orange wrote:
I learned that monetary rewards are extremely effective for activities that require a great deal of motor skills but not much cognition. Besides the infamous 150m race between Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey, I don't know if this question has been explored in terms of track and field. What do you guys think? Would we end up with championship races or world record worthy efforts?
I guess you have to wonder, if there were tons of money AND attention and cultural endorsement, nationally and worldwide, for track & field and distance running, things would certainly be quite interesting. Athletes spending their lives in the team sports, in this alternate reality (where I'm changing more variables than the OP intended), would instead contribute to the talent pool for t&f and distance running. Existing athletes and additions to the pool would all benefit from, perhaps, greater motivation, flowing from the increased social support and glory stemming from bigger crowds, more media, more publicity, more passions. Imagine if most Americans were as zealous about t&f and distance running (in this alternate world) as they are about football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, you name it...