Autographs are silly, ridiculous. Watch the event, the athletes are just regular people with talent. Imagine being a really famous person for a second. These people can't go anywhere without paparazzi chasing them. They can't go anywhere without being bothered for an autograph, picture, or just a stop and chat. Sounds annoying. Okay, lots of money but a regular joe can make a lot of money. Finance.
We spent thousands of dollars to come to Eugene from Minnesota to watch the meet. We spent months talking about which athletes we wanted to get autographs from given the victory lap the athletes usually take and our experience in the past... only for the men's 10K team to run away from the track at the end. I understand they need to get ready for the 5K, but no wonder the sport is dying. There's no obligation to the fans.
I don't get these "the sport is dying" threads.
Track is one of these sports where the popularity peaks every 4 years at the Olympics.
It is never gonna be the money maker like football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, etc.
I’m trying to imagine a family that would spend thousands to fly to Los Angeles to see the Dodgers play and then feel robbed after Shohei Ohtani failed to wait around in Dodger Stadium after the game to sign autographs for everyone.
Worst analogy in history. USATF champs had LESS people attending than american corn hole championship. It probably wouldn't hurt to engage a fan or 2. OP is correct. We have a pro track team that runs at our track, they sometimes ask our faster kids if they want to join in the workout. I couldn't get within 2 blocks of Shohei without being tackled.
Did you take any time to think this out before you hit the post reply button?
You act like these athletes have nothing better to do after they’ve finished their race. They have to talk to the media, they have to do a drug test, they have to cool down, they have to get food and fluids in them, they have to get some massage treatment and then get ready for a 5000m coming up on Sunday. This is isn’t like when you or I finish a 10k and can stroll around until we decide what to do with the rest of our Sunday.
It’s great for them to sign autographs and take selfie photos with people in the stadium. But don’t forget they have other parts of their job to do.
For your information, the American Cornhole League Championships has about 15,000 people attend over nine days. The four day attendance over in Eugene will beat that.
We spent thousands of dollars to come to Eugene from Minnesota to watch the meet. We spent months talking about which athletes we wanted to get autographs from given the victory lap the athletes usually take and our experience in the past... only for the men's 10K team to run away from the track at the end. I understand they need to get ready for the 5K, but no wonder the sport is dying. There's no obligation to the fans.
Have you met Taylor Swift?
Not the OP, but she did give me a high five at one of her concerts.
Story is:
Went to a show for the Speak Now tour in 2011 as the "chaperone" to my younger sister and her friends. In reality, it was just an excuse for me to get a free ticket.
It was in a basketball arena and at one point she did a walk around the court and gave high fives to the fans that were in the first row of the normal basketball seats (there were also people on the court too). We were in the 3rd or 4th row and when she started walking around all the fans starting screaming and ran to the aisle to go down, but that got instantly congested; instead I hopped over the seats in front of me, got my foot stuck in one of the seats while doing so, but was still able to reach out for my high five. Sparks flew.
My sister and her friends weren't able to since they got caught in the congestion, so my sister was very annoyed that her brother that got the free ticket is the one who touched Taylor Swift.
Saw her again last year and no walk around the stadium this time. I imagine it'd be a safety hazard at this point given how much her fame increased over the last 14 years.
Everyone on this board is obsessed with reasons the sport is dying instead of the reasons it’s not. God forbid the athletes don’t bend over backwards to make you happy. Pay to watch so that there is some actual revenue??? GASP!
I am not saying that the OP should expect the runners to stand around and sign everyone’s stuff, but here is a true story… When I was a kid, my grandfather took me to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play the Cardinals in a regular season day game (Cards won).
After the game, he took me around to the back of the stadium where the players would exit. How he knew this, I have no idea. This was 1987 and I was eight, so a lot of this is a blur. Someone else waiting to see the players told us that Andre Dawson – my favorite player in the world and idol at the time – drove a royal blue Camaro Iroc-Z. When that car came screaming up the exit ramp in the garage, I stuck my hand out with a baseball for him to sign. He slowed the car, took the ball, and signed it. Insane.
It sat in a glass box in my childhood room and then when my parents moved (in my adult years), my mom threw it away. Moms are hilarious.
I love this story. So much packed into such a brief narrative. Are you a writer by trade?
Your last two sentences were quite the curveball. Dick move, mom.
I’m at the meet - also spent thousands of dollars to come out here from the DC area with two of my sons. I didn’t come for autographs or selfies; I came to watch great competition. And the athletes are delivering. The mens’ 10k was slow but we all knew who the three favorites were and they ran as fast as they needed to qualify.
If you tried to stop them to ask for autographs and they rudely refused, you might have a point. But if they just walked off - say because they were tired after running 29 minutes - just call it fatigue and lack of presence of mind. Grant Fisher, Graham Blanks, and Nico Young are to my knowledge super-nice guys. Meanwhile I’ve seen plenty of athletes signing autographs while doing their “victory laps."
I work in a major sports retailer's store and there are giant Nike posters of Keely/Athing/Jakob. Not a single customer or staff member had a clue who they were. Jess Hull came in this year and no one recognised her. Track and field athletes are virtually unknown outside of their little world. The only exception would be Bolt and that's a long time ago now.