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Do it Right or dont do it at all

March 8, 2009

I did not get to the 2009 US Indoor championships in Boston this past weekend, but I have heard many reports from athletes, journalists, and agents and all accounts were the same, that the meets was a joke. Doug Logan has been at the top for less then a year and this was his first indoor championships so this blog is not meant to bash him or the USATF. This blog is a critque and hopefully it will be a forum with mine and the communities suggestion on how to save US indoors, if it is worth saving.......

By all accounts the meet was exactly like last year's, which I did go to, and I had hoped we would have learned from.

Some issues I have with the meet.

1. Professional Athletes not Elite Athletes

I am not the first person to say this, but the change seems simple. Our sport is not an amateur sport anymore and our athletes get paid to run and some have huge contracts. A lot of my non running friends have no idea that runners get paid. Simple but powerful change.

2. Non Professionals allowed in the stadium, but not on the track

Stop all the events that have masters, high school kids, track clubs, college and college athletes in them, this is not the place for them. US indoors, Millrose, BIG, Carson, Reebok, and Pre Meet are for professionals. Sometime years ago meet directors started seeing falling attendance and instead of adjusting the product to fit today's audience they started letting high school kids run and college or club teams compete. The idea was that these high school kids would bring their family and friends to watch their son and this would fill the stadium. It has become a downward spiral. Less people in the stands, more HS races. Millrose this year had I don't know how many HS races that I could care less about. These races only prolong our sports death. If we can't make a professional meet exciting with professionals then our sport is screwed and we should all go home. I will accept one HS race like BIG does bc that is best HS kids, not the local track club.

3. Race Walk and Relays

Just like HS, Clubs and College races do not belong in the meet, either do Race Walks or Relays. There are very few people that think the race walk is entertaining and we are in the business of entertaining people. If NBC comes out with a show that no one watches, the show will be canceled and NBC would certainly never put that boring show in the middle of the "Office" on thursday night. Why do we put not one, but two boring races in the middle of a meet? Relays are the same story. To me, nothing is better then the NCAA DMR, but nothing is worse then a boring DMR where the winner is decided on the 1200 leg. 9 time out of 10 these races are decided after a couple laps and it is torture to sit through. Relays are not for US champs, bc the best athletes do not compete on them. This would be a different story if the Relay that won earned the right to run that exact team at the WC and Olympics.

4. Meet Scheduling

Doug Logan used to be in the music industry before he entered in the sports world and we talked about how boring meets were. Doug talked about the flow of a concert and how each song was planned out (watch interview below) and you would not have 4 slow songs in a row then 5 fast and then a 15 min break. That is exactly what happened at this years indoors. If idea 2 and 3 are followed this would be easier, but that being said the races should be mixed up. Men's and Women's Miles should not be back to back and neither should Men's and Women's 60s.

5. If they don't show make it harder not easier

This last indoor was not the whos who of US track and I have heard that meet organizers were searching for people to come, so they could set up prelims and fill fields. The meet should do the exact opposite. Next year they should put a cap at 8-10 athletes per event and every race is a straight final. This will make US indoors more exclusive and the meet faster and more entertaining. Even if the best athletes still don't go at least will only have to watch one race with no-names instead of two or three prelims filled with them.

Every meet is an opportunity to make or lose fans and the sport cannot afford to lose any more fans, but that is what is happening every weekend across the country. Meets are to long and have no flow and I believe the USATF has to set up to the plate and lead by example. If the governing body of our sport cannot make US indoors exciting (Outdoors was great) then US indoors should stop being contested. We cannot afford to have another meet like 2009 and 2008 US indoors, bc I do not think there was one person, I am serious, one person that went US indoors and came away entertained. Bigger is not better and sometimes you have to go take one step backwards to go two steps forward and I hope Doug Logan learned a lot from this past weekend and if he cannot fix it next year save us all the time and money and cancel it until he thinks he can produce a good product.

Let me know what you think,

Mark

Videos

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Long Meets and the USATF Tax

Doug Logan, USATF CEO, continues the conversation about the business of track and field with Mark from Flotrack. Logan talks about the topic of long and boring track meets and the USATF tax.

