competition
Standing in Fenway Park last night watching the Sox and Yanks duke it out reminded me that one of the reasons running pales as a sport in comparison to baseball is, quite simply, a lack of competition. At least the kind of competition that creates headlines, brings out fans, and gets jerseys buried below the visiting team’s new stadium. Not since the Johnson-Bailey “rivalry” — and let’s face it, few outside of track circles knew about that — has competition been able to spark a somewhat wider interest in the sport. The problem with Johnson-Bailey, though, (IMHO) was that many — including myself — simply saw the circus as two huge egos seeing who can stick his chest out further.
Granted, the bulk of the Sox-Yanks rivalry is largely created by the New York and Boston media and the fans who eat it up, but who cares? People pack out Fenway Park when the Evil Empire rolls into town, and pack out Yankee Stadium when the Sox visit New York. I had to stand up the whole game because there wasn’t a seat to be had. Just being inside the park, smelling the smells and hearing the cheers and jeers in person, watching big play after big play, was enough. The allure of being near the action was romantic in itself.
Maybe it’s because runners are generally nice folks, respecting of each other and the work they put into their training. The nature of track and field athletes certainly plays a part in the lack of competition that is marketed to the general public. But the bulk of the blame, once again, falls on the governing bodies.
Let me get all MLK on you now — I have a dream that one day, thousands will pack stadiums to witness attempts at American and World records, historic match-ups, and back-and-forth rivalries. If we believe that running is as interesting — if not more — than the mainstream sports, then athletes, governing bodies, and watchdog blogs must see that this happens. I haven’t been to the mountaintop, but I can see it from here …
Last 5 posts by Steve Holt- Olympics Hangover - August 26th, 2008
- Yes We Can! - August 7th, 2008
- Gilbert - July 24th, 2008
- Now I can Sleep - April 23rd, 2008
- The House that Webb Built? - April 3rd, 2008
April 14th, 2008 at 2:09 pm |
Steve,
Great blog piece. You raise an interesting point, that there are few rivalries in our sport. What is the biggest rivalry in American distance running right now? Webb v. Ritz. It has been the biggest rivalry since they were seniors in high school. However, these two rarely see each other and honestly they are way too different of athletes (speed v. endurance) to ever really create a big time rivalry.
Part of the reason our sport lacks few rivalries is two fold. First, only 2-3 times a year the best in our sport actually go head-to-head. How many times did Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell square off in 2007? From a sporting perspective, led primarily by agents and meet directors, the best of the best need to be pitted against one another.
The second part is the lack of marketing an athlete. Why are Boston and New York such rivals, because they have HUGE fan bases that hate each other. Our sport doesn’t have “good guys” versus “bad guys.” There is little trash talking from the athletes, so it is easy to like both guys in a Ritz v. Webb type match-up. However, if athletes were marketed to the fans of the sport to a greater capacity perhaps it would create stronger fan support for certain athletes, thus creating rivalries if athletes are pitted against one another enough.
To me it all comes back to marketing the athlete. Where can I buy a shirt that says GO TEG! Teg is my favorite runner on the planet and I can’t even buy a pair of shoes named after him. Even the Hansons, who are perhaps the best known training group in the country, rarely try to market their products (jerseys, t-shirts, etc.), rather they market what they are. That is fine, but all fans of Brian Sell should have a Hansons tee. Simple things like this go a long way in the sporting world.
If we never create a team structured atmosphere for our sport to compete at, then the marketing of athletes needs to be taken up ten fold since they are going to be the visible part of the sport. This is the responsibilities of athletes, agents and governing bodies to market athletes. Perhaps all of us Runnerville folk should ban together and create a marketing firm to represent athletes. Just an idea. Good blog Steve!
April 14th, 2008 at 6:41 pm |
What we need is for Dathan Ritzenhein to declare himself an atheist, and then declare that he is going to beat Hall in the Olympic marathon in the name of science and evolution. Then Hall can declare that he will run for the Christians, creationism, and of course, goodness. They could both blog about their impending battle at The Final Sprint, the comment boards and forums would go nuts with people defending their new favorite runners, and the Beijing Olympics would become the de facto battleground to settle it all.
And I guess Brian Sell can run for the Buddhists. He seems to be the ascetic type.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:01 pm |
Now that is quite an idea you have there Bryan…
April 18th, 2008 at 7:01 am |
How about city teams just like Boston and New York. They participate in duel meets that lead to a final US Championship. Then you have the “All-Star meet” after the championships. This “All-Star meet” would be just like the current US Championships and the best athletes would go on to represent our country in national competitions.