Might as well host all major events in England since people there actually show up. 🤷♀️
The "Eugene is hard to reach and has a low population" excuse doesn't apply to a major city like Munich. The "it's the morning session" excuse doesn't apply either when Birmingham was almost full during their morning sessions.
Why does World Athletics keep choosing places that don't care about athletics? It just looks bad.
Certainly not the support of Birmingham in the morning session. But the marathon has good spectators, and over the weekend a lot of people were in the Olympiapark watching other events. I think it'll be a far better turnout that Eugene which, quite frankly, was a bit embarassing
Why all this concern over the popularity of track? I bet nobody here can talk prewar Alabama blues talkings 20's and 30's that doesn't dim my enjoyment of the music. Track will get by it always has and always will, we will always have tons of meets to attend, tones of things to tak about just like we had this season.
Why all this concern over the popularity of track? I bet nobody here can talk prewar Alabama blues talkings 20's and 30's that doesn't dim my enjoyment of the music. Track will get by it always has and always will, we will always have tons of meets to attend, tones of things to tak about just like we had this season.
Well one reason is that if track is unpopular, then it's very likely symptomatic of a problem with track. For example, it could be that track has lost popularity because most winners for the last 30 years were from African countries with zero or rudimentary doping controls. Of course, that wouldn't matter for you, but the millions of lost fans have lost out.
I went to at least a dozen track meets this season, saw all the track on TV. If there is some problem, where? Nothing has changed for me it's like it has always been.
The start of the decathlon, 4/5 field qualifiers, and 3x heats for each of the men's and women's 100m to progress some absolute no-hopers through to the semis, at which point the proper sprinters will appear.
I love me some live athletics but I wouldn't cross the street to watch that for free.
In the first morning session in Birmingham there were 17x 100m heats with *all* the competitors involved, plus the three heats (effectively semis) of the women's 800m. Different kettle of fish.
The obsession over attendance is weird. Especially when it's easy to pick out extenuation factors like stadium size, ease of attendance, event quality and so on. I'm sure once actual finals are being run, attendance will be better. But in a 70,000-person stadium only the Olympics are going to get full stands in all likelihood.
Why all this concern over the popularity of track? I bet nobody here can talk prewar Alabama blues talkings 20's and 30's that doesn't dim my enjoyment of the music. Track will get by it always has and always will, we will always have tons of meets to attend, tones of things to tak about just like we had this season.
Well one reason is that if track is unpopular, then it's very likely symptomatic of a problem with track. For example, it could be that track has lost popularity because most winners for the last 30 years were from African countries with zero or rudimentary doping controls. Of course, that wouldn't matter for you, but the millions of lost fans have lost out.
I’m not sure a more incorrect take on the matter could be written. So job well done on that.
The start of the decathlon, 4/5 field qualifiers, and 3x heats for each of the men's and women's 100m to progress some absolute no-hopers through to the semis, at which point the proper sprinters will appear.
I love me some live athletics but I wouldn't cross the street to watch that for free.
In the first morning session in Birmingham there were 17x 100m heats with *all* the competitors involved, plus the three heats (effectively semis) of the women's 800m. Different kettle of fish.
It's a good point. I live in Munich and would have wanted to be at there tonight, but it's a big lift with two small children at home. The event wasn't *too* expensive, but the cost of tickets still convinced me it wasn't worth the effort. They should price track meets to fill the stadium. Charge $5 or 5 euros if you think that'll fill the place up. Would that maximize revenue? I'm not sure. But is putting on a track meet an exercise in maximizing revenue?
Also, the fact that this comes several weeks AFTER the World Champs matters. It robs the event of its potential gravitas. To be sure, Munich is hosting like a mini Olympics right now with all sorts of Euro championships happening, and it's really fun and giving a great vibe in the city.
Still, I say, World Champs should always be early/mid August and after that fast runners go for PRs and WRs. But who can really care about being European or Commonwealth Champion after the most important championship in the season has already occurred? To me, it lessens the impact.