Disturbing - USA national uniforms @ NYC Marathon

Anyone wearing their or national colors (or "USA" if applicable) is fine with me, however, save the flag draping for the Olympics or Worlds.

obv its a good thing that they wore the USA uniform not a problem. Every person that is wearing it is adding to the value of wearing it not cheapening it. Actually i think it would be pretty cool if 28000 people did have USA jerseys on although it would be hard to distinguish them but still cool. If youre a veteran i would think youd be even prouder of people wearing USA jerseys more because you can feel like you helped them to be where they are and they are trying to represent everyone in the country.

I have never worn a USA jersey but with the college jersey thing i still have a Delaware jersey and dont really wear it but I know if i did i would make damn sure i was in good shape and running well(for me) because i wouldnt want to run like crap while wearing that. i would imagine that anyone would feel the same about wearing a USA jersey.

Also I will contradict myself slightly about the 28000 people wearing USA in that there should be some distinctive jersey for people that actually represented America in Oly/WC etc competition. Although their speed is the main thing that distinguishes them heh.

Agreed. Bad enough nobody knows anything about or anyone in our sport, now people complain when our country's standouts wear USA singlets??? Hell even I have a tough time picking out the american runners. All US citizens should wear USA singlets. The end.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

Let me get this straight. Simon Bairu declines to run FOR COUNTRY (October 2010 Commonwealth Games) but then runs FOR SELF (November 2010 NYC marathon) in a Canadian uniform....you don't see an issue with that?????

Let's face is SOF. Your reality is quite far removed from most of us.

Once an athlete has won the privilege of representing their country in international championship competition, from the Games down to Juniors, their prize is the right to wear their national colors in any competition they chose. In fact, as long as they are competing seriously, it is better that they do. The Olympians who ran with USA on their chests in NY this weekend could wear those singlets to a local turkey trot. They are ambassadors of our sport and our country. We are lucky that they are proud of it.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

[quote]One of the greats wrote:

My position is you shouldn't be wearing that old college vest....unless you write ALUM in crayon underneath.

Remember, you don't compete for Thee Ohio State University currently.

Now, doesn't that clear things up for you?

USA-alum

I like that. Nice thinking. Good logic.

Lighten up, bud. You are attempting to split the atom with the blunt sledgehammer of your mind.

No Chance Kid wrote:

Bairu most likely got his from a past national team, since Athletics Canada don't let too many athletes keep uniforms.

Huh? I've never ever heard of Athletics Canada asking for a uniform back after it's been worn. I've got a whole closet of them, one for every team I was on. (And I was definitely no superstar.)

As for the original rant... I've never worn a national team singlet in an event other than the one it was issued for. Getting my first national team uniform was one of the biggest events of my life, and those uniforms have tremendous significance to me.

But the difference between me and the OP is that I don't confuse my personal preference with some sort of universal moral law. I also don't like running in full-length tights, or wearing khakis with a tucked-in shirt -- but if other people want to do that, it's fine with me.

And frankly, if I was running in a major marathon and my sponspor suggested that I wear a Canada singlet, I'd be fine with that. I wish Bairu (and Kim Smith and others, for that matter) had chosen to run in Delhi, but that has no bearing on my opinion of their uniform choice.

Everyone please ignore this. He such a dumbass that I stopped reading the thread to make sure everyone knows this is not right AT ALL.

1.) Nike gives their athletes these singlets. NOT USATF. Because - as aforementioned many times - this is not an international competition USATF has no control over what athletes wear. They also gave Bairu his Canadian singlet, not Athletics Canada. This is also why Torres had to wear his Reebok kit, not a USATF-issued one.

2.) Nike does this all the time - almost every international Nike-sponsored athlete wears their national team singlet at Pre Classic.

3.) These are all athletes with the highest amount of funding and resources. They are not re-wearing kits.

I "earned" a USA singlet in 1992. The only time I wore it since 1992 was when I ran Comrades. I wore it on that occasion specifically to let the millions lining the course know that I had come from the U.S. to South Africa in order to run their race. I would feel silly wearing it at the local turkey trot.

It would seem that Kipkosgei also wore a national uniform, it to with a Nike logo on it. Hmmm?

