C for Yourself…but only in your Dreams

Konbanwa. Takahashi-sensei reporting.

I have a heavy heart right now. And what causes this heavy heart to jolt my body with pain? Calgarians have decided not to C for themselves what the 2026 Winter Olympics could do for Calgary. Therefore, we will not be among the final cities in the bidding for the rights to host one of the most celebrated events in human history. It will be either Stockholm or Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Then again, I believe it is fair that Stockholm gets the right to host the games in over 100 years. The Swedes have never won any bid for past Olympiads; the most significant loss for Sweden was that Ostersund, which was bidding for the 1988 Winter Games was defeated by Calgary. We Canadians should learn to be more considerate of our rivals nowadays. The same country can’t hog the spotlight all the time. The United States, particularily, got a little greedy by hosting the Summer Games in Los Angie(1984) and Atlanta(1996), just 12 years apart(It should have been awarded to Athens or Toronto!). Meanwhile, Calgary(1988) and Vancouver’s Winter Games(2010) were held over 22 years apart.

The campaigning I did independently and with YesCalgary2026 beginning this July has only marked the beginning of my career. Though this chapter had a bittersweet ending, I still feel more than sweet enough. I made an impact.

I even went the extra mile; I actually violated the Olympic Charter’s rules regarding mascots. Even if Calgary won, Hick & Hia would be ultimately disqualified for being shown off far too early.

For any future sporting event to take place in Canada, I will be extra careful and keep anything relating to it a secret for the time being. Lesson learned there.

Calgary will still be a nice little city to live in for awhile. At least we’ve got 2030 to look forward to, right? Wait and C, everyone…wait and C.

-Akira Takahashi, November 13th, 2018