Why The Olympics Should Be Moved From Rio De Janeiro To Lubbock

Before you say, "WHAT!? Lubbock could never hold the Olympics! This guy is a moron!", I'm quite aware that Lubbock, TX will in fact never ever host the Olympics. But for the sake of argument, I'm going to tell you why Lubbock would be a better host than Rio.

1) Zika

This is a pretty straight forward reason, Brazil has Zika and Lubbock does not. Zika seems to be the main concern for many athletes and visitors on the eve of the Summer Games and for good reason. Below is an explanation of what Zika is from the CDC.

Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). People can also get Zika through sex with an infected man, and the virus can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other severe fetal brain defects. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

So needless to say, Zika isn't anything to play with. While the people of Brazil freak out over this horrible virus, everyone in Lubbock is chilling not worrying about it.

2) Finances

With the Olympics just over two months away, Rio de Janeiro's government declared "public calamity" saying that drastic actions need to be made to ensure there isn't a total collapse in public safety, health, education, transportation and environmental management. The government is struggling to gather the necessary funds to host the Summer Games and there have been protests against the government saying the funds need to go towards education, hospitals and emergency services.

In early 2016, Lubbock's unemployment rate was only 2.9%. The unemployment rate isn't low because people aren't moving to Lubbock either., the Hub City's population is growing at about 14% every few years. A 2.9% unemployment rate combined with a 14% increase in population sets up the foundation for a strong economy. Sure, there would be tax increases to help raise the funds to host the Olympics but I mean it's the Olympics who wouldn't pay a little bit more in taxes to host such an event.

3) Public Transit

Rio has an existing subway system and they're expanding it to help visitors get around to the different sites, only thing is it's not ready yet. If the expansion isn't done in time visitors will have to travel via unorganized bus systems or have to venture through mountain ranges. The whole reason for the subway expansion is to help with Rio's overcrowded streets, so if the subway isn't finished the streets will be a complete mess. Apparently the subway expansion will be complete though with around the clock work up until the Olympics start.

Lubbock does not have a subway systems but there are buses, taxis and ride-share services like Uber. Also, Lubbock's streets aren't overcrowded. Many people could stay on the outskirts of town (Levelland, Brownfield, Post) along with other towns that aren't super far away and travel into the city for the events. Also the venues could not only be in Lubbock but other towns as well such as Amarillo, Midland and Odessa.

Conclusion

Lubbock > Rio de Janeiro