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#64	Need Mas March 30 at 8:50am We need some more blogs like this!!! reply
#63	Dan Knewitz March 11 at 12:26pm Yeah, I was thinking about that a little further and realized that that was probably too bold of a statement. The WR right now is 4:12 I believe, sub 13 seconds is quite a leap. Still, I stand by the rest of my post. reply
#62	Good Post Until March 11 at 10:52am Dan, I was impressed with your post until I got to the sub 4 part...wow reply
#61	Not Sexist March 10 at 10:49pm one more vote for splitting mens and womens competitions. They can be on the same day in the same place. Just run all the girls events then all the mens. In general I dont like watching girls sports. Im intrigued by watching a high school girl run under 5 for the mile, but as great as that is, its not fast. When you are watching you cant help but say "for a girl" after saying such and such is fast or good. P.S. the NBA foots the entire bill for the WNBA. reply
#60	Dan Knewitz March 10 at 5:53pm I was talking about this with my girlfriend of all people this past weekend. She was in complete agreeance with the fact that there are certain sports that woman are extremely entertaining in and a handful that they are arguably better than men in (i.e. gymnastics). I have so much respect for Shalane Flannagan and Kara Goucher just to name two runners, and I never change the channel during their races. It's not "politically correct" to make such statements, but the WNBA is not entertaining. I can't imagine the day that there is a legitimate dunk contest amongst women, however, I highly anticipate the day that a woman breaks 4, which I think will be in our lifetime. reply
#59	Mark From Flotrack March 10 at 4:23pm Over the last couple of years I have really started to care about the women. I also have seen what people like to watch and women are popular on our site. We do not have to be or should be like other sports. The women in our sport are the most entertaining and athletic then any other women sport. It is so frustrating that they show women's basketball on sports center so they can say they cover women sports, when women's basketball is slow, boring and the women are unathletic. I think the women in our sport is a competitive advantage over other sports bc of the fact that they are entertaining. Women want to see other women succeed and want to be fans and if our market is both sexes then there is a bigger fan base. reply
#58	Igloo House March 10 at 2:41pm yes, female athletes are great and train hard. This is why I believe the NBA finals would get better ratings if they were to be played in alternating quarters at the same venue as the the WNBA finals. This way everyone could enjoy the athleticism of both sexes in the same place! Obviously women are valuable athletes, this doesn't mean that both sexes should be competing at the same time. Oh, and how many times have you seen a men's tennis match intercut with a women's match at a major? Come on people, get a clue. reply
#57	Ryan Thalman March 10 at 12:56pm Canceling it for the next two years would kill the sport. Just look at other major sports that missed seasons due to player strikes- it took a long time to recover. reply
#56	Bob March 10 at 12:50pm I could see allowing the "amateurs", but only well before the main meet. Maybe at 10am, then main meet starts at noon. But certainly NOT in the middle of the meet. If it must be held, make it ONE event with true amateur stars. Maybe some with a shot at some age-group record. But no more than that. And the arena sucks. And the world is clearly professional. True amateurs are a relic of the 1950's. reply
#55	Jay Falcone March 10 at 12:47pm why would canceling in for two years do anything? i dont think anyone is whining at all, just commenting and trying to make our sport better, and right now there seems to be a good deal that needs to be improved. reply
#54	Juan De Hoyos March 10 at 12:37pm to mark: instead of whining and complaining about the boring sport, just cancel it for the next 2 years. reply
#53	Mark From Flotrack March 10 at 11:51am Pro-fessional said: “Point #1 - the word is amateur; no further comment Point #2 - you 'could care less' about the HS races?; doesn't that mean you care?; you've misspoken I couldn't bear to read any more.” Look past my crappy grammar and to the point of the blog and give us your opinion bc your post helps no one and only proves my mom's point that I should of listened in my English class. reply
#52	Pro-fessional March 10 at 11:33am Point #1 - the word is amateur; no further comment Point #2 - you 'could care less' about the HS races?; doesn't that mean you care?; you've misspoken I couldn't bear to read any more. reply
#51	The Teabaggin Dragon March 10 at 2:06am all of yall quit whining and appreciate what you have or it will be gone. do you think just because a track meet has elite athletes people will care? or if the meet finishes one hour quicker interest will rise?? you are all ridiculous if you believe this! track has, AND ALWAYS will be, on the bottom of the sports totem pole. its frustrating how great these athletes and people are, but since they're not throwing/kicking a ball people dont care...and all of you shouldnt care that they dont. reply
#50	Jay Falcone March 9 at 11:39pm What do you guys think about what was mentioned at the end of the video about giving more value to being a USATF member? I'm wondering what some realistic things they could do are. reply
