aside from a few exceptions (serena/venus williams and ronda rousey), men are way more marketable in sports. in all of my years on letsrun, i have never seen someone as popular as jakob. i know that letsrun is biased towards middle/long distance runners and perhaps usain bolt is more popular among the whole population, jakob is gonna be extremely tough to beat. jakob is far more marketable.
I’m not suggesting Jakob is an utter failure. Earlier, I wrote, “When marketing an upcoming Diamond League meet, Jakob will be and should be one of the headliners.” That’s not a statement that would be made about an utter failure.
Obviously Jakob has had a successful career. Pointing out his disappointing performances in the biggest moments of his primary event doesn’t mean his whole career is a failure. It just means he has disappointed in the biggest moments three years in a row.
Yes, he has won three consecutive global championships in his secondary event, and he deserves credit for that. So, if we include those in the mix of his biggest moments, then it’s fair to say he’s 3 for 6 in his biggest moments the last three years. That’s a 50% success rate. In other words, he’s been hit or miss. I wouldn’t want a product I’m selling to be associated with hit or miss in the biggest moments.
Can you find any male track MD and long distance runner who has just been near as successfull as Jakob the last 3 seasons?
You and other biased patriots consider Fisher to have done great when he got 2 (well deserved) bronze medals but when Jakob takes a silver it is considered a LOSS. Do you realize that you involuntarily show that you hold him in high esteem since you consider everything else than gold for a failure.
And again: You are almost word for word qouting Armstronglivs. What a good company you have found!
Jakob is a great runner. I’ve never said otherwise. Not sure why you’re bringing Fisher into this thread, but I’ll comment on him since you brought him up.
It appears my point about expectations went over your head. I’ll try to explain: In any event, if the #1 ranked athlete who wins nearly all their Diamond League competitions and has the top mark in the world doesn’t win the global championship that they are heavily favored to win, that’s a disappointment. Some might go as far as calling it a choke, but I’ll just say it’s a disappointment. It’s even more disappointing if that same athlete had claimed that he could beat his opponents blindfolded.
In any event, if an athlete who isn’t ranked top 3, doesn’t have a top 5 mark, and has never medaled before winds up winning a medal, then that’s viewed more positively because the athlete exceeded expectations.
If we look at their respective expectations going into this year’s Olympics, it’s fair to say Fisher exceeded expectations by leaving Paris with two medals, and Jakob failed to meet expectations by leaving Paris with only one medal.
I don't think this is necessarily true for track and field really. In terms of active athletes, looking through the most followed athletes on Instagram, it's split pretty evenly between men and women. I know Instagram followers isn't a perfect metric, but it's a pretty good proxy for figuring this stuff out (if by marketable we mean marketable to the general population)
Can you find any male track MD and long distance runner who has just been near as successfull as Jakob the last 3 seasons?
You and other biased patriots consider Fisher to have done great when he got 2 (well deserved) bronze medals but when Jakob takes a silver it is considered a LOSS. Do you realize that you involuntarily show that you hold him in high esteem since you consider everything else than gold for a failure.
And again: You are almost word for word qouting Armstronglivs. What a good company you have found!
Jakob is a great runner. I’ve never said otherwise. Not sure why you’re bringing Fisher into this thread, but I’ll comment on him since you brought him up.
It appears my point about expectations went over your head. I’ll try to explain: In any event, if the #1 ranked athlete who wins nearly all their Diamond League competitions and has the top mark in the world doesn’t win the global championship that they are heavily favored to win, that’s a disappointment. Some might go as far as calling it a choke, but I’ll just say it’s a disappointment. It’s even more disappointing if that same athlete had claimed that he could beat his opponents blindfolded.
In any event, if an athlete who isn’t ranked top 3, doesn’t have a top 5 mark, and has never medaled before winds up winning a medal, then that’s viewed more positively because the athlete exceeded expectations.
If we look at their respective expectations going into this year’s Olympics, it’s fair to say Fisher exceeded expectations by leaving Paris with two medals, and Jakob failed to meet expectations by leaving Paris with only one medal.
Ingebrigtsen certainly didn’t choke. It was reasonable that given the consecutive 2nd place finishes at WC, he believed his best chance to win was to run from the front. That he came up short by about a half second, was hardly a choke job.
Neither are truly marketable at a world level, where Track is a niche sport - it isn't even called that in much of the world (rather it is Athletics) - and people who post on this site live in a fishbowl. My brothers (who only follow Pro team sports) have no idea who Jakob is (or really care). But they see Valby as an attractive American girl who draws their attention as a "who is that?". They wouldn't give Jakob a second thought. Sadly, so many on this thread/site are so insular that they actually delude themselves that they are representative of the average sports fan. Given how few people bother to attend Track meets in this country, this isn't a surprise.
However, in Europe, Jakob would be much more marketable than Valby, as they care more about the sport, and he is a much higher profile athlete. In much of Africa (outside of the east - Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda) few would care about either, nor would they in India or China.
Currently most marketable is Jacob. He is a known star that has achieved success on the world stage. Valby has not done much yet and no one knows who she is outside of the USA.
Potentially most marketable is Valby. She has the looks, is from the USA which is a potentially huge market, and if she can improve to a level where she becomes a serious gold medal threat (or actually wins gold) her marketability is potentially great.
