When Andrew Bogut recently expressed some reservations about his accommodations in the athletes’ village for the Rio Olympics, including a bed too short for his height, he may have been justifiably miffed after learning that his fellow NBA stars representing the U.S. will be housed aboard a luxury cruise ship named the Silver Cloud docked in Rio’s harbor.
The U.S. delegation, shunning the concept of international comradery that is supposedly a key element of the games, instead, “Bought a Silver Cloud to ride and packed the tennis club inside,” or at least that is what Jethro Tull might have been predicting when they inserted that lyric in one of their tunes from the 70s.
The port at Rio was the beneficiary of an extensive revitalization that the Brazilians will enjoy for years to come in the form of increased tourist traffic, but for the moment, people visiting the port will find the Silver Cloud heavily secured against visitors, including a bulletproof fence and a heavily armed security detachment.
The U.S. Olympic contingent, in terms of athletes alone, numbers over 550, so 150 of them will have to find other places to stay, since the Silver Cloud’s capacity is given as 400.
Perhaps Monsieur Bogut would be willing to bunk up with a few.
