Manzano is the man!

Listen Bub...

Leo was doing good... Had Nike on his side... he was racing well... Goes to the Olympics... the biggest stage in the world for the 1500m. Gets a silver medal in a USA uniform. He then struts around the track with a USA flag and a Mexican flag. Sponsorship is gone not long after.

Why? Why would Nike drop the sponsorship of a guy who just won a silver medal at the Olympics in the 1500m. Rupp won a silver medal and the didn't drop him.

The only thing folks reason is that Leo tainted himself with carrying the Mexican flag. Plus, there's a lot of folks in the USA that don't like our immigration problem with Mexico. They don't like the fact folks are coming in from Mexico illegally. Him carrying that Mexican flag brought with it a lot baggage.

I am 100% certain the flag had nothing to do with his sponsorship.

He had the race of his life on a day the race favorites did not perform well, he was 28 years old, they figured he would likely never win a medal again and decided they already got their money's worth out of him. Same with Meb. Sponsorships are about future potential, not rewards for what you've already done.

If anything his Mexican-American heritage is an asset marketing wise because that's an additional 100 million+ country that you appeal to. There are runners who buy running apparel in Mexico too, you know.

DaveW wrote:

I'm looking forward to when Mexico gives a gesture of international good will for all that the USA has done for all of the people that have left Mexico for the benefits of the USA, such as Manzano.

Manzano ended a 44-year drought of no medals in the 1500 for the US of A. He brought this country glory. He announced to the world that American middle-distance running is back. Yet your suburban-teenage white ass is compelled to believe that he owes a token of gratitude for the opportunity YOU gave HIM!?

And while we're at it DaveW. Do you think Portugal will hold it over US Soccer fans that the only reason the US still still in the World Cup is because they beat Ghana? Much the same way Americans try to hold it over Mexico for qualifying for the World Cup? Let me answer that for you: No, they won't. That seems to be exclusively a US thing, and only when involving countries they feel they are better than.

I agree 100%.

If anything, Nike would have been smart and use Leo to market towards the largest growing minority in America. Imagine if Nike had a line towards Hispanics? Racism aside, Nike clearly uses Jordan's to market to the black community. For godsakes every time a new Jordan is released they are always waiting in long lines and even fighting for them. Vision spikes named the "andalè" or something corny like that? Every Latino track and field runner would wear them. I think they just didn't see him worth as much as he thought he was. Leo probably got greedy and wanted more. Plain and simple, both screwed up.

DaveW's feeble little mind was just easier to brainwash by the ritual chanting of the Pledge of Allegiance during grade school.

BigBob wrote:

Listen Bub...

Leo was doing good... Had Nike on his side... he was racing well... Goes to the Olympics... the biggest stage in the world for the 1500m. Gets a silver medal in a USA uniform. He then struts around the track with a USA flag and a Mexican flag. Sponsorship is gone not long after.

Why? Why would Nike drop the sponsorship of a guy who just won a silver medal at the Olympics in the 1500m. Rupp won a silver medal and the didn't drop him.

The only thing folks reason is that Leo tainted himself with carrying the Mexican flag. Plus, there's a lot of folks in the USA that don't like our immigration problem with Mexico. They don't like the fact folks are coming in from Mexico illegally. Him carrying that Mexican flag brought with it a lot baggage.

Shoe companies sponsoring track athletes do not give a f*ck about what an athlete has done in the past; they only care about what an athlete is likely to do in the future. Leo Manzano was 28 years old on the day of the Olympic final and has a measly (by world-class standards) 3:32 1500m PB. Manzano is not likely to lower that PB or medal in a World Championship or Olympic event ever again.

After Manzano won that silver medal he felt he deserved more money from Nike and Capriotti felt otherwise for the reasons I already stated. Galen Rupp on the other hand was/is in a position to lower his existing American record at 10,000m win more medals in international competition.

The vast majority of people who do not live in xenophobic vacuums actually believed Manzano's success and post-race celebration at the 2012 Olympics were quite inspiring.

Guess what dumbf*ck, they sell Nikes in Mexico. Nike probably thought it was great he was playing to two countries during his celebration. He is Mexican American. I don't think it was such a big deal. If Leo was running for Mexico, he'd be a household name there and probably rich through endorsements from being one of the countries best athletes. However, he chose to run for the US, where no one outside of track circles knows who he is. Poor choice in my opinion.

I was there today, and Manzano was super-impressive, but it was pretty amazing how many of those guys can close almost as fast as Manzano.

AND...while you're talking about flags, I really wish this new trend of the athlete draping himself or herself in a full flag would go away. It's a "new" thing the last 15-20 years. Frankly, its weird. In the old days a guy might be handed a small flag on a stick to wave or carry.

