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 It was kind of yucky the day we left Copenhagen and boarded a chartered United Airlines flight back to Chicago. Folks were drawing analogies to how it must feel to be on the plane with the losing SuperBowl team. The week certainly had that kind of appeal. Great parties and camaraderie for days before the big game.

As Bart Conner told me as we waited to board the plane... "We got shellacked!" Still we found ways to laugh and enjoy each other's company for the nine hour flight. Tim Smithe relayed a story to me of NBC 5's Larry Wert telling basketball great David Robinson that even though he was sitting 10 rows behind Larry, David's feet were still under his seat.

People have been asking me what the moment was like when we heard them say the city of Chicago has been eliminated. I can only repeat what you have either read or experienced yourself. It was utter disbelief. Every mouth in the room dropped open with a gasp.

There were occasional tears from those who had the reality set in quickly but most of us stood silent, looking for some sense in what we perceived to be a surreal situation. After all, the entire week we had been told it was between Chicago and Rio. That very morning I had read that "Tokyo was out..." whatever that meant.

As you recall, the IOC completed a second vote at that point and upon its conclusion and the announcement of the two finalists our projection screen went silent.

Still a quiet room, it felt like a wake at that point, one gentleman climbed upon the stage. His name is John Vincent and he is a singer at Ditka's Restaurant. He had performed for us just the night before.

John started to sing a very impromptu and A cappella version of The Star Spangled Banner. Every person in the room joined in with full voice. By the end of the song, there were tears in many eyes.

It took about another hour before we started to look back on all of the good things that had been done in this process for Chicago. I noticed watching television over there that they don't even have Chicago on their weather maps when they show the United States. It seems their interest and understanding of the US lies on both coasts.

Chicago has a global publicity problem. Still known for gangsters and sometimes as a cow-town. We took full advantage of the chance to show the world that Chicago is so much more. We competed with 3 other world class cities and we took another stride in making Chicago a first tier destination.

I'd like to thank all of the people who spent so much time on this project to move or area forward in such a good way. Our company played a role, but it was definitely as supporting cast.

There is a legacy to this project called World Sport Chicago which will carry on the vision of engaging youth in sports programs for the good of each community.

Thanks to Jay Lieser for a couple of the photos you see in the album.

This was an amazing life experience. I would go back to Copenhagen in a minute on a family vacation and ride bikes all over that great city. I made some great new friendships and shared a moment in Chicago's history.

The "I Will" spirit of Chicago tells me that we will reconvene in some time to find the next big thing. I truly hope to be a part of it when we do.

Thanks for reading.  JC/

Fittingly, today is the first day in Copenhagen that the weather is gloomy and rainy. It was a tough day yesterday for all of the people who worked so hard on the bid.

The moment that the IOC announced Chicago would be removed from the contest was entirely unexpected. It left our crowd in complete stunned silence.

This was an amazing trip and I feel so lucky to have been around this process. There were certainly some lifetime memories made here this week.

I am packing my bags and hopping on a plane home soon. I will offer some further closing thoughts this weekend...

Good morning friends back home. As you may be just waking up, we have seen much so far today.

Airforce One arrived early this morning and President Obama joined his wife Michelle, Mayor Daley, Pat Ryan and the rest of the presentation team.

We gathered about 200+ delegates here in the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel to watch the action on a live feed from the IOC. Cheers erupted several times as our team expressed our desire to host the Games and why Chicago is the perfect location.

Michelle Obama was very, very good. I think that if this goes our way, she will get a great deal of credit for making such an impassioned presentation. She talked about her childhood and what sports meant to her and her family. Everyone seemed to hang on her every word.

After the presentations, I hopped on a bicycle and rode over to the Parliament Building where a very large crowd of Danes had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Obamas. There was an incredible amount of police presence there including about 60 motorcycle police. Of course, the motorcade passed in a flash and they saw more flashing lights than flashing smiles but they all left with some sense of satisfaction.

We could tell where Obama was this morning because there was a police helicopter above the motorcade and then also the building they were in for the meeting.

Our fingers are crossed. I'm not sure that we know any more than you do at this point about the potential outcome. While we can see the TV coverage here it is in Danish so we can really only see the images.

Now we wait. Perhaps another bike ride is a good idea. Nervous energy well spent! Biking really is the way to see Copenhagen. I have enjoyed it greatly. There are usually nice paths along the roadside.

Everyone seems to ride here. They are in really good physical shape too. When we look at a crowd of Americans back home we see a good deal of obesity. Not here, they are a very fit culture.

We will begin to shuttle over to Axelborg at 4:15 PM and expect the Host City announcement near 6:00 PM. They begin voting at 5:10 PM. There is a big post-decision party planned for tonight and either way we will be part of a fabulous evening.

We are hopeful!

Today was an easy day in Copenhagen. Very light on activities - probably due to the extraordinary events thrown last evening which began with a dinner reception for all delegates and our presentation team. We followed that event with a tremendous dance-club event with great live entertainment.

So, todays post will be short but you will see that I've posted lots more photos and captions today.

The buzz here is still really good in relation to our chances to bring home the gold. I am having so much fun meeting local residents and people from the other competing nations. I spent some time with some reporters from Madrid last night who have us neck-and-neck with Rio for the prize... they are very complementary of our country.

We have these great blue jackets that we wear everywhere we go and it seems we are the only delegation in "uniform" so we really stand out in town. The running, biking and special events we have hosted also seem to be dominating the local media coverage. I mean sure the King of Spain is probably a great guy but we have Oprah here!

She got a really big round of applause as she exited her car today at the palace. The heads of each delegation met with the Danish queen today. Oprah arrived with Mayor Daley and Michelle arrived soon afterward.

We have a really powerful presentation team and are excited to see them in action. That begins at 8:40 AM in Copenhagen, 1:40 AM in Chicago. Set your alarm. :)

Chicago is the first of the four to present. In sales, you typically want to be first or last in this situation. Being first is good because they will compare all other presentations to that of Chicago's. Rio, by the way, goes third.

I like our chances. Stay tuned on Friday and we will hear an announcement around the 6:00 PM hour in Copenhagen, 11 AMish in Chicago.

I feel the crescendo building...