Will Leer Now Blurring out Swooshes

lill weer wrote:

I mean, he's been a consistent contender at US championships for like 5 years. It's not like he's a nobody. And I think his behavior is pretty interesting in light of all the recent stuff with Nick Symmonds.

National elite and probably waiting tables to make ends meet. Yeah, pretty much a nobody.

jimmy bobby wrote:

If he's testing prototypes, then this is legitimate.

If it's anything else, he's harming his marketability. Let's say his Nike contract was allowed to lapse or he's been downgraded. If I were an exec for, say, Adidas, I wouldn't touch the guy (a) because Nike cut him off for a reason and (b) because he's acting like a jerk.

Will probably think's he's taking a stand against the man. He's really hurting himself. I say this as someone who enjoyed watching him run. Not exactly a fan, but someone who generally thought positively about him.

He's obviously not testing prototypes, he is doing the same thing with his apparel.

Another Minnesota guy with the top 0.1% academics ruined by L.A. weird ohs.

WillSymmonds wrote:

I've been a Leer fan but this is a douche move. Sorry you couldn't hang in Nike town any longer but don't bite the hand that fed you. This comes off as an immature, bitter, and entitled hipster marketing play aka Nick Symmonds.

I disagree completely. If I was a sponsor, I wouldn't expect to get free promotion from a former athlete that I'm no longer paying. I don't think anyone in the business world would expect that kind of benefit.

Prince wrote:

Another Minnesota guy with the top 0.1% academics ruined by L.A. weird ohs.

Who else are you thinking of?

adsfasfadsf wrote:

Prince wrote:

Another Minnesota guy with the top 0.1% academics ruined by L.A. weird ohs.

Who else are you thinking of?

Honestly, Elliott and/or Garrett Heath.

Could also say Alex Gits, former MN standout and another Stanford runner.

Metric Miler wrote:

out of touch wrote:

This makes you look worse than him.

I live in the UK, I have never heard of Will Leer.

Looking him up he is an American middle distance runner, not well known internationally.

Ah, you see, you would know him better for his prodigious ability to heft down the pub.

Leer, a 5C elite liberal snob.

zzzz wrote:

WillSymmonds wrote:

I've been a Leer fan but this is a douche move. Sorry you couldn't hang in Nike town any longer but don't bite the hand that fed you. This comes off as an immature, bitter, and entitled hipster marketing play aka Nick Symmonds.

I disagree completely. If I was a sponsor, I wouldn't expect to get free promotion from a former athlete that I'm no longer paying. I don't think anyone in the business world would expect that kind of benefit.

They aren't asking him to promote Nike anymore. What he is doing is retroactively editing his sponsor promotion. No athlete in any other professional sports does this. It's a tacky move and I would be surprised if any other shoe company would disagree with me. Would you hire an employee that immediately bad mouthed the company he/she was fired from? It's unprofessional.

WillSymmonds wrote:

zzzz wrote:

I disagree completely. If I was a sponsor, I wouldn't expect to get free promotion from a former athlete that I'm no longer paying. I don't think anyone in the business world would expect that kind of benefit.

They aren't asking him to promote Nike anymore. What he is doing is retroactively editing his sponsor promotion. No athlete in any other professional sports does this. It's a tacky move and I would be surprised if any other shoe company would disagree with me. Would you hire an employee that immediately bad mouthed the company he/she was fired from? It's unprofessional.

Blurring logos isn't too different from covering them up, which people do all the time. It's also not badmouthing.

Metric Miler wrote:

Grice easily ran 3:35 in the Beijing semis and ran 3:36 in the final which was very tactical. He is more like a 3:32 guy.

Lol! No, he's a 3:35 guy until he runs faster. He probably certainly can, but until that day:

Leer: 3:34

Grice 3:35. And.... (in the mile)

Leer 3:51

Grice: 3:54

Advantage Leer.

Metric Miler wrote:Grice is certainly more successful than Will Leer if Grice has made the world final and it doesn't seem Leer has been to anything,

.

This is not the era of Coe, Ovett, Cram, etc. It's harder to make the US team than the British team. Right? Leer barely missed making the OG and WC's by finishing a very close 4th at the trials.

Grice will likely have a better career than Leer, and is certainly younger. But until this point, Leer has run faster (Leer also has better range: their 800 pr's are the same, but Leer has also run 7:39 3k and 13:20 5k. )

I don't actually like Leer much, but facts are facts.

