Deer Malcom Gladwell you don't build the sport around Ben True

race* not racist in the last sentence

People on this forum literally getting triggered because somebody famous likes a runner they don't.

I don't think it's about like/dislike...it's not that simple.

Many of us like and respect Ben True.

But for someone to elevate him to the level he wants him to represent the sport? Especially someone like Gladwell?

It steps on a lot of toes of better and more decorated athletes that are higher up on international or even national credibility.

YMMV wrote:

true antifa wrote:

Honestly, letsrun is just as toxic force in american distance running as Nike is. Insane right wing politics and conspiracy theories run rampant here. Misogyny and hate towards female and transgender athletes is par for the course on these forums. Racism against African athletes and separating "American born" vs naturalized Americans in terms of running achievements is also rampant.

Almost anyone who becomes interested in or serious about running will encounter this site and will take what they see here and make inferences about what the culture is among serious runners and those passionate about the sport.

There's tons of things wrong with this sport that prevent it from gaining more popularity. This god forsaken website is one of them.

Perhaps you would be happier in a WNBA, figure skating or vegan badminton forum. Vote with your clicks.

It shows you have never visited a WNBA or fiigure skating forum.

But what else is new? You always comment on topics you know nothing about.

Did any of you actually listen to the podcast?

Yes, sir.

Stoppit Smith wrote:

Do you suppose only showing the final 3 laps of a 5k, 10k, or the final 3.22 miles of a marathon would help in getting interest since these are the most climactic points on TV even in Diamond League?

I honestly don't think any tinkering with the sport or what's televised is going to generate a great deal more interest. If there were going to be Americans with realistic chances to win you'd probably get higher US ratings. But really, most people wouldn't even know the meet was on TV somewhere. It's not like college or pro football which is on at set times of the week and year. I just can't see anyway our sport can have mass spectator appeal.

Stoppit Smith wrote:

I have a serious issue as to why people don't see Ryan Hall as the standard bearer of excellence for American distance running.

It took an incredible race by Zersenay Tadese to beat him.

What race was that?

true antifa wrote:

Honestly, letsrun is just as toxic force in american distance running as Nike is. Insane right wing politics and conspiracy theories run rampant here. Misogyny and hate towards female and transgender athletes is par for the course on these forums. Racism against African athletes and separating "American born" vs naturalized Americans in terms of running achievements is also rampant.

Almost anyone who becomes interested in or serious about running will encounter this site and will take what they see here and make inferences about what the culture is among serious runners and those passionate about the sport.

There's tons of things wrong with this sport that prevent it from gaining more popularity. This god forsaken website is one of them.

And yet here you are. A simple fix would be to keep non-track, off-topic, political threads on a separate board. Every other messageboard community has a separate off-topic board.

Also it’s not the best look when the “On The Boards”

display nothing but thread titles completely unrelated to the sport and showcase some of the wackier posts. I mean after QOD it’s the next thing you see when you arrive on the site,

2 pages and one person that played attention? Yall are garbage.

I'd add that as a serious mediocre runner that currently follows the sport, Gladwell is excluding himself from the group of potential serious mediocre runners that currently dont follow the sport. Therefore, Ben True preference is a preference and not a marketing recommendation.

Re: Joe Paterno. Read "Talking to Strangers." Dude did serious research on Jerry Sandusky et al. He has earned his opinion.

Not a direct race...I'm referencing time.

The first thing T&F needs to do is get their events on television and not behind pay walls. It should be live and not include commercial breaks in the middle of events.

The Marathon Project should be on television in its entirety. I shouldn't need a subscription to an obscure track only streaming channel to watch it.

There should be more domestic meets to go along with the Diamond league. A series that hits about 5 or 6 spots each summer. Each of those should be televised. We have events like the Drake and Penn relays and the spring meets at the armory in normal years. We need to keep those on TV with at least some of them on one of the big 4 networks or ESPN.

