If I started knocking on doors in San Francisco heading east how far would I get before somebody could answer my question........for 1000 bucks can you tell me who was....Howard Drew? How far would I get before somebody did tell me who he was?
He was the first to be called................................
Typically, the average American knows next to nothing about track and field. The only time their track IQ is raised is every four years when the Olympics roll around. Even then it is quite minimal.
Exactly!! The average American doesn’t watch track except for the finals of a few Olympic events on prime time TV. So let’s all get off our high horse on how important track is in the US and then be surprised at the dismal attendance at random track meets that don’t even get televised on the major stations. Track is NOT a popular spectator sport regardless of how many track fanatics want to think do. Fact!
Typically, the average American knows next to nothing about track and field. The only time their track IQ is raised is every four years when the Olympics roll around. Even then it is quite minimal.
Exactly!! The average American doesn’t watch track except for the finals of a few Olympic events on prime time TV. So let’s all get off our high horse on how important track is in the US and then be surprised at the dismal attendance at random track meets that don’t even get televised on the major stations. Track is NOT a popular spectator sport regardless of how many track fanatics want to think do. Fact!
But I am coming to the conclusion that "nothing" is popular if you use the old metrics of "everyone in the nation" knows what it is.
There used to be just ten of everything (singers, TV shows, hit songs, movies, baseball teams, corrupt senators, horse races, etc.). Everyone in America had the same three TV channels, local movie theaters, and radio stations.
Everyone knew everything about the shared culture. My grandpa knew Babe Ruth and Louis Armstrong even though he didn't like baseball or jazz. He knew it because he lived in America.
Now, I have no idea about anything outside my niche because there are 10,000 songs, movies, reels, memes, sports, celebrities, youtubers, etc.
How many things these days are shared by 80% of the culture? Politics might be so popular (in a bad, sick way) because at least it connects all of us and provides an identity. We are are "connected" through the existential battles being fought by the Left and the Right.
Too bad we don't have other cultural things that we all shared besides that...
In the olden days we only had three tv channels, so we all watched the same sports. If they showed Carl Lewis on the TV, everyone in the country had to see Carl Lewis. But now, you have to log in to your sport on your app on your phone. Everything is super niche.
This is it.
With only 3 channels, Shorter, Wottle, Pre, Joan Benoit, Flo Jo etc. were built up prior to their races by the network, and all of American watched the races.
Sports illustrated then covered the details.
Now only football, basketball and a bit still of baseball get that kind of mass exposure.
While I totally agree with this post...
The fact that in the old "3 channel days" that Track and Field got programming time at all shows how much higher up the ladder it was in terms of the sports hierarchy in terms of interest.
In the 60's, 70's and 80's I'd say that Track Field was only behind Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey and Golf in terms of programing and interest... and I'd say it was actually pretty close to Golf. At least in Olympic years.
These days, Golf dwarfs T&F in interest... and sadly, other than the Olympics... T&F is down there with junk sports like Pickleball, Cornhole, and Darts as far as actually getting programmed.
It is sad when you consider that top US track athletes used to be household names.
Okay, I asked a big bunch (14) of my kid's friends. It was a mix of boys and girls, all HS aged, only one or two who do track. I had them write down their answers:
How far is the marathon? - 26.2, 3km, 26, 26.2, 26, 26.3, 10 miles, 26, 25, 25km, 26, 26.2, 5M, 26.2
So basically 3/4 of the kids knew the correct distance. That is pretty good. This was, by far, the question they did best on.
Funny enough I just got a glimpse of just how little the public knows earlier this week. My brother texted me asking what the world record for long jump was (in ft). Apparently he was at bar trivia with coworkers and they had guessed like 10'.
About 5 seconds after I saw the text, I guessed (wrongly) 29' by Carl Lewis, so maybe I don't know anything about track either haha.
I'm not so sure about regular people but there are regular commenters on here, like those who say doping doesn't aid African distance runners and in fact it has actually gone away, who clearly know nothing about the sport.
Hey Joe Public tell me who belongs in these lanes..
100 meters
1,Beat Bob Hayes in high school?
2.Had a 7-3 record in the 100 vs Jesse Owens
3.First to run a 9.4 100 yards?
4.Also beat Bob Hayes in HS?
5.What WR did Oliver Ford tie?
6.First sprinter to be called "WORLDS FASTEST HUMAN" ?
7.Last Big10 sprinter to win the Olympic 100m?
8.Who holds the Cali State JC 100M record?
"No living human knows the answer," said in Nate Bargatze's deadpan voice. :)
Not true
1,Beat Bob Hayes in high school?
Jimmy "Peach Head" Douglas, only sprinter Hayes didn;t avenge a loss, that cat was killed in a gang related incident before they ever met again. 2.Had a 7-3 record in the 100 vs Jesse Owens
Eulace Peacock he was injured in 1936 so no Olympics. 3.First to run a 9.4 100 yards?.
