Why Back The Bid?

YANNIS KONTOS / POLARIS FOR TIME

DOG DAYS: Many Athens 2004 venues, like the Sports Pavilion, go unused today

You know what it's like. The party ended late the night before; with a throbbing head, you stumble downstairs to look at the living room — and God, it's a mess. That's how Athenians feel. The Olympic flame was extinguished at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens 10 months ago, ending a carnival in the Greek capital that had lasted 16 days. Now there's just the hangover, and the bill to pay. At Agios Kosmas, the Olympic sailing center, you'd never know that anyone had had any fun at all. "Look at this place," a private security guard says, panning his...

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