The USA Cross Country Dream Team for World Cross 2011 - Is it Possible???

Having a team of all-Nike Americans make the podium at world XC would be a pretty damn good incentive for Nike to do more than match... if they were fairly sure it could/would happen.

The team can run 6, so throw Meb in there for good measure.

I know he's not Nike, but throw Hall in there, too. Back in 06 he absolutely dominated that US xc champs. If - IF - he would return to competing in something - anything - other than marathoning, he could easily make a splash in xc.

A team of that 6 would be rigoddamndiculous.

All four of those are capable of top-20, possibly top ten. Would be pretty awesome. Never seems to happen though.

WXC is not a major. The $$$$$s aren't with WXC. Thus, WXC has always been a training run for coaches to check on progress. You won't get the quality that two majors gets, i.e. IAAF Outdoor WC and Summer Oly.

Throw in Meb, Abdi, Webb & Hall at the trials and the best team goes.

$$$$$ $$$$$$ wrote:

WXC is not a major. The $$$$$s aren't with WXC. Thus, WXC has always been a training run for coaches to check on progress. You won't get the quality that two majors gets, i.e. IAAF Outdoor WC and Summer Oly.

Well we always hear that, but the fact is there is more distance depth there than in any other single event. If you can make a dent it that or perhaps come out on top, there is no bigger single statement that can be made to U.S. runners.

All of these guys as individuals and coaches talk about raising the level of distance running in the U.S. and are committed to it. So my point is give them a little $ incentive to make it a priority and show the interest by the U.S. fans by putting our own $ down and who knows, maybe the paradigm shifts.

Just because something has been doesn't mean that it has to be.

Interesting that so many consider WXC such a minor event. Look at the results over the years. The best in the world run there year in, year out. It never seems to hurt Bekele or Tadesse or Gebremariam or Komon or Ebuya to run at WXC. These guys go there to f-ing RACE, not to see where they are in their training. Then they come back and destroy the rest of the world on the track. Meanwhile, Americans are running indoor track meets.

WXC is a minor event. No TV broadcast networks. No money. No fans except for Mombasa. That's how it has always been. A few $ won't make any difference. WXC has always been an exotic adventure in the backwoods. Making it into a major would actually ruin the novelty of WXC.

You are either young or have a short memory. All of Europe and North America's best used to compete in WXC. When the Africans just started stomping people every year, THEN it lost the best Europeans and North Americans and TV coverage in our countries.

I'd say the year it's hosted in the USA is the year they'll put together a dream team for sure. 2011 is in Spain, so it probably won't happen yet, but someday.

oh, and to answer that question, yes, i would pay $10 to see it happen

oh please oh please let this happen

I would put up $10

Brojos, can we get a poll on this?

Sorry, WXC never made the sports pages even when Craig Virgin won it. How can it. It's held way off in the middle of no where or in obscure neighborhoods in big towns. It was never designed for TV viewers.

Send the money to my paypal account, I'll forward it to the elites. I promise.

Is Payton Jordan a major? Because it seems like everyone and their mother runs this one. Geesh, I'd take a world cross team from the Men's 10k and Women's 5k. Well, maybe Barringer, also.

$$$$$ $$$$$$ wrote:

Sorry, WXC never made the sports pages even when Craig Virgin won it. How can it. It's held way off in the middle of no where or in obscure neighborhoods in big towns. It was never designed for TV viewers.

I think you're kind of missing the point, it doesn't have to be. All that really has to happen is it gets some hype in the running world and is available to watch online for all the young runners. If our guys can go out and do what they cannot do according to our current paradigm, it changes the whole thought process here in the states.

Not everything has to be the superbowl or the "world" series just to exist or have some level of success.

Why has basketball exploded in China and baseball in korea and japan? Because a few players changed the expectations.

Sometimes it takes a little money to make a little money. If you grow the interest you grow the rewards of that. Seems like you might be stuck in a rut of old school thinking and watching the development of U.S. running go down the gutter from the early 90's to 2002.

Perspecitvation is right. I doesn't matter if it's not a major TV event like the Olympics. We all love the Pre meet because it's a bigtime meet with a lot of big names on American soil and it barely gets TV coverage. It is still a big deal in the running world and draws big stars, American and foreign.

And when WXC was hosted in boston in 92 or 93 it was on TV. I was in high school and I watched it with my parents. Lynn Jennings took her third win in the snow. It was GREAT tv.

Additionally moving forward the traditional "TV" will become simply a multi purpose monitor and more people will be watching internet based media on that monitor than "TV" so I don't think any fear of no TV network love should stop us from moving forward.

Knowing that and if no major networks want to get involved now, then have Nike bring a camera crew or have Flotrack or Runnerspace tag along. Those guys would probably do it for free if they could just have their travel and board paid for and enough allowance for some cheeseburgers and beers.

There are no indoor worlds next year right? So except for the marathon guys who could potentially have a schedule conflict I don't see how much (anything) would have to change for the track guys. So you run only one or no indoor races instead of 2-3 and run a couple cross country races. You still have 2-3 months after worlds to prepare for any crucial track races. That means 2-3 weeks of down time if you need it.