who else is angry at Lagat...

I kind of understand the sentiment of recent immigrants not being "real" Americans...but the more I think about it, the more I think we should embrace guys like Lagat.

First of all as previously mentioned, Lagat seems like a really great guy and is not all that recent actually. Also, he CHOSE to be a US citizen. With all the people that are born here and take the blessings of being in this country for granted. it's great to see others wanting to be here and loving their new country. Sure beats the Americans who seem to hate everything about America.

Also, (I know this is a real stretch) Frank Shorter was born in Germany-- would some say that makes him German? OK, I know his dad was stationed there in the military..but still. I am just glad to have people come here who seem to love their new country.

I do wonder if some of us may be harboring a bit of subtle racism however. BTW I am as white as white can be. I have grown up seeing those "black guys" dominating sprints (and other sports) for years. I kind of took pride in something a white guy like me could excel in -- distance running. Now when we get black guys doing well (not just over in Africa) in the US I wonder if we get a little irritated b/c us white guys are not representing the US? I am not bashing here.. I am actually wondering if a bit of that has been going on in my own thinking unconsciously. What do you think?

My viewpoint is that Lagat is not an immigrant, but a mercenary.

He is obviously not American... he stuck out like a sore thumb in that Men's 5000m Final. Go ahead and deny that.

Is lagat gonna douchebag it up again and run for Kenya in 08?

Muger Cement wrote:

My viewpoint is that Lagat is not an immigrant, but a mercenary.

He is obviously not American... he stuck out like a sore thumb in that Men's 5000m Final. Go ahead and deny that.

So USATF paid Lagat to switch to US citizenship and had the State Department give him a streamlined immigration process?

You should be pissed at yourself for being so damn slow

Not USATF, Nike paid the bill.

Frank Shorter was born on American soil; a US hospital surrounded by Germany.

agreed wrote:

That Albert Einstein guy too. What the hell was he thinking taking American scientists places at Princeton...if he'd not been there they would surely have discovered all the crap he came up with on their own.

But by the time Einstein came to the U.S., he had already completed his greatest works, in 1905 and 1915-16.

Kinda like Lagat...

Camoo wrote:

If Lagat was a Swede who came here in the 1990s, this debate would not even exist

I haven't seen many Swedes dominating the distance races lately, but I think you were trying to refer to his race.

I was rooting for Teg, but mainly it was because Lagat had already pulled off the double last year and Teg had tried to make a big move. When it was all over it was slightly disappointing to see Teg lose, but when I remembered that Lagat now runs for the US, it was nice to see that patented finishing kick that everyone knew was coming. No longer playing second-fiddle to El G, he's got flat-out amazing finishing speed. Impressive double last night for Lagat.

i just dont like the fact that he competed for kenya in the 2004 olympics when he technically was already a US citizen...what kind of shit is that??

and in a related point, ive never been a huge fan of runners who come over here and get an education (free of charge, at that), then in many cases continue living over here (making no effort to acquire citizenship), yet at every world champs/olympics turn around and win medals for another country.

i wonder what other countries (assuming, hypothetically, they had the collegiate athletics system we have) would say if our badass sprinters ate up all of their scholarships, married their women, lived it up in their countries..yet saluted the stars and stripes on olympic podiums every 4 years....maybe they'd be fine with it? maybe not...

I agree, as I posted earlier, Lagat showed his character when he kept his U.S. citizenship secret so that he could still run in the Olympics as a Kenyan.

He should have skipped the 2004 Olympics. He was not a Kenyan, but an American, right?

Muger Cement wrote:

My viewpoint is that Lagat is not an immigrant, but a mercenary.

He is obviously not American... he stuck out like a sore thumb in that Men's 5000m Final. Go ahead and deny that.

I agree wholeheartedly. Those n****rs Meb, Abdi, and Lagat shouldn't be American citizens, they don't even look like us! And that's what matters.

...That's essentially what you said. I hope it sounds as stupid to you as it does to me.

I'm of dual Asian Indian and white ancestry. My father became a citizen in 1970 and never looked back (he's contributed a lot to this country in 40 years, he even saved many lives), and my mother's family has been American for generations, going back to the middle of the 1800s.

I also would have stuck out like a sore thumb in that 5000m final. But if you were to hint to my face that I was less American than any of them, you would be minus a face, motherf***er.

Bernard Lagat is definitely not a mercenary, you inbred half-wit. He wasn't paid a single cent to become American, and he actually suffered from down-time in which he couldn't go to Worlds because of his citizenship change. He became American solely because he had lived here for a long time, loved this country, and wanted a good future for his son. None of you would do less.

My issue is simple. He had lived in the US for a longggg time and he ran in '04 for Kenya. Not the US who is solely loved etc. etc. etc. but for Kenya. He is not going to get a medal next year.

I'm not! NUMB NUTS!!!

Weary wrote:

Lagat has lived in this country for an extremely long time and is a class act. I always root for him to win.

No, no, we don't root for Barry Bonds or Lagat. Get it?

Redskin runner... wrote:

All you white runners relax...You are all immigrants or wetbacks to us. Billy Mills, only American runner...Jim Thorpe too? Heck, even the Mexican marathoners of the 90's are more american than all you white kids.

Billy, with his love of America, is an example to us all. True heroes never bitch about what a raw deal their ancestors may or may not have gotten....

Muger Cement wrote:

Not USATF, Nike paid the bill.

Where's the papertrail?

Greedy wrote:

Lagat is a trader to his own country! I cant repect that!...poor or not or nice guy!

If one of my favorite US runners went to Canada and became citizen just because of greed and wanting a better chance to win championships then he would be no better!

I say...."FU@K Off"!

This American has his own view on right or wrong....SCREW LAGAT AND NICE GUY CRAP!

This post represents everything that is wrong with Letsrun.

njl2 wrote:

He is a lier. He ran in the olympics for Kenya while he knew that he was an American citizen.

but i bet that he could spell \"liar\", which makes him more american than you