Max Kellerman is an idiot, but are we missing the point?

Kellerman is kind of a tool. I’m not sure he’s far off the mark but that doesn’t make him less annoying. Back in around 1993 there was a great article in Baseball Weekly about Bo Jackson. Arguably he was one of the most gifted athletes of our time. Bo made the comment that ....if (he) could do it all over again the one sport he would have chosen to do was track and field. He didn’t choose it because there was no professional outlet and no money.

If there was some way to have a world class track and field team league that was successful, it would help. No money = No funny as they say.

Max is a tool, but I have to admit, I thought there was SOME merit to what he said.

At the highest level, track and field athletes are second to none. I think athletes like Noah Lyles, Donavan Brazier, and Sydney McLaughlin are proven athletes and would certainly find success and any other sport they pursued.

After that, however, there is a clear fall off. Our 2nd and 3rd tier elites are the group I think Kellerman was really talking about. These are the athletes that are talented enough to make a World’s team, but are usually lucky to make it past the prelims and are close to last when they make the final.

I think the biggest issue is the social aspect of the sport, it’s an overwhelming focus and really detracts from the competitiveness and legitimacy of things. Our sport is one of the only ones where an open door policy is maintained and any no-name can become an Olympic champion as long as they meet a few criteria.

In the case of Taoufik Makhloufi, for example, after not competing for over 2 years, is it acceptable for him to be able to run a few races and be so quickly accepted for the world championships?

I think our sport is in a limbo between its identity as a social sport and a competitive sport. For us to really progress, I think there has to be a choice made between the two.

I like the idea of a more popular league, the diamond league is as close as we've got. Only issue is that coverage is usually behind paywalls, and most casual fans don't want to pay or don't know that it exists. One in the US with different clubs in cities with big track cities, like Boston, NY, even Eugene would be awesome.

He also said Kobe was one of the 10 worst guys in the NBA from 2010-2020. He's barely easier to watch than Ryan Hollins, who is easily the worst announcer ever in the galaxy.

Concentric Hero - Eccentric Zero wrote:

...Ryan Hollins, who is easily the worst announcer ever in the galaxy.

Apparently you’ve never watched Carol Lewis. Hahaha.

Everything about track & field is a bit different.

Who is into the 10,000m AND the 100m? Who is into the throws and the hurdles? Who really wants to watch the steeplechase or an awards ceremony? Why in the hell do the winners keep getting stuff they obviously don't want handed to them? Only to see that stuff tossed in the stands.....hint hint.

Having all the different events is unique and I think it hurts things. Too much time spent watching stuff that really doesn't interest you waiting for something that does, yep, sucks! I care.....0......about the throws, anything over a mile, the triple jump. The 400h, high jump. pole vault are ok. Love the relays, the sprints, the long jump and the 110hh, that is why I go to a track meet,

As far as Kellerman goes, he pretty much nailed it. What can a 118 pound Kenyan with arms and legs about the same size do besides run? What speedy athlete is passing up playing in front of thousands over actually being able to hear mom.....go Johnny, If an athlete can play some ball game, he will, have been a few exceptions, Christian Coleman for one.

TONS, talking TONS of pro football players were either HS or college tracksters, most both. But how can running in front of a few 100 compare to playing in front of thousands? It can't.

Who cares about Alabama vs Clemson in a dual track meet, yep, relatives, the athletes and coachs and the students. The media........0.

Kellerman’s take is over simplified and provincial. First of all, the worlds best athletes are playing soccer. Second, Usain Bolt has earned more worldwide fame than any NFL player and any NBA player besides maybe Jordan and James. Lastly, just because Kipchoge couldn’t make it as a soccer player doesn’t mean he isn’t as athletic as a soccer player or that any soccer players would be a better distance runner than he is.

ESPN’s Max Kellerman says track is not a sport and you only get into it because you’re a failure of an athlete and not tough enough.

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^^^^100% true.

Could a single person at the track world championships make the roster of any NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB team? Absolutely not.

Sure it is an exaggeration to say track athletes are failures of an athlete. The point is that competitors at the track world championships are decent athletes but are just dominating at a weak sport with weak competition. NFL rejects that are considered jokes like Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow are tougher and better athletes than Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps could ever hope to be.

The worlds greatest athletes are the decathletes in track, and, there are no soccer players on a par with NFL cornerbacks when it comes to being great athletes.

Bolt is famous because his sport takes him everywhere in the world, which isn't the NFL.

