Description
Book SynopsisA look back at how powerful politicians, business leaders, and a diverse cast of activists used a thwarted Olympics to shape the state of Colorado and the city of Denver.
If you don’t recall the 1976 Denver Olympic Games, it’s because they never happened. The Mile-High City won the right to host the winter games and then was forced by Colorado citizens to back away from its successful Olympic bid through a statewide ballot initiative. Adam Berg details the powerful Colorado regime that gained the games for Denver and the grassroots activism that brought down its Olympic dreams, and he explores the legacy of this milestone moment for the games and politics in the United States.
The ink was hardly dry on Denver’s host agreement when Mexican American and African American urbanites, white middle-class environmentalists, and fiscally concerned local politicians realized opposition to the Olympics provided them new political openings. The Olymp
Table of Contents
- Acronyms
- Introduction: The Game behind the Games
- Part I. The Bidders
- Chapter 1. The Origins of Olympic Dreams
- Chapter 2. Growth Crusaders
- Chapter 3. Faking an Olympic City
- Chapter 4. A Mass Soft Sell
- Part II. The Opponents
- Chapter 5. Post–Civil Rights Advocacy in the City
- Chapter 6. Middle-Class Environmentalism in the Foothills
- Chapter 7. A Liberal Tax Revolt and the Public Relations Battle
- Chapter 8. Direct Democracy for Middle America
- Part III. The Fate and Legacy of Denver '76
- Chapter 9. The DOC’S Credibility and the Rhetoric of Olympism
- Chapter 10. The Event Coalition and the Rights of Citizenship
- Chapter 11. The Momentum of the Moment
- Epilogue: The Games Go On
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
