I read 2 articles yesterday about the upcoming Olympics and they confused me. Actually, “confuse” might be the wrong word but I’ll save that for a minute. I should say upfront that I think the Olympics are a wonderful event – I’ve been to several and loved them and watch them on TV as well. But the issue raised indirectly by these two articles may be, in my opinion, the downfall of them. I’ll let you guys decide.
The first piece quotes the head of the International Olympic Committee:
IOC President Jacques Rogge today said that the IOC’s finances are “so solid” that the organization “could go four years without hosting a Games and still keep operating.” The IOC’s reserve funds grew from $422M in ’08 to $466M at the end of ’09, up from $105M when Rogge took over as President in ’01. The organization also recorded a $27M budget surplus last year and forecasts a $12.5M surplus for ’10. Rogge: “I am glad to tell you that the IOC’s finances are solid”
OK so far – the IOC has a lot of dough. But then I get to the second piece and I’m confused. It talks about how
members of the U.S. team that will march into Vancouver’s BC Place when the Winter Games open there Friday have had to cut grass, bus tables, or rely on Mom and Dad for the financial support it takes to win an Olympic medal…Their creativity and desperation are symptomatic of the impact the economic downturn has had on the Olympic movement as companies large and small withdraw financial support.
US Team members cutting grass for cash. You can imagine how bad it is for athletes of less-affluent nations. Which is why I’m confused.
Where the hell is the money going?
In theory, it flows downhill – the IOC to national governing bodies, the NGB’s to individual sport NGB’s and athletes. In theory. You look at the USOC tax filings and a good 25% or more of the dough is used as overhead – staff, etc.- and it’s not a small amount. You read this article and tell me. Here are some highlights:
Eight USOC officers made more than $300,000 in 2008. And those were the paupers. Chief operating officer Norman Bellingham took home $663,369; former CEO Jim Scherr, $619,507; former communications officer Darryl Seibel, $367,779; chief of international relations Robert Fasulo, $356,214.
On and on, with 19 topping the $200,000 mark. And nearly all of them live in Colorado Springs, Colo., which, last time we checked, was nowhere near the top of anyone’s High Cost of Living list…
Is anyone else taken aback by those numbers? The COO of the non-profit U.S. Olympic Committee pushing $700K a year?
Hence my confusion. Strike that, the right word may be anger. You?
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Consult Keith 
Generating revenue by marketing the celebrities in popular events is what the Olympic committee officials seem to focus on. Clearly these fat cats feel that they deserve to be overpaid to cut deals for the easily marketable prime-time spots.
They have transformed the winter games. The Olympics are no longer about competitive athletics; it is all about the media event, branding, and politics. TV coverage is a joke. Based on the network coverage people have scant knowledge of the scope and depth of the winter games.
For example there are only 4 figure skating events: men, women, pairs and dancing. But there are 25 Nordic events including the biathlons, hill climbing, and cross-country skiing. Yet we will see endless hours of figure skating, and a few highlight clips of Nordic events.
You can bet that the US athletes cutting grass aren’t on the skating, downhill racing, or snowboard teams; they all have product sponsors. Maybe Bellingham and his pals should be cutting the grass instead of sitting on their…