CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey has turned obscure books into best-sellers, an obscure and balding psychologist into a TV star named Dr. Phil and somehow got Tom Cruise to jump on her couch.
Now, in what could be bad news for Tokyo, Rio De Janeiro and Madrid, the television icon is trying to help Chicago win the 2016 Olympic Games -- and brought more than 170 American medallists in the Beijing Games to town Wednesday to help.
Swimmers Michael Phelps and Dara Torres, gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, beach volleyball players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and others joined Winfrey to tape her season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which airs in Canada on CTV.
The show, which will air on Monday, was at once a welcome home for the athletes, a pep rally for the United States and a commercial for Chicago. And Winfrey made no secret that she hopes the city -- led by Mayor Richard M. Daley, who was in the audience -- is awarded the games.
The International Olympic Committee will select the host city next year.
"Great city, my kind of town, Chicago," Winfrey yelled before the 6,000 fans who crammed into Millennium Park drowned out part of a sentence that ended with the words, "come to Chicago for the 2016 Games."
Men's volleyball player David Lee threw his support to the city's bid as he left the stage and gave high fives and signed autographs.
"See you in 2016," he shouted.
Winfrey's fans said they have no doubt that the talk-show star can help bring the games to Chicago.
"I think a lot of people watch, lots of people admire her and she's a good promoter for Chicago," said David Ritchie, 56, who came from his home in the Dallas area to watch the show.
One fan sounded amazed that anyone could even wonder if Winfrey had that kind of clout.
"Well, she's Oprah, she can do whatever she wants, basically," said Deb Ullrich, who flew with her niece for the show from Columbus, Ohio.
Organizers for the city's bid certainly hope so.
"Oprah is a global icon and a global Chicago icon," said Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky. "So, for her to embrace the Olympic movement like this, it only helps us in a fantastic way."
That sentiment was shared blocks away by people heading to their jobs.
"Look what she did for Barack Obama," said Robert Casillas, a 37-year-old banker from suburban Chicago who works downtown.
"Hosting that party put him over the top," he said, referring to the fundraiser Winfrey hosted for the Democratic presidential hopeful last September at her California home. "And endorsing (Obama) put other people on the bandwagon."
Harpo Productions says Winfrey's program airs in 140 countries, including Spain and Brazil, but not in Japan. Wednesday's show might air in some of those countries, but it could be weeks or months from now, Harpo officials said.
At the taping, Winfrey played video clips of some of the Games' most memorable moments. There on the screen, with the crowd cheering as if they were watching it live, was Phelps' come-from-behind win in the 100-metre butterfly, Jason Lezak chasing down France's Alain Bernard to give the Americans the gold medal in the 400-metre freestyle relay.
They roared as Shawn Johnson won the gold medal in the balance beam and did the same as Sanya Richards pulled off her own come-from behind victory in the women's 1,600-metre relay.
Torres spoke about looking for a "balance" in her life as she pursued her Olympic goals even as she raised her young daughter and pointing to the crowd, saying, "All the mothers out there are my role models."
Winfrey's fans also seemed to enjoy Winfrey's conversation with gymnast Liukin, especially when Liukin said she read the self-help book, Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret," after seeing Winfrey talk about the book on her show.
"I said, `I guess I should read it, Oprah read it,' " Liukin said.
