People hate change..That's why they can't admit that Footlocker is dying

real xc wrote:

scoreboard czech wrote:

It's showing that Foot Locker gets higher caliber talent and better prepares runners for the next level.

Sorry moron, one race does not prepare anybody for anything, where do people come up with this shit?

I don't know, maybe from the same bag of crap that the Nike shills are pulling their stuff out of.

This thread is altogether idiotic. As someone still in high school, I was pumped to race FL and have definitive plans on going back next year. I have absolutely nothing against NX, nor do the people I've talked too and I'm sure it's a phenomenal all around meet, but just the idea of racing on Van Cortlandt however was huge and the history behind it. If you aren't still in the system and vying for a trip to California, do everyone a favor and go back to whatever it is you do when you are not bequeathing your wisdom to all of LR.

The Animal Within wrote:

I'm curious as to why Nike doesn't hold the meet on a nicer golf course down the Columbia Gorge. Go to Hood River down the road. Amazing golf course, by one of the tallest falls in the west and amazing views of Mt. Hood.

This is a great idea.

Maybe they could even move it to San Diego, and change the name to the Footlocker Nationals.

One of the major advantages of FL is that you can compare back to how fast people were running back in the eighties, nineties, etc. How many times do you see someone run under 14:40 on Balboa, not many. Lets see if Sean McGorty or Cheserek can finally take down Reuben Reina's record from 1985 before the FL nationals completely dies. I think this is the last year we might get to see it

Not sure about a girl breaking Melody Fairchild's record from 1990 but lets see.

When they get back to having a single national XC championship, thats when nationals will mean something again.

John McCain and Lindsey Graham like Footlocker. Obama and Susan Rice like NXN.

The Animal Within wrote:

This is a great idea.

Maybe they could even move it to San Diego, and change the name to the Footlocker Nationals.

Your kidding right? Balboa is a shit course, not a real xc course. You must be from Socal.

RIP FL wrote:

The FL meet draws less meet spectators BY FAR, despite the poor weather conditions and less desirable location. It's over.Sorry.

1) Your point above is laughable. OF course NXN draws more 'specators' as most spectators are parents/coaches and there are way more competitors at NXN versus FL - 5 times as many so there should be 5 times as many fans. How many random people show up to watch either race.? Very, very few.

2) Your post acts like FL going down is a new story. To me, the story is the opposite. I think ti's a huge testament to how great FL was and is that FL hasn't died. I'm amazed FL hasn't died. FL is/was an amazing thing but the problem is if the best kid is also on a good team, he's going to almost always go to NXN.

3) The bigger travesty to me is the meets are pitted against each other. I guess adding the team component is very exciting for thousands of HS runners each year - i can't complain too much about that - but for the fans of the elite side of the sport - the HS team side of the sport is way less important than the individual and I hate that FL has been watered down a bit.

It's a shame Nike couldn't have just said "We're adding a Nike Team Competition" to the "Footlocker Nationals." I know Nike is spending hundreds of thousands on the meet and wanted all of the publicity for themselves - but I'm just saying in an ideal world, that's what would have happened. And in an ideal world where money didn't rule - the college teams would still be in their regional conferences and bball players wouldnt be flying across the country, missing 3 days of school to play on espn4.

The Foot Locker South officials said their meet this year had their highest number of registrants.

In another post I pointed out the when Nike started NXN (Formerly NTN) they were still the major sponsor of Foot Locker. The 2004 NTN winner was not a national champion the 2004 Foot Locker winner was.

Check your message boards from eight years ago ROJO, and Dyestat as well. Nike did go to Footlocker and say "We want to add a component to the meet" and Footlocker not only turned them down but also told them if they tried to compete against them by adding individuals to their own meet, Footlocker would pull all Nike products from their shelves. Obviously this was an empty threat but it was one they made and it kept Nike away from individual competition for a couple years. Finally Nike called the bluff and went head to head. Bottom line though... Nike approached Footlocker with a proposal to add a team competition to the existing Footlocker meet and were snubbed. It had nothing to do with wanting all the publicity to themselves. This is all pretty well documented from when it all went down.

So nice to have Mr. Rojo, the confounder, weigh in. If, as you say in #1, "most spectators are parents/coaches and... NXN [should, therefore] have 5 times as many fans", then what you say in #3, "...for fans of the elite side of the sport - the HS team side...is way less important than the individual..." is inconsistent. From your premise in #1, it actually follows that, in addition to the "thousands of HS runners", most fans of the sport (parents and coaches) prefer NXN to FL.

If we try to read between the lines of your post, it would seem that your point may be that "fans of the elite side of the sport" [other than those who are HS runners, their parents and coaches] find "the HS team side of the sport way less important than the individual". Problem: You would seem to be arguing elsewhere that this is a vanishingly small population. Two questions:

1) Who are these people?

2) Why should NXN care?