The new world since 9/11 continues to make differences in bastions of sports which before had been considered traditionally safe … namely, the NFL and the Olympics. Olympic officials met on Tuesday this past week to hear from the FBI and the Secret Service about plans for security at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
The briefing was part of the Olympic Coordination Committee’s seventh and final inspection of preparations for the games. The Winter Games are to begin February 8th.
Security at the 2002 Games is expected to cost $300 million. That’s three times as much as was spent on security six years ago at the Summer Games in Atlanta.
Officials are put in the difficult position of trying to make the public and competitors feel comfortable about attending the event without explaining how they plan to keep them safe. Giving details of the security plans would help, but also would give the bad guys, whoever they might be, information they could use to thwart the plan.
A lot like the government urging us to go about our lives as though nothing has changed and telling us to be alert, because things have changed.
What is known about the security plans is that strict no-fly zones will be in place over Olympic venues and more than seven thousand federal, state and military personnel will be patrolling at the Games. There’ll be bomb sniffing dogs, fences topped with razor wire, metal detectors, and sensors sniffing the air for chemical and biological agents.
They still are considering whether to shut down Salt Lake City’s airport during the opening and closing ceremonies. 52 thousand fans and nearly two thousand athletes will be in one place at those times.
Other questions remain, like mail delivery in the Olympic Village … will there be any … and whether athletes will be allowed to carry their own cameras during the ceremonies.
Meanwhile, owners of NFL teams foresee added expense to provide security at the stadiums where they put on games in front of thousands of fans each week … and they want the players to help pay for it.
This past week, the NFL Management Council and the Players’ Association were expected to sign an agreement to extend the current contract through the 2007 season. The contract was signed in 1993.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Tuesday that paying for increased security is one of the several unresolved issues in the extension discussions. He would not offer a guess about how much more the league and individual teams will have to spend on security, but he did say the league feels the increase should be split with the association.
While so many others seem to be hunkering down, at least one guy is showing spirit. Alex Zanardi got out of the hospital this past week, a month and a half after both his legs were amputated. He says he will try to race again.
Zanardi’s legs were smashed in a racing accident during the American Memorial 500, the first CART race ever held in Europe. It took place the weekend after 9/11.
His car got away from him as he accelerated out of the pits while leading the race. The Reynard came to a stop on the track and was cut in half by another car which hit going about 200 mph. Zanardi lost 70 percent of the blood from his body.
His legs were amputated about halfway up the thigh. The right leg has heeled but he will have to wait longer on the left leg before he can begin learning to use prosthetics.
Doctors say it will be a year or two before he can walk again but that he should be able to get around without crutches and at least drive a regular car. Zanardi said this week that being able to race again is a goal. He is realistic enough to admit, though, that he doesn’t know for sure that he will. His more immediate target is to walk.
He celebrated his 35th birthday in the hospital in Berlin and now is back home in Monaco with his wife and three year old son.