Sport: Well Worth It

What's in it for the corporate sponsors? For some it maintains status, tradition and pre-eminence in their field; Coca-Cola has supported the past twelve Olympics. Others want to strut their stuff. Motorola is providing radio communications, and a spokesman boasts, "If this system were given to a third-rate world power, it would make them a second-rate world power." Buick will put out a limited line of 10,000 Centuries called the Olympia—and charge $406 extra. All the backers expect to benefit on the bottom line from the Games' luster and class. "We don't plan on having a discount Olympic Slurpee," says a...