no opposition to 2012 Olympics in san francisco?

If San Francisco is fortunate enough to get the 2012 Olympics, there is one thing The
City won\'t have to worry about: terrorism.

How do we know? It\'s guaranteed.

In Volume 3, Theme 19, Page 19-1, of the Bay Area\'s Olympic bid, it declares, \"No
Threat of Terrorist Activity.\"

Whew!

With that out of the way, what\'s to stop San Francisco?

The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee has the backing of the entire region --
something it couldn\'t claim when San Francisco\'s lack of cooperation doomed a bid for the
1996 Games -- and has promised that no public money will be used to foot the $2.225
billion bill. In fact, everything has gone so swimmingly that the bid committee could not
identify any grass-roots opposition.

In terms of aesthetics, weather and facilities, San Francisco would seem to have the
edge over most of the seven other candidates -- Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles,
New York, Tampa and Washington -- in the quest to become the United States\'
representative when the International Olympic Committee makes the final selection from an
international pool in 2005.

The momentum seems clearly in San Francisco\'s favor.

But nearly 25 years of preparation, including a 700-page, three-volume bid, may be for
naught if the U.S. Olympic Committee finds some soot underneath the committee\'s rug.

Monday through Wednesday next week, a USOC task force will inspect each of
Northern California\'s 27 proposed venues from Monterey to Sacramento, plus the site of the
proposed Olympic Village at Moffett Field. The broadcast center also will be there -- in a
blimp hangar.

The USOC members will take buses, CalTrain, BART and even a ferry to reach the
facilities, as a way of understanding what the spectators will have to go through. After all,
there will be no on-site parking for any event at any venue.

Among them are 3Com Park (soccer), the Cow Palace (boxing), Moscone Center
(fencing, team handball, table tennis, tae kwon do, indoor volleyball), Pac Bell Park
(baseball), Marina Green (road cycling), Aquatic Park (triathlon), the Polo Fields (beach
volleyball), and Treasure Island (sailing, tennis).

Opening and closing ceremonies, and track and field, will take place at Stanford
Stadium, which will undergo a $300 million renovation.

Forget that the Olympics are 11 years away. These three days are pivotal. Based largely
on the inspections, the USOC will make a cut to two or three finalists by early 2002, and
then settle on one that fall.

\"It\'s an understatement to say this is a big week for us,\" said the Bay Area committee\'s
CEO, Anne Cribbs, a 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal swimmer. \"I believe this is our best
opportunity and maybe our one opportunity,\" she said at a Thursday press briefing.

The Bay Area has failed twice -- not only in an effort to land the \'96 Games, but also the
\'68 Games that ended up in Mexico City. This time, however, the Bay Area has at least
one advantage. It\'s doubtful anyone wants to endure another Atlanta, the sweaty site of the
\'96 Games, and the USOC may try to avoid the summer heat and humidity by passing over
eastern or southern cities.

\"I was extraordinarily worried in Atlanta,\" said BASOC bid director Bob Stiles, who was
involved in the operations of the \'96 Games. \"Here, the conditions are actually humane.\"

It doesn\'t hurt that the average temperature in San Francisco from July 27 to Aug. 12,
when the Games would take place, is only 63 degrees, which BASOC is happy to point
out.

While USOC inspected six of the venues during the past few weeks, Stiles prowled the
Internet, searching for newspaper stories that would give him clues as to what was said and
what the task force was looking for.

What did he discover?

\"They don\'t say much,\" he said.

Among such cutthroat competition, wouldn\'t a little enticement help?

Cribbs says no.

\"There won\'t be any fanfare, rallies, ad campaigns, banners and certainly no gifts,\" she
said. \"We\'re going to win this one based on the merits of the Bay Area and its people.\"

It\'s a position Cribbs and Stiles are familiar with. In the bidding for the \'96 Games, San
Francisco was thought to be a frontrunner. But in 1988, San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos,
embroiled in a trademark dispute with the USOC over use of the term \"Gay Olympics,\"
refused to sign a letter of support, effectively killing the bid.

But the organizing committee pressed on, using the former bid as the foundation for its
current one.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in an effort to distance itself from Agnos\'
actions, put a measure on the ballot in November 1988, asking citizens if they supported
an Olympic bid. They did.

This time around, BASOC went after San Francisco from the start, and won early
support from Mayor Willie Brown, which was key in reaching this point.

\"I feel like we\'ve been in training for next week,\" said BASOC member and former
Olympic fencer Barbara Higgins. \"It\'s like these are our Olympics right here.\"