I haven’t really watched any of the Winter Olympics coverage so far, but based on office conversations and my Twitter feed, people are enjoying Shaun White and Chloe Kim and curling and figure skating and what have you. The eyes of the world, as they say, are on Pyeongchang, South Korea. So why has Dallas, a city always trying to be world class in one way or another, be it a bridge or bike share company or assistant city manager hire, never really gotten serious about hosting the dang games? Sorry for my language just now. I’m a little heated.
I can hear your eyes rolling. And I kind of get it. Like most things that come with From the Desk of Zac Crain at the top of the page, the idea might sound ridiculous. For one thing: there is no snow on the ground right now. At the moment, I’m wearing a crisp white t-shirt and — between you, me, and our CMS — I did perspire just a little on my daily walk around downtown. But hear me out.
FACT: the last two times Dallas held big events that I care about — the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game — it snowed like a sonofagun. That is a meteorological term of art, but I think you can gather by the context in which it was used that I mean it snowed, like, a lot. Did it shut our city down? In many respects, yes, it did. But we’ll almost certainly have to put some sort of infrastructure in place to be ready for the snow that will absolutely show up if we are selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. (I think it’s still up for grabs. My internet search could best be termed “cursory.”)
Site-wise, we’ve got a pretty well-thought-of skating rink at the Galleria or I guess they could use the Dr Pepper StarsCenter up in Frisco, since we’ll inevitably get in some sort of North Texas 2026 situation when it’s all said and done. I know I’ve seen people sledding and such at Flag Pole Hill. Curling is good for Klyde Warren Park. I’ll figure out the rest later once I get a proper map, my glasses, three more cups of coffee, and my idea hat, which is a black Mavericks cap with MAVS written really big on the underside of the bill, which I didn’t know when I bought it (it was from an online source) and, to be honest, I do not love it, but I’ve come to tolerate it.
Anyway, Mayor Mike and everyone else, let’s make this B_G thing happen here. [leans into computer screen cupping my ear like a pre-internet villain Hulk Hogan] WORLD! CLASS! WORLD! CLASS! WORLD! CLASS!
