Baseball and Golf are way more boring than track so remind me again why track is not popular?

This was my first thought as well. Moreover I think many Americans have something of a resentment for the specific fitness demands of distance running. A resentment for a man who has a BMI of 19, a healthy diet, and a dedicated training regimen (and the act of running, of all things, is despised by many).

Tell TV execs you have a product where unknown Africans lap Americans and they will sell a ton of commercials .

The average white guy thinks he could drive 240yds or two-Putt or hit a fastball with a little practice. But they know they would probably die if they ran a 400

Baseball is only boring if the score is 15-3.

No, they think distance running is boring and they aren’t going to watch it. Before I started running, I saw some distance races on T.V., got bored after a few laps and changed the channel.

Yep. Sad to say , high school track is a collection of kids who failed at mainstream team sports . USA lpga open winner just won 1.8 million +$600,000 from sponsor . 3 networks putting 35 hours of tv coverage over 4 days ,and selling out live event tickets. Getting to be a pro at mainstream sports is hard. Look at michael Jordan switching to baseball. He looked like a weekend adult league player.

American culture worships money. Golfers compete each week for multi-million dollar prizes. The PGA has four "majors" rich with legendary stories and venues. The golfer of the year is the guy that makes the most money. If you fail to make the top 125 in earnings, you get relegated to the "minors" unless you survive a "sudden death" tournament or earn your way back in. Old golfer? Their is a tour for those over 50 and their fan base watches that to keep the memories alive. Oh, there are international grudge matches (Ryder Cup, President's Cup) that pit international all-star teams against the USA and that gets the ol' national pride going for even casual fans.

Baseball also involves a ton of money. It has great traditions and one lucky swing on a poorly thrown pitch can completely change a game. The season is long and offers many opportunities for hardcore and casual fans to take in action on their schedule. It also has playoffs that offer drama and upsets plus it plays to an annual championship where one team reigns supreme. The players do some pretty amazing things like hurl a pitch over 100 MPH or hit a ball over 500 feet. Plus, they all look like proper masculine men with muscles and tattoos plus they can spit and cuss like dudes down at the tavern! I hear a few are married to hot models and routinely boink A list movie actresses.

Track? Where do I begin?

Sprints - a bunch of cocky primadonnas trash talk, flex, dance for the camera, and promise world records at each meet only to fall short. Then these physical specimens blame the wind, the quiet crowd, a starter that holds the gun too long, "chilly" temperatures in the low 70s for their failure to deliver that jaw dropping record.

Jumps and Throws - get just a few moments on TV when the boring distance race is on. Hard for the casual fan to get engaged when it barely gets air time.

Distances - watch a seemingly malnourished former goat herder battle a humble potato farmer that could use a sandwich or three for valuable Diamond League points! They are going to race a distance based on the metric system and you are not sure how long that really is or if the time is good for that weird azz distance. What does the Diamond League champion get? A million bucks? A gigantic trophy? No one is really quite sure and the announcers certainly don't tell you. While the sprinters will jaw about a rival, the distance athletes sure love to high five and hug each other. They also universally felt "really, really good and run very fast tonight!". Dang! I am glad that I left work at lunch today so that I could watch some janky Internet feed from Rabat, wherever the hell that is? How did the Americans do? Oh, I see. I guess 8th is OK? Is our guy also a farmer?

True in track too. In the mens 1500 usually the fastest guy does not win

Because track and field meets are a circus. Too much going on at once. Take your non-track fan family to a meet and watch them try to figure out what they're 'watching'.

Basically...

'there was a throw right there, and a jump over there, and some people ran by right in front of us on the track... all at the same time!'

With a game sport like baseball, people can focus on each pitch and can figure out to some degree what is happening, if they're non-baseball folks.

I’ve followed track for years but it’s fairly unwatchable even for a knowledgeable fan.

With baseball, there’s a score and either one team wins or the other.

With golf there is a score. A bunch of players in a tournament and only one winner.

In track, you have a dozen events and a dozen winners.
No score to follow as the meet progresses.

