> From: "T. Jordan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: "T. Jordan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 14:25:04 -0800 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: t-and-f: Hall of Fame... > > One of the most entertaining performances I've seen...Alan Webb's HS mile > record. During his last 300, it was the loudest I've heard it at Hayward > Field since the East Grandstands were moved back 30 feet in 1987.>
Tom brings up a really relevant point to this whole thread about exciting performances, and that's how much of a part stadium construction plays in it. While Eugene is still a loud place, the moving back of the East stands palpably diminished the overall effect. I'd go so far as to say that the heights Pre-mania reached in the old building couldn't be matched in the new ones. (If you've never been to Eugene, let me explain that the old track was very long and thin, with the two grandstands closer together than any other stadium I can think of. Combine that with the construction of the place--I can't define the architecture, sorry, but think of a pair of megaphones pointing at each other--and you really did (and still do) get something special. Easily the loudest Olympics/World Championships I've been to (and they total about 15) would be Stuttgart '93. Not just because the Germans really now how to roar, but mainly because of the nature of the covered stands there, which keep the sound in. The roar-coefficient, I think,is one reason indoor track used to be so successful on the east coast, when they could fill up a major indoor arena and break each others' eardrums. Along that line, I'd also say that the appeal for indoor track has been greatly diminished with the advent of synthetic tracks. Nothing like the boom-boom-boom on the old boards to get the hair standing up on the back of your neck. Gh
