Mitch Album bashes Athletics again

Good points. We do have Olpmpic Gold Medals, but that comes only every 4 years. Then someone like Michael Johnson wins a gold medal, but in the Winter Olympics some dude was "stoked" cause he "tamed the half pipe" probably just after takin' a toke on the water pipe, we have an image problem.

ICXCer, while what you say is probably not the whole story, it seems to make a lot of sense to me.

I think that we definitely need more TV coverage for Track and Field. However, I do not place the blame for the current lack of it solely on the networks. USATF has to do what other sport organizations have done and put up the money to get those prime time spots. Do you think ESPN just randomly chooses to put billiards or bowling on over TnF? I doubt it, those organizations are giving ESPN more money for the spot than TnF is willing to give. Masback and his buddies need to open up the vaults and little. In order to make money you need to spend money. USATF needs to get out the checkbook and buy some primetime spots for meets. Along with that, USATF should try to work to get competent commentators on the air. The coverage and sport would be more exciting with people who actually know what they are talking about. Who wants to hear that whale known as Carol Lewis say lactic acid this and lactic acid that. Somebody mentioned it one time and she can't stop talking about it.

While I agree that networks need to show more track and at better times, USATF needs to be the ones to facilitate this change.

I agree with the first point. There's a familiarity to the sport and before or after the game you can toss a ball around with your kid and make like a pro. Not too many people line up the neighborhood in the starting blocks.

To the second point - one of the biggest reasons football has surpassed the other sports in popularity is because of the buildup each week. Since there is only one game there can be countless reviews of the past week and previews of the upcoming week. The other sports all play many more games which place it in the more mundane category.

Stepay wrote:

ICXCer - Albom gets pocket change from ESPN. His main gig of course is writing for the Detroit News and then his syndicated pieces and ocassional sports books - the ESPN gig keeps his visibility going. He also wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie" if you remember that little TV movie starring the late Jack Lemon and Hank Azaria.

Again, I don't think Albom was being that critical. He was just being a realist. Why don't we know what the 100M record is? Why don't we know who the record holder is? He's just saying to track and field - look at yourselves and try to find the answer. Since track and field isn't where it was and not where a lot of us would like it to be, then for the most part, he has to be right.

Stepay - you've been brilliant on this thread.

I saw Albom's spiel and I didn't think he was being all that critical. There were simply a lot of unanswered questions.

Regarding your comments about exposure for Albom - I used to read Lupica religiously until he started showing up on SportsReporters. He pontificates so obnoxiously that I refuse to read his column and a couple of years ago when I sat near him at a concert I had to restrain myself from

swatting the little piece of crap.

Thanks brother. Your Lupica story made me laugh out loud.

To combine a couple of thoughts:

First to admit bias, I was at least one of the people who has posted previously about fans not relating to a sport they don't do. But to tie that in to the comment about what USATF needs to do:

First, USATF can't afford big time coverage all by themselves. The only reason we've got what he have is because they've found sponsors to pay the networks to broadcast some meets.

Second, aside from sponsors, where does USATF's money come from? The only other place is from people joining USATF and paying dues.

Which leads to 3: People aren't joining USATF because USATF doesn't/can't/won't (pick one) organize much track for the masses, particularly the adult masses. And here's the Catch 22: USATF doesn't have the money to provide grass roots track, and people won't pay in to USATF until they see grass roots track. (What grass roots track there is, by the way, is done entirely by volunteers and locally - USATF sends them medals to give out and requires all competitors to join USATF). USATF is focussing on the elites and sponsors and meets on TV.

More bias - I'm a non-elite grass roots kind of runner, who's put on some of those local meets but wishes he had more meets to enter as an adult himself.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that USATF has to pay for the TV strictly from their budget, though when I reread what I posted, that is how it came out. I understand that they need to get help and that is what I meant also when I posted. I was thinking of the guy who posted about NASCAR and their success. This is the model I was thinking of when I posted, though I didn't state it. You are definitely right that through their dues and such the USATF can't afford the coverage. However, don't they have other revenue? I can't imagine that they run that organization off of the paltry dues that members pay annually.

Of course it is through the use of sponsors that the do get the TV time they currently have. It seems however, that they should be doing more to secure other corporate sponsors. NASCAR doesn't just get sponsorship from car racing related companies, and track shouldn't just get sponsorship from running related companies. I've seen it posted on this board many times that NASCAR is the model that should be followed by the USATF and I agree. USATF needs more advertising and PR (commercials, merchandise, TV exposure, etc.). Of coure this won't be easy at first, but you have to stick your neck out a litte. There is really nowhere to go but up.

Crossman: When I lived in Boston in 1982 Mike's sister Sue was my neighbor. Let's just say it's genetic.

