NikeNationals V Footlocker

Yes, this is ridiculous. I haven't heard of most of the people who are qualifying for Footlocker now just because the depth has been watered down A LOT with a ton of top runners choosing NXN over Footlocker. Examples are Elias Gedyon, Kaylin Mahoney, a bunch of top Texas runners, and many more.

who cares if NXN gets ALL the Texas runners? Name the last time a Texas runner did even halfway decent at Footlockers. You can't, can you?

You have to go aaaaaalllllll the way back to 2007 when Colby Lowe got 4th.

haha, that is true, ALLLL the way back to 2007

but Footlocker is still good. NXN is creeping up though. Who cares where these talented runners race, as long as they make it NCAA, that's where it counts.

ALSO.......

Remember Chris Derrick?

Ran Both races, NXN and Footlocker....does that make him a wuss for running NXN. As I said b4....NCAA where it counts, look where he finished at NCAA's this year

People keep saying Nike is greedy and does all this for money. The Nike Regional Cross meet I came back from had to cost a lot of money to put on for such a small amount of elite teams. The meet was first class and the entry fees pretty standard. Nike lost a bundle putting on the meet and my team had a fantastic time.

The national meet they are flying in and putting athletes up for three nights, giving some awesome gear away and giving the athletes memories that will last a life time. 44 teams and 90 athletes. They must be making millions off these high school kids by doing this? Sure.

Nike is getting their name out there by supporting our sport - and hopefully they see it as finacially beneficial to them. I am thankful they are putting the money into running instead of some pro basketball player or football commercials.

Is Nike all about greed? They do support the University of Oregon (as some call Nike U) and made running big there again. They support the U of O more than any other University due to why? Because that one university will make their brand millions more than another University? Alumni support their University - its not all about greed.

The Oregon Track team coaching situation ruffled a bunch of feathers on here. Some may not like how it was done - but they got the job done and turned Oregon into a distance powerhouse again. They dumped alot of money into that - why? That decision must be making them millions. All greed right?

Why do they sponsor almost every distance runner we have? It seems like 80% are wearing a swoosh. Again must make them millions.

Then we get to the high school scene... Nike Cross Nationals, Nike Indoor and Nike Outdoor. All three events are very well done and Nike associated themselves with a group of people very determined to grow track & field in our country. The people at NSSF have done a fantastic job and Nike has made it possible through their finacial support. I hope Nike continues to make those contributions to allow NSSF to do the best job possible.

Some people seem to get sick of what they may see as corporate dominance. I guess Nike likes to compete and win. I guess Nike should stop supporting half the distance athletes they do that will never grace a magazine cover, stop putting money into high school sports (our grass roots), stop putting camps and training groups together to try to help U.S. runners be competitive on the world scene. Stop supporting our national governing body and meets like Pre.

What about Nike bringing over a Kenyan high school contigent to run at Nike Cross the last few years... must be for money.... or could it be to show our best American kids what they are up against.

I personally believe that Nike supports what it believes in and where it came from. Distance running, Track & Field, The University of Oregon, grass roots athletics. The masses running.

My stance on Nike has changed over the years. I don't see them as a greedy, sweatshop labor corporation as I know the shoe industry well. In comparison to their competition they are innovative, inspiring, competitive and fun. Like Brooks but on a bigger stage.

They may force their way into situations but the end result has been pretty good... Galen Rupp, University of Oregon, Olympic Trials in Eugene, high school distance running and track & field overall, Salazar and their training group... has been controversial but all has turned out to be successful and benefitted our sport. Who else is trying as hard as Nike?

We have won five state titles in the last three years (three xc and two track). It is not enough for my team to win their classification. They want to be able to qualify for these national meets and one day hope to make it to Nike cross nationals. They were close this year and an individual from my team will get to go this year. My team is more dedicated and excited about this sport because they are so interested in it. The girls even are more aware of the pro scene and other great programs nationally and want to know what they are doing. Before they couldn't care unless it was a local team. High school running has gotten very exciting! The number of running websites like Flotracker, milesplit network, dyestat and this one have kept the running public up to date and entertained. Nike finacially has made it possible to bring these athletes together and helped make the competitive level go to a new level. Just look at Nike outdoor two mile the last two years.

Many people want to know what Nike gets out of all of this. I am not sure. It is a corporation and the bottom line it needs to make money to survive. I also know I have benefitted as a fan and a high school coach from their support of my sport.

THANKS NIKE!!!!!!

I believe that Nike is in search of a spot in the running market. Within the RSG (running specialty group) Nike is no longer a big dog. Asics and Brooks sell between 3 and 5 times as many shoes as Nike. And if not for spikes and racing flats, Nike would be behind Mizuno, Saucony and New Balance.

Nike realizes this and is trying to be a large part of the framework of american distance running in other ways. I think the attitude is that maybe if you provide a great experience for high school kids (which Nike Nationals is), they will view their inferior product differently. In other words, BUY OUR PRODUCT BECAUSE IT IS COOL, not because it is good. This usually works with high school kids but rarely stick with the consumer in their 30's and older.

Be like Derrick. Run both. A runner winning both would be serious domination.

I apologize but I'm confused...the last I knew only teams qualified for NXN (and these teams were selected by some sort of committee or something). NXN was a week or so before Foot Locker - so for example in NY, you could run the Federation Meet, then run FL NE qualifier, then (if your team was selected) you could run NXN and then if you qualified (at either FL NE or as a top individual at NXN) you could run the Foot Locker Championships. Is this the way it still works? If not, when did it change? and why?

