Can we talk about Noah Lyles?

I love the kid.

Noah has 8 global medals including 3 golds from the most recent world championships. He’s the it guy in track and field right now, and by all accounts is extremely friendly and charismatic. If he wants to be a bit silly at times, good for him.

I perceive him to be well intentioned (albeit I agree not as "dominating" or "influential" of a spirit/presence as he thinks he is, as previously stated) so I still like to see him do well.

Intention>perception in this case for me (and most cases, I'm very forgiving of positive intentions with poor executions)

That's always the go to... he has medals, he's fast, blah, blah. That's not the point. He clearly cannot read the room because sprint fans don't like him. He's like the Jonas Brothers are to pop music, or like Vanilla Ice is to rap. People are not feeling it. A certain sprinter is about to explode and spill the tea on this one. Stay tuned because this is going to get spicy.

He’s trying to bring some much needed personality to track and field. So some root against him as a villain, that’s fine, it’s like WWE showmanship. Your post proves that it’s working.

Ya'll truly are a bunch of simps. Soft af. Figures you'd like him. The fact that you brough up WWE tells me all I need to know and you are absolutely correct, the same idiots that like that idiocy will love the hell out of Lyles. What a f'ing joke.

WWE is pathetic. Noah is awesome.

My guess is that NBC is pressuring him to play up some of this stuff. They feature him in several silly commercials for the Olympics. If you don't like it just watch the races.

Absolutely love Noah. Why does everyone have to be the same? The way you're criticizing him shows you're being very small-minded. So what if he paints his nails? So what if he likes anime? Good for him!

Also speaking as a woman, he is super hot. Nice to see a top athlete who seems like he respects women, has personal style, and isn't afraid to express emotions other than anger.

He’s a dork. Who cares. this is track & field. he reminds me of Kanye West. He’s talented and not an egomaniac on Kanye’s level. He doesn’t act psychotic but like many have said, his charisma does not always land.

i just really detest all of your comments about reading the room and how he should behave in a way that conforms to his audience or peers.

you’re lame in a completely different way.

Yes, he is engaging an audience other than the SMALL traditional track audience. The sport needs more spectator interest to thrive. At least he’s trying.

That BAN is 100% on the DL!

N Lyles is a fast sprinter. If the way he acts off the track is just N Lyles being N Lyles, okay. Winning 100m dash, 200m dash and 4 x 100m will be difficult. As long as he is focused.

He is without a doubt the fastest man in the world right now. But if I were Christian Coleman, the site of Lyles leaping and dancing around the track, falling down the ground, screaming, talking about his greatness, etc would be burned into my memory. Probably it will prompt Coleman to work harder than he ever has, if he needed any more motivation.

Sounds like we all win.

Is he putting on a show? Is some of it contrived? Almost certainly. But it’s because he has a desire to grow the sports audience. I don’t see it as a bad thing.

I should also add that Noah Lyles, YouTube presents is very good. Long videos of his training with explanations. Really interesting.

That’s a very good point.

Why do you care bro?