Pittsburgh Seriously Contemplated Hosting Olympics Before Coming to Senses

Here’s a poll the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is putting to its readers, along with my answer. Missing is the “hahahahaha” response option.

Pittsburgh was one of 35 cities the US Olympic Committee invited to submit a pitch to host the 2024 Olympic Games (the poll was apparently confused about the date). After mulling it over for like 4 months (Philly took 2 months to agree to pitch), mayor Luke Ravenstahl kiboshed that idea.

Why? Because the 62nd-largest city in America lacks, among other amenities, “A tennis stadium, a suitable aquatics facility, an Olympic Village for thousands of athletes and several more hotels.” And stuff to do. Look, Philly’s five times bigger and 50 times more exciting than Pittsburgh, and I don’t even think we have any business hosting the games. [Post-Gazette]