In Sydney the 2000 4x100 team draped themselves in flags, swung it flag around, and generally paraded around like idiots for maybe 20 minutes. Sorry but it was disrespectful to our American flag, and I'm no zealot on these matters.

By comparison, Manzano holding a Mexican flag hardly was a big deals and you guys should drop it.

The whole flag rubbish is getting beyond a joke. I note that it has even started up at Diamond League events where no athlete is representing their country. Wave a Nike flag or something if you want, but no the flag of a country who never sent you there. Same goes for athletes running at DL events wearing national uniforms. Uniforms are handed out to represent counties at specific champioship events. They are not issued on 2 year contracts. I like the Robertson boys but it annoyed me to see them line up at the start of a DL race wearing official NZ uniforms. They didn't win a national selection race in order to compete at DL and weren't representing anyone but themselves. Time and place.

webfoot wrote:

DaveW wrote:

Stop the justifications.

He ran for the USA and then held the Mexican flag in his victory lap in one of the most important stages in the world

Manufactured outrage to make a yourself feel important.

You guys don't get it. Here's what is not in dispute: Leo is a very very talented runner, one of the best in the world. After winning a silver medal at the Olys he displayed the Mexican flag along with the American flag and tweeted out something about winning for the US and for Mexico. His next contract offer from Nike was less than he hoped for, and he declined it. Unfortunately no other sponsor stepped up for how long? Was it 18 months or 2 years before the Hoka deal?

Anyway, whether you agree with it or not, the flag "controversy" seems to have cost him. You can say it wasn't a big deal, and I tend to agree. However potential corporate sponsors apparently shied away from this issue because Leo became enough of a controversy to make them hesitate to have him associated with their brand.

Like I said, agree or not with it. It is what it is. I think Hoka finally offered him a deal once the issue faded enough from people's minds, but until then he was "hands off."

Man, Manzano has that final 100m nailed. Tough to beat.

I just wish he gave more interesting interviews. It's like he repeats the same cookie cutter "You know it's a blessing...sponsor this sponsor that...it's been tough blah blah blah" every damn time. The guy has no character, maybe if he was more interesting he wouldn't have had to wait so long for a sponsor.

The Swoosh wrote:

Anyway, whether you agree with it or not, the flag "controversy" seems to have cost him. You can say it wasn't a big deal, and I tend to agree. However potential corporate sponsors apparently shied away from this issue because Leo became enough of a controversy to make them hesitate to have him associated with their brand.

Like I said, agree or not with it. It is what it is. I think Hoka finally offered him a deal once the issue faded enough from people's minds, but until then he was "hands off."

There actually was no controversy except on these boards, which doesn't really count. It was a contract dispute that had nothing to do with the Mexican flag. Great to see Leo running well at USA's as usual.

ten and six wrote:

Ah yes, the usual LRC thread sequence: a few posts on-topic followed by a tangential response/dissention and then page after page of the resulting vitriol.

Good job today, Leo. I was there. That was a good race and the crowd loved it .

No, it's ONE guy that starts with D and ends with W. He has an alter-ego that he sometimes uses that starts with "Mor" and ends with "ris". Sure he has others.

Ironic, because the D___W guy is THE most vocal critic of these boards and the Wejos. Ironic because he's a key guy who makes these boards worst. A real trouble maker and TOTALLY off topic here. Get over the flag things. He needs to go away.

Great race Manzano. Don't listen to the trolls!

I don't get you wrote:

The Swoosh wrote:

Anyway, whether you agree with it or not, the flag "controversy" seems to have cost him. You can say it wasn't a big deal, and I tend to agree. However potential corporate sponsors apparently shied away from this issue because Leo became enough of a controversy to make them hesitate to have him associated with their brand.

Like I said, agree or not with it. It is what it is. I think Hoka finally offered him a deal once the issue faded enough from people's minds, but until then he was "hands off."

There actually was no controversy except on these boards, which doesn't really count. It was a contract dispute that had nothing to do with the Mexican flag. Great to see Leo running well at USA's as usual.

Are you kidding? The fact that a CNN columnist wrote about it shows there was plenty of controversy. It stirred up opinions on both sides and NOT just on this board. Denying this is sticking your head in the sand. I think Leo is an excellent runner. I also think he has very poor judgment of his public image and marketing worth.

Hoya Rox wrote:Are you kidding? The fact that a CNN columnist wrote about it shows there was plenty of controversy. It stirred up opinions on both sides and NOT just on this board. Denying this is sticking your head in the sand. I think Leo is an excellent runner. I also think he has very poor judgment of his public image and marketing worth.

Sad so many in the U.S. confuse patriotism with tribalism. You can be a U.S. patriot and acknowledge the culture and country you come from. This manufactured outrage is silly.

Nike didn't drop Leo. He just thought he was worth more than they offered him.

Leo, you never know. He could win an Olympic gold yet.

But Centro could too.