RIO DE JANEIRO _ It was hard to tell the brown grass and dirt from the golden sunlight as the bus passed by a neighborhood field near the Olympic venues in the Deodoro Region.
But what was unmistakable was the outline of the metal posts connected at various angles to form two soccer goals without any netting.
It looked like a deserted lot, but a couple children from the nearby neighborhood were making their way onto the field to play early on a Sunday morning. Perhaps a game was about to take place. If anyone scored, though, he or she wouldn't have the satisfaction of seeing the net ripple with a goal.
Citizens of Rio have decried that the exorbitant amount of money spent on the Games would be better off spent on infrastructure to improve the residents' everyday lives.
Perhaps nowhere are the extremes of these Olympics on display more than in Deodoro, a region in the city's west zone, home to multiple venues for sports such as rugby, field hockey and basketball. It's where I was Sunday to cover the U.S. women's basketball game against Senegal. Here was the poverty and the issues of Rio on display within earshot of world's best athletes and fans.
Unlike other venues, such as Copacabana, there is no picturesque view of the beach here.
Instead, as you arrive, you see a run-down community _ houses with no windows, worn cars parked on bumpy dirt roads. It's no wonder citizens are angry. It's hard to ignore the poverty you see in front of you and then go watch sports as if nothing was wrong nearby.
Go just a few feet away from this neighborhood and you see the temporary venues complete with several tents, Deodoro Stadium, which would look good on any campus, and the Youth Arena, which features a pristine looking court.
Soldiers guard the entrances and patrol the neighborhood, making sure to keep separation between the neighborhood and the venues. God forbid tourists get a glimpse of what Rio is actually like.
When Rio was building the arenas and the stadiums in this area, putting up all bleachers and tents and paving all the parking lots, would it have been too much to ask for a few soccer nets?