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

I find it disturbing & demeaning that pro runners Meb, Ritz, Tim Nelson, Shalane ran a non-championship event (NYC marathon) in a uniform it is supposed to be an honor to earn and wear. Last time I checked NYC wasn't Olympics, World Champs, or even Pan Americans.

This has Mary Wittenberg's stink all over it.

All this does is cheapen and soil a national institution...the USA uniform.

Did you see Jorge Torres running in a USA uni....no, he has too much class and dignity.

NYC is just another race; it is not a championship event.

PS. At least Shalane's bib covered the USA.

You're right....big deal...it's just a piece of fabric (sarcasm intended).

But please....let's have a meaningful dialogue on this.

Yeah, you're a dumbass. It's an international field. It's helpful for everyone who doesn't keep up with pro running to recognize the Americans to cheer for. I'm pretty sure Shalane, Meb, and Dathan have earned the right to wear their USA jerseys wherever they would like. So the boys had a rough day Sunday, whatever. TIm Nelson ain't too bad either.

Runners should be able to wear whatever they want.

What in the hell does the USA (or any other national government) have to do with running?

Do they fund athletics? Not unless you're in the US Army program like Robert Cheseret. Every major running shoe company gives more money to athletics professionals than the federal government. Even USATF isn't funded mainly by the federal government.

So, who is responsible for athletic performance? Athletes, their coaches, and their sponsors.

To illustrate this point, let's look at Team USA posterboy Dathan Ritzenhein. If he runs a great race, it reflects on him, Alberto Salazar, Nike (in that order) and various other important people in his life. It has precious little to do with the USA. You didn't make him run fast. I didn't make him run fast. And nor did our tax dollars.

By the same metric, few would credit Eritria with the success of Zersenay Tadese despite the fact that it is entirely possible that he received proportionately more support from his government relative to USA athletes.

But I digress.

Unless we start talking about soviet-era dopers (and underage chinese gymnasts for that matter), national governments have had very little control and influence on athletes.

Therefore, instead of viewing the USA singlet as a privilege, we should see it as an encumbrance for athletes and their sponsors who should be appreciated enough for who they are to be allowed to choose what they want to wear.

If that's all it takes to disturb you I take it you must be singing songs that involve

OOOHHHHHH WAAAHAAAHAAAHAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

quite often

What would the headline of every newspaper and LRC been had Ritz, Meb, Nelson or one of the other Americans won? It would have been something along the lines of 'American Wins NY'. Now, in your logic, that shouldn't be a part of it. It should be 'Nelson wins NY' simply because he isn't representing USA during that race? He only is American during the Olympics or WC? Even with an Ethopian winning, the headline mentioned that. People want to cheer for their team, which is their country in this case. And yes, they are representing their country because if one of the Americans did something really stupid, like stripping off their shorts for a mile and mooning the crowd, that would have been an embarrassment to the USA. Its a shirt, that's all it is.

+1

Wow, 7 pages of debating singlets. I hesitated to post, because it might give the impression I care, but I really don't. Some people play pick-up basketball in their "dream-team" jerseys. Some people run in their old college singlet. And some people feel like buying USA gear and wearing it for their 5 hour marathon- none of these people hurt me with their clothing choices, so I really never botheres to think about it. As far as the very rare case of elites choosing to wear their singlets, again, I don't care, but I am reminded of the line from Once a Runner- something to the effect of "you are not allowed to renounce that which you've never achieved."

I think Simon Bairu should run in a USA singlet and Meb in a Canadian one next year. Really give the OP a bone.

I have stated my position/opinion eloquently and to the point of repetition.

Perhaps I place TOO MUCH reverence on the national uniform.

Perhaps you place TOO LITTLE reverence on it.

My feeling is you should be wearing the USA uniform when you are representing the USA (plain & simple). Obviously your feeling is different.

You people have still not answered the question - why haven't Bairu, Nelson, etc worn the USA uniform prior?

Why suddenly now?

I still don't understand your opposition to the flag-draping thing....how this that much different than the uniform thing????

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

Perhaps I place TOO MUCH reverence on the national uniform.

What is your definition of the 'national uniform'?

Is it a design that has been explicitly produced to outfit a national team (World's, Olympics, Pan Ams, World Cross, NACAC, etc)?

Or is it any shoe company produced outfit that has the letters 'USA' on it and is some combination of red, white and blue?