#49	Track Fan March 9 at 11:10pm i am a fan of US track and field and when the milrose games were on tv this year they dident even show an hour of the meet i agree with getting rid of events like masters 4x4 or dumb stuff like that but there should be more coverage of the meet and i personally thought the high school races at milrose this year and last were more exciting than watching lagat win everytime even reebok this year the highschoo boys mile was more exciting reply
#48	Washington Heights March 9 at 10:51pm Track meets at the Armory go on for seven hours or more. It's all nonstop action, run with amazing efficiency, and not one second is it boring. Nothing USATF or any meet promoter on the East Coast does a single thing to take the sport to the consciousness of anyone but the diehards who already follow it. The public relations end of track and field in this country is more than a miserable failure - it's nonexistent. The rest of you have already settled that the idea of gender segregation at track meets is a horrible notion, right? That's the last thing we need. reply
#47	Michael Machado March 9 at 10:38pm i think that it is all right to have long boring track meets. Just keep them to low level high school and college meets Professional championship type events are not the venues to be having ten high school heats of the 200. Keep the event to about 2 hours just like any other sporting event. This last weekend our college hosted an all comers meet that lasted 2 hours. Everyone stayed from the beginning to the end and even enjoyed the 3k where there was a friendly competition to have the men's leader attempt to lap the women's leader. The final ended up showcasing the male throwing down a 60 second last lap and being barely out leaned by the female at the tape. lastly; I feel that Dan Knewitz's comment was well said. reply
#46	Nick Higgins March 9 at 9:23pm To "Honestly" - I don't see how a 30-90 min track meet would make the product any better. It would turn the actual meet into the same crappy abbreviated coverage that they air on TV. The TV coverage is extremely streamlined, and it sucks. As for eliminating the Hurdles, that would be a terrible idea because hurdles are the most suspenseful race there is. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you trip on a hurdle and fall on your face. Therefore, it's always exciting to see who will come out on top in the hurdles. As for the other field events, I love watching Jumping, Pole Vaulting, and Throwing. Without all of these events together, it's not an indoor track and field meet. That would be just random races indoors. The point of track is to push the limits of human physical achievement. Whether it's a guy throwing the shotput crazy far, or a girl jumping like a leap frog, it's always awesome to see how well these athletes perform. Just because you are ignorant of the other events in a track meet does not mean that they have no place or no spectators. In addition, eliminating Female Athletes from a meet is a terrible idea. First of all, women are not simply objects of beauty that should be viewed on Baywatch as you suggested. Women are human beings too. The women who take part in Track and Field are just as important to the sport as the male athletes. Both sexes' athletes train their bodies to near perfection in order to succeed in their sports. It is extremely exciting to see a close competition, or great individual performance whether it is a by males or females. To exclude women from competitions would not only be a step backward for USATF, but it would be a step 100 years backward for SOCIETY in general. reply
#45	People Don't Understand March 9 at 6:43pm I agree with all of your points but I do believe that there should be a high school mile in the Millrose Games. I do say though that it does not belong in the BIG. That is a professional meet. There should only be one big high school mile race and that should be at Millrose. I think the biggest problem is people just don't understand. People love it when a football player returns a kick for a touchdown or runs 90 yards past the defenders. People find that interesting and think its amazing. When a 18-19 year old kid runs a 3:55 mile on and indoor track barely anybody knows about it. Its just horrible. That might be one of the most amazing athletic performances that has happened. Nobody knows about it first of all but for some reason theyd rather watch someone score a touchdown which happens 300 times on a given sunday. And sorry to break it to you but Doug Logan is too old. just like how this country needed a younger president the usatf needs a younger president. reply
#44	Aloyius March 9 at 5:58pm Tennis more of a "major sport" than track and field, and mixing female and male events there seems to work just fine. You haven't come up with one solid bit of logic or evidence to suggest that one of track's problems is that there are men's and women's events at the same meet. And I've never heard anyone complain about having to watch both. And, uh...now you want a 30-minute track meet? Who's supposed to travel back and forth to THAT? reply
