Sometimes, I can get into javellin or discuss or long and triple jump, but I'm generally less enthusiastic about high jump or pole vault since they have all this archaic processes of starts and restarts.
We also have the same problem marketingwise as the Kentucky Derby where we overemphasize the short races
Road cycling is huge in europe. Giro d'Italia and Tour de France are event that takes a month each one of them. The stages are about 4-6 hours of roadcycling. People are watching day after day after day. No interruptions in the broadcast like it always are when it's track & field. One lap of a 5000 m, a shotput, a javelin thrower talking with his coach, views over the spectators, then one more lap from the 5000 m. A total mess!
If I watch soccer at television I never experience spectatorviews, intervjues and nonsense during the game are in progress. Such stupidity are standard when it comes to track & field broadcasts.
That's a huge problem. Until we have proper broadcasting track & field will be in trouble. Have been totally mad so many times when I have tried to watch a interesting distance event and have been feeded with replays from field events and intervjues.
^ this. I'm a runner and I'll admit that I have no idea what the Diamond league is, what sports are in it, how many meets there are, what countries they're in, how it's won or what it means to win it. I presume they still give out Gold, Silver and Bronze for every event, so this is somehow better than that? Yes I could google it, but frankly I'm not really interested in anything other than country/ continent/ world/ olympic champs as they're all more meaningful to me.
AND!!!!! You just made the case for the root of the issue here- MARKETING!!!! Literally everyone knows there's a pro football season whether they watch it or not.
Road cycling is huge in europe. Giro d'Italia and Tour de France are event that takes a month each one of them. The stages are about 4-6 hours of roadcycling. People are watching day after day after day. No interruptions in the broadcast like it always are when it's track & field. One lap of a 5000 m, a shotput, a javelin thrower talking with his coach, views over the spectators, then one more lap from the 5000 m. A total mess!
If I watch soccer at television I never experience spectatorviews, intervjues and nonsense during the game are in progress. Such stupidity are standard when it comes to track & field broadcasts.
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That's a huge problem. Until we have proper broadcasting track & field will be in trouble. Have been totally mad so many times when I have tried to watch a interesting distance event and have been feeded with replays from field events and intervjues.
The ATL broadcast last week had an interview with Bobby Kersey. OK.
They go to the track and the 1500 HAD ALREADY STARTED. Lewis Johnson kept droning on about Kersey. He finally stopped and the other guy added more about Kersey! They never really introduced the runners. There was no clock on the screen, they didn't tell us how many laps left until Johnson said- they'll be starting the last lap momentarily (they were entering the curve on the backstretch).
They never really called the race but they talked the whole time. I LOVE watching track and road races and even I was bored.
When I watch golf, soccer, basketball, baseball and tennis I can appreciate the skills of the pros - "how the hell did they do that?" - watching Tiger, Jordan, Ronaldo and Federer is like watching artists at work.
Running is.... just running. To the vast majority of people there's no 'wow'. No skill, no artistry, and because distance running is in groups, there's no visible difference in speed either. There's just nothing going on until the last minute or two.
It's very impressive but it's not a spectator sport.
Yep. Great performances aren't visually engaging. A 12:30 5k really doesn't look that different from a 17:30 5k. They're both just...running. A die-hard runner knows the difference, but a non-runner, or just a casual runner, doesn't. It all looks the same to them. And if you didn't have a clock to look at, it would look the same to you, too.
Not only this, the casual viewer doesn't recognize the surges some runners might make to break the competition. Watching the Ethiopian runners take turns running 64 second laps in a 10,000 then surge to 61 to break the Kenyans was exciting; watching an aging Bob Kennedy put on surges to break Adam Goucher's rhythm in the US champs 5,000 was exciting.
^ this. I'm a runner and I'll admit that I have no idea what the Diamond league is, what sports are in it, how many meets there are, what countries they're in, how it's won or what it means to win it. I presume they still give out Gold, Silver and Bronze for every event, so this is somehow better than that? Yes I could google it, but frankly I'm not really interested in anything other than country/ continent/ world/ olympic champs as they're all more meaningful to me.
AND!!!!! You just made the case for the root of the issue here- MARKETING!!!! Literally everyone knows there's a pro football season whether they watch it or not.
Marketing.
I really don’t see what this has to do with it. The diamond league is the most lucrative and competitive series of meets. Being a “runner” and not knowing what the diamond league is seems like youre actively disengaged from the competitive circuit.
Just because you exercise doesn’t mean you need to know what the pros are doing. But you having a registered name on this site and not being aware of the major pro league is bizarre. The news is on the front page. The forum is filled with diamond league discussion.
I don't understand people who think golf is boring, to be honest. To each their own.
If you don’t know anything about club selection, spins, lies and how difficult chipping and putting are, it’s pretty boring. I found golf to be unwatchable until I took it up for a few years.
Also, I was fortunate to have access to golf when young. Those who did not , may have a personal hate to all things golf , and those involved . I see the same attitude towards futbol (soccer) in the USA .
I was getting onto the TMill at the gym last night and was shocked to see track on ESPN2 in prime time, and it was not even an international or high national level meet, the American Track League. Asafa Powell was a commentator. Good for them. Now, you need to get Diamond League and other higher level action on there more often even if it's tape delayed.
When I watch golf, soccer, basketball, baseball and tennis I can appreciate the skills of the pros - "how the hell did they do that?" - watching Tiger, Jordan, Ronaldo and Federer is like watching artists at work.
Running is.... just running. To the vast majority of people there's no 'wow'. No skill, no artistry, and because distance running is in groups, there's no visible difference in speed either. There's just nothing going on until the last minute or two.
It's very impressive but it's not a spectator sport.
Yep. Great performances aren't visually engaging. A 12:30 5k really doesn't look that different from a 17:30 5k. They're both just...running. A die-hard runner knows the difference, but a non-runner, or just a casual runner, doesn't. It all looks the same to them. And if you didn't have a clock to look at, it would look the same to you, too.
I'm one that agreed with Seb and Diamond league , when they wanted to limit the longest races. obviously , a 10k on track is ridiculous , and even 5k. the longest tv race , 800m . they can contest the others, but not on tv .
Sometimes, I can get into javellin or discuss or long and triple jump, but I'm generally less enthusiastic about high jump or pole vault since they have all this archaic processes of starts and restarts.
We also have the same problem marketingwise as the Kentucky Derby where we overemphasize the short races
It has been said that Track & Field is like the Beatles and three garage bands in a concert. Except, someone's Beatles is another guy's garage band.
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