The only way to get the public interested in international competition is for us to do well in international competition. Nobody will get excited about a bunch of guys running well at USATF events. NOBODY. People in America will only pay attention to endurance sports when we have people at the front of the field, and even then running will never be at the level of the major sports.
In cycling it took a guy who was well ahead of everyone else in the field AND had overcome cancer. Without the cancer, even Lance would have had a hard time getting the attention of the GENERAL American public. Maybe if we made betting on track and field legal in America as with horse racing, people would pay attention and go to track meets.