#43	Honestly March 9 at 5:28pm I certainly follow women's running more than any of you likely do - the issue at hand is what will CAPTURE the interest of a larger audience. Women's only meets would be fine too - though I doubt they would capture the interest of the mainstream public. For whatever reason the women's events suffer from an extreme lack of depth - particularly when you get away from the very top international levels. Even at the olympics - Shalane is great...but she was able to get bronze while finishing 32seconds behind the winner. Mixing female and male sports into one messy package hasn't worked in any other major sport, and I fail to see why track would be any different. It certainly isn't a successful approach now. re: hurdles, field events etc. Ideally of course we could watch all athletes compete and enjoy it all, from bolt to the master's women's steeplechase, but while we're talking about producing a compact and intriguing format, we should try to focus on the absolute on what is truly MOST entertaining to MOST people. I am talking about a 30-90min program, something to truly get excited about. I enjoy track meets with all variety of athletes, but that judging by what i see in the stands, I am in the tiny minority here. I think Mark keenly understands this and so I contributed some thoughts - individual measures which could be mixed and matched at will. reply
#42	Karen Ruckman March 9 at 5:07pm to honestly: you may be surprised to know that some people just follow women's track. i find the men's races to be only mildly interesting. but just because i'm not interested in them doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be the meet. you should open your mind and follow women's running for a while before you ban it. female runners are actually more entertaining because they have personality (and the american distance runners are doing well on the global level). reply
#41	JP March 9 at 5:00pm Honesty's idea is an extremely bad one. About the only thing good you could say about Millrose this year was that it had Steve Hooker AND Jenn S; why would you only want to have ONE of those? It'd "honestly" like to know one reason why you think having only one gender compete at a meet would be good. You think the Jamaicans want to see Usain Bolt but NOT Veronica Campbell-Brown when they come to the Reebok Grand Prix? If you could have Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp and Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher at a meet, why would you want to tell two of them to stay home? reply
#40	Dan Knewitz March 9 at 4:56pm I don't think that increasing USATF membership is a bad thing, but should be an emphasized goal? What would be the results of increased membership? More online sales for merchandise? OK, great, but does that save interest and attendance, not to mention downright quality of the meets? I feel as though the people in charge of track and field are constantly looking at issues in a defensive way, as if to cover themselves for substandard interest over the last few years. It just turns into a bunch of excuses interspersed with some subtle plans for "improving" meets. I haven't seen anything in this interview or any other that has led me to believe that things will get better before they get worse. One last comment... please please please please replace the NBC announcers that cover these meets. I find myself cringing while watching television coverage followed closely by hitting the mute button. The come across as uninformed and their interest is ingenuine. I say put Mark Floreani and Ryan Fenton behind the microphones in an upcoming meet. What harm could it do? reply
#39	Cara Hawkins March 9 at 4:40pm To Honestly- Seperating men and women would streamline a meet. But this a bad idea. The problem that I have of this jilting of the women of a meet, is the women's races ( especially the distance ones lately) have been very exciting and entertaining. By cutting out the women, you are cutting out entertainment. I would rather watch a Shalane and Kara duel than a dull men's race. reply
#38	Honestly March 9 at 4:30pm Separate the men and the women - nobody talks about this but honestly it would really help. Some say that we 'have beautiful, talented women who people like to see succeed blah blah blah', and some say 'the women are hot!', but the honest truth is that if people want to see hot women they can watch baywatch reruns and get a much better 'product'. If we are only marketing a sport based upon our 'hot' women, we are in big trouble. I can't think of any mens' sport that would benefit from combining venues with women. NBA? NFL? MLB? MLS? You are immediately diluting the quality of your product by 50%, and our product is already diluted. Also (and this is perhaps not possible for meets such as championships with rounds and historic requirements for many events) major events designed for widespread viewership should be majorly streamlined. 100m (3minutes), 200m (3minutes), 400m (3minutes), 800m (5minutes), 1500m (6minutes), 5000m (18minutes) Single sex only, no hurdles (probably), no field events (yes it is fun to see the individual great performer, but consider fouls, non head-to-head competition, honestly nobody ever watches a meet for the long jump or hammer throw), the entire event could be done with tv-breaks in well under an hour. This would be a TRACK MEET with fast runners, and no wasted time. Flotrack - are you interested in putting on a meet? reply
#37	Mr. BIG March 9 at 3:39pm How come FloTrack can't put on some meets in Austin and show the world how to do it... without money and big names? reply
#36	Peter Miller March 9 at 3:27pm Also i don't think making track go BIG is a lost cause. If the entire country can come together once every 4 years to watch sports they would otherwise never care about (olympics...gymnastics? and rowing?) then their has to be a way to make track exciting. Sticking to the fast heats and races keeps a sense of dignity in winning that people can see. It gives more of a rivalry and tension to the races and makes it more exciting to watch. I agree with the article, Big names are good, but at very least cut the no-names, they offer no appeal in a meet like this. reply
