Why is Oregon Overrated?

Eugene don't care wrote:

HC wrote:

Eugene is the only place in the country where our sport gets any validation from the non-running community

Only people who have never lived in Eugene say this.

Hayward Field is owned, operated and hyped by the University of Oregon. The city has nothing to do with it, and its people don't give a fart about what happens there.

A city's real attitude can be measured by its high school tracks. If the people are into track, they'll pay for quality facilities. Eugene's high school tracks are so shabby they might as well be dirt.

Let me draw an analogy for you, if you can understand what an analogy is.

Let's say your community has a garlic festival. And over the years that garlic festival becomes successful and well known. Let's say, like my great aunt, you don't really like garlic. Nonetheless, you are aware of the civic pride and interest that others have in the garlic festival. So, you go along with the family, and try little bits of different garlic laced foods, and while it doesn't do anything major for you, you enjoy it, learn to enjoy it more, and even more so you appreciate how much the others in your family seem to really have a wonderful time at the garlic festival. A few years down the line, you can't imagine what your family would do with out the big get together every year for the garlic festival. Or it could be a rose parade, or a strawberry festival, or even a Shakespeare festival.

There is a good number of Eugene residents who get into the big track meets, because it is a big local social thing to do.

And there are genuine track fans, and there are out of towner track fans and the like.

Going to a big meet in Eugene is like going to Comic Con for comics and fantasy fans. A good time is had by all.

I haven't visited the city's high school tracks in a while. But the deal is, that is more a factor of school by school funding and booster clubs.

Overall you just sound like a negative person, maybe even a negative ahole?

Eugene don't care wrote:

HC wrote:

Eugene is the only place in the country where our sport gets any validation from the non-running community

Only people who have never lived in Eugene say this.

Hayward Field is owned, operated and hyped by the University of Oregon. The city has nothing to do with it, and its people don't give a fart about what happens there.

A city's real attitude can be measured by its high school tracks. If the people are into track, they'll pay for quality facilities. Eugene's high school tracks are so shabby they might as well be dirt.

I should have led with this; as to your cention that the city of Eugene has nothing to do with promoting Hayward Field, you clearly are showing your ignorance here.

1. There have been many articles listing the local city organizations that have supported Hayward Field events.

2. Numerous local businesses contributed to the rebuilding of Hayward over the years. For a long time, due to the feuds between Nike and University Officials, little Nike money was involved.

3. The efforts to bring the Olympic Trials and make the Pre-Classic a DL event etc., are not lead by the university, and are instead lead by local civic organizations.

A Duck wrote:

I was merely a member of the varsity for 3 of my 4 years there. Not bad, me thinks.

And, locals would recognize me out and about, on airplanes back into Eugene. Girls would come to the track to watch me work out, ask me out, give me their dorm keys.

In other words, you lived on campus the whole time, went home during the summer, and left after graduating, yet you think you know the city. And you think there's something special about scoring with college girls.

I know Eugene much better than you, and I know the UO too, so there's no point trying to tell me track is popular either on or off campus. We both know it's not.

Posters like 'Eugene Don't Care' crack me up. And these nuts are everywhere. The internet has given whack jobs and losers a podium to voice their opinion while remaining anonymous and invisible. But a few things you can be sure of: 1) this guy struggled a great deal athletically as few athletes of any stature rarely resort to shamelessly bashing others. Hence, the obvious frustration to those who have had ANY success 2) has struggled a great deal with the ladies 3) is very big and powerful behind the anonymous internet mask. Likely a mousy kook in real life. Advice - get a life man, you are pathetic.

Let me apologize if I misled on my "conceited" comment. All I was trying to state was that when I started college (at a rival school) all of us on the team thought of the UofO as conceited. My point was that after seeing Hayward Field and its fans up close and for real, I realized that they ardently supported their athletes, but that they also showed appreciation for all the competitors. After my personal experiences on that track, I would never have a negative word to say about either Hayward Field or the fans of Eugene. No doubt, if it isn't the most historic and fabled track in the USA, it is at least a valid contender for that honor.

As a Eugenean who has been a track and field season ticket holder for around 10 years, I can tell you that you don't have a clue about Hayward Field and Eugene track fans. At last count, around 4,000 of us buy season tickets every year. On top of that, several thousand come out to buy tickets for each meet during the season. You talk about how there are only a couple hundred fans for dual meets. For starters, we don't have dual meets (plural)...we have one dual meet, and it has been against UCLA in recent years. This meet has been averaging 6,000-7,000 fans every year. Other than the Drake fans in Iowa, can you name a single track and field program that supports the sport this way?