Olympic nightmares.

• Author: Zirin, Dave
• Position: EDGE OF SPORTS - Viewpoint essay

There was a time when countries were lining up around the block for the privilege of hosting the Summer and Winter Olympics. Political leaders and corporate titans wanted the tourists, the cash, and the excuse to run up debt in pursuit of development projects.

As the selection process begins for the 2022 Olympic Games, only two countries are even bidding for the privilege. They are the two shining democracies of China and Kazakhstan.

The only democracy in the running, Norway, abruptly decided they wanted no part of the games. Popular resentment there rose after the International Olympic Committee made some ridiculous demands, including a cocktail reception with Norway's king, paid for by the royal family or local boosters.

Other demands, as assembled by the website Deadspin, included: "Cars and drivers for IOC members, with special dedicated highway lanes. Streetlights synchronized to prioritize IOC traffic. Separate airport entrance for IOC members. Hotel mini-bars must have only Coca-Cola products. Samsung phones for all IOC members. All meeting rooms must be kept at exactly 68 degrees. All furniture must have 'Olympic appearance.' IOC members will be received with 'a smile' on arrival at hotel."

It is amusing to imagine some Viennese count on the International Olympic Committee, outraged that his room was set to 75 degrees, and his minibar stocked with--gasp--Pepsi. But these petty insults heaped upon them by the IOC actually obscure the much bigger injury that the Olympics bring.

Two decades ago, Michael Fish, writing in Sports Illustrated, noted, "You stage a two-week athletic carnival and, if things go well, pray the local municipality isn't sent into financial ruin."

Yet despite the long history of debt and waste that the Olympics have wrought, they still made mega-profits for the rich.

As 1968 Olympian John Carlos once said to me, "They only stage the Olympics every four years because it takes them four years to count all the money."

In...