I was watching the last 15 minutes of a rerun of "America's Next Top Model" tonight. It's a show I don't normally watch (who has the time for TV nowadays-I can barely squeeze in 15 minutes of CNN and I've got a pile of unread newspapers downstairs), but I was flipping channels wating for the Tigers game to start. There were 4 models left and Tyra and the judges had to select which one was going home that night. 3 of the models went on a verbal rampage against one girl, all because she wouldn't go out with them that night. One girl said she was "lazy" "has a bad attitude" "doesn't have what it takes" and various other insundry comments. In the end, it was the model with the loud mouth and bad attitude that Tyra and her team told to go home. The girl who was the target of the attacks and intimidation was generally acknowledged not to have the best photographs that night, but had a good record overall thruout the competition up to that point.
There is a lesson to be learned here. You might have the best track record, your overall work record can be good, and you might even be favored by the judges. But if it is your attitude that is not what it should be, there's a good chance you are going home. I see it all the time when I am asked to judge pageants. Someone that holds so much promise completely blows it.
That is why I was not surprised at NYC's quick exit from the 2012 Olympic voting. I talked to someone at the Prague 2003 IOC Session about what New York's chances were and he was quite blunt: "We all sympathise with what happened in NYC on 9/11 but we don't award the Games based on sympathy. And that is all they have going for them at this point."
I was in the lobby of the Raffles Plaza resting my weary feet. All of a sudden I heard some raised voices and looked up to see Mayor Bloomberg jamming his fingers into the eyes of what looked like a hotel manager. He was quite upset---and his voice got louder and louder. "You WILL do what *I* say and WHEN I say it-AM I MAKING MYSELF COMPLETELY CLEAR?" You could have heard a pin drop in the hotel---everything ground to a halt. I am not sure what the original issue was, but the outburst sure got the attention of some of the voting members of the IOC who were in the lobby waiting to go to a hosted dinner outside the hotel.
At that point, I knew New York just kissed their Olympic chances goodbye for good.
After the vote was over, I talked to one of the voting members (just to get his take and to see if my theory held correct.) He was straightforward: "If you can't handle the bid process, how in the world are you going to handle issues if we award you the Games?"
Let that be a lesson to everyone---you could be at the top of your game, but if your values of fair play and decency aren't in the right place, the Olympics have no business coming to your city.
A friend of mine used to work in the IOC Press Office. She said to me one day that "you should see some of the emails that come into our office from press people. When we see your name pop up, we don't have to worry about opening one of yours. But some people...you've been around us for awhile, and I think you know who some of these people are."
Sigh. I sure do.
There is one guy that seems to be on my case at every IOC Session. I'm one of the few people who won't jump to his tune---and he knows it and it drives him crazy. I told a friend of mine (who also writes about Olympic issues) and said to her that one day, someone is going to call this guy out and he ought to worry less about what *I* am doing and pay more attention to what he came to the Session for. It's similar to the situation with the model that I described above, in fact, I said to my friend it's like the little kid who didn't get his way on the playground, and acts out in ways that are totally unacceptable.
I've got a pretty thick skin. I am so busy at a Session that I honestly don't have to time to think about what other people are doing or saying, since I am trying to take care of my own business. I wouldn't even dream of trying to intimidate someone else. I realise I caught a lucky break in 2001---and ran with it. I had my "ducks in a row" back then and I do now. People have been willing to help along the way and I have tried to return the favor. I am very much aware the past seven years could have happened to someone else, and I am quite humbled at the opportunities that have been afforded to me.
Besides, I don't want to be the person who walks into a room and people say "oh, it's her again..." Admitted, we are all after the same stuff, we want to be first with the story that no one else gets. I've always maintained there is room for everyone---and a good attitude will take you far, not just in the Olympics, but in life.
And that's something we all can write home about!
