Why were Americans so good in the 60s, 70s and early 80s?

I've listened to the money those people spend on hockey in hopes of getting a scholarship and thought that if they stuck that money into some sort of high yield thing they'd have college covered.

Nacho,

In the 70s, lots of serious runenrs worked. But a lot of us made a point of finding a job that allowed us to continue running seriously. I recall Barry Brown once saying that he could run as much as he liked because he was a lawyer which really meant that he didn't work. The lawyers I know would never agree with that, but evidently Barry set his work up differently than other lawyers do.

I thought Barry Brown had an insurance agency, although that might have been after his career as a national-class runner was over.

So how did he structure his law practice to run 100 miles a week?

Shorter probably still a threat to medal

Can you really dispute that? Would Pre, no matter how ballsy he was and how much he believed he could be the best in the world, have been able to do anything about Africans who could destroy him in a sprint, and yet were also equally adept at running races hard from the front?[/quote]

YEP, I dispute everything you say. Shorter, Ryun, Liquori, Wottle, etc... did not have the benefit of epo. And that is where your dishonesty shines through. Everyone in the world with half a brain knows that Barry Bonds, Ben Johnson, Flo-Jo, and Lagat, to name a few, were/are on drugs....to ignore these facts is to make you a lying, deceptive piece of crap.

Shorter on epo........2:06

Ryun on epo...........3:42

Liquori on epo.........12:48

Wottle on epo......... 1:42

Brown had a law degree. I don't think he necessarily used it to practice law. I thought he had something like real estate business or an insurance business. That's all I can recall except that I read an interview with him when he hit his master's years and he more or less said that work rarely interfered with his running.

Of course, he did commit suicide because of looming bankruptcy due to his failing business.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?

maybe there was more to it than the bankruptcy. lots of people go bankrupt and there is some stigma, but should be no shame...donald trump's companies seem to go bankrupt every couple of yrs....THAT BEING SAID, I MET BARRY IN THE 1970'S, RAN WITH HIM, NICE GUY, GENTLEMAN, SO SORRY HE CHOSE THIS PATH. THEY SAY THAT SUICIDE IS ANGER TURNED INWARDS. THESE PEOPLE SHOULD GO EASIER ON THEMSELVES.

I know that Barry Brown was sort of a mentor to Keith Brantly. They used to train together, even though Brown was well past 40. I never met Barry Brown, but from what I read about him he had maybe started living beyond his means. He had a lakefront vacation house and other trappings of middle-age success. The bad business deals might have made those things unaffordable.

Too often we get attached to our version of the American Dream. And if you lose your grip on it, especially in middle age, it can be devastating to a guy's ego.