Too true, you don't see the Joe Vigils of the world wasting good time on this stuff.
Fact is, Igy (along with everyone he ever coached) posted middling performances compared with anyone in today's OT, regardless of shoes. We all know a dozen guys who ran that fast, and a lot of us didn't see a point to bother with road racing just to continue to be a distant placer against real competition. Igy might have got down to 2:18 with supershoes and that's squarely day job runner territory, same as many who post here and can't qualify for the OT. No doubt that would earn an "attaboy" from those who were actually in contention for wins and team spots at significant races. He'd still be looking up at Ian Butler and Noah Droddy types.
And then coaching at glorified JUCO pit stop schools that were little more than intramural programs? You really thought choosing to work the underpaid Cheap Tiny State U coaching circuit was going to impress us, do you really have no talent for any higher earning job? Hell, construction workers in your town outearned you, as did middle school principals. Then again, what else do you do with an Okie State degree, go into animal husbandry or drilling equipment sales?