Galen Rupp has dominated the domestic 10k and marathon scene - almost to the same level that Jim Walmsley has dominated WS100 - yet Rupp has no "fans" to speak of. What gives?
Galen Rupp has dominated the domestic 10k and marathon scene - almost to the same level that Jim Walmsley has dominated WS100 - yet Rupp has no "fans" to speak of. What gives?
Seriously?
1. He's an introvert and basically shuns publicity
2. The accusations of PEDs
3. The relationship with Salazar and Nike
4. The "golden boy"persona since his high school days
I’m a Rupp fan.
A better question is why are the haters so loud? It’s probably the same jealous person starting multiple threads and replying to themselves.
He’s a 2x Olympic medalist. Competitor. Mentally tough on race day. 3:50 miler, sub 13, sub 27. World Class PRs! Just wait til he goes 2:02 or faster in the full ‘thon! Tremendous!
Lame he gets so much hate. That one pic from the OT Trials with those high school kids holding that doping cheating sign. Sad! Those 2k kids weren’t around last century when the US didn’t have any distance runners that could compete for medals. Enjoy watching Rupp compete while he’s on the scene!
He wants to work on his skills and the small details than to worry about how many insta followers he has. He wants to win major races like the trials and not get 20th. He wants to be the best at the Olympics, not at a race that maybe 5 other people could have a chance competing in. There's a difference between being great and being the greatest. Jim is a great runner. Galen is probably one of the greatest US distance runners ever.
If Jim didn't make the wrong turn, his career trajectory would have been totally different. Yeah he would have gotten the record at WS, but he wouldn't have the fame and same mindset that he does now. He got lucky that he made such a huge mistake.
Galen is the best distance runner of this generation in the US
nobody cares about distance running
Galen also is not a self-promoter, lets the results do the talking
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Seriously?
1. He's an introvert and basically shuns publicity
2. The accusations of PEDs
3. The relationship with Salazar and Nike
4. The "golden boy"persona since his high school days
+1
Momba wrote:
He wants to work on his skills and the small details than to worry about how many insta followers he has. He wants to win major races like the trials and not get 20th. He wants to be the best at the Olympics, not at a race that maybe 5 other people could have a chance competing in. There's a difference between being great and being the greatest. Jim is a great runner. Galen is probably one of the greatest US distance runners ever.
So "great" runners have fans and "greatest" runners don't? That doesn't make sense.
sit and kick. wrote:
Galen is the best distance runner of this generation in the US
nobody cares about distance running
Galen also is not a self-promoter, lets the results do the talking
Walsmley is also an introvert, doesn't self-promote, just grinds out the miles and gets the job done. Yet he has no problem accumulating a fan base.
Is that a data based comment?
I would imagine he has, today, a large following of admirers.
He has one for sure ?
Keyboard_Expert_World_Class wrote:
I’m a Rupp fan.
A better question is why are the haters so loud? It’s probably the same jealous person starting multiple threads and replying to themselves.
He’s a 2x Olympic medalist. Competitor. Mentally tough on race day. 3:50 miler, sub 13, sub 27. World Class PRs! Just wait til he goes 2:02 or faster in the full ‘thon! Tremendous!
Lame he gets so much hate. That one pic from the OT Trials with those high school kids holding that doping cheating sign. Sad! Those 2k kids weren’t around last century when the US didn’t have any distance runners that could compete for medals. Enjoy watching Rupp compete while he’s on the scene!
I have been following this sport for 50 years. Nearly every American distance running star has been admired by the fans of that time, by their fellow competitors, and in retirement. Some more than others--but basically it is a community of mutual respect with quite a few outsized personalities. We can all agree that in terms of achievement, Galen Rupp has outshined just about every male distance runner in American history. Most of us would also agree that he lacks the broad base of respect and admiration that is enjoyed by the late Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Craig Virgin, Meb Keflezghi ... the list goes on. You may like Rupp, be indifferent to him, or dislike him--most would agree that he ain't especially popular. (If you disagree with this, well fair enough, but most I think would concur.) So if Rupp is indeed not very popular--WHY? It probably has something to do with his personality. He is not gregarious. At times he seems to be kind on a one-to-one level. (That touching photo with Jordan Hasay, for example.) But does not seem to crave being popular. He has no obligation to be a media darling or popular with rank in file runners. That said, I have not been able to develop any fondness for him or to enjoy rooting for him. His association with Salazar certainly does not help. Walking past the media after his disappointing 10,000 meter race at the US Champs a few years ago, for example--that was not a move to endear him to others either. He was old enough by then to show some humility and grace. He also lacks much of the characteristics that have stood out for me among many running champions, who were all strong individuals, in my view. Bill Rodgers had his first great successes while working full time. Frank Shorter always had a sage-like ability to be articulate and was not especially interested in emulating anyone else. Steve Prefontaine ... no need to state the case for his personality. Joan Benoint, the quite woman who took the bull by the horns in the heat of Los Angeles. Meb, who was never going to be a 2:04 runner, but kept coming up to the plate until he hit a few glorious home runs. Compare those folks with Galen Rupp, who has always been under the shadow of Alberto Salazar, who never showed much in the way of personality or a willingness to stand up for anything. He is clearly a fantastic runner and tough as nails within a narrow context, but unlike just about ever great runner I have admired, he seems so unremarkable in every other respect. I don't really fault him for that--he is free to be whomever he wants to be--but he just isn't that much fun to root for--speaking for myself.
The resentment goes all the way back to when he was in high school, where he....
