Chaos in Brazil is nothing new, but the past several months have seen things deteriorate in an unprecedented way. Just last week, over a million people protested the corrupt government and demanded President Dilma Rousseff’s resignation, but that was just a prologue. Since then, that same President named the past President as her Chief of Staff, prompting the judicial release of wiretapped recordings of the President seemingly admitting she was appointing him to her cabinet to spare him from arrest for corruption.
That forced the people back into the streets, and with the worst recession in a century well on its way and the Zika Virus and pollution scandals destroying any chance the country had of converting the billions they’ve spent on the Olympics into tourism industry growth, it is entirely possible we’ll see a full national riot or a straight-up coup d’etat at some point in the next few months, if not during the Olympics. It’s sobering stuff.
At the Olympic venue itself, somehow ISAF World Sailing is delighted that the Marina De Gloria sewage outflow will (possibly, maybe, hopefully) be capped sometime in May. This is the same pipe past CEO Peter Sowrey promised to cap by last November regardless of politics…just before he got the boot. We’re not oddsmakers, but we’re definitely not taking the bet that this time they’re telling the truth about the May date. A better bet would be a few days before the Olympics starts.
The rowers are at least as nervous as the sailors (and the Divers are bitching now, too), especially given the kind of abuse their hands get. The chemical, physical, and mental preparation for this one is on a level none have seen before, but Olympians are programmed to act, and they’ll bite down on their dental dams and get to work. Few, if any, are turning down their spot out of fear – it’s just not in their genes. Unfortunately for organizers, spectators are susceptible to fear, and they’re staying home.
It didn’t help that the mayor told the public not to blow their money on waterfront tickets, and instead set their chairs up on free land, “drink your beer in peace with your family…and watch the rowing for free.”
Bad news for the Olympics, but good news for the athletes and the media – it makes life easier for us. And for sailing, it’s a mixed blessing – more people (online, anyway) and mainstream reporters will be paying attention to Guanabara Bay than to any Olympic sailing venue in history. As long as no one loses a medal after getting a dead body wrapped around their rudder or loses a limb or their life from some shit-borne zombie virus, there’s a real chance sailing could win some new spectators – something the sport desperately needs after its second-to-last performance among all sports broadcasts in 2012.
Who says Sailing Anarchy can’t find a silver lining? Here’s the place to talk about everything Rio 2016.
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