When Will Track and Field get Smart

I'm there. Someone please do this and I will buy plenty of tickets and beer!

you are an idiot. first, that's not what track is about. second, if you get bored from watching it, don't watch it. nothing pleases me more than watching 25 laps of strategy and beautiful strides.

Hallelujah amen!

shmoron wrote:

you are an idiot. first, that's not what track is about. second, if you get bored from watching it, don't watch it. nothing pleases me more than watching 25 laps of strategy and beautiful strides.

Then stick to your boring track meets that will soon be devoid of fans, support, and athletes.

sooo...hangin in the stands at oly trials in sac 04 I got to see Sacramento's finest arrest/warn a bunch of old dudes from Cali and Michigan making .25 cent and buck bets on place and times for distance races...people where having a great time prior to that...and sacramento wonders why trials are in Eugene in 08 and 12?...take the fun out of the party and the party's going to be somewhere else.

Alberto Juantyourmomma wrote:

Then stick to your boring track meets that will soon be devoid of fans, support, and athletes.

They have been devoid of fans and support for decades, dimwit. Welcome to the party.

They will never be devoid of athletes. And that is all we need. F*** the "fans". I'm there to run against others, not for some asshole with a beer yelling his head off.

You never know??!!?? The asshole with a beer yelling his head off could be a possible sponsor or know somebody etc. etc.... After all, in all the other major sports most of the assholes with a beer yelling their heads off, support their sport one way or another.... When you are watching the Super Bowl this year remember that the majority of the assholes with a beer yelling their heads off are corporate execs etc...

old ndn runna wrote:

When you are watching the Super Bowl this year remember that the majority of the assholes with a beer yelling their heads off are corporate execs etc...

Huh?

I've been drinking beer and placing bets at track meets for years. Take some initiative man!

"Devoid of fans and support for decades' should tell you something is wrong. Yeah that's it matey, continue to be a snooty elitist to everyone who might actually be impressed with your accomplishments if you just gave them the chance. Instead you're content to be all high and mighty and have no one care about your facking race except for your family and a few friends. Run for free because you won't get much of in the way of a sponsorship. Then you actually win something and get pissed off when no one gives a damn.

Can't have it both ways if you don't care about them they won't care about you. Us against the world really gets you far in this day and age doesn't it? No sir it doesn't as a matter of fact. Nike's sponsorship of track & field and running amounts to charity because they make no money from it. Go ahead and train with a chip on your shoulder all you want, but you athletes need to do something with your profile and promote the damn sport, not tell potential fans who do not fit their neurotic ideal image to f*** off.

Poetry in motion - well, T&F being from the wrong side of the tracks and being the "poor" cousin" does not make the sport of T&F elitist; and, back to the 'ol if a tree falls and no one hears it.................break out of the basement and see the real world of sport-you and your athletes simply do not count. Sorry, but that is the way it is. The whole sport needs overhauled - but first we need to get rid of the image of being nothing but a bunch of "litle" pun intended, dopers.

The sport can be made interesting and productive but we don't need people like P-i-m to hold it back for his own selfish reasons - he probably isn't socially adept and so he projects this on to everyone in T&F? True? Tell us.

Hall and Webb and such, and the excitement they bring to the sport, should be the new face of T&F. Not some loner who can't seem to.........

First it takes hard work by the organizers. I put on a 28 school high school meet. The officials woek it with the idea that they want to go home asap- so there is very little down time between events.

Get the athletes clerked and on the track. When they finish, get them off the track and start the next event.

TV can switch from track to field to keep the action moving.

There should also be a focus on more than one athlete per event. It seems they pick one athlete and focus on him/her. If they don't perform the event is a dud. Focus on all of the top athletes. Don't ignore the guy in 6th place who just broke 4:00 for the first time...

How about get some guys like Abdi and Lagat who will actually go into the stands and hang with the fans. I went to the 2002 Indoor Nationals at the Armory and the only athlete who was friendly was Allen Johnson. Even the retired people wearing street clothes were cold.

It's pretty ridiculous that we are in a sport where the print rag pays $125.00 for a cover picture, and $50 for an inside picture, a miniscule sum compared to Gold, Baseball, Football, etc.

If you want to bet on track....go to the state high school meet in Florida.....the betting is hot and heavy for the finals of every event....boys or girls. They bet on the fastest....the best looking girl to finish first...you name it. It is a madhouse.

I think the order of some meets needs to be changed....you get things going all fast and then boom! Throw in a 5,000 or 10,000m race. Which is interesting ONLY to the people who run that event or know someone in it. That is the time to showcase your field events. Announcers need to stay on top of things to keep people interested in what is going on.

Indoor track is very interesting because you can see everything and it all happens right in front of you. Outdoor meets take too long....

Actually, it might be a goodidea to start with the 5000 or 10,000. Announce the starting time for the distance event. Those who want to see the whole thing get there on time, others arrive as the race progresses and watch the finish or check out the field event action.

I like drunken track betting, does that make me crazy?

I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind

There was something so pleasant about that place.

Even your emotions have an echo

In so much space

And when you're out there

Without care,

Yeah, I was out of touch

But it wasn't because I didn't know enough

I just knew too much

Does that make me crazy?

Does that make me crazy?

Does that make me crazy?

Probably

And I hope that you are having the time of your life

But think twice, that's my only advice

Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,

Ha ha ha bless your soul

You really think you're in control

Well, I think you're crazy

I think you're crazy

I think you're crazy

Just like me

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb

And all I remember is thinking, I wanna be like them

Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun

And it's no coincidence I've come

And I can die when I'm done

But Maybe I'm crazy

Maybe you're crazy

Maybe we're crazy

Probably

Uh, uh

Seriously, I think a league needs to be created for any significant fan base to develop. Just like NBA, MLB, NHL, etc. make a track league with regular competitions. No average joe is going to know when the hell the boston indoor games are or whatever. We need some non-athletics company to come in and sponsor a league.

Introducing the GoldenPalace.com track and field league. Bet on all your favorite athletes through the website. Form 4 regional teams sponsored by budweiser, miller lite, coors light, and Jack Daniels - and run lines on them as well. Plaster the uniforms with 3 stripes, swooshes, reebok and brooks logos. Sign up ESPN for exclusive coverage. give away cars, vacations, whatever can be thought up in addition to prize money for winning events. Promote The fastest and strongest people in the world. Post million dollar challenges to the fastest NFL players. Build anticipation and excitement and the athletes wont diasapoint.

Best track meets I have been to were the indoor championships at Cobo Hall, in Detroit...on the wooden track. It was packed to the rafters. Right in the middle of the meet they featured suburban and city relays...it was awesome....promoting done right will draw fans...these meets were always heavily promoted in the Detroit News and by U of M...when they moved out to the Silverdome...the meet died.