- Was essentially a pro (The NCAA let him join the UO team after they let his infractions slide when his family agreed to pay a relatively small fine. This was, and continues to be, unprecedented considering the hammer they have brought down on some insanely minor "infractions") where he had access to ALL the resources of Nike at his disposal (Phil Knight was interested in him, through Salazar)
- Trained with pros while in high school
- Allegations of using testaboost (yes, the allegations went that far back)
- Access to altitudes tents (which no one used at the team) and the Nike Altitude House in NW Portland
- Skipped big races (conferences meets) as they were beneath him
- Noticeably skipped awards ceremonies at big/high profile meets (Borderclash)to do post race workout, which many interpreted as him disrespecting his fellow competitors
- Generally carried a cocky attitude
This has generally followed him as he's really done nothing to improve his reputation. The dude's running career started with being handed a silver spoon and given the advantages that no other athletes has ever been given since day 1. Outside of the complete dominance he's had as a pro (HS/College were successful, but not otherworldly), he really hasn't done anything to cultivate fans, and if anything, has only acted to make himself a villain.
Jim Walmsley Superfan wrote:
sit and kick. wrote:
Galen is the best distance runner of this generation in the US
nobody cares about distance running
Galen also is not a self-promoter, lets the results do the talking
Walsmley is also an introvert, doesn't self-promote, just grinds out the miles and gets the job done. Yet he has no problem accumulating a fan base.
I don't know how fan bases are calculated, but I'm a fan of Rupp and not Walmsley. I'm not even a fan of Walmsley's sport.
It boils down to he's not comfortable in his own skin. He's been the product of many powerful figures and organizations. He probably does love running, yet his consistent interface with running for 20some years has been a svengali coach, an insecure and aggressive marketing exec with his sponsor (from high school days), an exploitative and aggressive corporate sponsor that revels in crushing anything in its way. He's been pulled from races over petty concerns, he probably feel there's little truly within his control in running at this point except what happens between the gun and the tape. The rest of it has been all about serving an agenda he doesn't influence significantly. It's along the lines of the Andy character in The Breakfast Club, who has a talent but feels his use of it is about fulfilling other people's dreams and plans. He's been robbed of much of his autonomy -- and thus humanity -- as he became an adult. Also sort of like Michael Jackson. It's also a story few can relate to and thus care about. If running can be used as artistic expression, what has Rupp ever expressed except being great when he's supposed to be? What has been his hero's journey? Sure he's had injury and other hardship to deal with, certainly of late, yet there's no window into his process of overcoming. It's all a shrouded mystery and then he emerges from the other side victorious. He comes across as both superhuman and subhuman at the same time. It's bizarre and hard to make much sense of in most people's contexts.
He Does Have A Fan Base. when he races there are always many threads on the running messageboards Letsrun, TrackandFieldnews etc.
Ghost of Jason Rexing's Trainers wrote:
It boils down to he's not comfortable in his own skin. He's been the product of many powerful figures and organizations. He probably does love running, yet his consistent interface with running for 20some years has been a svengali coach, an insecure and aggressive marketing exec with his sponsor (from high school days), an exploitative and aggressive corporate sponsor that revels in crushing anything in its way. He's been pulled from races over petty concerns, he probably feel there's little truly within his control in running at this point except what happens between the gun and the tape. The rest of it has been all about serving an agenda he doesn't influence significantly. It's along the lines of the Andy character in The Breakfast Club, who has a talent but feels his use of it is about fulfilling other people's dreams and plans. He's been robbed of much of his autonomy -- and thus humanity -- as he became an adult. Also sort of like Michael Jackson. It's also a story few can relate to and thus care about. If running can be used as artistic expression, what has Rupp ever expressed except being great when he's supposed to be? What has been his hero's journey? Sure he's had injury and other hardship to deal with, certainly of late, yet there's no window into his process of overcoming. It's all a shrouded mystery and then he emerges from the other side victorious. He comes across as both superhuman and subhuman at the same time. It's bizarre and hard to make much sense of in most people's contexts.
I'm impressed you can create a long paragraph of nonsense while including references to Michael Jackson and the Breakfast Club.
If life is Rocky IV, Rupp is the Russian guy Drago; a product of the system designed to be the champion, the ubermensch. He was scouted early by Salazar and has had access to resources most could never imagine. He's certainly accomplished and a fierce competitor, but at the end of the day it's hard for the average joe to relate to him. If he wins then he wins, but if he loses you get excited for the guy who beat him instead of disappointed for Rupp. Even if people can be upfront about talent, effort, etc., there's a part of us deep down that wants to see this giant felled, to prove that the common man runner still has a place.
babby wrote:
If life is Rocky IV, Rupp is the Russian guy Drago; a product of the system designed to be the champion, the ubermensch. He was scouted early by Salazar and has had access to resources most could never imagine. He's certainly accomplished and a fierce competitor, but at the end of the day it's hard for the average joe to relate to him. If he wins then he wins, but if he loses you get excited for the guy who beat him instead of disappointed for Rupp. Even if people can be upfront about talent, effort, etc., there's a part of us deep down that wants to see this giant felled, to prove that the common man runner still has a place.
Speak for yourself. Deep down, I root for talented runners to perform well. The Drago character ( and Rocky) appeared to be brain damaged. Does Rupp go home and stare at a wall while drooling?
agip wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASVUj89hyg0
just to finish the point.
Rupp runs without passion. He is a machine. He never front runs, he doesn't seem to take any chances. He is a supreme power-metering tool.
Which is why he is so good. But it's hard to cheer for him because of it.
Fans like athletes who play from the heart. Pre is the obvious model - he never won a medal but is remembered and loved because he ran with his heart and took chances.
The whole 'rupp certified' thing is exactly the problem. How do you go all in for a guy who isn't all-in himself?
Put another way, if he weren't massively gifted I don't think he'd be a runner. He'd play soccer or something. Elites who run only because they are good are hard to bond with.
Keyboard_Expert_World_Class wrote:
A better question is why are the haters so loud?
Surely not because his coach was banned for doping violations.