Been watching quite a few US meets recently - LA, NCAA regionals, etc. The common thread besides the exciting races is the completely empty stands. There is no reason for World Athletics or any other governing body or meet director to make any decisions that cater to the casual fan. The reason? The casual fan does not exist. What kind of casual fan would want to spend all day at a track meet where most of the time they don’t even sell beer and there are constant long breaks in the action?
Been watching quite a few US meets recently - LA, NCAA regionals, etc. The common thread besides the exciting races is the completely empty stands. There is no reason for World Athletics or any other governing body or meet director to make any decisions that cater to the casual fan. The reason? The casual fan does not exist. What kind of casual fan would want to spend all day at a track meet where most of the time they don’t even sell beer and there are constant long breaks in the action?
I am a casual fan. I want to look at results and highlights of races longer than a mile. I would never again sit through an entire live meet. I am only interested in 2 types of meets..time trials(like sac/penn/cardinal etc) and championships(conference ncaa/usatf/wc/Olympic )
Doesn’t seem to be the case in Europe. Just America has empty stands.
Others countries do a better job marketing their top stars and don’t suffer from an over saturation problem like the US. Hence why I specified the US in my original post.
Take Oslo Diamond League for example. It is THE track meet of the season for Norway, nothing else comes close and it takes place in the capital city not some nowhere town like Eugene. And they are marketing it around Jakob going up against a stacked field. And you can guarantee it will be packed and loud.
Yet you will always hear podcasts like Coffee Club nonstop rail on about how the sport needs to reach out to the casual fan or this new rule like no time qualifiers will make it easier for the casual fan to follow blah blah blah
WHO TF ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?
The Venn Diagram of people who watch an entire track meet and people who can't figure out time qualifiers is two separate circles
I don't think track is any more boring than baseball. There is very little actual action. Wvwn most in-play our are boring. A slow grounder to second or a lazy fly is no more interesting than a swing and a miss.
Now compare the TV and stadium audience for that snooze fest of a sport to track.
Doesn’t seem to be the case in Europe. Just America has empty stands.
Others countries do a better job marketing their top stars and don’t suffer from an over saturation problem like the US. Hence why I specified the US in my original post.
Take Oslo Diamond League for example. It is THE track meet of the season for Norway, nothing else comes close and it takes place in the capital city not some nowhere town like Eugene. And they are marketing it around Jakob going up against a stacked field. And you can guarantee it will be packed and loud.
Other countries do not have 'major sports' like American football, NBA basketball, and baseball. Why go watch a track meet when I can go watch baseball and drink beer?
Want track to be more popular? Add beer and/or betting.
You ever been to a baseball game? There is not much action, but lots of beer and other things to do.
Been watching quite a few US meets recently - LA, NCAA regionals, etc. The common thread besides the exciting races is the completely empty stands. There is no reason for World Athletics or any other governing body or meet director to make any decisions that cater to the casual fan. The reason? The casual fan does not exist. What kind of casual fan would want to spend all day at a track meet where most of the time they don’t even sell beer and there are constant long breaks in the action?
The NCAA regionals are just qualifying heats so I don’t consider them to be particularly exciting. When the state meet has been in Sacramento, I’ve never watched the qualifying on Thursday.
Good turnout this afternoon in LA. Maybe people just didn’t want to see a bunch of long distance races and B and C heats of the middle distances on a Friday night. I don’t blame them.
Booze and betting can save the sport. Look at horse racing. Do agree 100% too much time between events. Remove some events like the 10k, and 200. Maybe have a local band or mini concert during the meet on downtime or some sort of fan engagement. NBA and NHL does silly things like kiss cam and making fun of fans why can’t track do that?
I don't think track is any more boring than baseball. There is very little actual action. Wvwn most in-play our are boring. A slow grounder to second or a lazy fly is no more interesting than a swing and a miss.
Now compare the TV and stadium audience for that snooze fest of a sport to track.
Someone is going to win that baseball game. The slow ground ball or swing and miss will contribute to who wins or loses so they have meaning. Nearly anyone who watches a sporting event is primarily interested in who's going to win. That only happens in track at the Olympics, Worlds, NCAA championships, etc.
Booze and betting can save the sport. Look at horse racing. Do agree 100% too much time between events. Remove some events like the 10k, and 200. Maybe have a local band or mini concert during the meet on downtime or some sort of fan engagement. NBA and NHL does silly things like kiss cam and making fun of fans why can’t track do that?
100%. Horse racing was a $4 billion business in the US last year because of betting. There is zero reason Track can't reach some fraction of that. Racing events lend themselves to betting much more than team sports do, T&F needs to lean into it.
Many in the media saying the casual fans went home devastated since SCR and others dropped out at the last second. Unfortunately those casual fans forgot to buy tickets.
I am a casual fan. I want to look at results and highlights of races longer than a mile. I would never again sit through an entire live meet. I am only interested in 2 types of meets..time trials(like sac/penn/cardinal etc) and championships(conference ncaa/usatf/wc/Olympic )
sorry buddy but if you’re on Letsrun I think you’re a bit more than a casual fan
Others countries do a better job marketing their top stars and don’t suffer from an over saturation problem like the US. Hence why I specified the US in my original post.
Take Oslo Diamond League for example. It is THE track meet of the season for Norway, nothing else comes close and it takes place in the capital city not some nowhere town like Eugene. And they are marketing it around Jakob going up against a stacked field. And you can guarantee it will be packed and loud.
Other countries do not have 'major sports' like American football, NBA basketball, and baseball. Why go watch a track meet when I can go watch baseball and drink beer?
Want track to be more popular? Add beer and/or betting.
You ever been to a baseball game? There is not much action, but lots of beer and other things to do.
Alan
This is an incredibly dumb post.
The most popular sport in the world also happens to be the most popular sport in Europe. It's a sport in which the most common action involves kicking a ball with your foot, and thus, is called 'football'.
I think we've been looking at this the wrong way for a long time at least as far as distance running is concerned.
I did a race last year (NYC Marathon) where there were something like 50,000 people actually participating.
Play to your strength. Distance running is one of the largest if not the largest participation sports in the country. There are huge opportunities there.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.