@running_comment wrote:
I just read the report on USA Indoors (http://www.letsrun.com/2012/usatfindoorrrw0225.php) and this quote jumped out at me:
"Rupp finished third in 7:57.36 and did not speak with the media."
This is a joke. Horrible exposure (or lack of) for the sport. How is this even allowed by an athlete on the payroll of the meet sponsor??
We all know that bad races feel...well...bad. But, as the brojos often ask, why can't people be bigger than just themselves and think of the sport from time to time. This goes for those who make their living in the sport more than anyone.
Well, this a just bit self serving. We all want the athlete to be available for interviews, but we don't hold the same standard for the interviewer being knowledgeable and able to formulate decent questions. So what do we get??? Interviewers who, instead of asking good questions about the race tonight and some of the dynamics of the competition, ask stupid and ultimately irrelevant tripe about " bitter rivalries" that don't exist, or comments that are "gotcha!!" in nature and don't add or contribute to the betterment of the sport. You can't have a one sided approach! It just won't work.
I guarantee the stupid questions would have been something like, "Galen, you haven't beaten Lagat in 12 tries. What can you do to turn that around?" so in the end we, as fans, don't get any useful information. All we get is more irritating drivel to keep false hype and inaccurate speculation alive. This isn't good for the sport either.