...Titled "On Track." I couldn't come up with anything clever.
It's going to be groundbreaking! Visionary! Controversial!
Ok well probably none of those things. But it is going to be opinionated.
Have you ever wondered why track and field and distance racing isn't popular in the mass media? It's popular in that a lot of people participate at various levels, but when it comes to coverage of the sport of running, there is virtually none. When I was in J-School for three days, I learned that track and field is a niche sport. The purpose of this series is to investigate why...why isn't track and field (and elite running in general) more widely covered?
Track used to be one of the Big Four sports (baseball, basketball, football, and sometimes hockey). It wasn't all that long ago, even...40, 50 years ago. And the athletes have only gotten better since then. So what's changed? Why isn't track one of the Big Four anymore?
And here's the conundrum: running in general is more popular than ever. Tens of thousands of people register for local road races. As the series goes, I hope to show that it's popularity is actually part of the problem.
We use running in our language all the time. We refer to things "in the long run." Certain aspects of our lives are "marathons, not sprints." New creations are "up and running." We give other people "the run-around." We "run in to" other people. Disputed elections are "run off." When something is intimidating, we "run the gauntlet." New projects or enthusiastic people "hit the ground running." in any sort of competition, competitors are either "in the running" or "out of the running." Jackson Browne was "Running on Empty." And the list goes on.
Running plays such a big role - more than any other sport - in our day-to-day language. So why does it not receive the level of respect that other sports do?
The summer Olympics are this August in London. For one week every four years, the nation is captivated by track and field. So why not for the four years in between Olympics, too?
I intend this to be a 12-part series leading up to the Olympics at the end of summer. Stay tuned once a week for a new post.
So tell me what you think. Am I way off track? (Hey...there's another running idiom) Think you've got a better explanation? Let me know!
Coming next week: Bill Bowerman (and Frank Shorter, too).
It's going to be groundbreaking! Visionary! Controversial!
Ok well probably none of those things. But it is going to be opinionated.
Have you ever wondered why track and field and distance racing isn't popular in the mass media? It's popular in that a lot of people participate at various levels, but when it comes to coverage of the sport of running, there is virtually none. When I was in J-School for three days, I learned that track and field is a niche sport. The purpose of this series is to investigate why...why isn't track and field (and elite running in general) more widely covered?
Track used to be one of the Big Four sports (baseball, basketball, football, and sometimes hockey). It wasn't all that long ago, even...40, 50 years ago. And the athletes have only gotten better since then. So what's changed? Why isn't track one of the Big Four anymore?
And here's the conundrum: running in general is more popular than ever. Tens of thousands of people register for local road races. As the series goes, I hope to show that it's popularity is actually part of the problem.
We use running in our language all the time. We refer to things "in the long run." Certain aspects of our lives are "marathons, not sprints." New creations are "up and running." We give other people "the run-around." We "run in to" other people. Disputed elections are "run off." When something is intimidating, we "run the gauntlet." New projects or enthusiastic people "hit the ground running." in any sort of competition, competitors are either "in the running" or "out of the running." Jackson Browne was "Running on Empty." And the list goes on.
Running plays such a big role - more than any other sport - in our day-to-day language. So why does it not receive the level of respect that other sports do?
The summer Olympics are this August in London. For one week every four years, the nation is captivated by track and field. So why not for the four years in between Olympics, too?
I intend this to be a 12-part series leading up to the Olympics at the end of summer. Stay tuned once a week for a new post.
So tell me what you think. Am I way off track? (Hey...there's another running idiom) Think you've got a better explanation? Let me know!
Coming next week: Bill Bowerman (and Frank Shorter, too).
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