Anyone else totally disgusted by Dathan Ritzenhein's comments about world cross country?

LRC: "The stuff in bold was added by the original poster to make a point."

You don't add "stuff" in quotes. That's unethical behavior for anyone who even pretends to be a journalist.

You jerks really shouldn't be given any more press passes until you take a journalism class or two. Creepy stuff.

To my earlier point , tonights 13:06 indoors is out of Ritz's range given his marathon legs.

No problem with Ritz choosing money over going to WC, but he needs to quit making excuses why he is not going.

...does it DISGUST ? me?

Absolutely not.

Perspective.

Being one of the USA's top distance runners and probably getting paid less than a fourth string (NFL/NBA/MLB) bench warmer...

Making exponentially (probably not hyperbole) less money than a drug cheat like Armstrong...

Watching his sponsor make hundreds of millions in profit off him and other athletes (clean, dirty, purple, pink, green or otherwise) and cutting him in on a sliver of a fraction of that profit...

=

Cut the guy a break and let him b-itch a little. or a lot. I don't care.

Anyone distance athlete who has ever tried to maximize their potential as a runner past college while providing for a family knows exactly what Ritz's comments stand for.

Anyone who is actually DISGUSTED by them...get off your A-- and take his place at World XC. on your own b- itchy little dime.

No need to be disgusted. Remember, Ritz did not say the things in bold print. Those things (which unfortunately were in quotation marks) were simply invented by the O.P.

themanontherun wrote:

He's barely a year out from having run a sub-2:08 marathon, how is that not world class? Certainly not world leading, but surely world class? How many guys ran sub 2:08 last year?

Quite a few. I lost count of them.

J.R. wrote:

themanontherun wrote:

He's barely a year out from having run a sub-2:08 marathon, how is that not world class? Certainly not world leading, but surely world class? How many guys ran sub 2:08 last year?

Quite a few. I lost count of them.

----

Ritz was 68th fastest in the world 2012 , 76 broke 2:08.

His time would not have won any of the majors nor b marathons.

Gulp wrote:

J.R. wrote:

Quite a few. I lost count of them.

----

Ritz was 68th fastest in the world 2012 , 76 broke 2:08.

His time would not have won any of the majors nor b marathons.

Boston 2012 Winner: Wesley Korir: 2:12:40

OMG IT"S SO DISGUSTING SO DISGUSTING WHAT I"M GONNA DO

Gulp This wrote:

Gulp wrote:

----

Ritz was 68th fastest in the world 2012 , 76 broke 2:08.

His time would not have won any of the majors nor b marathons.

Boston 2012 Winner: Wesley Korir: 2:12:40

Hello it was 85 degrees and slow , Ritz maybe would have run 2:15 at best.

Bottom line he has to get under 2:05 to be in the hunt.

Anyone who actually cares about his comments needs a better job.

You work for a living don't you A$$ clown? I'll bet you s^ck up to the boss man to get your bonus - that's all about the money, isn't it?? DR has to stay healthy and earn $ while he can. Nothing wrong with that. I'd sign up for being homeless if I could have his talent and experiences he's had. He was honest and said what he felt needed to be said.

workin man wrote:

You work for a living don't you A$$ clown? I'll bet you s^ck up to the boss man to get your bonus - that's all about the money, isn't it?? DR has to stay healthy and earn $ while he can. Nothing wrong with that. I'd sign up for being homeless if I could have his talent and experiences he's had. He was honest and said what he felt needed to be said.

I wouldn't trade the world for his waste of time.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB-UMP!!!!!

What if Ritzenhein ran this afternoon?

If Ritz would have ran, he would of taken a spot from someone who actually cared about the U.S. team and not about the money. I'm glad to see a bunch of guys who may not be the biggest names getting the chance to have some team success. Hopefully this is a lesson to some of the primadonnas out there, that if you give up your spot for money, you may miss out on the opportunity to get a medal.

I wasn't disgusted by his comments. I understand what he meant and I understand his priorities. I still wish he had been on the team, however.

I'm not sure that I'd call Ritz a primadonna. The US team was a bunch of young dudes (with the exception of Strang), who are simply at different points in their careers. Think about it, when you're fresh out of school, broke, single, etc, life is cheap and easy. Ritz has a family, is 30 years old, and needs to capitalize on his last few good years as a competitive runner. As we all know, the money just ain't in cross. And if we're talking about the glory of representing your country, let's talk about how many guys make 3 (possibly 4) Olympic teams.

That said, the US guys ran to a silver, an outstanding accomplishment on the world stage. Kudos to them.

I'M SO DISGUSTED I JUST PUKED EVERYWHERE

Why don't you read all about it in SI, ESPN, or the New York Times?

It's cross country. Nobody cares. Nobody makes a living based on what they do in cross country.