Stepay - ESPN does drive what the viewers want to see. All business based on commercial revenue pick items which help them sell their advertising. Why do you think musicians are finding alternative ways of getting their music to the massess? Stings recent song which was a hit only because he gave it to jaguar for a commercial. The radio exec. rejected it until the commercial brought it to the public. Without coverage by the mainstream the general public ignores it.

ESPN orients its programs to the established advertising sports, and to make themselves feel good they air other sports at strang hours, which only the fanatics would be prepared to watch. When Bonds' name is mentioned over a million times a year to Tim Montgomery's once, who do you think the general public will be familar with? Why do you think politicians have required equal time on debates or speeches?

The main reason I put this up is Mitch Albom never covers Track & Field, but feels it is his obligation to bash it anytime it gets press. He has no respect for Track & Field and could care less. Thats why I find his comments offensive. If he was out to help track & field he would write an article on it. Has he ever written a positive article on Track & Field in his career? Not that I have seen and I live in the Detroit area and have read the Det. Free Press for years.

You're right about people being drawn in by sports if they are presented with those sports, but ESPN doesn't just arbitrarily decide what to feed us. They have their reasons, and most of it lies in what they feel the public wants to see. They get tons of feeback from viewers, and unfortunately TM's 100 Meter WR got airplay only because someone at ESPN felt they had to show it because it is newsworthy. Most of what they show is just flashy entertainment.

I'm very surprised by your comments about Mitch Albom. He is one of the most respected sportswriters in the country and has been for years, and you don't get that distinction without a good dose of fairness. As far as him going out of his way to help track and field, that's not his job, anymore than he should go out and help the NFL or the NBA. I've seen him slam anything and everything, so I don't think he's got a vendetta against track and field. Like I've already said in this thread, I think if you look closely at what Albom said, that you can't see it as a slam as much as a reality check.

Seems to me that Albom would have done track and field a larger disservice by not commenting on the state of track and field at all.

Stepay - Boy you give ESPN and Albom to much credit. Their job is being "sports" reporters with emphasis on sports. So, it is Albom's job to cover Track & Field if he really is a "sports" reporter. Second, ESPN shows the same highlights 10 times a day, they cannot squeeze out on repeat and provide a meet result? They did it leading up to the olympics, why not this year? My complaint is do you think baseball fans would put up with only reporting on McGwires 62. So, why should Track & Field fans be happy with only WR's being reported?

There is nothing wrong with Track & Field. The problem lies in its press coverage. ESPN does not care for TF so they ignore the criticism and continue with their standard coverage. I have wrote many times to ESPN complaining about coverage and its been discussed on websites, but they provide no changes or responses to any of it. How can we expect the average fan to appreciate TF when the coverage takes all the excitement out of it. How can showing one throw, jump or lap give anybody an appreciation for the sport? Would baseball fans be happy with a games coverage as only the 9th inning, Football the final two minutes?

I am not one of those who say TF should replace any other sports coverage, but there is room for it to be covered. I think the real question Mitch Albom should have asked is why as sports writers do we cover TF once every 4 years.

Very well put.

Jnathletics wrote:

There is nothing wrong with Track & Field. The problem lies in its press coverage. ESPN does not care for TF so they ignore the criticism and continue with their standard coverage. I have wrote many times to ESPN complaining about coverage and its been discussed on websites, but they provide no changes or responses to any of it. How can we expect the average fan to appreciate TF when the coverage takes all the excitement out of it. How can showing one throw, jump or lap give anybody an appreciation for the sport? Would baseball fans be happy with a games coverage as only the 9th inning, Football the final two minutes?

To say that there's nothing wrong with Track & Field is a bit blithe. ESPN does not care for TF because their marketing surveys show the publics does not. That is what's wrong with TF. The reason? In my opinion, the reason is that not many people go or have gone out to have "pick up meets," the way they do football, softball, basketball,.... And there really aren't that many road racers out there, compared to the hordes that used to play Little League, for instance. USATF does something about the kids' aspect, but nothing for post-high school folk who might do the sport and watch the sport.

It's not "all USATF's fault," but there are things I think they could do to improve things.

Something that may have gotten missed in my first post, though, was the fact that of the people who are complaining about USATF, how many have joined the organization, paid dues, offered to help at meets, gone to the local/state/national meetings, etc. to change things? It's still largely a volunteer organization, and that would be the fastest way to effect change, unless you're Craig Masback.

Jnathletics,

You and I just have a different view on this, and that's ok. I think you will continue to be disappointed the rest of your life with regards to track and field coverage though, unless either track and field does something to change its image (again, I'm not a PR wizard and don't know how to go about this) or you change your expectations.

