Meb Unable To Reach Deal With Boston Marathon Organizers - May Not Run Spring Marathon

No Clue wrote:

How do you draw the conclusion that Meb was asking for an unreasonable amount. It doesn't state anywhere that they asked for any sum amount. If it were unreasonable it would be in JH's interest to just say we can't make such offer and call it a day. It sounded like JH was stalling all along with no intent of having Meb in the race. What I don't understand is why did JH entertain it for 6 months without making any offer. It sounds very unprofessional on JH's part. Meb's value easily exceeds more than a handful of the Boston Elite athletes. Anyway, glad JH's true colors show. They should call Mary Wittenberg or Dave Bedford for advice on negotiating athletes....

Homeslice, you don't get that being in contact with the JH people from August through January implies that at the very least either JH made an offer (and Meb says they didn't) or Meb's side put in a request? Why would they have been negotiating for so long without either an offer or a request? Do you reasonably expect to stay in touch for months with someone interested in buying your car or house if he never makes a single offer and if you never request an amount? Something's fishy here. Either Boston was Meb's only hope for what he and his agent think he's worth or he and his agent weren't being smart in negotiating with only one race or they were negotiating with several races but none thought Meb was worth the asking price. Maybe Meb should have a better agent than his brother.

Could be as simple as Meb wanted the same appearance fee as Hall. He could justify it based upon his resume. But John Hancock could not justify it based upon marketability. The best return on JH's investment would be for Hall to win.

It sounds like Meb is a class act. But sponsors have not come close to marketing him like they have Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan and Ryan Hall. Random people who do not know anything about elite running know Kara, Shalane and Ryan.

You should try going out to the expos when Meb is around. The autograph lines are long, I know because I was at one in Phoenix. Boston is known for how racist they are and they don't hide it....

That's just it, why would a guy like Meb be so furious to call them out. Did you ever consider JH's silence is admission of guilt. You are choosing to ignore the possibility it happened as he says and as a result of JH's lack of professional courtesy he has decided to speak.

oh by the way here is for the record marketability beyond just running:

http://marathonmeb.com/mebs-mastercard-commercial/

Did I mention Subway and Sony

Meb is inspiring and charismatic. And he has formed some great branding alliances. He is arguably the most accomplished US distance runner of the last 20 years. And it is disrespectful to Meb's accomplishments.

But he is probably on the downward side of his performance curve.

I think sponsors would like to transcend marathon expo autograph lines.

I do not agree that Meb is as marketable (beyond those of us who very closely follow elite distance running) as Ryan Hall or Dathan Ritzenhein.

No Clue wrote:

That's just it, why would a guy like Meb be so furious to call them out. Did you ever consider JH's silence is admission of guilt. You are choosing to ignore the possibility it happened as he says and as a result of JH's lack of professional courtesy he has decided to speak.

Or he feels he has little to lose at this point (maybe he's decided that he's okay with never running Boston again based on the outcome) yet JH is not willing to risk any possible public relations flap by getting into it at all. Even the organizers of that dinky 10K that Kastor called out on her blog had nothing at all to say about Kastor.

*stipe wrote:

Random people who do not know anything about elite running know Kara, Shalane and Ryan.

No they don't. That's ridiculous. Nobody except me in my entire office of several hundred people have any idea who any of those three people are.

I've had countless conversations with non-competitive fitness runners who know the names Ryan Hall, Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan. Yes, they are runners. But they do not follow competitive running.

A neighbor just ran the Houston Marathon in 4+ hours. I asked if she saw the Half. She said, "No, but Ryan Hall finished 2nd. Too bad he didn't win".

I had similar conversations with people regarding Shalane's NYC debut and Kara's NYC and Boston races.

Stating the obvious wrote:

I heard somewhere that Boston was already full.

He should have got his application in earlier, but maybe he didn't run a qualifyer in time?

Same thing happend to me...

Maybe if they'd tighten the qualifying time there'd be room for Meb?

NYCMfield wrote:

they may look good on paper but none of them had a good day.

Oh, so then I guess he didn't really beat them.

Meb is far more marketable. I've seen this guy in action and especially with common people outside of just running. I heard a story that the President of the United States spoke of Meb in a run with a random person running. You guys underestimate this guy. Don't be fooled just because he doesn't brag about doing this and that as some other athletes constantly do to market themselves.

*stipe wrote:

I've had countless conversations with non-competitive fitness runners who know the names Ryan Hall, Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan. Yes, they are runners. But they do not follow competitive running.

A neighbor just ran the Houston Marathon in 4+ hours. I asked if she saw the Half. She said, "No, but Ryan Hall finished 2nd. Too bad he didn't win".

I had similar conversations with people regarding Shalane's NYC debut and Kara's NYC and Boston races.

So, you are friends with racists. Congratulations. Do you work for John Hancock?

Can't they just raise the entry of all the hobbyjoggers another 50 bucks and give that to Meb?

Ask the Boston Celtics who Meb is and I'm sure they will clearly tell you who he is before Ryan, Shalane or Kara. You have no clue. Maybe you should get out more.

I wonder who a Celtics home crowd would root for if Meb, Bill Russell, and K.C. Jones played 3-on-3 against Ryan Hall, Larry Bird, and Brian Scalabrine.

Home crowd would root for whoever celtics roots for....smarty! Think before you answer.

That is funny :)

bobby e. wrote:

I wonder who a Celtics home crowd would root for if Meb, Bill Russell, and K.C. Jones played 3-on-3 against Ryan Hall, Larry Bird, and Brian Scalabrine.

Maybe the Celtics should spend a little more time learning how to make a jump shot. They should be ashamed to let the most overrated player in the history of the NBA get that many easy shots in the 4th quarter. Everybody knows if you double him, he is so selfish he will continue to jack up bad shots and your team will win. Rivers should know that.