"Your" welcome.

Metric Miler wrote:

Maybe someone can fill me in on Will Leer's notable performances because his PRs from the IAAF website aren't amazing compared to the other 1500 guys you have.

Dude, you've posted seven times on this thread about the fascinating fact that you don't know anything about the topic of the thread. Why do think anyone cares who you have or haven't heard of? It's not like people are going to say "Oh wait, Metric Miler hasn't heard of this guy, so we should stop discussing him."

Why don't you just ask Will why he blurred them out? He'll probably answer you......

To those who ask why he is so popular, etc... - meet him. He's one of the most approachable people in the world. He is down to earth, humble, respectful, and he lights up any room that he is in. I do not know where he ranks right now in terms of US milers, I am sure it is decent but not spectacular given the nation's depth at this distance. But I would not be surprised to see that Nike has cut him back a bit because he hasn't been competing very much, or because he's 31 and in the next couple of years is unlikely to run any faster or be competitive at major international competitions. As someone above wrote - Nike is a business. To the extent that Will has remained with Nike for so long - part of that is his incredible talent, but another part is his popularity. He is one of the most popular runners out there. Once again - to those who don't understand why he is so popular, you obviously have not met him.

I also credit Will because he has been a professional for long enough now to recognize that there are a number of organizational issues within USATF that are not being addressed or fixed. Most professionals are not around long enough (more than 3-4 years) to see this and try to make a difference. Will is one of the few people who will ask questions and identify issues.

I was much more polite that you have been, @MetricMilerreread your posts. you have a certain 'tone' to your messages

Charlie Grice and Beans wrote:

I was much more polite that you have been, @MetricMiler

reread your posts. you have a certain 'tone' to your messages

Metric Miler wrote:

Googling Will Leer does little to explain why he has so many apparent fans here on Letsrun. I was hoping someone could explain.

You have offered an insight with your post, albeit ruidely.

Nope the British guy come's off as polite. You sound like a rude petulant spoiled American child...like Nick and Leer.

hold the phone wrote:

Metric Miler wrote:

Maybe someone can fill me in on Will Leer's notable performances because his PRs from the IAAF website aren't amazing compared to the other 1500 guys you have.

Dude, you've posted seven times on this thread about the fascinating fact that you don't know anything about the topic of the thread. Why do think anyone cares who you have or haven't heard of? It's not like people are going to say "Oh wait, Metric Miler hasn't heard of this guy, so we should stop discussing him."

I must have really offended some people here by stating that Will Leer isn't that well known outside of America.

I literally was asking if someone would fill me in on who Will Leer is, more than the Wikipedia page about him or his PBs.

Metric Miler wrote:

hold the phone wrote:

Dude, you've posted seven times on this thread about the fascinating fact that you don't know anything about the topic of the thread. Why do think anyone cares who you have or haven't heard of? It's not like people are going to say "Oh wait, Metric Miler hasn't heard of this guy, so we should stop discussing him."

I must have really offended some people here by stating that Will Leer isn't that well known outside of America.

I literally was asking if someone would fill me in on who Will Leer is, more than the Wikipedia page about him or his PBs.

to lots of LR loser he's like a hero because he doesn't shave, looks like a hippy, constantly whines and underperforms - munch like the bitter D1 And D2 runners here.

He's a hypocrite really. He has complain about his employer publicly for years.

He's fast, but he only wins against lesser competition. He went to Indoor Worlds one year because the other good runners didn't' want to run at altitude.

He has been Symmonds butt-biddy for years.

Tar-Jay rulez wrote:

Charlie Grice and Beans wrote:

I was much more polite that you have been, @MetricMiler

reread your posts. you have a certain 'tone' to your messages

Nope the British guy come's off as polite. You sound like a rude petulant spoiled American child...like Nick and Leer.

"Come is off as polite"? WTF?

I genuinely asked who Will Leer is an immediately got jumped on by quite a few posters who seemed to think I was taking the piss.

I then tried to make the point that I wouldn't expect lesser known British 1500m guys to be well known outside of the UK, but some people still took offence.

I have not been rude at all. I got verbally attacked for asking who Will Leer is. Of course I can and did google him, and didn't find anything of interest so figured Letsrun might be able to fill me in. Please show me where I have been rude or offensive and I'll address it.

Some people here are extremely uptight.