WINTER OLYMPICS Enthusiasm, atmosphere lacking at Turin Games

Attendance for a lot of the events was also way down.
TURIN, Italy (AP) -- Successful, yes. Magical, no.
That's the assessment of top International Olympic Committee officials as the Turin Games come to a close after a 17-day run that featured world-class sports competitions, but lacked the buzz and ambiance of some previous winter hosts.
"If you take the quality of the sites, the quality of the sports, you couldn't do really any better than that," said Jean-Claude Killy, the former French skier who headed the IOC's coordination commission for the games.
"For the atmosphere, there was magic here and there, but not everywhere."
IOC president Jacques Rogge also distinguished between the sports events and the ambiance that can set the games apart.
"There was probably a little bit of lack of enthusiasm in some sports," he said. "The general public was a little bit absent in providing atmosphere. There are events where attendance has not been maximum."
Lots of empty seats
That was always going to be a tough challenge in a country where some of the winter sports have little following. Despite the sale of around 900,000 of the 1 million available tickets, there were empty seats and quiet crowds at some venues.
"Overall, it's been what we expected, not really what we had wished," Rogge said. "The fact that some sports are not practiced in the country, you have to live with."
Rogge rated these games below those of Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994, and Salt Lake City in 2002, and on a par with the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
"In Lillehammer, winter sport was a religion," he said.
Rogge will give his final verdict tonight during his speech at the closing ceremony. Unlike his predecessor Juan Antonio Samaranch, Rogge chooses not to rate any games as "the best ever" and tries to find language giving each edition its own brand of praise.
He hailed Salt Lake City's "superb games" and called the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens "unforgettable, dream games."
Valentino Castellani, the former Turin mayor who headed the local organizing committee, says the Piedmont city has passed the test.
Turin mayor satisfied
"I am very, very satisfied because I believe the facts speak for themselves," he said.
"We had a great success. I'm sure we delivered excellent games. I'm very proud for my country. We had some difficulties during the phase of preparations, but in the end I see smiles and satisfaction."
Castellani blamed the attendance problems on no-shows among corporate and official Olympic clients who purchased tickets more than a year ahead of the games.
"I believe this is a policy that the IOC will have to review," he said.
There was a sense that the mood picked up as the games went on. Large and lively crowds came to the medals plaza in central Turin every night for the medals ceremonies and concerts.
"It took time for the buzz to develop," senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper said. "I think it eventually got there. Overall, the games went above expectations. The acid test is always what happens games-time. And, for that, they passed with flying colors."