I want to make a few things clear before I post this stuff. The argument that Webb qualified for the meet and therefore it's ok for him to allowed into a different event it bogus. He should not be allowed in the 5000m. Fam didn't qualify either and therefore should not be allowed in either. However, since Webb was let in, I think that without a doubt Fam should be let in. I want to make it clear that I AM A FAM FAN. 100%. I am also a Fam realist and I'll get to that in a minute. I am no conspiracy theory guy but what he's saying is totally true and believable. Nike runs the USATF. There's no mistake that Webb got in as Goucher did previously. Anyone who thinks anything less is a moron. Fam should have some company to help represent him but he doesn't. Instead he's a the brand ambassador for his own brand and there's a reason for that.
Fam had serious problems with his last two shoe companies. First with Adidas and then with Saucony. Does everyone remember the belligerence spike? The one that came out with Fam's tattoo on it after he got dropped? He got in a huge uproar with Adidas and tried to sue them when he left the company. This of course put him in a less than advantageous position when looking for a new sponsor. Saucony however, decided to gamble on him and lost big. Things went well at the beginning for him but soon the wheels fell off. He acted like a primma donna while at Saucony and kept his training and what events he was going to run a secret from most of the company. People who worked for the company "weren't allowed" to know what event he was doing (when he was moving up to the half marathon). He ran well at first and made the trials in the 5000m where he ran like a moron. Anyway, later he became injured and tried to blame the shoes he was wearing for his injury and tried to sue Saucony. So for those of you at home keeping score, Fam tried to sue his last two sponsors. That's why he doesn't have a shoe contract. He has a reputation as an egomaniac.
I want to add a few things. For those idiots who have said he wasn't world class, you're fooling yourselves. Were his steeple times great? No. They were ok. But he would have made a helluva 5000m runner. You're talking about a guy who didn't really run the 5000m having a pr of 13:11 (I think) and the second fastest 10000m american debut at the time (27:42?? sorry this is all from memory) He was also a 3:55 miler. His times were in line with Solinksy's and Farah's before they became fast. It's unfortunate because I think that he could have been a 12:55 5000m runner for sure. He had a great kick as evidenced by his 1500m pr in Rieti. He was also capable of doing crazy workouts like his 20x400 in :55. He was strong w great closing speed which is a great combo for the 5000m. Unfortunately for him he never really trained for it. He wasn't fast enough for the steeple but he's tough as nails and chose that as his event. I'm a huge fan and respect him for it but he would have been our best 5000m runner since Kennedy.