Why is Oregon Overrated?

10/10 You are right on the money. It seems that a lot of stupid and/or jealous people follow our sport...at least on LR. I've gone to track and field meets all over the country, and honestly nowhere compares to Hayward Field. The University of Oregon is a fine school, rated in the top third of public universities in the US and it typically is one of the top few teams for both men and women in track and cross country. High school runners get it, old folks like coach d not so much.

You nailed it. So few of us get to the Olympics, or place at USA's, or even at NCAA's, compared to how many participate in the sport annually in the USA...

My best memories...winning a few close races at Hayward...not being a big star, but still coming off the bend into the home stretch and hearing the fans rise to their feat and the cheering get louder.

Even better if it was anchoring a relay against and rival and you were taking the lead For The Win.

Great times, Eugene, Great Times.

ReallyOptimistic wrote:

10/10 You are right on the money. It seems that a lot of stupid and/or jealous people follow our sport...at least on LR. I've gone to track and field meets all over the country, and honestly nowhere compares to Hayward Field. The University of Oregon is a fine school, rated in the top third of public universities in the US and it typically is one of the top few teams for both men and women in track and cross country. High school runners get it, old folks like coach d not so much.

Coach d is just a dickless wonder and an immature Oregon hater.

You can't name another school that has done more for running and track and field world wide...simply because Bowerman and Nike did so much for the running and fitness revolution and then for track athletes all over the world.

athletic funding and power plays for Stanford and Cal are made in the Southland.

We know the casualties of the Stanweiners curse 1st hand: Edrick Floreal, Jason Dunn, Pattisue Plumer, Vin Lannana, Andy Gerard, Robert, Weir, Andy Powell, ...

Tegenkamp and Ahmed were in the 10,000. Tegenkamp is not 'early 20s' but Ahmed certainly is. And, what the heck does college-age have to do with it?

My Name Is Judge wrote:

Other than Lopez Lomong, which runners in their early 20s from those schools made the Olympics in 2008 or 2012?

Diego Estrada

David McNeill

Mohammed Ahmed

Evan Jager (went to WI for a year before leaving to train with the coach that brought him there)

How hard is it to understand he was talking about collegiate athletes that made the team. Teg was not in college last year. He is talking about Rupp, Centro, and Wheating making the team while still in college.

A Duck wrote:

Great times, Eugene, Great Times.

Quit hyping the lie. If you really live in Eugene, you know full well nobody in the city can name even one Oregon track athlete. Other than the couple hundred people who pepper the west stands during dual meets. While the other stands are all vacant which is why all the cheers are on the homestretch.

To 99.9 percent of Eugeneans, Track Town is just a pizza joint. Eugene has a tiny dedicated fan base, not enough to make it more special than any other city.

Eugene don't care wrote:

A Duck wrote:

Great times, Eugene, Great Times.

To 99.9 percent of Eugeneans, Track Town is just a pizza joint. Eugene has a tiny dedicated fan base, not enough to make it more special than any other city.

99.9%?

Do you know how many people live in Eugene?

If what you say is true only 5 people would be attending the track meets dumba$$.

dense wrote:

How hard is it to understand he was talking about collegiate athletes that made the team. Teg was not in college last year. He is talking about Rupp, Centro, and Wheating making the team while still in college.

I didn't say Teg, jack@ss. McNeill, Lomong, Estrada, and Ahmed were all still on their college teams. AND he said college aged, which is why I included Jager.

Organ is like the Kardashians. It's famous for being famous. Also, hosting Olympics trials, Galen Rupp's ridiculous mask, Jorden Hassey picking Organ (that was a big suprise), and Nike's strange involvement with the program all add to the mistique.

I actually went to Oregon because it was a dream of mine to go there and compete at Hayward. My idols were Mac Wilkins and Steve Prefontaine, both guys who grew up in Oregon. Bowerman was no longer the coach, but he was at the track several times a week. I had a great experience being a Duck and if you haven't competed in Eugene at Hayward, then your criticism doesn't hold much water= there is nothing that compares in the United States. We never won an NCAA team championship, but we were pretty dang good and gave every team a run for their money.

Oregon has long been hated and considered arrogant, conceited, whatever. We got the same message back in the day and it's only going to get worse with the $80mil Autzen remodel and upcoming indoor track facility. Pretty cool though if you're a Duck and very easy to understand the 'sour grape' mentality. Stop at Hayward Field any day of the week where there is absolutely nothing going on and you will have half a dozen people an hour stopping by just to take a photo of the facility. And as far as no one in Eugene caring or appreciating track and field, I disagree. My daughter competed in the 2012 Trials and while walking on Franklin Blvd to dinner she was stopped four times to ask for her autograph and pose for pictures. That's not gonna happen anywhere else folks.