There are some things I really like about Malcolm and others I don't, just like pretty much every human being. Because you disagree with him on things like Joe Paterno doesn't mean he is totally wrong on his view on improving track. He never said to build the sport around Ben True. He said you DON'T build the sport around any one athlete or small group of elite athletes.

Track as a whole had one main face from 2008-2016...

Usain Bolt

It can be done.

For the women, it was Florence Griffith -Joyner (RIP) in the 80s-90s.

What did they have?

Full support among the community about being the best.

Nobody is that supportive anymore.

Sorry, posted too soon.

This forum is a total cesspool because it has nowhere near enough moderation. I hate having to sort through garbage to find the quality track discussion.

If the owners really cared about elevating the sport they would do something. Separate out the forums, moderate the blatant politics and racism, something. I get the impression that the vast majority of people that post here are either chronologically or mentally young.

The stupidity of questions I often see read like high school drama. Look at the over resilience in calling every failure devastation. All that shows is a group of tools that have never had a real life experience.

Even the good topics fall into some horse$h!+ commentary by page 3.

Kenneth Copeland, verified millionaire wrote:

Malcom Gladwell also doesn't understand why Jeffrey Toobin, the famed New Yorker journalist who was caught on camera in front of his colleagues masturbating during a work meeting, was fired .

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/12/malcolm-gladwell-puzzled-by-jeffrey-toobin-firing.html

Malcom Gladwell also thinks Penn State should put Joe Paterno's statute back up because

as "far as he knew," he "never received training on what pedophilia was." Even if this immense BS justification(rationalization?) was true, just a reminder Joe Paterno knew Jerry Sandusky was RAPING kids, yet continued to let him use Penn State facilities with children (where he continued to molest and rape them), and helped cover up the scandal as it would damage their precious football program.

https://www.newsweek.com/malcolm-gladwell-joe-paterno-backlash-1484882

Sorry, but Malcom Gladwell is an idiot.

Agree 100%. Malcom Gladwell is a POS.

Oh man where to begin?

First of all simpleton, “deer” is a hoofed mammal not an informal greeting.

Second, Galen Rupp is the most milquetoast human being ever. He went to privileged private high school, got spotted by Mr. Nike, was groomed from an early age to be the best in the world. No charisma, nothing to say about the sport, and had enjoyed all the benefits of Nike from his earliest days. Simply not a compelling person or story. The man celebrated getting a silver to his training partner, another Nike robot with no humility and nothing important or revelatory to say about the sport. But sure Rupp does have two medals.

True, is moral, outspoken and raw. Three things Rupp just isn’t. The sport doesn’t need more perfectly engineered little aryans, it needs people like True, Lomong, Droddy, or even Lara. Third, Prefontaine never won an Olympic medal, despite what your tenuous grasp on history may have you recall, and yet you jack your stack to his legacy all day long. You do it because he was like True, someone who had something to give to the sport not just an automaton who won medals.

Agree with this and I think it extends into the adult recreational runner. The reason our sport was more popular in the US in the 70s and 80s is because more runners were trying to run fast past their college days.

All this hand-wringing over a non-existent problem. The great thing about running is that it doesn't need money or publicity or 'heroes' . It's good for the mind and body of the individual, but does not translate well to big time media except as a quandrennial Olympics ballyhoo. It is wrong to focus on the elite - they contribute almost nothing to the sport (not a criticism of them). The Uk club system is far superior to the US hi-school grind, but that's the national character of Americans - the fun quickly takes a back seat to corporate competitiveness. But you can't duplicate the UK system in the US because distances are too vast and there aren't enough volunteers. Much as hobby-joggers get a bad rap on LRC, they ARE a big part of the sport. Club runners are nearly all the rest. The elite side of things I lost interest many years ago.

People don’t like Rupp because he’s successful and doesn’t act like it. He’s incredibly humble.

I do agree though that it’s hard to build a sport around someone with no social media presence in today’s age.

So who do you build it on? Here’s some names: Noah Lyles, Michael Norman, Donovan Brazier, Craig Engels