#35	Dusty Bones March 9 at 3:26pm The assumption is that it would be a product people would want to watch. Some people may be underestimating the extent to which track and field has quickly fallen out of the public consciousness. Nothing NBC did (or didn't) do in Beijing did anything to enhance that. Right now, the only runner who more than ten percent of the population could name is Usain Bolt. There's not only American who'd reach that ten percent figure. I can't help but see some very conflicting comments here about what impact the presence of big names at meets would have. Some are saying they're essential. Some are saying that even if they showed up at the USA Indoors, the meet would have been boring. Really? Was Lolo Jones boring? Would seeing Symmonds against Khadevis have been boring? If Shalane was there going for a 3000-meter record, would that have been boring. If you talk about taking away all of the high school and college stuff and just leaving "a product people will want to watch," and you don't think big names will make a difference, then what exactly is it that's gonna be there that people are supposed to want to watch? reply
#34	Peter Miller March 9 at 3:19pm If they are worried about ticket sales they should make another meet for the HS and slower athletes, one for the parents to come watch and support their kids, but separate it from the real meet so that you still have a product people will want to watch. If you wouldn't televise it, don't make it. reply
#33	Mark From Flotrack March 9 at 12:41pm Money is not the answer. You can create a good product without a ton of money. If they had more money how would the meet be more entertaining? People did comment below that even if there were bigger names the meet would not have been that much more exciting. reply
#32	Yanqui March 9 at 11:22am I applaud Mark and Ryan for what they're trying to do here. There are a multitude of problems to surmount here. Living in the NYC area, let me say that the Millrose Games now operates very much under the public radar. It's virtually unpublicized, relying on long-time ticketholders and whatever high school kids they can give tickets to at the Armory. There are no 800s, or the alternative 1000s, for adults at the Games. My guess is that after they pay a few headliners, (Lagat, Nick Willis, Steven Hooker, Jenn S, probably Kara Goucher this time) there's not much left to fill out the fields. A lot of people who've gone to Millrose for years think the meet is going to die in a couple of years. I am a very close follower of this sport and at USA Indoors, I barely recognized a single name in either the men's or women's 400. The problem WAS more severe this winter because it's just after the Olympics and it's the beginning of a four-year cycle. People like Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt gave no thought to running indoors (unless I missed something). A few top Americans actually found it more worthwhile to run in Australia than to do the U.S. Indoor circuit. Or, like Lolo Jones, they made money in Europe. It's largely about money, obviously. For some of the stuff Doug Logan's talking about, he's going to need to find plenty more of it. Where's it coming from? reply
#31	ivanvano13 March 9 at 8:52am Is there anyway you could format that better? That was painful to read. reply
#30	Britpop March 9 at 5:53am Some good ideas there Mark. If you want to watch truely painfull indoor competition, you should come and watch the UK indoors if you're ever here in Jan/Feb. It's awful and suffers from many of the same problems, although to be fair, these were highlighted in the UK a few years back, and 'some' changes have been made with success. The big difference appears to be that we've always got a packed stadium......full of non-athletes who would never dream of going to watch a BMC meeting or the AAA of England U20/U23 champs etc.....which pisses me off, as too many of us fail to get tickets each year because of these 'fair weather' fans who only come out of the woodwork once or twice a year! The other main difference is that we always have a major champs to target, with either the European or the World Indoors to aim for. This means that the trials are always a meaningfull meeting, with team slots on the line......although our selection policies are awful and we always end up sending a fraction of the athletes that we COULD and SHOULD send to what are essentially, a springboard to the outdoor champs. Anyway, if you think it's bad over there, you'll laugh yourself to sleep when you see how our champs go down. Enjoy! reply
#29	Who? March 9 at 5:50am To give Doug the benefit of the doubt..."Economic downturn." It takes money to make money right? How can you advertise the meet if you have no sponsors? Where do you get money? Do they get it from the parents/friends of the High School and Club athletes participating in the meet? Does this actually increase their number of tickets bought? What is the meet directors line of thinking? Of course if you have a bad product then you're screwed. BUT, I agree with you Mark! And music or other such entertainment would definitely add to the meets. My suggestions: keep the meet to the normal length of sporting events (2-3hrs), decrease the price of tickets till you can fill the stadium and sell the hell out of concessions! Like every major sporting venue does. They should be making money on other things besides the tickets. Basketball games and hockey games have the half-time shot and winner of the month of free cell phone service from X phone co. Why can't track do things like this? It's hard I know. But, if it wasn't it wouldn't be worth it. Let me know how I can help. reply
