In the week leading up to the World Cup, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sat for a pair of interviews with The Athletic and Politico about the city’s decision not to join the North American bid in 2018. In each, he portrayed himself as a pragmatist who prioritized taxpayers’ interests by refusing to sign a one-sided host agreement with FIFA.
Having covered the challenges host cities have faced in raising revenue over the past three years and seen FIFA’s astronomical revenue projections, I sympathize with Emanuel’s position. And given the largely negative coverage in the lead-up to the competition, I can see why the prospective presidential candidate thought these interviews would play well with the public.
But one week into a World Cup that is already captivating the country, there seems to be a sense of FOMO emanating from the Windy City. The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, which to its credit has been consistent on this point, lamented Thursday that Chicago had effectively ceded its moment in the spotlight to smaller U.S. cities. That same feeling of being left out also inspired an interview request we received at SBJ from Chicago-based radio station WGN…