An insult unworthy of Olympics fair play
To the glitterati of the international ski world, the mere
mention of Sun Valley is a code word for the best American skiing can
offer.
Sun Valley, the 1930s birthplace of the first chair lift
and the first U.S. destination ski resort, on which other resorts have
been fashioned.
Sun Valley, the incubator for Olympic greats, not the
least being Picabo Street, the blazing downhill gold medalist whose
performances were breathtaking high points of the winter games.
Yet, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002
winter games is committing an Olympic blasphemy ¾ excluding Sun Valley
from the Olympic Torch’s route through Idaho.
Instead, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls are
chosen cities for the January torch route that leads ultimately to Salt
Lake City.
Charming those cities may be. But they hardly have places
in Olympic history.
This is a slight, an insult to Sun Valley beneath even the
controversial Salt Lake committee, and must be corrected.
"Somewhere on its circuitous route, it (the torch)
belongs here," exclaimed Chip Fisher, chairman of a group of Idaho
heavyweights drumming up Olympic business for the state.
Indeed. Rerouting the torch to Sun Valley as a tribute to
its contributions to nearly every modern Olympics generation seems small
enough a challenge for big thinkers to master.
Otherwise, the checklist of recent Olympics scandals will
include a fresh entry – the snub of Sun Valley, home of Olympians, from
the torch route for reasons never adequately or honestly explained nor
really justified.
