How to Revitalize Track and Field

It seems like you're pretty interested in keeping the sport small, you fail to recognize that the reason that people aren't watching the sport is because they find no REASON to, unless they are specifically fans of the sport. The same reason that I never watch a game between The Bills and The Texans, unless someone is going to throw for 400 yards or break some kind of record, but I watch the Vikings because they're my team. This idea isn't just about getting a bunch of athletes a system to compete, they already can compete, its giving fans a reason to care.

It's not what I want. I am not advocating any changes to the format of meets. Designing sporting events is beyond my interests. Sure I'd like to see more non-insport-fans but I'm so used to every person in the stands as being very connected to out sport I wouldn't know what to think if all of a sudden meets had people like at Hayward Field where plenty don't have a clue.

I'm just one rabid fan who goes to 12-24 Xc/TF/Marathons every year and has seen alot. There are many events and not everyone watches them all. I learn towards the track and dist events. The early throws I watch then walk over to the track. I'm one of the few who stay for the very last distance heats. Although LA, Houston, SD, Mammoth, and Dallas get the most medals, still 2/3rd come from the rest of the USA. We cannot ignore places like Athens GA, Portland Or, Knoxville TN, Columbia MO, Seattle WA, Lawrence KS, Upstate NY, Albany NY, etc. for their contributions. I hate it when certain towns think they are entitled to undeserved attention.

I don't think team ball sports can compare to TF/XC/RR. Those are focused on the BALL, while out sports are on individual performances.

We should make track and field gladiator style and execute the person in last place. THAT, people would pay to see.

Bushwacked wrote:

Consider this:

1. When you were in high school, how many students went to the football game against your big rival school?

2. When you were in high school, how many students went to the track duel meet against the big rival school?

Allegiance isn't the issue.

That's a reductionist view of the situation. How many people go to highschool golf matches? how many people go to high school tennis matches? Even, how many people go to high school baseball games? Very few. The allegiance metaphor from high school doesn't necessarily transfer over. And to anyone who claims people don't want to sit around and watch a long meet, I think that's a really good point, which goes back to the idea that someone posted earlier, of not having every event run every meet. First of all, people often don't want to compete every weekend, especially distance runners, running hard. Second, you could have about 1/3 of the events at each meet or relays only at a meet type thing and give it something more viewable. You also need to realize that people will sit around for hours on end and watch golf.

1.) Reduce meets to 2-3 hr. - that means no preschool 50m or any of that stuff.

2.) Tailgating - Americans are fat and like food. Tailgating is an American institution and people probably won't mind tailgating right close to the 2nd turn.

3.) Teams? maybe, but relays are a better idea.

4.) events over 5k are too boring for the normal fan. here's the races I would run:

100m

200m

400m/800m

1600m

3000m/5000m

pole vault, javelin, discus, shot, triple and long jump all happening between races.

5.) Really, indoor track is where its at. Its cooler to see milers and sprinters whipping around banked turns at fast speeds right in your face. Just look at the success of the Boston Indoor Games.

6.) better tv coverage. could show virtual mr,am,wr dots running around the track to show how how close/far back the leaders are from the records. Next to the race clock for distance events should be the pace the leaders are on.

ITA officials set sequential blinking lights at record pace in the ITA pro meets back in '74/5. MSG sold 17,500+ tickets each year.

So I guess an update of technology is due. I think we have the technology for a robot being assigned to each marathoner to pace them,give them water,gel;s or fuel plus keep them up to date on their TwetterFaceAimlesslySkippy page.

only thing that would revitalize us t/f is another carl lewis/usain bolt type - world beater, oly champ, world record.

I mean, Lance single-handedly revitalized us cycling - not the tour du pont or whatever gimmick they dreamed up.

People will get behind a winner in obscure sports, but that is what it takes.

true, people cheer for laundry

agip wrote:

only thing that would revitalize us t/f is another carl lewis/usain bolt type - world beater, oly champ, world record.

I mean, Lance single-handedly revitalized us cycling - not the tour du pont or whatever gimmick they dreamed up.

People will get behind a winner in obscure sports, but that is what it takes.

EXACTLY. But in order for Americans to care, the world beater has to be American. He also has to run an event that the casual person knows--the mile. He has to be good-looking, and not an awkward track geek, to get more women supporting the sport....

... Seriously, the best way to revitalize track and field in America is to make Andrew Wheating the face of running, and pray that he can medal in the 1500 in London.

Mike Rowave wrote:

true, people cheer for laundry

ugh

Notdefineable wrote:

Wouldn't it be exciting if state, city or regional Track Clubs started competing against one another?

We kind of have this in the UK. It's all clubs, with a large number of home-grown athletes. The British League (5 divisions, 8 teams in each) is the cream of the crop and the top clubs have a deep history, sometimes some wealthy backers, and sometimes the odd sponsor.

Yet it never made any money. At the absolute financial and public-interest peak of the sport in the UK in the early 90s, when I was on the team of the winning club (hey, steeplechasers are always needed!), we got MOST of our travel expenses covered; and the spectators were basically injured athletes, plus some peoples' mums and girlfriends.

We even went to the European Clubs Championships. Major event in terms of depth, professionalism etc. Maybe 100 people in the stands.

I would love to see your plan work, but I am skeptical about the public wanting to watch town-level track. Be grateful for your school/college system.