That Webb article is a breach of professional decorum.

a journalist wrote:

but I think it is mainly Webb fans who are upset that he is portrayed in a negative light. I am sorry, but all of our heroes have foibles.

I have no idea of how you "think".

People are upset, not because it was reported, but with the judgmental and childish way it was "reported".

I don't think anyone is expecting Letsrun to ignore what Webb was doing after the race. What's obnoxious and unprofessional was the outrage they expressed when Webb didn't do anything wrong. Or even out of the ordinary. No one likes a bitchy scold.

Another vote against the petty reporting style.

dean moriarty wrote:

I don't think anyone is expecting Letsrun to ignore what Webb was doing after the race. What's obnoxious and unprofessional was the outrage they expressed when Webb didn't do anything wrong. Or even out of the ordinary. No one likes a bitchy scold.

Especially with a dose of "we're doing it for his own good" mixed in.

a journalist wrote:

I am surprised at all the adverse reactions on the message board, but I think it is mainly Webb fans who are upset that he is portrayed in a negative light. I am sorry, but all of our heroes have foibles.

Hey look! I can be a journalist too...

I am surprised you have an adverse reaction to eating at McDonalds, you must not like hamburgers.

I am surprised you don't enjoy Britney Spears, you must not like music.

I am surprised you think Sara Palin is an idiot, you must be a communist.

I am surprised you have an adverse reaction to an unprofessional and petty Webb article (sorry wejo, the headline on the front page isn't the problem), you must be a jogger.

Maybe we should just hold an impromptu vote on this thread?

I still don't get why the Brojo's think this is newsworthy? Alan Webb did nothing wrong. He vented with his agent, not "in the public arena" as being portrayed here, but in the warmdown area. When spoke privately to his agent, an animated Webb threw F-bombs into his speech? Oh my goodness, alert the media!

No one was harmed.

'Professional decorum'? People shouldn't throw stones from glass houses, or something like that, right? The best you can say about Employee #1 was that he was EAVESDROPPING. Can you say 'Paparazzi'?

An hour later, Webb goes on to a proper interview in which he expressed the same frustration in not being able to fake it through a race that he knew he wasn't fully prepared for. What's the big deal here? Would you rather him read a boilerplate script from a teleprompter?

"First of all, I'm so glad to be here in the great City of Boston, with my fans, fellow athletes, this kid next to me with cancer, and all of the sponsors of the event who make it all possible, and even Emory Mort, who has been following me around all weekend like a deer fly. Love ya, Mortie."

It should have been over, but the Paparazzi continued to stalk Webb by reporting on Webb's post race workout -- which would have been great content for those of us not interested in tabloid journalism. Opportunity missed because this report was completely occluded by the pejorative 'tantrum theme.'

What was completely missed by all of the meaningless noise was that Alan Webb is not a professional only becasue of an accident of birth, but becasue he's willing to put in the work that few of his so-called critics would ever do.

That's just it- the post race workout was good information because it reminds us fans that Webb is a man on a mission. Leave it at that. They really didn't need to try to turn it into something it wasn't and insinuate that it was some kind of unstructured attempt to relieve frustration by a person who is mentally unstable.

If you look at only the facts of the workout, there is nothing that seemed unusual about it for someone of Webb's ability and it shows he already moved on.

It seems like they did a fantastic job in generating interest in their commercial website.

Everyone seems to support this with a 200+ post thread on the topic.

This thread reminds me of the Redskins owner Dan Syder suing a small newspaper for an unflattering article that not many people read.

Now because of the lawsuit/complaints, everyone has read the article.

It would be a breach of professional decorum if they had not reported the facts. Fact: Webb is a sore loser and throws tantrums. Fact: Webb lost Saturday. Fact: Webb threw a tantrum.

The only one breaching professional decorum is the grown man who cannot conduct the PR aspect of his profession because he possesses the emotional control of a 6 year old.

Why is the running culture filled with such hate and negativity? You all wonder why our sport doesn't receive the recognition or respect it deserves. It's because everyone on this site with the exception of a few, bash other successful runners and start nonsensical, bullshit dialogue. You all gossip and bitch like a bunch of women in a god damn sewing circle.

After reading that Webb article, I'm in complete agreement with the original poster. It was so cute you provided those little tidbits of hearsay, while stalking Webb like a bunch of lost, little high school girls. Oh he did this! Oh he said that! Are you kidding me? You never in your dreams could accomplish what that man has accomplished running-wise and yet you live and breathe the culture.

And that's fine, follow your passion and do what you love, but stop the gossip and the petty games. We don't all need to hold hands and have a hippie rally, but our sport will never be what some of us envision because we're all too busy hating and promoting constant negativity.

The article is bad, but understandable. Tom Davis's post here is just stupid. If you want to teach Alan Webb a lesson, send him an email you pompous ass.

Gharris wrote:

a journalist wrote:

but I think it is mainly Webb fans who are upset that he is portrayed in a negative light. I am sorry, but all of our heroes have foibles.

I have no idea of how you "think".

People are upset, not because it was reported, but with the judgmental and childish way it was "reported".

Granted, I would have not labeled it a meltdown or childish or a tantrum or anything similar.

I would have described what Webb did in detail -- and left it at that -- allowing readers to evaluate the behavior.

WahhhlanWebb wrote:

The only one breaching professional decorum is the grown man who cannot conduct the PR aspect of his profession because he possesses the emotional control of a 6 year old.

Are you talking about Webb or the "journalist" here?

webfoot wrote:

a journalist wrote:

I am surprised at all the adverse reactions on the message board, but I think it is mainly Webb fans who are upset that he is portrayed in a negative light. I am sorry, but all of our heroes have foibles.

Hey look! I can be a journalist too...

I am surprised you have an adverse reaction to eating at McDonalds, you must not like hamburgers.

I am surprised you don't enjoy Britney Spears, you must not like music.

I am surprised you think Sara Palin is an idiot, you must be a communist.

I am surprised you have an adverse reaction to an unprofessional and petty Webb article (sorry wejo, the headline on the front page isn't the problem), you must be a jogger.

Oh, I bet you can't be a journalist. For one, you couldn't handle the pay cut.

MIAAAA wrote:

The article is bad, but understandable. Tom Davis's post here is just stupid. If you want to teach Alan Webb a lesson, send him an email you pompous ass.

I think I have the Tom Davis thing figured out--he's the old comedy writer. This makes more sense than taking what he wrote on here seriously.

People need to stop saying that he threw a tantrum because he's believes he belongs with the best in the world.

Webb is chronically insecure and emotionally immature. He throws tantrums because he wants to believe he's one of the best in the world, but for every AR, he has a dozen races where he demonstrates that he was physically or mentally unfit on that given day. The result is his fragile emotional state where he relies on every performance to validate his self esteem. Webb is an enormous talent, but until he grows up, he'll never be able to perform as consistently as the professional men.

Where in hell will "feeling secure" get ya?

If you don't like what they wrote, then don't read it.