza was invented here — a 1½-inch thick pie loaded with sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions and green peppers. For pizza with salmon caviar and something called dill creme fraiche, turn left at Michigan Avenue and go, say, 2,000 miles.
Sure, there’s nothing unique about a Chicago hamburger. But the “cheezborger” is a different story. The Billy Goat Tavern that inspired the famous “Saturday Night Live” skit still serves cheezborgers daily.
That leads to another difference between the cities. Los Angeles may have far more celebrities, but many came from Chicago — particularly the funny ones. John Belushi, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and the late Gilda Radner all started at The Second City comedy club.
And while more celebrities live in Los Angeles, when they have something to say, they come to Chicago to say it to Oprah Winfrey.
Then there’s the look of the city. From the massive Merchandise Mart (it has its own ZIP code) to the Wrigley Building to Union Station (think the baby carriage scene in “The Untouchables”), Chicago loves its architecture and public art.
And with its neoclassical Field Museum, and the Bears’ Soldier Field collonades, Chicago looks not only like it should hold the games but held the original version.
“It all looks like it came out of ancient Greece,” said actor Joe Mantegna, who was born in Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles.
Chicago also has the tallest building in the United States in the Sears Tower, and there are plans for one that will be taller still.
Finally, there’s the sports.
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Los Angeles doesn’t even seem to care that, oh, yeah, it hasn’t had a pro football team in years.
“If the Bears tried to leave, somebody would get hurt,” Mantegna said.
Then there are the sports themselves. True, the Dodgers, Lakers, USC football and UCLA basketball have produced a lot more championships than Chicago’s teams — 98 years and counting, Cubs fans — but the Olympic Games are about history. And when it comes to historic moments, even legendary ones, Chicago wins.
The 1919 White Sox threw the World Series here, forever becoming the Black Sox. Babe Ruth’s “called shot” in the 1932 World Series happened here, if it happened at all.
Even if Chicago doesn’t land the Olympics, maybe, just maybe, by 2016 will come the most historic moment of all: a World Series championship for the Cubs.
Or maybe the city had better cross its fingers for the international gymnasts and track stars.
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