#28	Robert Rumsey March 9 at 2:46am I am a HUGE track and field fan and come to the site daily. I can honestly say, the collegiate races you guys have up are FARRR more interesting that the "elite" races from the US Indoors I watched on T.V.. The USATF is asking a lot from the athletes in the upcoming year-THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE ATHLETES!!!The athletes clearly aren't buying what Doug Logan is trying to sell,so he needs a new plan to get the athletes to participate. I DO NOT think the athletes owe the USATF anything until they reach out in a more inclusive way to HONESTLY satisfy both parties needs. If I was a runner and getting respect, recognition and MONEY from popping on a plane and going to Europe or Australia, please trust that I would have a crap load of frequent flyer miles. Doug Logan and the USATF need to look a bit more inward than just outward towards our athletes to fix this problem. P.S.I LOVES me sum FLOTRACK!!!It is like a little community of "I think I can's" which is what this situation needs!!! reply
#27	Nick Higgins March 9 at 1:53am PWN3D reply
#26	Mark_in_Oly March 9 at 12:21am Andrew said: “It would be great if just once somebody at Flotrack quickly scanned their articles for grammatical mistakes. You guys churn out great material every day, but trying to read through 3 to 4 typos per paragraph detracts from the overall product. My point may seem superfluous, but I feel that a professional presentation should match the professional coverage.” ...ummm...just so you know...if the number is nine or less, you spell it. If it is 10 or more, you use the numerical form. reply
#25	Rabble Rabble March 8 at 11:28pm On the other side, very good article. you deliver a great point and your analysis is spot on. reply
#24	Rabble Rabble March 8 at 11:26pm Yeah man, screw andrew. what a moron for suggesting a way that flotrack could improve. we should all try to NOT improve, just like the usatf. seems to work for them. reply
#23	The Message Speaks March 8 at 10:34pm andrew, this is a blog not a school paper essay or usa today article. the message that it gives has the meaning, not the omitted period at the end of sentence #23. flotrack is the real deal when it comes to track and field coverage, but since when did t-shirts and backwards trucker hats scream "we are super professional". they have fun and i like it! p.s. i need one of those hats p.s.s. good blog, can't flotrack host a meet?? reply
#22	Anonymous Coward March 8 at 10:19pm Andrew, you should ask to be editor for Flotrack. I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ but it doesn't matter how well of a writer one is, errors are part of the process and these guys bust their balls to get up great info quick so that is the case. reply
#21	Andrew March 8 at 10:04pm It would be great if just once somebody at Flotrack quickly scanned their articles for grammatical mistakes. You guys churn out great material every day, but trying to read through 3 to 4 typos per paragraph detracts from the overall product. My point may seem superfluous, but I feel that a professional presentation should match the professional coverage. reply
#20	Emerging Elite March 8 at 10:01pm 5 events is overkill, but just having like the mile is cool. reply
#19	Ryan From Flotrack March 8 at 9:52pm Mark and I obviously talk a lot about these issues with track and field. Personally, I was at the USATF Indoor meet and can say it was the most boring event I have been to in a long time. Even if there were more big names there in this case, I don't think that it would have helped solve the problem this year. The meet flow was terrible and the big names that were there were not highlighted. There was a race walk followed by a 20 minute break and a club DMR. Jenn S broke the American Record in the PV again and it was like "Oh hey everybody....pay attention real quick, there was just a record set. You should get excited for this." You can't tell people to get excited....having an announcer or past Olympic gold medalists tell a crowd to get excited doesn't create excitement. It has to be created in the atmosphere and the buildup to the event. How many of you heard about USATF Indoor before it actually happened (and searching out the info for yourself doesn't count)? There was no buildup, no hype....nothing. And in choices of races, to be an elite event you have to have elite races. Yeah, the best high school mile is cool. But to have GBTC, NB Boston, and Central Park Track Club (just examples) contest a DMR at a national championship?? There is a Club system that the USATF has which is actually pretty cool and I was part of it while I lived in Boston. Club Cross and outdoor Club Nationals are decent events. So why not have an indoor championships where these teams can compete? I ask the same question to NON and their "emerging elite" category....do we really need two meets in one?? Maybe the longest weekend of my life. Keep the elite meets elite! I have traveled a lot this year and been to many meets. There have been great performances but can I honestly say I have been at a meet that has totally blown my mind?? No. I remember races/moments....Meyo Mile, Jenny B 15:01, 4x4s at Iowa State, DMRs at ND. Certain meets have their highlights but no one has the whole package yet. And that may be tough on the college side with so many people running and needing to get in races, who knows. But every meet I have gone to I have urged coaches to do something different. Think outside the box. There isn't any one thing that will solve the problem of a looooong boring track meet at this time, but you gotta start somewhere. There are so many people out there that are satisfied with what is and what has been, people don't want to ruffle feathers. Regardless of what you do, even now, your not going please everyone....so try something new! We need fans, just like any sport. I always ask, have you ever sat at a 8 hour slow-moving event and left saying "Man I need to have some more of that! I can't wait till next weekend!" reply