Having been a sports reporter in a former life (The Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, OH), I can tell you that at least there, my editor always gave me marching orders based primarily on what they felt the public wanted to read about. We always had big spreads on every local high school football team in the fall with team pictures and everything (I covered a lot of high school sports) even if they had been 0-10 since the beginning of time, and we would cover a local cross country team only if they were about to challenge for a state title. Reporters cover what the interest is. ESPN puts on the air what the interest is. It's all about selling papers and selling advertising. If there were some reason for the editors and ESPN producers to think that more track and field coverage would gain more viewership, you can bet they would include more. Many people like to think of the press as providing a service, and they do, but their main goal is to make money, like just about every other business. They still have a bit of newsperson in them though and that is why we get to see a 100 meter WR on ESPN at all. As much as I love track and field and cross country and distance running in general, even I can look at a clip of a 100 meter WR and not find it all that enthraling. The end result is amazing to me, but watching it happen really isn't. If the clock weren't there, I wouldn't know that TM just ran a new WR - it looks like any other 100 meter race - nothing special about it. For whatever reason, as much as I don't need to see 10 home runs every night on Sports Center, they are all different. Different pitchers, different situations, the home run could have lost the game or won the game or whatever, and you know immediately if it was a home run or not - you don't have to wait for the official time and the official wind speed to determine if it were anything special. Baseball lends itself to drama, and I think that's why there are so many fans, myself included.

The other thing which is very important about ESPN in particular is that they put on the air what is easily available to them. When Sammy Sosa hits a home run for the 8 billionth time and it lands on Waverly Avenue, ESPN can easily show that because WGN broadcasted it and then they sell the rights to that shot to ESPN - most of that is by contract. The reason WGN is broadcasting that game is because fan support demands it. The Cubs are big in Chicago. If track and field were as big, it would get the play, but unfortunately there aren't enough track and field meets to compete with baseball's 162 games a year for EACH TEAM. There is just no way that track and field can compete with that. I've been running for more than 20 years through high school and college, and I've not run 162 races in my life (at least I don't think so).

Baseball has a buildup over the season to the big event of the World Series every single year. Track's biggest event is every 4 years, and sometimes that is in another country halfway around the world where we'd have to be up at 3 a.m. to see the events live.

Maybe some track nut with unlimited cash needs to create professional track teams in this country and have them race frequent meets like they do in high school. This would take a special kind of runner to do this kind of thing, but maybe something like this radical approach is what is needed. This would in many ways though perhaps limit runners from producing really great times.

You mentioned that you've written to ESPN to complain, and you should if you feel that way, but the fans of the following sports have done so also:

Equestrian

Non-Olympic Year Gynmastics

Diving

Swimming

Motocross

Synchronized Swimming

Lumberjack Contests

Dart throwers

Bowlers (I am friends with the media director for the PBA, and he complains all the time about lack of coverage - there are fewer events now than in the past, and he'd like to see more bowling in general on ESPN)

Soccer

Cycling

Triathlons

Cup Stacking

Billiard players (oh, my bad, they apparently made a pact with the devil because they are on way too often)

Anyway, that's my stance on this issue. I think you can get rid of a lot of your disappointment if you stop thinking about Albom and ESPN as recorders of sports happenings, because unfortunately they aren't that. They want readership and viewership so they can make money, and they cover what gives them that. They need to compete to stay in business, and if ESPN quit giving the baseball fans what they want with lots of shots of towering home runs, then the folks at FOX Sports would be glad to provide.

Stepay, excellent post.

Also, Albom is a columnist, not one who covers the events themselves other than a major event. As a columnist who's main role even in the newspaper business is to comment on sports I think it was entirely appropriate for him to comment on the sport of T & F.

Thanks brother. Good point there yourself about Albom being a columnist. No one had said that, and it is true true true.

I don't have too many subjects where I feel that I can contribute at least an informed opinion, but journalism is one of those, and somehow my journalism training has helped me not become blinded by my love of track and field.

ru4real wrote:

Stepay, excellent post.

Also, Albom is a columnist, not one who covers the events themselves other than a major event. As a columnist who's main role even in the newspaper business is to comment on sports I think it was entirely appropriate for him to comment on the sport of T & F.

I am an architect does not give me the right to comment on a building I have not seen.

I would like to talk about your comment Stepay earlier on public perception. I believe T&F's public perception is greatly hurt by the lack of coverage. Since, ESPN and sports reporters only cover WR and steriods, T&F is in the news more often for bad news then good. When what less then 5% of the athletes in T&F are getting caught with steriods but are 90% of the news, guess what the public will assume "their all on steroids." The reason bad press does not hurt the major leagues is they have a greater percentage of positive coverage. Plus, ESPN's reports which are bad usually attack an individual in the major leagues. He is a bad seed, a troubled past, etc... not an attack on the league. But when ESPN reports on T&F it is more of an attack on the sport. That makes me believe they are against T&F.

As for me being disappointed, I realized long ago that my sport does not get the respect it deserves. That does not mean I cannot stand up for my sport when I feel it is being attacked. I have been trying to convice others that Athletics is the greatest sport in the world and I will go to my grave do it.