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On Track #2: Girls and Boys Together

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to be sexist here -- just trying to flesh out the psychology of the American sports fan. Ok, gotta get that out of the way.

So my theory for another reason why track and field and road racing isn't popular with American sports fans and media is that the men and women compete together. I mean, not that they compete in the exact same races (except they generally do in road races), but rather that they compete in the same meet. And that means they get equal TV and spectator airtime.

The best analogy I can think of is the NBA and WNBA. The NBA is a very popular league, one of the Big Three (or Four) in American sports. The WNBA? Exact same sport, zero popularity. And it's no question why. The hard truth: it's women playing, and that's not popular. Heck yeah it's more sexist than Rush Limbaugh and Don Imus at a gentleman's club.

The difference is that a fan can watch (and the media can cover) the NBA but completely ignore the WNBA. And that's what happens. However, because male and female track meets and road races are competed simultaneously, that's not an option. If you wanna watch it, you're forced to watch both the men and women compete. How do you think fans would react if they were forced to watch a WNBA game just to get into the Miami Heat stadium?

So that's it. You wanna watch a track meet? You gotta watch a women's meet, too. It shouldn't be a secret that popular America doesn't like to watch women's sporting events.

But here's where it gets bad. (And again...not trying to be sexist, just trying to get in the heads of sports fans and media)

(Deep breath...) Anyway, here goes: having both at the same time brings down the men's athletics (in the eyes of sports fans and media). For example, in your standard marathon, Ryan Hall is going to beat Paula Radcliffe by at least 15-20 minutes. He'll finish miles ahead...literally. But what does it say to the casual sports fan (who drives the media and popularity) when they are starting side-by-side on the same starting line.

Who's this dude running next to a girl? Seriously? The best athletes are running with...girls? (*Changes channel to Jersey Shore*)

Track and field is a little different; the men and women don't share the starting line, but they do share coverage. They receive equal time, and that's most definitely not popular with people. It's even worse when a tactical men's race goes out on pace slower than the same women's race. I can just imagine Joe Q. Sports Fan: The guys are running slower than girls...you wanna put on Top Gun instead?

So there you have it. Newsflash: American is sexist. Especially your typical red-blooded, Bud-drinking American sports fan.

I know it's terrible, but people don't want to watch women's sports. Or, for whatever latent sexist reasons, society doesn't give equal credence to women's athletics, Title IX be damned. Putting the men and women together decreases the popularity of both, especially (ironically) the men.

So I've made the disclaimer before, but I don't share the sentiment that men and women shouldn't compete together. But I'm in the minority of Americans, and so we have another reason track and field and road racing aren't popular as elite sports.

Coming Next Week: Doping

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