Locals React to Chicago's Olympic Loss

The International Olympic Committee stunned the world by announcing Rio de Janeiro "yes", Chicago "no" for the 2016 Olympic Games.

That news came despite President Barack Obama's Olympic effort to get the nod for Chicago. Locally, experts and even regular citizens alike have been quick to weigh in on what that all means.

Lisa Delpy Neirotti is an Olympic scholar who teaches at George Washington University. She watched the whole process very closely and says she was shocked, but not surprised by the outcome.

Neirotti conceded President Obama put his personal prestige on the line by personally going to Denmark with the First Lady and Oprah Winfrey on his team. But, she says there's a long history of turbulent relations between the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee that makes it hard for any U.S. city to host the games.

D.C. Shadow Representative Mike Panetta says it was just Rio's turn, and committee members probably wanted to hold the games somewhere they haven't been before-- South America.

"This is one instance when the American dream team didn't bring home the gold," said Panetta.