I didn't go to Oregon, and I didn't compete at Hayward Field, but for someone to say it isn't the most famous track in America is just plain ignorant. Yes, we always thought of Hayward fans as conceited, but I guess that comes from being a rival. Fact is, as I've been to more and more track facilities around the country, none come close to comparing to Hayward Field. I've also come to realize that the many Hayward Field fans are probably the most passionate, knowledgeable fans in the country. Watch them and you'll notice that while they support their athletes, they also show hearty appreciation for good athletes and good performances from anyone. So, all this nonsense about Hayward not being the pre-eminant track and field location in the country is just that-nonsense. Any ardent track and field fan deserves to treat themselves to at least one big meet at Hayward in their lifetime.

[quote]Not A Duck Trackster wrote:

I didn't go to Oregon, and I didn't compete at Hayward Field, but for someone to say it isn't the most famous track in America is just plain ignorant.

I'm pretty sure both the coliseum and Franklin Feild are the most famous in the sport. The colisuem held the Olyimpics in it and is played in other sports than just track. Franklin Field hosts the Largest track meet, beisdes the Olympics and World games. It actually has had bolt run there before, in a blazing sub 9 split. It has hundreds of high schoolers run in it every year, unlike any meet in Hayward Field. Finally it the oldest track meet in the country starting since April 21, 1895. I think there are other tracks that are more famous than Hayward that I can't think of also.

For a school with limited academic offerings in an average sized town in the middle of a rural state in the middle of nowhere on the west coast, I'd say Oregon has done quite well in most domains against all the other universities with more advantages. And before you pull the swoosh card out, the only difference between Nike and the booster clubs for all the other SEC and Big 10 schools is that Nike supports sports other than football at Oregon.

What does "overrated" mean? So many of you 12 year olds here throw that term around without ever establishing your criteria for comparison to other schools or standards.

We're runners and our sport doesn't get the attention or even understanding it deserves from mainstream society. Eugene is the only place in the country where our sport gets any validation from the non-running community, and almost all of that is because of the stories and legends associated with UofO.

small town, idiot wrote:

99.9%?

Do you know how many people live in Eugene?

If what you say is true only 5 people would be attending the track meets dumba$$.

5/0.001 = 5000

There are 150,000 people in Eugene, not 5000, you stuttering fool.

HC wrote:

Eugene is the only place in the country where our sport gets any validation from the non-running community

Only people who have never lived in Eugene say this.

Hayward Field is owned, operated and hyped by the University of Oregon. The city has nothing to do with it, and its people don't give a fart about what happens there.

A city's real attitude can be measured by its high school tracks. If the people are into track, they'll pay for quality facilities. Eugene's high school tracks are so shabby they might as well be dirt.

Eugene don't care wrote:

A Duck wrote:

Great times, Eugene, Great Times.

Quit hyping the lie. If you really live in Eugene, you know full well nobody in the city can name even one Oregon track athlete. Other than the couple hundred people who pepper the west stands during dual meets. While the other stands are all vacant which is why all the cheers are on the homestretch.

To 99.9 percent of Eugeneans, Track Town is just a pizza joint. Eugene has a tiny dedicated fan base, not enough to make it more special than any other city.

You don't know what you are talking about.

Track Town Pizza is a run of the mill pizza place that students got to for the cheap and greasy late night pizza.

Locals go to several other places.

Eugene's local fan base is very informed.

I was merely a member of the varsity for 3 of my 4 years there. Not bad, me thinks.

And, locals would recognize me out and about, on airplanes back into Eugene. Girls would come to the track to watch me work out, ask me out, give me their dorm keys.

It was nice to be at a school where the track team meant something. Sure other schools are better that focus on the sprints - much easier to pile up points that way due to limited scholarships.

The thing is, your opinion is a minority opinion.

Until there is another city in the USA that can put a good knowledgeable fan base in the seats regularly, you are just going to have to take your whining tears elsewhere.

I'll agree with others on this; I wouldn't want to live in Eugene after graduating. I know that it is a very supportive community for running, and if you like small towns...great.

Centrowitz has the right idea, get into OP and move to Portland, a real city, with all the perks of a real city.

You thought of Hayward fans as "conceited"? Man you were projecting that yourself.

Any athlete, ANY athlete from anywhere in the country or the world, who has a nice performance is 100% warmly received by Hayward fans. ANY athlete that walks up into the stands to great their family (at meets where there pass allows that) is given all kinds of nice words by all the fans.

Of course they are going to root for the locals first, that is to be expected, but all athletes who put on a "good show" are well appreciated by the crowd.

I think Eugene's fans understand how much of an individual sport it is, what it takes personally etc.