I'm Here And I Belong: Jordan Mann Preps For NACAC

I'm Here And I Belong: Jordan Mann Preps For NACAC

This is the second entry in a series from Jordan Mann, this year's surprise fifth-place finisher in the U.S. steeplechase and mixed zone media darling.

Aug 12, 2018 by FloTrack Staff
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This is the second entry in a series from Jordan Mann, this year's surprise fifth-place finisher in the U.S. steeplechase and mixed zone media darling. This weekend, he will chronicle his experience competing at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) in Toronto, Canada. If you missed his first post, you can find it here

I arrived in Toronto looking obnoxiously patriotic: monochromatic blue sweats and USA T-shirt, a backpack with USA garishly emblazoned on each strap, a travel bag with a big American flag printed on the center. Shoot, even my sleep mask, which I wore off the plane, was blue. Not exactly my usual aesthetic, but whatever— it’ll do. 

Because I’m here. 

In the team hotel, at an international meet, walking around in a US kit. No, it’s not the Olympics or a World Championships, but I never thought I’d even make it this far. 

Of course, that’s not gonna stop me from getting out here and having fun! I had time to bond with Kemoy (Campbell), as well as a couple Team USA sprinters and jumpers over video games and anime— shouts out to my dude looking like Vegito with the fusion earring (what did I tell you??); I dragged Travis Mahoney to three used bookstores in search of good manga finds (leaving with a complete collection of One Piece’s Summit War Saga), caught a Blue Jays game with him and Riley Masters, and I laughed with Ajee Wilson over the fact that one of her best friends in Philly, like, a dude who was in her Olympic Frosted Flakes ad, had dated my step-sister so seriously that he’d been to my house for family holidays. 

It’s too bad they broke up, too— Madison and I like him better than our step-sister anyway (even though he thought that was messed up when Ajee told him). Oh, and some of us are going to a Blue Jays game tonight— fortunately, our kits match the home team’s jerseys! 

But it’s one of those things where you reach a new level and come to the same realization you’ve had each step of the way: we’re all just normal people out here doing our thing. 

Maybe it helps that I’ve never been much of a track nerd. That’s not to say I don’t follow the sport— at this point, it’s almost a necessity— but I’m much more keenly focused on my event than on track as a whole. When I sit down next to someone at dinner who I haven’t already spoken to, I rarely know whether they’re a multi-time Olympian, someone who’s made a world team, or another guy like me who was ecstatic just to get the kit— even if I do already know their name. 

So when I sit down in the dining hall, it’s just meeting people like any other day: it’s people giving advice on boyfriends and girlfriends, philosophizing on relationship expectations and standards (check out my appearance on Run Your Mouth Pod if you want to know how I feel), debate whether or not we should all recognize Beyonce’s Lemonade as a generational work of art, and cringe over the bizarre habits of billionaires (apparently the guy who founded McAfee security was into some pretty weird stuff). 

It’s me and Travis joking about how we’d run in a three-man field if Andy Bayer didn’t show up (because the NACAC is heavily attended by Caribbean countries with more athletes in the sprints and the Canadians don’t have much in the steeplechase this year, it’ll be all America and one Puerto Rican), and it’s Andy talking about arriving at the meet late because he had two new children at home and how he wanted to spend time with them. 

Ok, one athlete expressed the entirely-unrelatable-to-me sentiment about how “track is ok, but it’s really the money I love,” but besides that, at the end of the day, everyone is a human being just like me. 

Besides, except the steeplechasers and the few people who may have seen my interview, nobody knows who I am either— even Michael Jordan only just now found out I took the crown of light-skinned brothers in the steeplechase from him! But because I’m here, everyone just assumes I belong.

The funny thing is, I’m starting to think I do, too.