uncleB wrote:
Racism.
Irish runners, New Zealanders, English, Canadian (white ones) are often treated like adopted sons (or daughters) by US fans.
Africans are not.
"Racism. Racism. Racism."
Yawn.
--Maybe it is not really racism.
Maybe it is sociology.
As in "people relate more to people who are like them" which is FAR DIFFERENT than Racism.
While I can appreciate the accomplishments of someone with a far different background than myself; it is unlikely I am going to have any quick rapport with, or identifying interest in them, i.e. connect as quickly with them as a personality or in their personal story.
This is exactly why NBC started their "Up Close and Personal" series during the Olympics.
The better we know a personality, the easier it is for us to relate and grow a "rooting interest" in their athletic efforts or accomplishments.
Racism is not always the answer to understanding social dynamics.
Have you read what Henry Rono shared about not being able to relate to this society?
Well I could not relate to Henry Rono being this far older foreigner dropping in out of the blue like from Mars, and immediately dusting the Pac Eight/Ten and the rest of the NCAA. I could watch in awe at his marvelous athletic ability, but there was no personal investment -- he was an alien.
(Not to mention the fact that he was essentially a Pro, paid by John Chaplin to run and Drink. --Rono has reported all this, including the fact that Chaplin had smoothed the way so that Rono's professors would actually tell him he did not need to come to classes.)
As to athletes that come from common wealth type countries, well a huge part of USA history is related to that, and if you are caucasian -- you might just relate more to someone who looks like you. Is it racism when afro-american athletes relate more to other afro-american athletes? I don't think so, and I have experienced it up close.
At my D1 school I ran both the 800 and the 400. Which meant part of the time I trained with the mid and distance guys, and part of the year with the 400 guys. Well for 3 of my 4 years, the 400 guys were all black. We were from such different background in life we could not relate to each other at first. And it was NOT RACISM. By the end of the season we had gotten to know each other and there was complete team attitude. They rooted for me, I for them, we met each others families at duel meets. The invited me to their parties, me to ours. Sometimes it is just getting to know each other better.
--My advice to any coach who finds that their track team is lacking in team spirit: create a way in which the black kids and the white kids get to know each other. We started mid-week team dinners at my school, and team spirit, and results went up markedly. Something happens when everyone roots for everyone with a sense of human involvement deeper than school or team spirit alone. Etc.
...Let me guess, you think a Kenyan exchange student adopts and roots for an Irish American runner, with as much gusto as he roots for a Kenyan athlete on scholarship?
RACISM IS NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER TO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PEOPLE.
Sometimes it is lack of familiarity. Sometimes it is cultural. Sometimes it is class.
You can add an "ism" to those last two words if you like. But study after study after study, has shown that people always tend to relate to those who are more like them -- and that includes perfectly wonderful people from EVERY RACE.
For me the main issue in foreign athletes is AGE. There needs to be a lower entry age limit for Foreign Athletes specifically.
26 year old foreign freshman, of any culture or race, total bullshit. You don't get to start in USA high school athletics at age 22. For athletic purposes you should not get to be a 26 year old Kenyan, or Irishman. I'd set the age limit at 20. (Although some will claim that the Kenyans will use falsified birth records.)
The other limit I would add, would be no more than Two foreign athletes per XC or Track squad. No more flooding your team with Kenyans, or 3 Irishman, a Kiwi and a Brit, etc.
Let's have a level field age wise, and numbers wise.