Rupp ignores media at USA Indoors - WHAT A JOKE

Maybe he saw Wejo leading the pack?

@running_comment wrote:

But, as the brojos often ask, why can't people be bigger than just themselves and think of the sport from time to time.

Right. The brojos should tattoo that across their faces. This site should be renamed: "shameless self-promotion w/a bit of running coverage on the side".

Rupp seems to have two personalities. Happy, happy, joy, joy when winning. Devastated when losing. Not so good in my opinion.

Jekyll & Hyde wrote:

Rupp seems to have two personalities. Happy, happy, joy, joy when winning. Devastated when losing. Not so good in my opinion.

Seems fairly normal to me. I think that's how people are.

Betelguese wrote:

Maybe he saw Wejo leading the pack?

Ovett ignored the press much of his career and most people thought he was cool for doing so (myself included, because the British press went way too far hyping the Coe-Ovett rivalry and even contributed to a serious rift between Ovett and his parents starting in 1980). But with Rupp, of course he's an ass for not giving a post-race interview. In fact, Rupp has been extremely good about talking with the media. The regretable behavior award goes to Wejo for his questioning after Rupp's AR two-mile. And to the teenage internet crowd. Given the way Rupp is attacked by these haters why should he feel like talking?

i don't know about most of you guys but after a really rough race, i only know how to speak in expletives and there have been a good number of times when i didn't even talk to my own family...let the man go off on a long cool down and get it out of his system without a camera in his face. i mean heck, most team sport guys that lose get an hour before they have to face the press. he should've been given time to cool off and cool down. i'm sure we'll here from him in the next few days about it

I wouldn't ever want to speak to the press if I was a professional athlete simply because the questions these people come up with are so inane. They'll go up to someone who has just made the Olympic team and ask them if they are excited. What the f#ck do you expect the athlete to say? Is there anyone sitting at home who is really wondering whether or not an athlete is excited to make the Olympic team? Of course not. That's just one example. Pretty much every question they ask is just as silly. Why even talk to someone if they're just going to be stupid?

@running_comment wrote:

I just read the report on USA Indoors (http://www.letsrun.com/2012/usatfindoorrrw0225.php) and this quote jumped out at me:

"Rupp finished third in 7:57.36 and did not speak with the media."

This is a joke. Horrible exposure (or lack of) for the sport. How is this even allowed by an athlete on the payroll of the meet sponsor??

We all know that bad races feel...well...bad. But, as the brojos often ask, why can't people be bigger than just themselves and think of the sport from time to time. This goes for those who make their living in the sport more than anyone.

Well, this a just bit self serving. We all want the athlete to be available for interviews, but we don't hold the same standard for the interviewer being knowledgeable and able to formulate decent questions. So what do we get??? Interviewers who, instead of asking good questions about the race tonight and some of the dynamics of the competition, ask stupid and ultimately irrelevant tripe about " bitter rivalries" that don't exist, or comments that are "gotcha!!" in nature and don't add or contribute to the betterment of the sport. You can't have a one sided approach! It just won't work.

I guarantee the stupid questions would have been something like, "Galen, you haven't beaten Lagat in 12 tries. What can you do to turn that around?" so in the end we, as fans, don't get any useful information. All we get is more irritating drivel to keep false hype and inaccurate speculation alive. This isn't good for the sport either.

why can't people be bigger than just themselves and think of the sport from time to time. This goes for those who make their living in the sport more than anyone.

this about brojos or rupp?

in the 'rupp' drama I can see it apply to both

however - it appears that Rupp is the only one putting himself on the line

Rupp wants fame. Criticism comes with the territory. Rupp wants fame but not what comes with that.

fame and fortune wrote:

Rupp wants fame. Criticism comes with the territory. Rupp wants fame but not what comes with that.

When did he say he wanted to be famous?

People want to run fast, get as much from themselves as they can.

Fame? Most everyone knows this is superficial, but apparently not you. You are warped.

dafastestogre wrote:

let the man go off on a long cool down and get it out of his system without a camera in his face.

You're welcome to that opinion, but don't wonder why the sport gets no media attention if you think it's fine for the top-billed athletes, salaried by the meet sponsor, to blow off media.

Talking to non-runners about this, they just laugh. Can you imagine athletes in any "real" pro sport ducking the media? They'd be fined and benched.

Wejo to Rupp- "hey did you hear Lagat beat you at USA indoors today?"

salazar and his athletes talk a lot before races and often underperform but sometimes do great. when they do great, they talk or salazar talks. when they do badly, only ritz talks.

You're absolutely right.

@running_comment wrote:

Talking to non-runners about this, they just laugh. Can you imagine athletes in any "real" pro sport ducking the media? They'd be fined and benched.

Why are some Letsrunners so concerned about what non-runners think about running? I don't know a thing about basketball, nor do I care to. I am 100% sure that no basketball player cares about my lack of interest in their sport.

We're runners. Let's just enjoy the sport and stop obsessing about what non-runners think about us and our sport. They don't care and we don't need them to.

Well, some of us would like to see decent track coverage on TV, for example. Sorry to break it to you, but that's not going to happen with literally only a few hundred active runners interested in watching even major events. And NOBODY who doesn't run is going to get interested when even the top athletes treat it coverage like a joke.

Lagat-Rupp was one of the biggest domestic matchups you could dream of in this sport, five months before the Olympics, no less. And Rupp can't even be bothered with 30 second post-race interview? Please.

Don't get me wrong, many athletes get it and make themselves very available to the media and public, even when the going gets tough. (e.g. Doc Patton was blogging about his missed relay handoff in Daegu hours after it happened, if I recall correctly.) At the New York City Marathon, live TV was interviewing runners on the starting line! I personally think this is getting too close to the action, but was very impressed these guys made themselves available. Did it help their race? No. Could it help THE SPORT THAT PAYS THEIR LIVING? Yes.

But the thing is that Rupp stopping 30 seconds for an interview doesn't do anything to promote Track and Field, despite how self-important you think you as a media figure are.