Lets get real with the deal.
Equipement , bonus money and a travel budget This is not some major $ deal.Not sure why anybody would assume different.
Lets get real with the deal.
Equipement , bonus money and a travel budget This is not some major $ deal.Not sure why anybody would assume different.
We have at least one thread on Manzano as well.
10 gigs a month wrote:
He proved that he didn't have any qualms about cheating when he was a 17 year old sophomore competing against 13 and 14 year old sophomores.
When LV was 15, there wasn't a senior in the country who could beat him. He easily took down the FL national champion in a 2M at the end of his freshman season, age 15.
If you've got 13 year old sophomores in your part of the country, kids must be starting kindergarten when they're 2.
10 gigs a month wrote:
It is a good fit also because of the oregon cheating culture. He proved that he didn't have any qualms about cheating when he was a 17 year old sophomore competing against 13 and 14 year old sophomores. So he would fully be able to morally take any of those good NOPe enhancers and oregon juice.
I hope this is a troll post, because this statement is absurd on so many levels.
1) He was competing against juniors and seniors his entire sophomore year. The only races he ran his sophomore year were:
-IHSA Sectionals, which he won against all the juniors and seniors
-IHSA State, which he won against all the juniors and seniors
-FL Regionals, which he won against all the juniors and seniors
-FL Nationals, which he won against all the juniors and seniors
-NBON 2-mile, which he lost to the Rosas, who were juniors at the time
-Dream Mile, which he won against all the juniors and seniors
The fact that he was a 17-year-old sophomore is completely irrelevant, because all his competition was either 17 or 18.
If he had entered a slew of frosh-soph races and dominated, that would be a different story, but he didn't.
2) There are no 13-14 year old sophomores, regardless of which state you're in.
Seyta wrote:
Knife wrote:http://running.competitor.com/2014/02/news/verzbicas-signs-deal-with-new-balance_95514This one is definitely a little puzzling to me, since NB is basically investing in an athlete who will probably never be able to live up to his full potential.
Nothing puzzling about it. Investing is all about risks. When Sketchers signed Meb they were taking a big risk but it paid off. Sometimes the risks don't pay off, but that's why you make lots of investments. Nike can sign 7 different milers and the one who does really well makes up for the other 6. What you said is all true but I don't see why you find it "puzzling."
Redux, I have no idea where your coming from when you say your "bummed" about what New Balance has done with their shoes over the past year. Are you bummed because you work for another shoe company and are concerned with the great shoes NB has come out with, if so I fully understand. If its not that then its obvious you have not tried some of their new shoes like the 890v4, 1080v4, and the new Fresh Foam 980. I'm a neutral shoe guy and these are without doubt in my humble opinion the best shoes I've ever worn and I've been running for 40+ years!
You guys live in a delusional world where how fast one is supersedes the marketing value to a company like NB. On one hand a poster said they don't get why NB would do this, and then several sentences later said he had higher marketing value than many other athletes.
I'm curious, why do you think an athlete's salary would come out of a brand's marketing budget? Why would a runner like Manzano not have a contract, and LV have one if it were all about fast pr's and results? Oh yes, these athletes are sponsored to be marketable and sell shoes, not because of their inherent gifts. When their inherent gifts line up on both levels (Webb from 2002 - 2007), then it's a hefty contract.
It's a what have you done for me lately business.
The promotions budget is a part of the overall marketing budget.
Its a rare occasion that you can away a athlete actually sells shoes. The only real running athlete we have today is Meb , look at how he is being used and promoted and the product line is selling with a direct link back to the athlete.
Most of the these athletes are used to give credibility back to the brand , nobody gives a rats ass that LV is running in NB , its just a circle jerk for this site.
This seems like a very smart, inexpensive, low risk move by NB:
1. The deal is probably fairly modest - gear plus a small base ($10-40k) plus performance incentives
2. NB is making a move into triathlon, and LV will get them plenty of exposure as he returns to competition in the push to 2016 Rio Olympics for tri. US olympic distance triathlon is weak and he's got a good chance of making the team.
3. Even though LV might not be able to run a sub 28 minute 10k guy, he's likely to get back pretty close. If he's a 29 minute 10k triathlete he will podium on the world stage and will be a medal contender
4. Since he's pretty likely to make it to Rio in triathlon, there will be exposure on TV as part of the Olympic human interest pieces. He'll have a compelling story. If he's performing well on the world stage running up to Rio, other sponsors will jump in further driving NB exposure.
5. Finally, if he actually medals in Rio it will be one of the greatest athletic comebacks of all time. NB will have spent very little to get a great return.
10 gigs a month wrote:
The thing is, oregon was a really good fit for him. He's not very bright, as shown by being held back all those years and being a 17 year old sophomore. Plus his high school gpa was well under 4.0. Having a high attendance rate and not stabbing the teacher rates at least a 3.5. So oregon, also known as eugene clown college, was the one place that he wouldn't flunk out.
