Can’t see how this could go terribly wrong
As we learned last year, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were abruptly changed to the 2021 Olympic Games because of the pandemic. Now, with a fresh surge in COVID cases sending Japan back into lockdown mode, it’s looking as if they plan to bail on the project entirely. The organizers are facing “real pressure” to back out and cancel the games to avoid having them turn into superspreader events. But having made the commitment to host the event so far in advance, particularly given all of the resources that were flushed into the preparations, the Japanese are appropriately worried that this could wind up turning into a total debacle no matter what they decide. Riding in like a knight on a white stallion (er… sorry. Stallion of Color) is Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Patronis, presumably with the approval and support of Governor Ron DeSantis, has penned a letter to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, urging him to consider moving the games to the Sunshine State rather than canceling them entirely. The letter was published on the CFO’s website this week. In it, he makes the case that Florida is ideally situated to take on the task in an abbreviated timetable and do so safely. Today, I am writing to encourage you to consider relocating the 2021 Olympics from Tokyo, Japan to the United States of America, and more specifically to Florida. With media reports of leaders in Japan “privately” concluding that they are too concerned about the pandemic for the 2021 Olympics to take place, there is still time to deploy a site selection team to Florida to meet with statewide and local officials on holding the Olympics in the Sunshine State.
