A jogger in Austria pitched Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games to the International Olympic Committee last winter.
It happened when the IOC’s evaluation commission was visiting Salzburg to size up its bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics, a moment when nearly everyone in the city was aware of the IOC presence.
The jogger noticed the Olympic rings symbol on a bus, began jumping up and down and yelled, “Go, Chicago!” loudly enough to be heard by the evaluation commission members inside.
“You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Bob Ctvrtlik, the U.S. Olympic Committee vice president for international relations, after narrating the anecdote. “It was impromptu and it reflected what we have felt when we came through Chicago, the enthusiasm and spirit of the people of Chicago.”
It is that sort of demonstration that USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth had in mind two weeks ago, when he told Chicago media the city stands third or fourth in a seven-city field and hectored Chicago’s corporate community to bolster its support of the bid.
Ueberroth elaborated on those comments in an interview with the Tribune after Friday’s USOC board of directors meeting.
“This is not lobbyists,” Ueberroth said. “This is about making your presence known.
“We found in the initial bid process (when Chicago beat Los Angeles to become the U.S. candidate) that Chicago was well thought of but just not so well known.”
Increasing that awareness could be as simple, Ueberroth thinks, as Chicagoans wearing pins or clothing promoting the bid as they travel abroad on business or pleasure. It could be signs in overseas offices of Chicago corporations.
“I don’t want to say they should be the chamber of commerce, but you have to brag about your city,” Ueberroth said.
The idea, Ueberroth said, is to create a buzz that should reach the ears of the IOC members who will vote Oct. 2, 2009, to pick the 2016 host. He said those members, no longer allowed inspection visits to bid cities, will be exposed to that enthusiasm in their contact with high-level corporate Chicagoans abroad.
“When you move up the ladder of influence, people come in contact more with each other,” Ueberroth said. “Whereas bid people are severely restricted [by IOC rules] — and they should be — nothing stops a citizen from showing enthusiasm about their city.”
Ctvrtlik, who flew to Houston after joining the Chicago 2016 delegation at this week’s bid city seminar in Switzerland, said such enthusiasm could make a difference.
“The IOC is working with the cities in trying to make the bids so strong that the IOC membership can’t make a mistake, no matter who they choose,” Ctvrtlik said. “That is where emotional appeal comes into play.”
“All the direct outreach has to be done in close coordination with the bid. It’s not shooting off firecrackers in every direction. But enthusiasm and a positive comment when appropriate are great.”
Or even a little jogging the memories of IOC members.
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phersh@tribune.com