All these NFL players were Olympians in track and field.

Ollie Matson

Frank Budd

Bob Hayes

Trenton Jackson

Henry Carr

Bo Roberson

Johnny Jones

Michael Bates

Gerald Tinker

James Jett

Larry Burton

Marquise Goodwin

Ron Brown

Sam Graddy

Been tons of national level tracksters play pro football, tons!

Phil Fondacaro wrote:

ESPN’s Max Kellerman says track is not a sport and you only get into it because you’re a failure of an athlete and not tough enough.

-----

^^^^100% true.

Could a single person at the track world championships make the roster of any NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB team? Absolutely not.

Sure it is an exaggeration to say track athletes are failures of an athlete. The point is that competitors at the track world championships are decent athletes but are just dominating at a weak sport with weak competition. NFL rejects that are considered jokes like Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow are tougher and better athletes than Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps could ever hope to be.

I don't know a lot about Phelps but swimmers who can master all the common strokes and compete at a high level at even one are very athletic.

endurance athletes who excel, are hands down the toughest athletes in any sport, besides maybe wrestling. lol@ calling football and basketball players tougher than a michael phelps or a Galen Rupp.

There are exceptions, but in coaching track, you will almost always find that the kids who are successful wrestlers can do pretty much anything there body allows, day in and day out. The pure runners are the same. Basketball and football players can't handle the daily grind and are much more extrinsically motivated and can't focus beyond the here and now.

You've obviously never played football.

You have any idea at all what it's like to play linebacker? Battling 300 pound linemen to get to that 225 running back, that is far tougher than running around. Sometimes they play in the cold, imagine your hands are freezing and you have to bang into big guys.

Dude, trust me football players are far tougher than little runners.

Whatley wrote:

All these NFL players were Olympians in track and field.

Ollie Matson

Frank Budd

Bob Hayes

Trenton Jackson

Henry Carr

Bo Roberson

Johnny Jones

Michael Bates

Gerald Tinker

James Jett

Larry Burton

Marquise Goodwin

Ron Brown

Sam Graddy

Been tons of national level tracksters play pro football, tons!

Michael Carter as well.

Concentric Hero - Eccentric Zero wrote:

[quote]Whatley wrote:

All these NFL players were Olympians in track and field.

Ollie Matson

Frank Budd

Bob Hayes

Trenton Jackson

Henry Carr

Bo Roberson

Johnny Jones

Michael Bates

Gerald Tinker

James Jett

Larry Burton

Marquise Goodwin

Ron Brown

Sam Graddy

Been tons of national level tracksters play pro football, tons!

Michael Carter as well.[/quote}

Renaldo Nehemiah too.

Whatley wrote:

You've obviously never played football.

You have any idea at all what it's like to play linebacker? Battling 300 pound linemen to get to that 225 running back, that is far tougher than running around. Sometimes they play in the cold, imagine your hands are freezing and you have to bang into big guys.

Dude, trust me football players are far tougher than little runners.

yes, i played football. it takes physical ability to be good, and the great ones are often mentally tough, but there are a lot of mentally weak people on the field. they can hack it for several plays during a game. When the competitive juices are flowing. but the daily grind of practice is nothing like that. A hard hit lasts for a split second. And those cold weather games are few and far between.

It is shocking how many good football players can't make it through a mile warm up or more than 1 or 2 hard 100 meter repeats.

there is nothing in football as hard as what an elite distance runner does in the last lap or two of a race when everything feels like it is fading to black, you are losing consciousness, and you can barely feel your legs. But you keep going, sometimes at shockingly fast speeds. Even when your brain is signaling to you that there is nothing left. Not just for 1, 5, or 10 seconds. Often a minute or two, or even more.

fade to black wrote: there is nothing in football as hard as what an elite distance runner does in the last lap or two of a race when everything feels like it is fading to black, you are losing consciousness, and you can barely feel your legs.

Yeah, there is nothing in football as hard as when an elite distance runner can barely feel his legs.

I am a boxing fan and Max has been on that scene since the 80s.

He says the same thing about heavyweight boxing- that the talent pool is shallow because the best athletes pursue other sports. I think he is 100% correct about this issue in general when it comes to,America. I really don't know much about the rest of the world, but based in participation rates and general popularity I would guess soccer draws the most talent worldwide.

Take the long jump. See how far it has fallen off since the days of Lewis.

I think Max is right about sprints and field events. Distance running is a different animal.