Realistically most marketable is Jakob. He is still rather young and will likely remain a star for years, especially as he likely moves up in distance. He is from Europe where track is far more popular than in the USA. Valby would have to improve tremendously to be competitive at the global level. Her history of injury may limit her improvement. Even if she becomes a realistic global medal threat, or wins global gold her marketability may be limited because track is not popular in the USA and distance events are not as popular as the sprints. She may have do other non running things to have a big marketable TV story the average person in the USA might relate to, such as becoming a mom.
Jakob is a great runner. I’ve never said otherwise. Not sure why you’re bringing Fisher into this thread, but I’ll comment on him since you brought him up.
It appears my point about expectations went over your head. I’ll try to explain: In any event, if the #1 ranked athlete who wins nearly all their Diamond League competitions and has the top mark in the world doesn’t win the global championship that they are heavily favored to win, that’s a disappointment. Some might go as far as calling it a choke, but I’ll just say it’s a disappointment. It’s even more disappointing if that same athlete had claimed that he could beat his opponents blindfolded.
In any event, if an athlete who isn’t ranked top 3, doesn’t have a top 5 mark, and has never medaled before winds up winning a medal, then that’s viewed more positively because the athlete exceeded expectations.
If we look at their respective expectations going into this year’s Olympics, it’s fair to say Fisher exceeded expectations by leaving Paris with two medals, and Jakob failed to meet expectations by leaving Paris with only one medal.
Ingebrigtsen certainly didn’t choke. It was reasonable that given the consecutive 2nd place finishes at WC, he believed his best chance to win was to run from the front. That he came up short by about a half second, was hardly a choke job.
Choke isn’t the right word. But to compare it to NFL, someone like Haile Geb Is like Tom Brady. Very talented and rises to the occasion. Jacob is like Peyton Manning , very talented but not dominate when it counts
I’m not suggesting Jakob is an utter failure. Earlier, I wrote, “When marketing an upcoming Diamond League meet, Jakob will be and should be one of the headliners.” That’s not a statement that would be made about an utter failure.
Obviously Jakob has had a successful career. Pointing out his disappointing performances in the biggest moments of his primary event doesn’t mean his whole career is a failure. It just means he has disappointed in the biggest moments three years in a row.
Yes, he has won three consecutive global championships in his secondary event, and he deserves credit for that. So, if we include those in the mix of his biggest moments, then it’s fair to say he’s 3 for 6 in his biggest moments the last three years. That’s a 50% success rate. In other words, he’s been hit or miss. I wouldn’t want a product I’m selling to be associated with hit or miss in the biggest moments.
Can you find any male track MD and long distance runner who has just been near as successfull as Jakob the last 3 seasons?
You and other biased patriots consider Fisher to have done great when he got 2 (well deserved) bronze medals but when Jakob takes a silver it is considered a LOSS. Do you realize that you involuntarily show that you hold him in high esteem since you consider everything else than gold for a failure.
And again: You are almost word for word qouting Armstronglivs. What a good company you have found!
Paradoxically, Jakob has been the most successful 1500m runner and the most disappointing 1500m over the last 3 seasons.
Jakob has dominated the time trial circuit since 2021. He’s also lost the all 4 (counting indoor) global championships that he has entered in that time frame.
Losing so consistently takes some luster of the shine.
In any case, he is still a great runner.
Re: marketing - are we talking marketing to the niche track fan audience or a broader audience?
Track & field, or “athletics” as it is known in most of the world, is not that popular outside of Europe. Since Jakob is European, he’s probably more marketable. That said, neither of them are are a marketer’s dream. And, as previously mentioned, Valby really is not known outside of the US. I venture in the US she’s not well known. If you were to ask 100 random people you would be lucky if 1 knew who she is.
Of course Valby isn't know outside the US much, but I'm fairly certain Track and Field is pretty popular outside of Europe! Kenya? Ethiopia?
Of course Valby isn't know outside the US much, but I'm fairly certain Track and Field is pretty popular outside of Europe! Kenya? Ethiopia?
Yeah, but how much revenue do Kenya and Ethiopia directly bring to Nike, Adidas, and other brands?
The US is the biggest market, and Valby is probably more recognizable than Jakob here. She certainly is more marketable in the long run. Neither of them are near the marketability of Bolt, or even Sha’Carri. Valby has the potential to reach Sha’Carri if she medals in 2028.
Bolt is untouchable like Gretzky, Tiger, Jordan.
This post was edited 16 seconds after it was posted.
Stating something as an absolute is not an exaggeration. Saying Valby has hundreds of millions of foreign fans is an exaggeration. Saying that every single person in the world is her fan, is an incorrect statement.
Valby isn't even on the New Balance "we got now" commercial I see now and then. She's going to stand next to an ARC Trainer or something?
The only way Parker will become something is if she medals in the 28 Olympics, but that's a long way away. She could run XC Nationals, whatever that is, and win a dozen road races next year, and only the incels around here would still know her name.
Ingebrigtsen certainly didn’t choke. It was reasonable that given the consecutive 2nd place finishes at WC, he believed his best chance to win was to run from the front. That he came up short by about a half second, was hardly a choke job.
Choke isn’t the right word. But to compare it to NFL, someone like Haile Geb Is like Tom Brady. Very talented and rises to the occasion. Jacob is like Peyton Manning , very talented but not dominate when it counts
Brady won 7 Super Bowl in a 21 year career. That’s 14 times where he didn’t rise to the occasion for the last game of the season. Maybe being able to rise to the occasion had something to with how good a team he had around him?