Track & Field Memo: Don't Strive to Be Like the NFL, NBA, WWE

Wow (smacks self on forehead), I could have had a V-8!

Is it possible the sport of Track and Field in America, on a quest for the rediscovery of its former glory, is about to have its own V-8 moment?

The lure of what's currently hot, of what is presently grabbing the headlines, of the glitzy packaging and cool slogans, can divert one's attention from what may be the simplest and best cure for what one craves.

And after having tasted the fruits of the NFL's Super Bowl, FIFA's World Cup, and the NBA 's All-Star Weekend, I have become more convinced than ever the "global spectacle" route is not the remedy that track and field—whose history of simplicity and purity reaches back several millennia—really needs.

On these pages, I have often lamented the decline of track and field from its former days of glory. I have whined about the sport's relative obscurity, shouting from the back pages here at Bleacher Report. I have openly wondered why the predictable Olympic feeding frenzy can't sustain the casual fan beyond those two weeks in late Summer.

But to dwell on such things is to focus on mere symptoms. We need to get at the root of the matter.

Several days ago, I read three related articles which may have struck at the core.

Jesse Squire, the Track & Field Superfan, had this to say:

"

"The point is that modest success is still success. I will never say that track and field is incapable of being popular. But what I will say is that we must exploit our niche...Could track again fill Madison Square Garden some day? I don’t know. I do know that if you’re going to try, we have to nurse it back to health again. To me, that means many smaller and successful meets, rather than one big giant event."

"

Then, Ken Goe, of The Oregonian:

"

"Eugene has branded itself as Track Town USA. That doesn't mean the meets at Hayward Field attempt to compete for time, attention or interest with the UO football games at Autzen Stadium...Football is for the masses. Thanks to the leadership of Oregon coach Vin Lananna, track meets in Eugene have become boutique events, catering to a smaller, more sophisticated fan base."

"

The clincher, referenced by both Squire and Goe, is an impassioned piece from Daniel Wallis of The Runner's Tribe:

"

"It may seem cliché, but there really was less to occupy your weekends before sport was ever thought of as a ‘profession’. These days if we want the mob atmosphere of a stadium we will watch the Super 14 rugby, Aussie rules or the NFL. Although track was one of the first sports to dabble in professionalism, it is no longer on equal terms with most sports as they have evolved into a new world of sports-entertainment."

"

Much of my cynicism is derived from having lived during track and field's golden years—the 1960s and 70s, when the sport dominated the early days of televised sports coverage. To witness the fall of the sport from that once-lofty perch has been painful.

So to have other writers articulate for me a common-sense explanation of the current state of the sport—something that really resonated in my gut...well, it came like a healing balm. Hence, my own personal V-8 moment.

The common theme: let the big global championship meets (i.e. Olympics and World Championships) cater to the casual fan's fixation on the extravagant spectacle. True track fans will still enjoy the raw competition and the sport can't help but benefit from the exposure.

But also continue to focus on producing viable and successful local and regional meets, where the hardcore fan base is more concentrated. It's in this arena where American track has taken the biggest hits, as many of the classic regional meets of the past have disappeared.

The sport must heal at this level first, just as an open wound must heal from the inside out.

But the real takeaway for me—from reading the three articles above—is that things are not as dire as they once seemed, only days ago.

I had somehow painted myself into a fatalistic corner of thinking, asking myself, "Is there no other way than to conform to the hyper-sensory "Showtime" methods of the rest of the sporting world?"

Then...Smack!  V-8 moment.

It's okay that other sports may have "evolved" past track and field. I don't think a sport whose appeal is simply the primal functions of running, jumping, throwing...faster, higher, farther, would be well-served by Madison Avenue gimmicks or Cecil B. DeMille theatrics.

Track and field, after all, has survived centuries of societal evolution.

And the sport's self-inflicted wounds (drug scandals, poor marketing and, in some cases, dismal television presentation) are improving.

Hey, a well-run track meet will sell itself. It is teeming with diversity. It is fast-paced. There is plenty of drama. It literally has something for everyone.

Essentially, it looks good, even without make-up.

Personally, it doesn't hurt that most of my live track experience happens to have come at Eugene's Hayward Field, where over the years, track officials have maintained the perfect balance of state-of-the-art facilities blended with a small-town, intimate atmosphere.

Eugene, and Hayward Field are the perfect model for what track and field should strive to be.

And yes, I'll have another drink of Kool-Aid—er, I mean V-8!

Follow @rojosports