After reading your analysis, I feel like I must be some kind of freak in that I really like watching a track meet. I’ll later check out the results but I’ve never tracked a field event in person so for me, there’s not really an F in T&F.

Track is extremely exciting if presented well. I go to junior high meets and every race is thrilling, with little kids racing with all their might.
Multiple events? That is multiple amazing performances. Football or baseball might have up to ten big plays in an exciting game, the rest is just anticipation. Track has way more big plays.

Distance races? That is great opportunity to discuss race strategy, who looks fresh and where they are from (geographical identity).

Track’s problem is presentation, marketing and a lack of a meaningful season. Golf has several big majors every year that mean more than the Olympics to them.

My answer is maybe a bit simpler than the faux PhD theses posted so far, but people in America grow up playing baseball and less so golf. Almost every kid has access to a little league team - most suck - but everyone can participate even the fat kid who smells like day-old-sh*t. Comparatively few people participate in track but those that did are who watch the sport later on. Comparatively few people played golf growing up, which is why this sport is also unpopular although the fact that it is a rich man's game artificially props it up with resources

I watched Sydney McLaughlin‘s race today and the announcers sleepwalked through it. One of the most exciting races and they failed to match the effort. Another runner was in the lead for the first half of the race, but they never mentioned her or any other racers who might have run a PR or beaten rival runners for the first time. There is a world of excitement, competition and drama that the announcers completely miss.

Track is the biggest sport in the USA for high school participation.

In fact, it goes deeper than that, every kid in the world has raced against other kids on the playground or playing games, so every human knows how fast they are and what they would do in track.

You are right that the slow kids are weeded out early and gravitate to sports where they can use other skills. I suspect most people say track is boring because they know they could never keep up.

1. Runners skipping races and ducking competitors.

2. Runners running maybe 4 races a year outside championships.

3. Boring commentary during races.

4. Drab interviews with runners gasping for breath after races.

5. Commercials during long distance races.

6. Long history of cheating in the sport that makes fans skeptical of the legitimacy of any race results.

7. Super shoes.

Probably a lot more, but those are just some thoughts off the top of my head.

Sports that aren't that entertaining to the average american viewer find a way to monetize (see autoracing, golf, etc).

The athletes in track are obsessed with creating a brand which typically centers on hollow virtue signaling and advocating for track to be free in order to #growthesport. Well since everything must be free, the event directors aren't going to have any money to put into their events and into the winners pockets.

Well what about ad revenue? Unless you're a huge company that generates enormous traffic, ad revenue in 2022 is insignificant.

What about sponsors? Seems athletes can only wear that sponsor's attire in the events that nobody watches or can't wear that sponsors shoes in races!

What about media? Event directors are paying companies like ESPN for airtime because #growthesport, turning away money from entities like FloTrack/Runnerspace so that they can align with "good guys" like Chris Chavez who have championed the #growthesport narrative to build his own brand.

Throw in the fact that half of the athletes make excuses for any bad performance they have (Woody Kinkaid's recent diaphragm spasm comes to mind) and you've got a failing model.

Carny event directors who don't know the first thing about business and think ESPN=#growthesport, people like Chris Chavez virtue signaling themselves into opportunity while simultaneously screwing the athletes, and insufferable group of athletes who make it impossible to spend on them and who make excuses when they perform poorly and cry and hug their opponents when they perform well.

People know what track and field is in 2022... it's just not entertaining or fun to watch because the community is terrible and the people in powerful positions have no clue what they're doing.

Basically idiot Americans like sports that they can have mini celebrations every couple minutes and find a reason to drink their beers. A homerun, slam dunk, touchdown, or an eagle or crazy long drive.

That's why soccer or hockey are not quite as popular, it takes a little too long for a celebration type thing to happen.

I give the PGA credit, the way they edit there broadcast is exceptional, there is really never a delay, going from player to player, shot to shot. Always some kind of action in a very slow paced game.

F1 drivers have to race every event. So you are guaranteed to see head-to-head between top drivers in every race.

In track, top athletes dodge each other until the championships. They really don't care non-championships races. So why should fans care?