Just an idle question, why?
Just an idle question, why?
because they didn't let me into their circle-jerk.
Not "everyone" hates them, though it does seem that any time Rupp is mentioned on this board, it quickly degenerates into a bunch of ridiculous jokes that have nothing to do with running. It's just a few very vocal people posting under a lot of different names on here. Very few of the Rupp/Nike/Salazar detractors argue their points in anything like a rational fashion, which leads me to believe it's a small number of adolescent haters posting under multiple names.
Cuz Rupp dates the cutest girl in the world
Any booty pics (of Rupp, not of the ugly witch that he likes) ?
To me they just seem like the NY yankees of track and field. That is great if you love the yankees but easy to hate if you dont.
I have absolutely nothing against Nike, Rupp or Salazar. Rupp is one of America's greatest H.S. athletes, he made the Olympic team with 2 years of NCAA eligibility remaining and to the best of my knowledge, he has never cheated...he simply took advantage of what was afforded him. Salazar had an incredible college career and is one of America's greatest marathoners. Nike's support for USA track and field at all levels is unequaled by any other company or organization.
- Ask the distracters how much they have contributed to the sport of t&f.
The distractors eh?
Yeah, just resort to spelling errors, it makes your argument look real strong.
Oh wait, you made no argument.
Not really a spelling error. I just think it's funny when people get words mixed around. Like when someone repeatedly does it (which is I'm guessing the case here).
For example, Gorgeous George and "Sollentology"
To me it seems that most of the complaints about Rupp revolve around suspected 'advantages' that he's had. I think the most common element in any rupp-bashing really boil down to the fact that he's a white-collar runner, who really gets coddled.
The thing is, most major universities give their athletes the same kind of gear that oregon gets, but UofO gets it first, because of the ties to Nike. So what?
Phil Knight is an alumni, and it's his right to give as much as he wants to his alma mater. Sure, I'd like to see alumni pump that kind of money into my track team, but that's not likely to happen. That doesn't mean I have to rip on UofO or Rupp for what they have going.
There are plenty of other well-funded programs around the country that don't get the negative attention the Ducks get. Wisconsin has fantastic facilities, but their athletes rarely race on any stage, aside from the championship level races. Why don't we hear anyone bashing them for skipping a meet to do a hard workout?
The reason we don't hear anybody bashing Wisconsin for skipping a meet to do a hard workout, is because we don't hear about Wisconsin as much in the first place. Part of the reason people bash Rupp and UO so much is that there's a lot of press about their activities, not just at big meets. If the Oregonian and the Register Guard didn't print anything about XC and track, there would be a lot less smart-ass comments on letsrun.com about Rupp and the Ducks, because all we'd hear about them would be big meet reports, as with most teams.
Do most of you live in a cave? It's not the altitude tents, or other perceived "advantages". It's the simple fact that Rupp fully turned pro out of HS. Realizing how far over their collective heads he and AlSal were, they, along with the full power of Nike's legal force went to work on UofO and the NCAA. It took two weeks of full on negotiating to get Rupp instated as an amateur, and this was after getting Martin Smith fired in order to place a "friendly coach" at the whim of AlSal/Nike.
The Irony is that after all of the high $$$ and unethical shenanigans, Rupp hasn't really produced all that much.
Sure, junior records and a 13th spot in the Olympics are nice, but this is America where pre-Olympic hype means medal expectations. 13th isn't even close. Hyping a dork like Rupp only ensures that American distance running will remain insignificant on the world stage. We can do better.
please lead us to the promise land of international medals.
It's trickle down theory. A few know why they hate Nike and Knight. Knight cheated his original partners overseas and hosed many of his first employees by cutting them loose just before they were eligible for their options. Nike abandoned the sport for Jordan in the early 80's. Reebok kicked their ass nationwide and Adidas started to dominate their own back yard and even built a relationship with Dellinger after AlSal refused to sponsor Oregon alumni (at least one who was an Olympian). For veterans of the sport, there's a lot to dislike. As far as Rupp, few like a prima dona (which I'm not going to check the spelling of). Once again, if you've been around for awhile, you know it's possible to race five times a season and still run well at the big races. So that's why some dislike the cabal. Others - the vast majority - are like the sheep in Animal Farm who have no grasp of the issues but like to bleat out "four legs good, Nike bad."
"Adidas started to dominate their own back yard\"
This is only after Nike monopolized the american market by producing affordable shoes in reaction to the overpriced adidias models they still provided top quality shoes at affordable prices can you blame them for branching out?.... in the long run they have done more good for the sport by producing competion and ultimately bringing affordable shoes to the masses (of all types of brand)
ecoli wrote:
"Adidas started to dominate their own back yard"
This is only after Nike monopolized the american market by producing affordable shoes in reaction to the overpriced adidias models they still provided top quality shoes at affordable prices can you blame them for branching out?.... in the long run they have done more good for the sport by producing competion and ultimately bringing affordable shoes to the masses (of all types of brand)
Monopolized the American market?! No. In the 70's they did very well. When they abandoned running for Jordan, Reebok took their national share and Adidas put the foothold in Portland and Eugene. Asics hurt them too. I was buying the Adidas Oregon for under $40, the Asics Gel Lyte and Epirus for under $60 The Adidas Response for under $60 and Reebok models for around $50 when Nike was introducing the first $100 running shoes (Air Stab - piece of junk). The Skylon might have been the only decent Nike trainer to come out in the the late 80's early 90's and even it was overpriced.
not a cave dweller wrote:
It's not the altitude tents, or other perceived "advantages". It's the simple fact that Rupp fully turned pro out of HS. Realizing how far over their collective heads he and AlSal were, they, along with the full power of Nike's legal force went to work on UofO and the NCAA. It took two weeks of full on negotiating to get Rupp instated as an amateur, and this was after getting Martin Smith fired in order to place a "friendly coach" at the whim of AlSal/Nike.
it's true...the fact that he's considered a collegiate runner when he can take entire semesters off on a whim because it suits his training schedule is a total sham.
This article summed up Rupp this summer
http://www.kornheiserscartel.com/2008/08/eight-suggestions-for-galen-rupp.html
nailed it wrote:
it's true...the fact that he's considered a collegiate runner when he can take entire semesters off on a whim because it suits his training schedule is a total sham.
because other athletes haven't done that before, either. nobody bashed shalane flanagan or nick willis for doing that in 2004.