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

You guys are saying it would not make much money for them; we're trying to agree on a method to make them do it.

I would contribute $10, maybe Nike can make a special broadcast for $15.

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

But the fact remains is that there are so many other opportunities that elites have to pick and choose from. Or they can just take the winter off like the USC/UCLA T&F programs do.

Who was the last USC/UCLA long distance runner/graduate to come to the top of our elite long distance ranks???

Meb?

1997: Won NCAA Outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m, ******Indoor 5,000m******* and mens Cross Country Championships...bests of 3:43.95, 13:33.97 and 28:26.55.

The fact is nobody wants to take 9 months off from racing so they will be racing and they are not getting big $ from running mile or 3K races at UW. I agree about the marathoner specialists, but not the track guys.

In any case I get the sense you really want to make a case for why they should not do it. So be it, your right. I'm more interested in hearing how many people will make their voices heard for why they should.

I would pay $10. Even $20 if German Fernandez was included. Keep in mind though, Africans have had such a stranglehold over this event that any white runner out front might be mistaken, by security, for a fan trying to cross the course.

You guys are saying it would not make much money for them; we're trying to agree on a method to make them do it.

I would contribute $10, maybe Nike can make a special broadcast for $15.

You got me stumped. I'm out of ideas. I've had the same discussion with dozens of XC/dist/TF junkies.

Don't forget UCLA's Meb won the 2009 New York Marathon, and a Silver Medal at 2004 Athens Olympics. Not to mention four NCAA Championships, and two CIF championships.

Obviously, I was just using the indoor reference in response to the point $$$$$$ was making.

FanOfTheFan wrote:

I would pay $10. Even $20 if German Fernandez was included. Keep in mind though, Africans have had such a stranglehold over this event that any white runner out front might be mistaken, by security, for a fan trying to cross the course.

Haha, that's pretty funny.

You may need $20 to get GF healthy before $20 to have him race though.

I've put $10 towards less worthy causes.

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

You got me stumped. I'm out of ideas. I've had the same discussion with dozens of XC/dist/TF junkies.

That's kind of my point, our sport remains in the shadows gathering dust here in the U.S. as does the way we think about it. Most of the decision makers are still focussed on how things happened in the 90's or long before.

It's precisely new ideas and a new way of doing things that will help it gather momentum in my mind.

Look I've often read (even written) things on this board that athletes later speak about so it can have an impact. If a massive amount of fans show interest and commitment, maybe the runners will have some incentive. If Nike thinks they can benefit from this in terms of branding and growing interest at the youth level, maybe they will be interested.

I'd like to say I can't imagine and Oregon or Nike hater coming down on Nike if they were to do something along the lines of what I'm suggesting, and if they did I think they'd be further isolated than from the true fans than they are already.

That\'s not true. Our sport is surviving very well in this depression. 2009 PAC-10 XC at Long Beach was a madhouse. Youth TF and HS TF are going like gangbusters. Mt Sac Relays, Long Beach St, Cerritos, APU filled up to the capacity all for one relays. The certified officials were swamped and worked to death. If elites aren\'t running WXC they are doing USA Indoors or some other USA LDR event. Elites are getting by o.k. it seems. Sure we\'re pissed that Home Depot is cancelled but we had plenty of Olympic and Worlds Medalists at Mt Sac Relays. Not all is doom and gloom.

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

That's not true. Our sport is surviving very well in this depression. 2009 PAC-10 XC at Long Beach was a madhouse. Youth TF and HS TF are going like gangbusters. Mt Sac Relays, Long Beach St, Cerritos, APU filled up to the capacity all for one relays. The certified officials were swamped and worked to death. If elites aren't running WXC they are doing USA Indoors or some other USA LDR event. Elites are getting by o.k. it seems. Sure we're pissed that Home Depot is cancelled but we had plenty of Olympic and Worlds Medalists at Mt Sac Relays. Not all is doom and gloom.

I'm not talking about working harder, I'm talking about working smarter. I'm not saying that people who have been busting there buts have to change a thing, just that we also need others to be more creative in other ways. I believe there are hard working passionate people at the meets all over the country and I believe attendance as far as teams and athletes is up, however so is our population.

That is all inside the track world and a lot of people who have already been in it for a long time. Track popularity across our nation is down and continues to get lumped into subsections on websites and newspapers.

Enthusiasm has to grow outside of the current and longstanding group of hard core track and field enthusiasts. The average american won't think much at all about and American distance runner because they have been convinced that we cannot beat the Kenyans. In fact most still think it's just the Kenyans.

If you can get 2-5% of adults to care a little more about distance running in this country you might get 5% or more young people wanting to be the next great runner. Solinsky was a Dyestat Die Hard. If you had 2 or 3 more of him per year think of the results. If you have thousands more interest across the country, the chances of 2 or 3 more Rupp/Ritz/Solinsky/Teg types increases.

10 years ago in Oostend Kennedy, Meb, and Abdi ran well leading the US to a podium finish. Also Ritz and Teg went 3 and 5 in the junior race. No doubt we can finish top 3 in the men's senior race, probably 3rd place.

Perspectivation wrote:

That is all inside the track world and a lot of people who have already been in it for a long time. Track popularity across our nation is down and continues to get lumped into subsections on websites and newspapers.

Track may come make a come back as Obamunism continues to destroy the economy. Poor people don't buy as many expensive pro ball sport tickets.

I will be happy to put $50 down.

put me down for twenty. I'd really appreciate a poll brojos.

how many get to go on from usa trials?

cuz that team of ritz, rupp, teg, solinsky would be insane. screw 10 id pay 30

oh and this would be insane if it happened.

lagat may make the team?