Little Rascal wrote:
Pretty good article.
He kind of nailed it.
Sorry the LRC crowd is offended.
But it's right on.
Anything but.
The author is a prep sports writer. He is supposed to report and/or drum up interest in prep sports. His article did neither.
Besides being condescending and rude, the article just isn't accurate. Track as it happens on the track is incredibly intense. Of course athletes on the infield are relaxed. They are supposed to be. That is why it is called "warming up" and "cooling down."
But on the track the 4x100 is probably the most fast-paced and exciting event in high school sports. 40 some seconds of action at 20 plus miles an hour. 24 exchanges with an 8 team field. Many races having several lead changes, winners and losers separated by tenths of a second at the end.
The 800 is a grueling and oftentimes downright cruel event for 14-18 year old boys. Especially when it gets hot, a significant minority of 800 runners will puke afterwards. Pole vaulters achieve an extremely dramatic gymnastic event while exposing themselves to very grave danger. Hurdlers, who are often also star wide receivers, put on impressive displays of speed and agility.
The bit about a star sprinter skipping a meet for prom and the coach not caring seems outlandish to me. The observation that some winter athletes join the track team late is a truth with no meaning. Guess what? Football players join basketball late in the winter, and in turn basketball players join baseball late in the spring. The main reason no one joins football late is that there is a giant gap called summer vacation before fall sports begin.
If a journalist isn't entertained by track that's fine. I understand that a lot of invitationals move at a snail's pace with unpredictable action for the casual fan. But as an underwhelmed journalist, you can either do a by the numbers report or just don't write about it at all. Ripping on a sport as a prep sports writer is childish and unprofessional.