Am I missing sometihng here?
Am I missing sometihng here?
Canadians LOOK like Americans. They just, uh, "talk funny." The only ones that are killing the sport are the ones that don't look like "us."
And of course, that's not racism. Uhh huh.
Back in the seventies I thrilled to the accomplishments of Henry Rono at Washington State..And Ted Banks UTEP squads featuring Nyambui...
BUT I look back on that and realize that it helped destroy the USA distance corp. Nyambui was a 29 year old professional athlete running against 18-19 year old kids. who couldn't hang..with the exception of Salazar (refugee)
All kinds of Americans were overlooked and given up on as the Africans dominated. Now after a small American resurgence I fear the drought is about to return? The NCAA is literally going to have to ban foreign athletes.
Yeah that means Nick Willis types as well. At least bar foreign nationals from receiving any athletics tender. That would change things. Hey University is free in New Zealand anyway...
coach d wrote:
Canadians LOOK like Americans. They just, uh, "talk funny." The only ones that are killing the sport are the ones that don't look like "us."
And of course, that's not racism. Uhh huh.
newsflash:
not everyone in the united states that follows xc is white
People are missing the point completely.
African dominance IS damaging the sport. Whether it's right or not is another matter.
Saying that African dominance is negative for the overall popularity of distance running is not racist.
Cam was the age of a "normal american" college aged runner.
I do love how the people that use Levins to call everyone racist miss the reason Levins was so loved. It has nothing to do with race. It was because Cam Levins was a 4:2x miler and 16:30+ 5k guy in high school. He was utterly mediocre. And through sheer force of piling on miles to the point where he was running 140 miles per week, he became one of the best runners in the NCAA, competing with guys that ran 13:50s in high school.
Cam Levins is what Letsrun inspires to be. Or wishes they had the stones to be. The mediocre kid that became great by working harder than everyone else. The African runners, fairly or not, are viewed as hyper-talented mercenaries. Guys who dont have to work all that hard to be great. That isn't exactly fair, because they work hard too. But that is how they are perceived, and that is why they are hated and Cam Levins was loved.
So now I'm a racist? wrote:
Am I missing sometihng here?
No. Unless you don't understand the blatant racism of so many posters on letsrun. The you are missing the whole show.
White = American, no matter where you are from.
And black = foreigner
trollism wrote:
People are missing the point completely.
African dominance IS damaging the sport. Whether it's right or not is another matter.
Saying that African dominance is negative for the overall popularity of distance running is not racist.
Actually, it is completely racist
M.C. Confusing wrote:
I do love how the people that use Levins to call everyone racist miss the reason Levins was so loved. It has nothing to do with race. It was because Cam Levins was a 4:2x miler and 16:30+ 5k guy in high school. He was utterly mediocre. And through sheer force of piling on miles to the point where he was running 140 miles per week, he became one of the best runners in the NCAA, competing with guys that ran 13:50s in high school.
Cam Levins is what Letsrun inspires to be. Or wishes they had the stones to be. The mediocre kid that became great by working harder than everyone else. The African runners, fairly or not, are viewed as hyper-talented mercenaries. Guys who dont have to work all that hard to be great. That isn't exactly fair, because they work hard too. But that is how they are perceived, and that is why they are hated and Cam Levins was loved.
If that were the case and it was not about race, Lawi LaLang would be the most beloved figure on letsrun.
The lack of self awareness by racists amazes me to this day and I have seen it for a long time
Saying that African dominance is damaging for the popularity of the sport worldwide is not at all racist.
The reasons why it is damaging may be racist, but stating the fact that it is causing a drop in interest (from very little in the first place) is not racist.
I apologise if this is a touch complicated for your already overworked little brain.
I really don't know why Levins was hyped.
I didn't get it or get into it.
Levins in a foreigner from Canada. Plus he looks like a Semitic Jew i.e. half-African and half-Mongol-White savage unlike European Jews who have about as much African blood as Casper the Friendly Ghost.
That's cheap..practically free.
The NCAA distance races were deeper. Americans were competing. Our best guys now are Darling and Connor who weren't even in the top 10 at XC. Last year, Hill, Derrick, Lalang, Levins, Estrada, Bayer, and Heath all ran fast and made things interesting. It was more exciting to watch than just the three old Kenyans running away with every race.
In the 70s and 80s there was a growing foreign presence in US running, both in the NCAA and in open running. There were complaints about foreigners taking away scholarships and money from US runners then, but the foreigners had plenty of fans and admirers.
But the number of foreigners then was small compared to today and because of that they were "real" people to us. You could look at a photo of a lead pack at a big race and go, "There's Nick Rose. There's Henry Rono. Is that guy Joseph Nzau? There's Dixon" and so on.
You knew who they were. Maybe you knew people who knew them. You might know something about their training. Now there are so many of them that you don't know any of that stuff and yes, most of them are Africans whose names are not easily distinguishable and who don't come with much of a "story." All we seem to hear or read about them is that they're really fast.
When a guy like Levins comes along we can recognize his name easily because it stands out from the names of the Africans he's racing. And we find out that he was once a pretty average runner who made himself into a world class runner by doing a volume of work that few ever try. I think the big miles is the real "hook" to the Levins story and it's got a lot to do with what makes him a "darling."
So now I'm a racist? wrote:
Am I missing sometihng here?
Canadians are Americans
"Back in the seventies I thrilled to the accomplishments of Henry Rono at Washington State..And Ted Banks UTEP squads featuring Nyambui...
BUT I look back on that and realize that it helped destroy the USA distance corp. Nyambui was a 29 year old professional athlete running against 18-19 year old kids. who couldn't hang..with the exception of Salazar (refugee)
All kinds of Americans were overlooked and given up on as the Africans dominated. Now after a small American resurgence I fear the drought is about to return? The NCAA is literally going to have to ban foreign athletes.
Yeah that means Nick Willis types as well. At least bar foreign nationals from receiving any athletics tender. That would change things. Hey University is free in New Zealand anyway..."
Back then, Duck fans in Eugene used to complain and boo WSU and UTEP Africans, while their own team had Norwegians and Australians...
trollism wrote:
People are missing the point completely.
African dominance IS damaging the sport. Whether it's right or not is another matter.
Saying that African dominance is negative for the overall popularity of distance running is not racist.
_________________________________________________________________________
Yes, Canadians like Mo Ahmed and Brandon McBride look just like Americans
HRE wrote:
When a guy like Levins comes along we can recognize his name easily because it stands out from the names of the Africans he's racing.
So you are admitting that you are too stupid/ignorant to know the top competitors in a sport?