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General Henry Tatum: Dallas will keep its eye on the gold in Australia 09/13/2000 By Henry Tatum / The Dallas Morning News Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Australia this week. They have come to see the best athletes in the world compete for the gold. The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney offer a dream-come-true venue for sports enthusiasts. For the next three weeks, they will be shuttling from such varied events as track and field, basketball, baseball, synchronized swimming, badminton, wrestling, weightlifting, archery, field hockey, beach volleyball, tennis and mountain cycling. Another, much smaller band of people will be in Sydney. They also will be shuttling from event to event. But they will be looking for something a bit different from the rest. They will be checking out the bus service, watching how security handles crowds, asking questions about Sydney's new sports facilities and looking at news coverage. They are the dreamers who hope the Summer Olympics will come to their cities someday. Representatives from all eight U.S. cities expected to vie for the 2012 Olympics are in Australia this week checking things out. Folks from Dallas are there along with the rest. In fact, the U.S. Olympics Committee already has sent word to those cities not to use the Sydney Games for lobbying. With the Salt Lake City scandal still fresh, the last thing the Olympics Committee members want is evidence that cities competing for the 2012 Games are buying them dinners or doing them favors. So the focus of the Dallas representatives and others will be on how Sydney pulls off the feat of hosting the summer Games. And that should be the focus of those of us back here in North Texas, too. It is unrealistic to expect local TV viewers to be checking out the stands while Michael Johnson storms around the track in pursuit of more gold medals. Despite the drift toward more spectacular opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics that try to overshadow the actual competition, the athletes still are the stars. They are the real reason to watch the Games. Having said that, I hope Dallas area residents also will view the Sydney Games in terms of holding the event here. Supporters of Dallas' prospective Olympics bid can make hundreds of speeches and show thousands of slides. But the real selling point is out there on the field. It is there every night when TV cameras place the host city in the spotlight of worldwide attention. And it is there when the chosen city succeeds in staging the Olympics without: (a) a scandal that ruins reputations, (b) a terrorist attack that raises questions about security, (c) a major protest about an embarrassing issue or (d) complaints from athletes about lousy housing. Sydney already has suffered through a couple of issues on the checklist. Last year, the city was heavily criticized for setting aside thousands of tickets to sell to corporations and private customers at premium prices. More recently, Australian officials have been worried that the Aborigines will use the Games to protest their poor treatment through the years. Dallas viewers of the summer Games should consider the events on and off the field in Sydney and create their own plus-and-minus charts for the Olympics. Will the positives outweigh the negatives? I predict they will. Billy Payne, the colorful head of the Atlantic Committee for the Olympic Games in 1996, recently offered a bit of advice to Sydney residents: 1) Pray for good weather. 2) Don't get your feelings hurt when the international press criticizes the overcrowded conditions. 3) If you use public transportation, leave two hours sooner than you think is necessary. 4) Enjoy the three weeks, because you never again will feel as proud of your country. His advice is just as valid for those cities considering a bid. Even though a final decision won't be made for years, Dallas is moving at a steady clip in preparation to bid for the 2012 Games. Last month, the Dallas City Council informally gave its support to the committee's plans for the Olympics. The 2012 Olympics Committee already has lined up thousands of volunteers and put together a master list of sports facilities that could be used. But the success of Dallas' Olympic bid still depends on the strong support of North Texans. No amount of organization can win the day if the people here aren't on the team. So tune in to the big show in Sydney when it begins Friday. It is time to decide whether you like what you see.
Henry Tatum is an associate editor of The Dallas Morning News editorial page. His e-mail address is htatum@dallasnews.com.
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Track star 
1996
swimming gold medalist Ryan Berube 
