Attendance in Sacramento

The true fans are here. But there were more people in the stands at the United Center to watch the NHL draft.

Ttyjncb wrote:

The backstretch is empty, where are the fans? I thought Sac fans always turnout.

Embarrassing. Say what you want about Eugene, but stands are almost always full, no matter the rain.

People in Eugene don't work. I had to work this week and making the drive from the West Bay would have been a headache. Honestly it'd be nice to have more premier events on the weekends.

Gretz wrote:

The true fans are here.

That's all that's left. The rest of the world sees the doping and corruption for what it is and ignores the "sport" accordingly.

The problem is the cost. You have to fly out there, get an expensive hotel, and pay $65+ for an all-session pass. Not to mention that you cannot bring in any water or food and the water is $3 for a bottle, while the chicken sandwich, no sides, is $12.

NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO ATTEND THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

They all perished from heat stroke and exposure since no umbrellas are allowed. I meat, WTF of Fs, who here thinks an umbrella is an odd sight at a friggin TRACK MEET?

It's 100 and freakin 8 degrees stupid. Metal bleachers!

Ttyjncb wrote:

The backstretch is empty, where are the fans? I thought Sac fans always turnout.

optional wrote:

The problem is the cost. You have to fly out there, get an expensive hotel, and pay $65+ for an all-session pass. Not to mention that you cannot bring in any water or food and the water is $3 for a bottle, while the chicken sandwich, no sides, is $12.

NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO ATTEND THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

How else are we supposed to pay for Hightower'd crazy salary? Time to get turnt up!

whiny whiner wrote:

People in Eugene don't work. I had to work this week and making the drive from the West Bay would have been a headache. Honestly it'd be nice to have more premier events on the weekends.

Wtf is the 'west bay'?

There is only the east bay and the peninsula

There's notth & South Bay bay as well. But you're right on the west bay thing.

The issue is the temperature.

Another issue is the schedule. It should be trials on Friday & finals on Saturday. More interest and turn out.

Don't forget the great sight lines. I payed 65 bucks and can't see the outside lanes from my seat.

It's been too hot. We're glad it cooled off today. Only supposed to be 102F.

Gotta hold the USATF Championships in Canada. Stays light later, too.

How about a track in Phoenix or Death Valley next time? USATF is lead by meteorological imbeciles.

Des Moines was as bad and the attendance was...well, there wasn't any. Plus the Mississippi River was flooding almost in Des Moines except at the stadium.

Eugene is a great environment for big meets, no doubt. IF it stays warm/dry enough for best performances. The Olympic Trials were awesome last year.

Des Moines/Drake Stadium is a great venue and fantastic performances were rendered in all conditions both NCAA/USATF.

Ive attended championship meets in Indianapolis, Boise, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans etc.... But not Sacramento.

My experience has been this: each place is unique to itself and you have to plan what you do with your spare time while visiting any city. I choose to take my bike and research local attractions.

However, the bottom line is that if you go, it's because you want to experience the whole meet an up close with the athletes. I love watching field events up close and how the finalists advance through the rounds of the running events. You obviously don't get that on TV/internet. Yes, it's disappointing that the stands aren't always full but I just focus on the competition. Always plenty of seats to move around and view the meet from different perspectives, even in Eugene.

I've witnessed plenty of national and world records over the years. I couldn't have enjoyed them as much if all I did was watch on TV.

I decided a long time ago that if I wanted to really enjoy the sport beyond being an athlete, I'd need to collect the money and plan my trip whenever possible. I don't like the prices of ticket, food, etc anymore than others but I can't control that. I find ways to get around some of that every time anyway. I feel bad for track parents trying to pay adult prices for their kids but many pay big prices for football, basketball and baseball games so what's the difference?

I've made a ton of friends from all over the country that are athletes, coaches, fans etc.... That's another reason for me to look forward to these meets. I'm not into the ball games enough to be a season ticket holder and I like traveling around our country and learning what I can.

Summary; Get off your butts and stop complaining. You'll enjoy the experience much more than complaining online.

75 degrees and beautiful in Indianapolis. Low-cost airfares from anywhere, can drive here in less than a day from about 2/3 of the country, hotels are reasonably priced, lots to see and do.

Put in back in Indy.

Not normal weather for Indianapolis but I agree with your other points.

Been there IUPUI for NCAA/88 Trials/PanAm Games and USATF. ALL hot and humid with thunderstorms but hey, that's summer in the Midwest. All meets were full of great competition but the USATF meet was the worst when it comes to building a fan base. Hour long delays between running events at times.

How about a track in Phoenix or Death Valley next time? USATF is lead by meteorological imbeciles.[/quote]

That made me laugh out loud....I'm sure the ASU track stadium would have been available this weekend.[quote]It's too fricken Hot! wrote: