Olympics

Sauerkraut, Kimchi, or Borscht

Such are the questions the International Olympic Committee must now weight, having narrowed the field of possible sites for the 2014 Winter Olympics to three cities: Salzburg, Austria; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Sochi, Russia. Not a strong group of candidates, you say? Consider the cities they rejected: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria. OK, maybe Spain would be nice, but Kazakhstan? The former Republic of Georgia? Bulgaria? So yeah, I think they got the top three pretty much spot on.

Still, these choices don’t seem to inspire much enthusiasm. Does anyone really want to go Pyeongchang? (Other than Kim Jong Il, of course.) What is in Pyeongchang? Is there an Applebee’s at least? And Sochi I’m sure is lovely. I understand that Russian president Vladimir Putin has a little place there. But still, Russia? If Mike Modano couldn’t get in the groove in Italy of all places, do you think he’ll enjoy trucking all the way into Russia? I think Austria is the only real choice here.

But is Austria really the best choice of all the possibilities? I’m sure it’s great, but it seems to be lacking a certain je ne sais quoi, a hipness, a cool vibe. Can Johnny Weir find sparklies for his costume there? The IOC really needs to be thinking more like a travel agent. Where would people have a good time, enjoy a little local flavor, and maybe see a few sporting events? Well, I have suggestion: How about America’s new hotbed of winter sports, the newly crowned capital of hockey fandom? That’s right Jacques Rogge, you need to choose Raleigh, North Carolina.

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