It is a good fit also because of the oregon cheating culture. He proved that he didn't have any qualms about cheating when he was a 17 year old sophomore competing against 13 and 14 year old sophomores. So he would fully be able to morally take any of those good NOPe enhancers and oregon juice.
When Lukas was a sophomore in hs, he won the Foot Locker XC in the fall and the Dream Mile in the spring. He never wasted his time racing against 13 and 14 year old sophomores.
He graduated after his Jr year at the age of 18. MANY hs runners are 18.
No advantage there.
Ignorance is preventable if you dont close your eyes to the truth.
10 gigs a month wrote:
sophomore competing against 13 and 14 year old sophomores.
Really? I've taught for 13 years and have never seen a 13 year old in 10th grade. Any chance you went to one of those "clown colleges"? If you have to lie and exaggerate to make your point, you are obviously wrong.
well, except he's running 25:30 minute 8ks and the like - it's not clear at all he'll run 29 minutes for 10k. Right now even in a running race he is probably a 32 minute 10k guy.
I want to know how he's able to train at the US Olympic Training Center when he's NOT American? Is he paying for his room/board/healthcare? Our Olympic Training Centers should NOT be catering to non-Americans. It's hard enough for even our top American distance athletes to get tier funding to live/train at the Olympic Training Center.
Furthermore, other than being a high school phenom, he's not really relateable to the triathlon demographics, having given up getting a college degree. He's stupid, he's not American, and he's slower now than pre-accident. Just stating the facts. I'd rather see New Balance investing in an American.
fact checking wrote:
I want to know how he's able to train at the US Olympic Training Center when he's NOT American? Is he paying for his room/board/healthcare? Our Olympic Training Centers should NOT be catering to non-Americans. It's hard enough for even our top American distance athletes to get tier funding to live/train at the Olympic Training Center.
Furthermore, other than being a high school phenom, he's not really relateable to the triathlon demographics, having given up getting a college degree. He's stupid, he's not American, and he's slower now than pre-accident. Just stating the facts. I'd rather see New Balance investing in an American.
One point here is correct. Verzbicas is definitely slower now than pre-accident, and as I said before, there's a pretty good chance he'll never be able to live up to his full potential.
That being said, there are several flaws with this Analysis:
1) Verzbicas is in the process of becoming a US citizen. If his goal is to compete for the US in Rio 2016, why on Earth would our Olympic Training Centers deny him use?
In fact, he competed representing the US in multiple international events and won the Junior World Championship for us. Nothing wrong with giving the training resources to someone who has shown time and time again that he's American-faithful.
2) I initially thought NB was making a bad investment too, but some others on this thread convinced me to do some research. Here's a simple case:
https://www.facebook.com/lukas.verzbicashttps://twitter.com/LukasVerzbicashttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Derrick/112537012097820https://twitter.com/CDerrickRunBased on the younger demographic (i.e. Facebook & Twitter users and the like), Verzbicas is more popular than Derrick, who is our leading track athletes.
I find it a bit absurd, but he does seem to appeal to a lot of people.
NB needs to SIGN WEBB SLAM DUNK
back across the border wrote:
lol openly at Manzano.
Maybe Manzano should get into some kind of horrible accident to gain empathy points.
I've never understood why people didn't like Lukas. People just seem to hate people that are fast for some reason haha. I like seeing these freaks of nature compete at a high level and I look forward to his continued success as a real athlete instead of hearing about you guys and your sub 16 5ks.
dfadsfdsf wrote:
I've never understood why people didn't like Lukas. People just seem to hate people that are fast for some reason haha. I like seeing these freaks of nature compete at a high level and I look forward to his continued success as a real athlete instead of hearing about you guys and your sub 16 5ks.
People loved Lucas before he joined Oregon, ran one race and got blown away, and then quit the sport to become a triathlete. People hate quitters, and Lucas quit as soon as the going got rough.
Seyta wrote:
Based on the younger demographic (i.e. Facebook & Twitter users and the like), Verzbicas is more popular than Derrick, who is our leading track athletes.
I find it a bit absurd, but he does seem to appeal to a lot of people.
Can people not see through the smokescreen though? Sure, it's appealing he's got a heck of a comeback story, but I'm not blind. I don't find him appealing.
Furthermore, he's still NOT Americans. I know actual Americans, lets say top 5 in their event, who have been denied support at one of the Olympic Training Center, yet Lukas, who's NOT an American, gets support? I'm sorry, but until he's American and actually in contention for an Olympic team, he doesn't deserve American resources. The Triathlon may have their own set of rules that allows him to compete as an "American", but the USOC is an American-funded asset that should be supporting American citizens.
If NB signs Webb, I will buy NB shoes.