#18	Michael Koral March 8 at 9:43pm mark im glad you said this you are a high ranking spokesman for the track and field world and have connections to big names. This is smart that you said this because all the comments below are probably saying good job your rite and MR.Logan is gonna see this and will hopefully do something about it. WELL SAID SIR, WELL SAID!!! reply
#17	Kevin Liao March 8 at 9:42pm Nick Higgins said: “I would love to see the Field Events AND the Running Events in their entirety just once. ” We need more of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5Rmjr2Ew0 The long jump competition shown almost in its entirety. reply
#16	Nick Higgins March 8 at 9:38pm I don't know about shooting the announcers, that's a little extreme for my taste... reply
#15	(RUNWILD!!) March 8 at 9:33pm I also agree with almost all of what Mark said. I can remember earlier this year watching Millrose, just waiting through all the Bull races. It really really sucked! Dwight Stones never shutup, and kept talking about human intrest CRAP!!!!!!!! The question I ask myeself is why they have all these little dinky highschool or college races, where the eventual winner is obvious in the first two laps. The answer is all politics, "Who benefits from this?" "Who's getting money?" The people who are in control are not concerned with the stuff that Mark was talking about. They are concerned with how much bigger their pocket book gets. I can't comment on specifics, because I just don't know. I have seen similar situations before where this was the problem. There are good meet directors out there who know their and understand the value in the "flow" of a meet. Guys like Rich Gonzales, who if you don't know is the meet director of the Arcadia invitational. The meet is run so well that people are constantly on their feet. Who we could really learn a lesson from in meet directing and Commentating are the Europeans. If meets were like they are over there, then there would be enough money in the sport for David Torrence to get a shoe contract. One more thing, every track and field commenttator for NBC needs to be taken out back and shot! I remember this summer listening to some idiot, while watching the 5K at the Olympic trials. He was Pointing out how Jonathon Riley was desprately taking the lead to push the pace. The only problem I found funny was how it could be Jonathon Riley when everyone sitting at home watching could clearly read "Brent Vaughn" written on his bib number!!!! The only one out of that group who I don't mind is Ato Bolden. He is the only one who actually knows to call out splits. I'm sorry for the rambling, I'm just mad. reply
#14	Nick Higgins March 8 at 9:20pm If we want to get down to the nitty gritty of what is killing Indoor track, let's talk about television coverage. I'm like a kid on Christmas day when I find out a race is going to be on TV. I run downstairs, throw on my "Run Like Hell" T-shirt, crack open a cold one (Gatorade), and turn on my TV in anticipation of seeing some awesome competition. However, what I consistently find is that there is less coverage for Track and Field than for The World Series of Poker! If a distance race is being contested, it's always time for a commercial break, interview with a random dude I don't care about, or a check in at a field event that has long been over. I love watching Adam Nelson take off his shirt and scream, but not during the mile when Nick Willis and Bernard Lagat are going kneck and kneck. I remember once when I was younger I was watching a track meet and they were running the indoor 5k and it was a tightly knit pack, then they cut to a commercial break early in the race. They didn't come back until he had 3 laps to go and the runner was on World Record Pace or something like that and everyone was way behind him. HOW THE HELL DID HE GET THAT FAR IN FRONT?! I WANT TO SEE THE RACE ITSELF! If I just wanted to see how they finished, then I'd look up the results online rather than watch it on TV. I watch TV for the drama. I want to see the athletes push each other to achieve whether its a field event or a running event. If a poker game can be drawn out for multiple hours, then why can't a track meet that is a multiple hour event have more than an hour long time slot? I would love to see the Field Events AND the Running Events in their entirety just once. Not to mention how frustrating it is when you wait through the coverage of a race like Millrose Games to find out that you won't be able to watch Bernard Lagat go for Eamonn Coughlin's record in the Wanamaker Mile since the coverage is over after 7 or 8 o'clock or whatever and that event isn't untill 10 or 10:30. reply
#13	Millrose March 8 at 9:17pm millrose miles, and catholic 4x8 should stay. Everything else should go. And there should be a concert or some kind of entertainment when they are taking apart the track. reply
