Hmm .. I think there are definitely teams in track and field here in the
Untied States .. The NCAA championships have them .. As do High School State
Championships .. And in both cases I think you have the same sort of
regional/nationalistic passion that you have in European meets .. And at the
Trials there was definitely a lot of cheering going on for various athletes
during, before, and after races .. Greene and John fans .. Jacobs and
Hamilton fans .. Dragila fans .. Jennings and Stember fans .. So don't sell
the audiences short .. I think often the "problem" with the fans is that
they are looking for more to be going on (as was described in the earlier
post on the European meet) to get excited about ...
Conway Hill
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eckmann, Drew" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 2:11 PM
Subject: t-and-f: Euro Meets
> European meet directors also have European audiences.
> European audiences have nationality. European audiences care
> passionately who wins a particular race or field event. The
> closest thing that Americans have to nationality is professional
> sports teams, such as baseball, basketball, or football.
> Professional sports teams, of course, don't translate over to track.
>
> Dave Carey
>
> This is a very good point. You'll always hear at the Olympics or World
> Championships how "The folks in (NAME YOU PLACE) will be dancing in the
> streets tonight because So-and-So won the 5000 meters. We could get Gold,
> Silver and Bronze in every event and the general populace wouldn't give a
> damn. Of course, Detroit burns whenever they win something but I don't
think
> that that happens because of the joy of winning. /Drew