Buckeye George Simpson but disallowed because of his blocks, first legal 9,4 was Frank Wykoff out of USC. Has the distinction of being beaten by a guy running 101 in a 100 yards talking HS, 4.Also beat Bob Hayes in HS
Alfred Austin who ended up on the same 4x1 at FAMU 5.What WR did Oliver Ford tie?
10.0 100m, he was out of Southern U 6.First sprinter to be called "WORLDS FASTEST HUMAN" ?
Howard Drew pre 1920. Some newspaper guy saw him run. Drew the first black to hold a sprint WR he tied the 9.6 record. 7.Last Big10 sprinter to win the Olympic 100m?
Jesse Owens OSU 8.Who holds the Cali State JC 100M record?
. Kemarley Brown Jamaican at Merritt JC 9.9something,
See we all have our interests mine are track, football, music, the rasslin'. When it comes to those topics I can hang with anyone. Can't talk baseball, soccer, rugby, auto mechanics, hell can't even change my oil.
Not really about smarts more about interests.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
2. Name three female marathoners, past or present.
3. Do you know how many miles is a 10K?
4. Do you know how far an NCAA cross country course is for men? For women?
5. Can you name any American high school running phenom, past or present? (Sprinters don’t count.)
7. Complete the name of the famous runner: Dominated the marathon for many years: Eliud ______. High school phenom turned Olympian Dathan ________. Current marathon world record holder Kelvin _______. American bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympic Marathon Deena _____. Running legend and gold medalist of the 1984 Olympic marathon Joan _______.
I’m sure this isn’t a well-rounded survey, but if I had to come up with something on the spot this is what I’d come up with!
You’re joking right? The average Joe would get a ZERO. And many runners would fail. What stupid questions
Typically, the average American knows next to nothing about track and field. The only time their track IQ is raised is every four years when the Olympics roll around. Even then it is quite minimal.
Exactly!! The average American doesn’t watch track except for the finals of a few Olympic events on prime time TV. So let’s all get off our high horse on how important track is in the US and then be surprised at the dismal attendance at random track meets that don’t even get televised on the major stations. Track is NOT a popular spectator sport regardless of how many track fanatics want to think do. Fact!
💯 I always laugh when I read comments on how track is so popular. No one watches it on TV and the empty seats at meets speak volumes. You may see more attendance in certain European countries and cities but even then it’s because nothing else was happening in town that day or there were kids events too and the parents came out. Track is tough to watch if you aren’t a runner or have anyone to root for.
See we all have our interests mine are track, football, music, the rasslin'. When it comes to those topics I can hang with anyone. Can't talk baseball, soccer, rugby, auto mechanics, hell can't even change my oil.
Not really about smarts more about interests.
Deno, the point of the "quiz" was to see what normal people know. Why would I ask them questions that only I could know and which are based on my own super specific knowledge set?
I would not ask a survey of questions that nobody on Earth besides myself could answer.
"What is my best friend's dogs name" is not a good question for a survey.
The point of this survey was to see if people know regular things about our sport. Such as "what is the biggest competition in track and field?" If they say "Olympics," they get a point. I would not ask "Where was Jesse Owens born?" because it is not reasonable for anyone to know that.
The question that was hardest for the people I surveyed was the "name an current Track and Field athlete." Out of the 14 people I talked to, only three could name anyone! The other 11 either said "I don't know any" or "Usain Bolt."
One (non-athletic) boy somehow knew the name Mondo Duplantis.
One boy who does track (shot and disc) knew Ryan Crouser.
And one girl who knew the romantic love-story between Hunter and Tyra Woodhall. The same girl also knew Sha'Carri Richardson.
p.s. I love that the Woodhalls were known to at least one person out there!
Grant Fisher, Mondo Duplantis, My girlfriend, My niece, My Nephew
There is no "normal" anything and if I were you I would avoid using that word!
The HJ is over 8 feet, The PV is over 18 feet.
Without looking those up, how average would you say I am for one who has ran for more than 50 years? I say that the avid track & field fan would not be able to answer your quiz to 100%.
If you had really run for over fifty years I'd think you'd know how to conjugate the verb "run."
Johnny Weir is certainly not a track guy. But when Terry Gannon did a preview of a track meet, Weir immediately said "Mondo Duplantis!"
Mondo has probably been on Sports Center Top 10 more than any other current track & field athlete. He gets on Top 10 even when he does not break any record.
3 active athletes is a great question. For example, I know absolutely nothing of American football. I could name 2 - Brady and Hill - and no more. That's probably more than average for someone that doesn't follow the sport at all. In addition, AF has more coverage, so you're more likely to pick a name up. I'd bet a lot of money that 90 percent of people you ask couldn't name one active athlete.
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