#12	Matt March 8 at 9:10pm you want to get rid of the High School Miles at milrose? Bad idea. reply
#11	Whew March 8 at 9:09pm last year i went to the american miler series meet at IUPUI. here was brannen, webb, lukezic, scherer, i mean a huge group of pro runners. it was at night in downtown indianapolis and the place was desolate!! i mean here is a bunch of great runners trying to make the trials, in a sweet city, at night, at a great facility and it wasn't packed at all. some of the best runners in the U.S. and from a passerby it probably seemed like a joke to them. it really let me know the state of U.S. track and field...people in the city walked by staring and did not even give the meet the time of day. truly saddening, because to a true fan of the sport the meet was an amazing spectacle. reply
#10	The Teabaggin' Dragon March 8 at 9:08pm to mark: the sport is as popular as it's gonna get and if it grows it wont grow much...get over it. most of us can see you're looking to take doug logan's job or some upper level gig involved with track and field, but be careful what you wish for. reply
#9	I Am Not An Anonymous Coward March 8 at 8:37pm Mark you should become a running philosopher this was truly amazing reply
#8	Jay Falcone March 8 at 8:29pm I was the the meet this year on the Sunday night. It was a bit depressing. I showed up almost expecting not to get a ticket. (I'd never been to a meet like this before) but when I got to my seat it was wierd too look around and see such a small crowd. It it was quiet in there. There were some good athletes there, but it still wasn't what I would expect from a meet like this. And everything you said in #3 is dead on. The walk should really go. I also agree with kevin (below me).. why didnt the bigger names in track come to this event. I hate sounding like I'm taking away from the people who did compete but it looked like amature hour there at times. reply
#7	Kevin Liao March 8 at 8:14pm I agree that USATF Indoors was an absolute joke. The only top-notch athletes that competed (Trammell, Jones, Stuczynski) only did so for a chance at the $25k Visa prize. It's a shame that we can't get the top athletes to show up for a chance to win a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Nothing against people like David Torrence, but someone who doesn't even have a shoe contract shouldn't be winning national championships. Where are guys like Solinsky, Fam, and Teg (I know he's injured) for these big races? I don't have a problem with including some high school races in these meets, but only if the competitors are the real blue-chippers. BIG and Millrose both have incredibly talented HS boys and girls mile fields. The goal of these races, however, should not be to sell tickets to parents, but to show off our country's best young talents. As with other exhibition races that are put on, I use this rule of thumb: if ESPN doesn't show it during their 2 hour telecast, it isn't worthy enough to be competed during the meet. reply
#6	Ok March 8 at 7:35pm i fully agree with everything you said, except i think the hs mile should still be run at millrose..there is so much stuff that is tradition at millrose. but i agree at indoor nats there should be nothing but professionals running reply
#5	Mark From Flotrack March 8 at 7:27pm Jake said: “Fair enough, but if you follow these recommendations, Millrose will sell at least 5000 fewer tickets” Jake, I agree ticket sales will go down at first, but like I stated above sometimes you have to go one step back to go two steps forward. What it really comes down to is that Millrose is not what it used to be and it is not very entertaining. Getting parents to come watch the kids and then leave is not the answer and along prolongs the problems bc you are not creating fans.. Like I state above, we have to make the sport exciting using professionals and if we cannot do that then the sport will die. In my opinion it is better to go out swinging and take a chance then to let the sport continue to die a slow and painful death. You understand where I am coming from? Mark reply
#4	Jake March 8 at 7:19pm Fair enough, but if you follow these recommendations, Millrose will sell at least 5000 fewer tickets reply
#3	Cara Hawkins March 8 at 7:08pm So this is what you were working on. I agree with your points. Scheduling is everything with a meet, don't put two long races back to back. It is dull to sit through two 5ks. If you have muliple heats that are full of lackluster times with only one or two fast times it makes for a boring meet. The way track and field is presented to general public is boring, even my teammates who run find track meets dull. Our sport at its core is exciting, man vs. man (women too), and man vs. clock. There is tension there and that is exciting. There does not need to be extra. Highlight what is amazing about the sport. Indoor meets can be exciting but it seems that USATF are setting them up for failure. reply
#2	ChrisB March 8 at 6:00pm I would completely agree. I went to the championships last year and sat through some pretty painstaking events. The highlight was most certainly the 800 in Symmonds vs KD. If all the events were like that, it would be a fantastic meet, however, the men's long jump, the primary event I was there to see was filled with people I had never heard of jumping distances that were less than impressive. reply
#1	Yaysayer March 8 at 5:53pm I completely agree with all 5 points you made. reply