The Pro Class of 2008

There is no doubt 2008 is a big year for Track and Field. The increased attention Track and Field will receive this year is due to the appeal the Olympics have to the Average Joe. People love having a team or individual to root for, and the Olympics gives us this opportunity on the largest of scales. The Olympics unites every American behind a single team, USA. In August, it does not matter if you're a Yankees, Red Sox, Bears or Packers fan... all Americans will be chanting USA together!

Track and Field can be hard to understand for the Average Joe who sits at home and happens to turn on the Pre Classic. Who should he be rooting for Wallace Spearmon or the X Man (Xavier Carter)? Both Spearmon and the X Man have the same jersey on so they are probably on the same team? The general public has no idea b/c they do not know Wallace or the X Man, but on the other hand, they get the Olympics. The public understands and cares if the fast guy with the USA on his chest beats the Germans, Chinese or Brits. This happens all over the world. The Kiwis want to beat the Aussies, the Aussies want to beat the Brits, and everyone wants to beat the French. The Olympics is the time the world comes together and root for their countries most talented athletes.

Average Joes around the world care about the Olympics; therefore, so does Coke, Mcdonalds, Nike, Bank of America, Visa and the entire corporate world. The billions of people watching give corporations a great opportunity to showcase their brand so they are wiling to invest their money into the Olympics. Most revenues go to NBC and the Olympic committees, but inevitably there will be a trickle down effect which reaches the athletes, so this will be a big year for a couple of very talented college athletes, who have a shot at making the team this year.

The NCAA Track Championship in Des Moines is the last collegiate race for seniors, which means that right after the seniors cross the finish line they can sign with an agent, and many athletes do. Track does not have a draft, but many athletes do go Pro after their last collegiate race and since Alan Webb went Pro folowing his freshman year at Michigan, more and more go pro before their senior year. This Olympic year will entice a few athletes to jump school early. In track, the athlete usually first signs with an agent, who then goes to the shoe companies to gauge interest. Then the agent works out a deal to get them wearing their companies' kit before the US Olympic Trials.

We will try to keep up with action. We have asked the managers to let us know when they sign athletes and shoe deals. If you have any info let us know. Below are three columns, one has 7 shoe companies that sign most of the athletes, the second has some agents and some of their current athletes, and the third column has a list of the 2008 Pro class.

Post a Comment

Enter Your Name

or Login Here

Please enter this code to post comment. Login to skip Captcha.

#10	Anonymous Coward   December 19, 2008 at 10:18am The league idea is out there. It is happening. There are teams like indiana elite, hansons, McMillan, boulder running company, mizuno run flagstaff... etc. who all love to race each other. The teams are out there. The venues are not. We just need to inspire each team to host their own team based meet at the professional level , and a circuit will arise! I hear some guys down in Albuquerque are planning on hosting a prof/amateur cross race, maybe that can head it off! reply
#9	Josh Horton   December 19, 2008 at 10:05am Just to add to this talk, I recently ran across a website for the ALTF - American League Track and Field. http://www.atra.ws/ I'm not sure if this is legit or if they got hit by the "economic downturn" but, the idea is something. reply
#8	Idea   June 30, 2008 at 1:44pm well one way to do it would be to scale down a traditional meet and only offer a couple events like the mile, 2 mile, a couple sprints and the field events. reply
#7	Adam Ward   June 13, 2008 at 3:32pm I like the idea, too. But how? or who could get something like that started. I'd pay to go watch something like this if it existed. I suppose we are only left to wonder. reply
#6	Anonymous Coward   June 13, 2008 at 3:13pm teams against eachother would be so sick, it would make track more of a spectator sport in the publics eye because people would want to support their favorite team. why do you think obscure things like arena football can get large crowds in their stadiums? reply
#5	Anonymous Coward   June 12, 2008 at 11:40pm The agent of Lolo is not Mark Block. Its Robert Wagner. Check her website and usatf profile. reply
#4	Going Pro?!?   June 12, 2008 at 7:45pm I heard an idea once that kind of sounded cool. It was someone discussing the idea of a professional "league" for track and field/XC in the US (or world). I don't mean the Golden League series or the Visa Championship Series, but actual TEAMS of athletes banding together. It could be a club type atmosphere or ASICS vs Nike vs Reebok vs Saucony, etc. Teams would compete at a set series of races in certain venues (ie XC could go to Terre Haute for one race and then head down South for another and out west for another, etc). Team scores tallied, races broadcast, endorsements sky rocket and everyone wins. The same could be said for Indoor and outdoor track. I mean Team Adidas, Nike and Asics in a triangular meet with their top athletes competing for team glory (kind of like a large scale version of college all over again). It has merit. But how to pull it off. It could be executed by the USATF, but I'd be afraid they'd screw it up like they have some other things in recent memory. I don't know. what's everyone think? reply
#3	Mark From Flotrack   June 12, 2008 at 7:30pm Well we dont know yet. THings should start to happen after sat's races in des moines. reply
#2	???   June 12, 2008 at 7:08pm So who is going where? I can't follow it that well. reply