I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
Max Siegel doesn't know anything about track and field. He was likely bored and wanted to go hit the titty bars.
Why does he need to be there for the race? It went on without him, didn't it?
He is in charge of USATF, not starting a 2 mile race. Higher level management has other concerns and priorities.
I am not rooting for the guy, because he and USATF make a lot of mistakes. But understand higher level management.
he left just in case there was any controversial dq's that needed to be avoided (dealing with), so that he could then address it in a press release 3 months later. zing!
That's what we get for hiring a CEO who'd rather be watching NASCAR.
Max probably didn't want to miss any more of the NASCAR Folds of Honor 500. It sucked bad enough that he had to be watching some stupid track meet on a NASCAR weekend.
Besides, his real job is getting money from sponsors, not paying attention to a bunch of boring track stuff.
I didn't show up in Sacramento until 15 minutes before the start of the 10,000. Did the same with the 5000 2 days later.
We're there any NOPers entered?
Mad, Max? wrote:
I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
why is this a story? I am not sure why people have to try and make a big deal about everything.
There are so many people that do not want to see the sport succeed. Who knows, maybe there was a sponsor meeting. Maybe he's been on the road for weeks and wanted to see his kids. The meet went on and it was successful.
The end. Move on.
If you really were in Sacramento 15 minutes early, you would have heard the announcer begging people not to leave before the long distance events, but just about all of us got up and left. You would have had the whole stadium to yourself and the three other people that were there.
I expect Nike to "order" USATF to adjust their schedules so long distance events are not last.
The crossfit trolls are right about some of this stuff. People like Rupp are not athletes, don't look anything like the people competing in 800 and shorter, and with the exception of the UK for Farah, people outside East Africa don't want to watch them. That's why the Europeans are shutting down long distance in XC and track, one event at a time.
lost here wrote:
Mad, Max? wrote:I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
why is this a story? I am not sure why people have to try and make a big deal about everything.
There are so many people that do not want to see the sport succeed. Who knows, maybe there was a sponsor meeting. Maybe he's been on the road for weeks and wanted to see his kids. The meet went on and it was successful.
The end. Move on.
I'm not saying it's a story. I'm just saying I'm disappointed. I wish our CEO were enough enough of a fan to hang around for the first day's culminating event. I don't expect him to be there for the morning weight throw, race walk and heats, but I think he should be there for the full 2-hour TV window.
Mad, Max? wrote:
I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
Is staying for the men's 2-Mile part of his contract or job requirements?
I agree with the OP. Would the head of NASCAR leave before the Daytona 500 was over? Would Roger Goodell leave before the Super Bowl was over? How about the commissioner of baseball? Would he leave in the eighth inning of the seventh game of the World Series?
No, no and no. The talking heads at ESPN would be all over them for it. The difference here is track and XC don't get any attention and/or scrutiny from major media outlets, so USATF does whatever they want.
It sounds like the people defending Siegel are in tight with him and USATF. I'm not sure how to describe what he demonstrated by leaving early, but it wasn't good.
TrackCoach wrote:
Mad, Max? wrote:I'm sure there were lots of USATF meetings going on that weekend, but I was disappointed to see him leaving the building before the men's 2-Mile.
Is staying for the men's 2-Mile part of his contract or job requirements?
I doubt it. But is that the point?
As someone else posted, would a commissioner of a league leave early? This isn't the Super Bowl, but it is USATF's #2 championship.
There was a VIP area if he had to meet someone. Would he really have something so important that he'd have to schedule it during the TV window? I doubt it. If you were a potential sponsor, what would you think about the CEO missing the first event's culminating event to meet with you? I wouldn't feel that he values the meet all that much.
From what I've heard, Max is doing a good job. That's why this was so puzzling to me.
Gotta agree wrote:
I agree with the OP. Would the head of NASCAR leave before the Daytona 500 was over? Would Roger Goodell leave before the Super Bowl was over? How about the commissioner of baseball? Would he leave in the eighth inning of the seventh game of the World Series? .
You have a good point. And of course I think he should have stayed if the OP's account is accurate.
However, Goodell would also be sitting in a box at a major venue with the CEOs of major corporations who had paid millions to have a ticket to the event. Max was in a rec center that wasn't sold out and there wasn't a single corporate partner at the event that he needed to stay and talk to. Or even a single potential partner who was given VIP treatment to try and get them on board. How do you give someone the VIP treatment at the Reggie?
Our sport has bigger problems than whether the CEO watched the 2 mile.
wejo wrote:
You have a good point. And of course I think he should have stayed if the OP's account is accurate.
However, Goodell would also be sitting in a box at a major venue with the CEOs of major corporations who had paid millions to have a ticket to the event. Max was in a rec center that wasn't sold out and there wasn't a single corporate partner at the event that he needed to stay and talk to. Or even a single potential partner who was given VIP treatment to try and get them on board. How do you give someone the VIP treatment at the Reggie?
Our sport has bigger problems than whether the CEO watched the 2 mile.
I've sat VIP at the Reggie before. It was nice enough. I think all track and field goes better with beer.
I agree, however, that the analogy doesn't work in so much that the Indoor meet is 3 days and last almost 20 hours. I know we all love the 2 mile but I am not sure it is reasonable to expect anyone to watch every event.
And firmly agree that this is a minor detail. There are so many other things wrong with Track & Field.
What is the demographic of the usatf due-paying member? Unless there is some huge springing community paying dues that I'm unaware of, shouldn't we have a "distance" guy/gal in there running the show?
corona rona wrote:
What is the demographic of the usatf due-paying member? Unless there is some huge springing community paying dues that I'm unaware of, shouldn't we have a "distance" guy/gal in there running the show?
You appear to be operating under the premise that the CEO & President (who appoints the CEO) of USATF should represent the views of due-paying members.
This is patently false and Stephanie Hightower has made it clear that she and Max are running a business not representing the views of their members.
Follow the money which will lead you quickly to Beaverton, Oregon. We can debate the merits of such a relationship but the truth is irrefutable: USATF is--for all purposes--owned by Nike.
If even the CEO of USATF doesn't care enough about the sport to stay through the last event of day one of the indoor national championships, is it even surprising that the New York Times Monday contained a grand total of one reference to the meet (Cas Loxsom's AR)? He probably had his reasons but one thing is clear: he's not doing any better at selling the sport than the previous CEOs.