Official Footlocker prediction thread. Who ya got?

mundus vult decipi wrote:

As far as NXN v. FL goes, I have been clear that I would have loved to see a combined championship but--and let me make this clear once again--Footlocker not Nike is at fault for that.

Footlocker is to blame, because they have always had the national championships and still have them?

That is really stupid logic, and I don't believe that you don't work for nike.

NXN is simply a result of Nike being told NO. Anyone that runs in NXN is a pawn. Nike feels like they can control all things running. The top athletes are offered more money to run for Nike. They out bid everyone for the Oly Trials. They run USATF. I always cheer for the athletes wearing anything but Nike.

All I can say to this is a firm, yet resouding, NO! If you run from Footlocker you are pawn, though I would personally characterize these people as tool bags. Nike is a team championship, and what more is cross country than a team competition. You know? XC is for the team, let track be more of an individual type sport. But XC, in no other sport is your 5th man more important. With a good one, your likely 1 of the top teams in you're area, possibly the county or even the state. Or in the case of NTN, the entire country if your 1-5 is that good and 6-7 + more equally as deep. In summation, it is evinced that Nike > FootLocker.

successjunkie wrote:

A high school team championship is stupid. Athletes cannot chose their HS teams, so that contest is unfair and senseless. I understand that teams like to run together, but teammates can do that if they're both/all good enough to race in a national championship.

That might be--and I do mean this literally--the dumbest post I have ever read on letsrun.

Molly Grabill is going to win and bring the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP to California again!!!!

2 in a row!!!!!!!

Greedy shoe company wrote:

Footlocker is to blame, because they have always had the national championships and still have them?

That is really stupid logic, and I don't believe that you don't work for nike.

A quick history primer:

--Footlocker ran an individual championship for about 25 years.

--Nike lost its soul in the 90's and tried to regain it in the early part of 2000.

--John Truax and Josh Rowe dream up the idea of national championship (based on the NCAA model) for high schools.

--Nike approaches Footlocker about an expanded championship with 8 regions and team qualifiers.

--Footlocker executives show their ass when they admit that they don't know how a cross country meet is scored. They follow this up by telling Nike to go to hell.

--Nike threatens to pull its support of the Footlocker meet.

--Footlocker threatens to pull every Nike shoe out of its stores.

--Nike folds to FL's bluff. A compromise is struck where the top finishers at NTN also qualify for Footlocker.

--Two years later--after a number of complaints about the lack of regional meets--Nike develops the regional qualifiers.

--Nike reaches out to FL again. No dice. FL and Nike part ways.

Footlocker, my friend, has always run an individual championship. They had a chance to be a part of a new combined team/individual championship and they refused. I understand why they refused but it was their decision. Time will tell if it pans out for them.

As for your second accusation, if I did work for Nike (which I never have), this thread alone

would have gotten me fired.

adsadad wrote:

I guess the reason is that NXN regionals and FL regionals are on the same day and that Footlocker and Nike are competing, not playing cooperatively.

.

Umm, antitrust laws? It would be probably be illegal for Footlocker and Nike to "play cooperatively."

Chelsey Sveinsson (sp?)