NXN now has a regional competition for 8 regions. California is still decided by a committee (and the State meet results) because of the lateness of their state meet. The meet also includes individual qualifiers now. The system changed to allow for head to head competition and to allow individuals to qualify for the "true" national championship. The system, as it exists now, has always been Nike (meaning John Truax's) original vision.

As for the pro-Nike sentiment expressed above, there is no doubt that Nike has done (and will continue to do) great things for the sport of running. Nike is a corporate empire and, like all empires, they do great things. The underlying issue is the cost of these things. The Chinese celebrate Emperor Qin's great wall but forget that one man died for every three feet of wall. In the same vain, the running community is full of people who have a "Nike" story--a moment of trying to stand up to the emperor only to face insurmountable consequences.

If you doubt the power of the empire, try crossing them sometime.

We should all thank Mr. Zimmerman for mentioning Johnny Truax. Most of the hardcores have left the Swoosh, leaving JT as one of the very, very few who continues to Keep It Real in a sea of joggers that really don't get running at all or care about young thinclads.

Hats off to The Horse. That guy should get his own building

aspiration wrote:

Be like Derrick. Run both. A runner winning both would be serious domination.

The problem is that FLW is the same day as NXN Nationals, FLNE and NXN Northeast were the same day.

Who should win? Undoubtedly Footlocker. From an individual standpoint, it is far and away the better meet.

Who will win? Probably Nike. They outmaneuvered Footlocker, and the top individuals in many regions now have to choose between abandoning their teammates or passing up the biggest race of their high school career. Nobody's going to abandon their teammates because, as other posters have said, cross country is a team sport.

So basically Nike will win at the expense of the athletes. I just hope that after they completely win out they move the location of NXN or at least change the course, because deciding the individual national champion on the current course would be a joke.

Please stop posting about people who finished highly in Texas's 20 million classes. Unless they had a chance to finish top 10 in their Footlocker region they're irrelevant in this discussion.

And the poster comparing a meet's individual champion to a basketball MVP is an idiot. The MVP is decided by purely subjective means, cross-country championships are purely objective. Props to the poster who amended it to a free-throw contest.

Does anyone find it funny that NXN ads are splashed throughout Eastbay's catalogs? Last time I checked, Eastbay was owned by Footlocker. Very interesting.

[quote]TK1451 wrote:

So basically Nike will win at the expense of the athletes.

[quote]

Expense of the athletes? Do you not think that Nike is providing a first-class experience for both teams AND individuals? No doubt Foot Locker has provided an incredible and unique experience for 64 (now 80) kids, but I'm not sure what Nike is doing at the "expense of the athletes."

Regarding the course, doesn't the best runner usually win World Cross regardless of location and conditions?

I find it hard to believe that people are finding fault with Nike for putting on this meet.

I have been to the Footlocker Championships three times in the last 6 years with 2 of the girls I coached, I am about to head to Portland for the NXN meet for the first time. I am more excited about being able to bring the team than one individual. Footlocker was a great experience for the individual but these girls would have enjoyed it more if their teammates were with them.

The Footlocker race brings in 80 kids, Nike is bringing in 398 kids and giving them the same experince that footlocker is giving their kids. That is huge and for them to be able to go as a team makes it all the more special.

does anyone know if winners of nxn goes on to the footlocker nationals...are they the same weekend. if i recall correctly, this is something that was done in the past.

TK1451 wrote:

Please stop posting about people who finished highly in Texas's 20 million classes. Unless they had a chance to finish top 10 in their Footlocker region they're irrelevant in this discussion.

Sorry to break it to you, but the guy only referenced 1 class (5A) with the exception of the fastest girl on the day being from a private school division. To the point about being "relevant" - he only referenced athletes from the 5A class (the large school class) that had already qualified for FLN in the South region or the athletes that handled them and will be going to NXN instead. I think the poster actually did a great job illustrating just how many of the nation's top distance runners (of course using Texas as a microcosm of the country has its problems and could in fact be the exception) are opting for NXN instead of FLN in just the first year of individuals getting to go.

Personally, I think Nike is doing a great job for the athletes and coaches. For so many years now people have been crying for a high school team national championship and Nike has brought that. But with that championship athletes are starting to have to choose between their team and their individual accolades between NXN and FLN. Now that Nike is trying to combine them (and Footlocker decided not to merge smoothly with the idea) everybody is bitching about it. Look, Nike tested its team championship, it worked. They want to make it so athletes don't have to choose between team and individual. From what I've heard they have tried to work with Footlocker and it didn't work. So now it is a matter of time until Nike has both because that is what should happen - a true xc national championship like the NCAAs.

NowUno wrote:

the individual race at NXN is for PUSSIES!

what a joke!

team races, well, that is a different story

end of story

This was certainly true this year in the Northeast. The FLNE qualifier was much higher caliber than NXN. The top individuals were in the Bronx. No doubt.

I was there wrote:

This was certainly true this year in the Northeast. The FLNE qualifier was much higher caliber than NXN. The top individuals were in the Bronx. No doubt.

Yeah, but the NXN runners were all under 20.

BTW - California is not selected by a committee. A merge of the top teams is done and the two top teams from the merge are auto qualifiers.