Centro not running Pre is the perfect example of why our sport isn't more popular

I think that the comparison of a DL meet to an NFL game, while not perfect, is helpful. They are not "playoff"/championship meets, but they're high performance events that define the regular season.

That having been said, it does happen that star NFL players sit out of games for various reasons. Obviously it happens to QBs less frequently than, say, linebackers, but it still happens.

The difference is that if Tom Brady sits out, the Patriots still play an exciting game. While one can argue that the equivalent of "teams" in track is nationality, that analogy doesn't really hold for DL meets, where some countries are far more represented than others in various events. The reason this is important from a fan perspective is that I go to a football game generally to root for a team, not an individual player; I go to a track meet to root for an individual player, not a "team" or nationality (or training group). Which means that the disappointment of a runner like Centro dropping out of a meet will always exceed that of Drew Brees or Cam Newton not playing.

Don't look to team sports for analogies to track and field. Look to individual sports like tennis or golf.

Very well stated. If Usain Bolt runs, people show up. Some athletes transcend nationality. But in reality, I doubt one track fan can identify any of the Kenyan runners in the 1500 yesterday except Kiprop. And sadly, probably most can identify Semenya. The African domination of middle distance and distance events has crushed any Eurpean competitiveness (at least for males) and with Rupp now concentrating on the marathon, the U.S. is without a single competitive runner in the 5k or 10k. This is why Centro is so vital to a race like Pre.

rojo wrote:

Sure we can improve the marketing but marketing didn't make the NFL or soccer popular.

Patti buried you elsewhere but are you really serious with this statement?

Have a shovel. Keep digging.

One thing that I think doesn't help is that 80% of the athletes in a race are wearing the same exact racing kit. To the average on-looker that must be pretty uninspiring... how do you choose a horse in the race if you can't even tell them apart? That 5k yesterday was basically a big purple blur going around in a circle.

What if the DL used a system similar to the Tour de France to identify season event leaders? Or world leading marks? For example, the leader for each event wears bright yellow, the athlete in 2nd wears blue, etc.

It allows the casual fan to differentiate between athletes, the more serious fan the ability to track leaderboards and season dominance, and gives the athletes an added incentive to fight for that yellow kit.

Just a thought.

it's all in the $$$ wrote:

If track were more popular rojo would make more money.

Unlikely.

If track were more popular, real journalists would start covering track, and the brojos would be driven out of business.

My non-runner friends were all saying they were going to watch the Pre meet, but when Centro pulled out they changed their minds.

The biggest difference is that in team sports all the games add up to a final record. Missing Pre will have no impact on Centro's ability to do well at nationals and Worlds. Additionally, running is a year round sport in which guys who like to race can do that all year. Missing a race here or there, like golfers miss tournaments, is no big deal.

Jeez Rojo I like the site and what you guys do for the sport but you post some asinine stuff sometimes. Re-read your post because you contradict yourself here. I feel like you try too hard to force discussion on the boards sometimes.

FYI the NBA regular season is very popular despite stars sitting out regularly.

Pop_pop!_v2.2.1 wrote:

the sport is irrelevant because of the widespread corruption. That's not changing anytime soon.

The sport isn't more popular simply because its track and field. It's boring. I love it because I competed for so long and know the athletes and what their times mean. Even then, I fast forwarded through 2/3rds of Prefontaine.

My FIL- one of the biggest sports fans imaginable and a man who will watch any sport in the right setting- walked in right as the 5000 was starting and said "oh, 5000? Call me in ten minutes and I'll come back to watch." Then he walked back into the kitchen and hung out with my wife.

Positive Contribution wrote:

FYI the NBA regular season is very popular despite stars sitting out regularly.

Ahem, not true at all. Fans get very angry paying a lot of money in advance to see a certain stars and having them sit out a game.

Centro should refund the money his fans paid to see him and having him not show up.

Centro's failure to show is like paying to see a concert and having the main act you see no-show. Scrub musicians end up playing and you don't a cent of the ticket price back.

Surely you jest.

Witnessing Mo win his 22nd victoru in 5k. 3 brothers go under 4 minutes....the womens steeple won by a junior who stopped to put her glass slipper back on...yes the slipoer fit and off she ran to victory.

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Surely you jest.

Witnessing Mo win his 22nd victoru in 5k. 3 brothers go under 4 minutes....the womens steeple won by a junior who stopped to put her glass slipper back on...yes the slipoer fit and off she ran to victory.

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Yes it is.

People are so often asking why track is not more popular. What is this popularity that you desire? What would it look like? I don't see much in the popular sports that I would want for track. It seems to me that what track has by way of inter-cultural global popularity and grass roots celebrity is quite unique and admirable. My friends who like baseball and football will never meet their idols, and in many cases it would not be very interesting if they did. I have met many celebrated track stars, and many of the conversations were real, genuine interactions. Small isn't always a bad thing.

Clueless wonder spotter wrote:

rojo wrote:

Sure we can improve the marketing but marketing didn't make the NFL or soccer popular.

Patti buried you elsewhere but are you really serious with this statement?

Have a shovel. Keep digging.

Patti didn't bury him. Her rant about Brady taking a week off is off the mark given Brady's wife's statements this week about Brady playing through concussions. Injured NFL guys have no choice but to play if they can.

rather compete than watch wrote:

Our sport is popular. How many people play football? How many people run?

I hope you realize comparing the number of people who run to disciplined track athletes is like comparing people who play football to those who have a catch with their kid. Just because I "can" run does not meal I like running fast or working hard or watching other people run. If anything, track athletes running incredibly fast times alienates the bulk of "runners" because they don't even have a clue how to push themselves physically.

rojo wrote:

Think about it.

We can't watch much at all. It is constantly interrupted by commercials, or looking at another event where the person may just be standing there, bad and boring commentating. Or and the waste of time to run a 100 meters we could have watched an uninterrupted 3000m or 5000m and more.

Commercials should be more like soccer games.

tourdetrack wrote:

One thing that I think doesn't help is that 80% of the athletes in a race are wearing the same exact racing kit.

Nike is satisfied and the federation makes money. Again, this is by design.

Athletes lose.

angry runner wrote:

rather compete than watch wrote:

Our sport is popular. How many people play football? How many people run?

I hope you realize comparing the number of people who run to disciplined track athletes is like comparing people who play football to those who have a catch with their kid. Just because I "can" run does not meal I like running fast or working hard or watching other people run. If anything, track athletes running incredibly fast times alienates the bulk of "runners" because they don't even have a clue how to push themselves physically.

Yes, I realize this. I think that running is plenty popular at all levels of competition and "seriousness." Even in my little town, anyone from an 18 minute 5K guy to a 1:45 800m runner can find ample competition to run against. Not sure what I could ask for in term of popularity other than to have a large group of people I can compete against at any level of ability.