Athens 2004, seen 15 years later

This month, we're taking a moment to remember the success of the Athens 2004 Olympics. We hope our friends in Athens and all Greeks do so as well. We had the privilege of witnessing this success close up, as advisers to the Athens 2004 Bid and Organizing Committees. We've not been back to Greece in these 15 years, and appreciate we have missed a very, very difficult period. But perhaps our distant perspective can be of some use now.
What we saw, with our own eyes, was something deeply impressive and not to be forgotten or dismissed: the sight of Greeks coming together and delivering a world-class event. You succeeded because of Greek skill, Greek character and Greek work. And, yes, your ability to do things at the last minute. This wasn't foreordained. The bid to win the 2004 Olympics was not a cinch. Rome had the inside track and was running ahead in 1997. We were two...