Bo Peep wrote:
I think it’s because of the link to Salazar and the skipping of NCAA racing that most on the board seem to have started pressing for Mary to perform poorly.
You're on the right track, but it's even simpler than that. I doubt anyone cares that she went pro when she did, as that simply made athletic and financial sense. It's *all* Salazar, who has made it almost obligatory for people to root for his runners' opponents -- and that was before his almost comically sinister behavior in Albuquerque this winter.
Rooting for a non-NOP athlete to beat a NOPer is one small but non-negligible step from hungering for NOP runners to fail outright, but, while I can't speak for others, I am not yet at the latter point. Rupp and some of his associates may be functionally or outright doped, but he and the others up there are still fun to watch in action.
I don't think anyone here actively dislikes Mary Cain. Even if she were mature enough to be fully accountable for her public persona, that persona is perfectly appealing. I think she's great. But because I can't watch Salazar himself mess up and lose races and almost die afterward, I have to transfer my ill will toward him to easy targets after processing it into something slightly less aggressive and prickly.
The upshot is that I'd love to see AE and MC go 1-2, which won't happen. But only in that order.