We've covered this many times. Track and field is boring. There is no continuity from one event to the next because there is no team scoring at the pro level.
Marathons are particularly boring. It's two hours of typically nothing for a hour and a half! It's like NASCAR without the crashes, pit stops, cautions to bring the field back together, mechanical failures, risk of being drawn into someone else's crash, or the possibility that any of maybe 20 or so drivers could win, depending on luck. And in spite of all that, NASCAR is boring most of the time, too.
"this is a silly take. Marathons are very popular....'
I fail to see why any of us should care that our sport isn't popular with the huddled masses. Is it just that you want to see it on TV more often? The 2 hour selections from Millrose and NBGP NBC has shown recently have actually been pretty good. I would watch more of those but it's more of a passive desire. Watching a full track meet in person is incredibly boring except when your event or your friends' events come up.
I personally am fine with running remaining a niche sport. Maybe if I were a 3:37 1500 guy I would feel more strongly that there should be more sponsorship/advertising money in the sport so I could be a true pro. But for my semi-competitive hobbyjogging self, the sport as it is suits me pretty well. The only thing I want more of is all-comers track meets with a truncated selection of events so they can be fit into a 4 hour window or something. I live in a huge metro area and if I want to run a track 5K I have to badger D3 meet directors (if I can even find them) or show up to one of maybe two USATF-organized meets that that happen every year, and there will be one other guy under 18:00 if I'm lucky.
Its ok bro. I like our quiet little sport. I don't want all the normies and npcs bothering us. Runners are cool. The general public isn't. Hell thats half the reason I run
I think the perception that PED's are rampant has diminished the popularity. I think some have lost interest because of the belief that "all the winners are cheating", or "the records are meaningless now", or "it's all about who has the best chemicals". Just my theory.
The only thing I want more of is all-comers track meets with a truncated selection of events so they can be fit into a 4 hour window or something. I live in a huge metro area and if I want to run a track 5K I have to badger D3 meet directors (if I can even find them) or show up to one of maybe two USATF-organized meets that that happen every year, and there will be one other guy under 18:00 if I'm lucky.
Where do you live that it's so difficult to find meets? It's been harder with COVID, but even as a slow woman (10:20, 17:58 3/5k indoor) it's been possible to find more races than I'd want to attend – indoors and out – in both the PNW and now New England.
Twin Cities, MN. Some people would probably dispute the "huge" designation, but if you include the entire metropolitan statistical area I believe we're in the top 20 nationwide. There's a pretty good club scene for road racing, but track is lacking IMO. There's a ton of D3 schools in the area that host a lot of meets, but they obviously have to limit the number of adult hobbyjoggers they let in even before the virus. We actually were fortunate enough to be one of the host cities for the Tracksmith Twilight 5Ks last fall which were great events. We definitely have enough interest here to have more events like that, if any aspiring meet organizers are reading this.
this is a silly take. Marathons are very popular. There’s a reason why runners can make a living racing the marathon when an equivalent time in a track event would leave them begging for just airfare and hotel to a race. Marathons bring in huge sponsors and lots of money. The sponsorship opportunities are much greater than in track where, at the big meets, athletes can only represent a shoe sponsor. The average person sees the marathon as the end all be all of running, and as much more impressive than the shorter events.
Marathons a very popular? By what standard?
It's very popular in Japan, where many people who don't even run recreationally follow the sport. (And they know what a good marathon time for elites is supposed to be.)
Swimming should be considered the most boring sport. You can't even see the faces of the swimmers, just splashes in the water. But the Americans win a lot of medals and the Olympic swimming announcer is so exuberant about every single race, even the heats. It's like every race is a momentous battle between giants, which it is at the Olympic level. Track needs someone like that, who can describe the grandeur of every race, and showcase all the great athletes competing neck and neck, toe to toe, heart to heart.
It's easy to tell who is ahead in a swimming race. And there is less dead time between races compared to track. DL meets are organized pretty well, but I often get bored watching American Track League because there is too much dead time.
If "not being able to see the faces" makes a sport boring, then NFL must be the most boring sports league.
Sprints. Sprints, sprints, sprints. Distance is crazy boring. I don't think I'd go above a mile, unless it's a relay like a DMR or 4x8. Maybe the steeple because of the variety.
Work with FanDuel/DraftKings/etc to create a fantasy game out of it, along with event-by-event betting lines. Horse racing, but with humans.
Never, ever more than one minute without a race happening. Forget all of this five minutes to set up your blocks and get set nonsense.
Lots of screen overlays -- a line that they're chasing (a WR/WL/AR, or the time to beat from an earlier heat), a speedometer, that Whoop/heart-rate thing they had at Millrose, that sort of thing. Watch a NASCAR/F1 race and you'll see what I mean,
Enthusiastic, knowledgeable commentators. Ato is fine, everyone else is pretty bad.
For novelty purposes, throw in exhibition kind of stuff -- non-track athletes racing, like football players in a 60m dash or a 4x4 with celebrities, Battle of the Network Stars style.
There is no team score. No gambling. No set schedule or season long scoring points like tennis, nascar or pga.
the announcing is terrible and so predictable.
lewis Johnson (interviewing someone with a past suspension or trains with group with suspended athletes) how’d it feel out there? This has been a tough year. Are you happy with your time?
athlete: I’m happy. Just training to get ready for outdoors.
lewis j: thanks. Back to you English bobsled announcer and 2008 Olympian woman who can’t stop talking about the time she ran an 800.
never any questions that may elicit interest or controversy because everyone wants to be part of the usatf broadcasts. Is usatf still paying for air time?
it is unwatchable. Get bill walton or al Michael’s or anyone that can provide a bit of excitement. Tv people seem to think that fringe sports need to have someone that competed in the sport. You don’t need to be dead to write obituaries, get some professionals.
It's boring, plus Americans don't care to cheer for Africans whose names they can't pronounce.
I feel like this is one of the biggest points.
Any distance race with some money is just a competition between East Africans. Most Americans have no idea where Kenya or Ethiopia are, other than they probably somewhere in Africa.
There aren't a lot of East Africans on the US, so for most people it is hard to tell the difference between the people racing. It doesn't help that they are all wearing identical uniforms and shoes.
In my opinion, if (US) races limited entrants to USA/CAN/MEX they would be more engaging to the public. As you would have Johnny the CPA from Chicago vs Paco the Mexican vs Bob from Flagstaff. People would be able to distinguish faces/bodies better and would be able to relate to where someone is from in order to cheer for/against.
I fail to see why any of us should care that our sport isn't popular with the huddled masses.
Because we want the best athletes in our city to get the recognition they deserve, not preempted in the sports pages by slower athletes who play around with balls on a little field.
We want high schools to respect the sport and provide good facilities. We want colleges to stop cutting track programs. We want good locker rooms and training facilities.
We don't want to be better than the other sports, we want to be recognized as equal to any other sport. Track and field is not a "niche" sport at all, it should not be treated as such. There are more track and field athletes in USA high schools than in any other sport, that alone should justify equal coverage by television, sports pages, newscasts, and online.
It's not on TV all the time like other major sports are. I can only suppose that's because it's not found exciting or no one has made it exciting for TV audience.