SLAM! Sports
Commonwealth Games
INTERACTIVE
COMMONWEALTH
ALSO ON SLAM!
These Games were tough to figure out
She sat back down.
Finally,in the smoke-filled air, she stood and said the words.
"I declare the 16th Commonwealth Games of Kuala Lumpur closed.''
More fireworks. And confetti floated from on high down on Her Royal Highness and 99,999 others before she could begin the rest of her short speech.
QUESTIONS
It may have been my imagination, but it seemed to me that Queen Elizabeth had the look on her face that said, '`Where in the world is Kuala Lumpur and what in the world were the Commonwealth Games doing here?''
Those were the questions we began with, and when the Games came to an end, this mysterious place in the Far East was as confusing in departure as it was upon arrival.
Michael Fennell, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Association, lied through his teeth when he declared, "Malaysia promised us the best Games ever and delivered on that promise.''
One thing for sure, they sure do most marvellous ceremonies.
They closed as well as they opened, with ceremonies slicker and more spectacular than your normal Commonwealth show and 100,000 fans in the stands where there were next to none for most of the Games.
But outside the stadium, 10,000 or more volunteers, who were promised they could watch the show, were not allowed in.
Boxer Mike Strange carried Canada's flag and was followed by teammates Joanne Malar of swimming, weightlifter Alain Bilodeau, synchronized swimmer Jacinthe Taillon and chef de mission Margie Schuett, all wearing white '`Canada 98'' ice hockey sweaters.
It was a warm sendoff. But Fennell should have made like the IOC boss in Atlanta and found an adjective like "remarkable'' to describe these Games.
Most times, they were maddening.
There's never been a Games like this before and I found them sad and sometimes even sick.
The XVI Commonwealth Games were a microcosm of the country. One minute you see grandeur beyond belief and say '`wow'' and then you see what's behind it and say `whoa.'
I've been to Third World countries before. The rich are very rich and the poor are very poor. But this place takes the concept in a whole different direction. The contrasts from the Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world, and dozens of other staggering structures to the shanty-town poverty was disturbing because of the insane extravagance these people stare at every day of their lives. And when we leave here they'll stare at these incredible Games facilities which were such a waste.
It was especially like that in the main stadium. The story is that the prime minister, inspecting the place during construction, decided it didn't look grand enough from a distance and added a third deck. As a journalist (and they don't have any here) I can't tell you if that is true. But after my time here, I am prepared to believe it.
These Games unquestionably set an all-time world record for most empty seats, and smashed to smithereens the record for most unpaid-for seats. They tried hard to fill the stadiums by giving away tickets, and in the end just opened the gates at venues like boxing.
But the Malaysians were interested only in Malaysians.
At the boxing finals, there were 10,000 fans in the stands. The Malaysian fought an early bout. When their man had won, they all left. The Canadians fought before 400 fans, almost all of whom had Games accreditation badges around their necks.
At track and field, most times, they didn't have 20 per cent of the 100,000 seats full.
Kuala Lumpur, I'm convinced, will never fill most of the stadiums for anything, ever. And the main stadium, one of the most spectacular on the planet, is guaranteed to be the world's ultimate white elephant.
It was refreshing to attend the Manchester 2002 press conference. Their organizers explained their concept, which is very similar to that used by Edmonton in '78 and Brisbane in '82, the two Commonwealth Games that got it right.
INTELLIGENT
Manchester is building a 50,000-seat stadium which will become the home park of its '`other'' soccer team, Manchester City. It's building an intelligent combination of new facilities to go with existing facilities.
It's taking the Commonwealth Games back to sanity, back to the middle of summer where they belong on a sports calendar that gets too crowded in September in places like England and Canada. But most important, it's taking them back to the people. Over and over the Manchester people made that point. Their Games will be a Games for the people.
That's the last thing these Games were.
It was oh-so-hot here, but the truth the local populace will never read is that there was very little real warmth.