When the University of Minnesota's Hassan Mead was interviewed by Flotrack a few weeks ago, he was sitting on the university track. The interviewer asked him what the name of the facility was. Mead hesitated, thinking. Finally he said it was the Bierman track.
Last weekend the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championships were held on the campus of Ohio State University in that school's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Today it was announced that another $6 million had been given to the U of M to support the new TCF Stadium being built on the campus to replace the old Memorial Stadium that had been torn down when the Gopher football team moved off campus to play in the HHH Metrodome. Both Ohio Stadium, where the Buckeyes play football before 100,000 plus fans, and Memorial Stadium had tracks.
So what do these bits of information mean? For one they reflect the changing nature of sports, of paying for sports, and perceptions of the marketplace. Jesse Owens, a track legend, was a major public figure, a national hero. Years ago track and field was a sport that promoters believed could fill stadiums with spectators. It was the key sport in the summer Olympics.
The USA/Russia dual meets filled football stadiums in the 60s with track fans. Sports stadiums didn't sell naming rights or have luxury boxes catering to corporate clientele. The Penn Relays wasn't the only meet that could fill a 50,000 seat stadium. Today, track or soccer, and any other "minor" sport are not deemed able to consistently draw large, paying crowds. If they are built at all, track facilities only have room for a modest numbers of fans.
The only track athlete who is generally recognized by the public as well as sports aficionados is another sprinter, Jamaica's Usain Bolt. My friend and colleague, Peter Gambaccini, who writes and edits the Racing News section on Runner's World's website, suggested, somewhat tongue in cheek, recently that Bolt has been designated the "Messiah" of track and field. While one might pause at the thought that the last Messiah ended up getting crucified, there is no doubt that both Bolt's business representatives and the IAAF leadership want to generate wealth, brand awareness, and growth from Bolt's current popularity.
Last weekend he was in Manchester running a street race that all involved admitted was little more than a lucrative PR event for Bolt, the sport, and the country that will be hosting the 2012 Games. As media celebrities often do these days, Bolt also created more publicity leading up to the event by rolling his BMW and injuring his foot on thorns, which leads one to believe that Messiahs should not drive fast cars recklessly, an admonishment that the IAAF leader Lamine Diack made not so subtly the other day.
Hidden behind all the headlines over Bolt was the fact that on the same weekend in a portion of the same event in Manchester another running legend, Haile Gebreselassie, headlined the 10K road race. Geb has accomplished more in his storied career than Bolt, but he comes from a different culture. While he is rich beyond belief by African standards, he doesn't spend his money on fast cars or bling, he reinvests much of it back into his home country, Ethiopia. And his events take nearly a half hour to just over two hours to complete, not less than 10 seconds. Not exactly a good fit for television where the viewer's attention span is deemed to be limited.
Geb also has not developed a "signature" gesture, such as Bolt's unique pointing to the sky celebratory bow shot that has begun to be copied even by owners of thoroughbred horses. Thus, he is not as easily embraced by the mainstream media that does much to make stars out of athletes and develop "brands." Hopping around the globe to run in lots of races, get "face time" before the cameras, and the other obligations of brand name properties are also not as conducive to training and performing at a high level for a distance runner. So, we read and hear more about "Lightening Bolt" than "The Emperor." More about how Bolt wants to become the $10 million dollar man in earnings, than how Haile is working to help his countrymen and women rise out of poverty.
There's a track stadium named after Kip Keino in Eldoret. Probably there is or will be one in Addis Ababa for Haile. In Africa the purpose of a brand, if such a thing exists, is to inspire the young people to know that there is opportunity, that life does not have to be simply worrying about where the next meal is coming from. In these African nations, one doesn't need to promote track and field, it is the major sport. In the so called developed world, however, the rules are different. The "lesser" sports are becoming marginalized because they don't generate huge revenue.
While participant sports, such as road racing, have captured the interest of causes, marketers, and fund raisers because they do generate awareness and dollars, track meets no longer fill 50,000 seat stadiums. At the adidas track classic in California last weekend, much of the talk on the blogs was how sparse the crowd was in the stands. Toronto is taking a gamble in June by promoting a meet that will feature Bolt where some of the tickets are on sale for $250. That's rock star concert money.
Will those running/promoting the sport be able to create a package that those who pay to watch sports will buy? Is that really the goal of competitive sports or merely a lucrative element of the endeavor? What Minnesota track athlete would be best to name a facility after? Few probably know that Bernie Bierman was a track athlete and started out as a track coach(You can read a bit about it here, but does his name do anything for the promotion of track and field?
I don't have the answers, but they are certainly some questions that are worth asking. What is in a name? For the citizens of Ohio, where I grew up, a name that got mentioned was Jesse Owens. The sport, the legend, that's associated with Owens is track and field. Bob Kennedy, Edwin Moses, Dave Wottle, and many others grew up in that tradition. There's as rich a history here in Minnesota. Where would many of the top Minnesota track athletes be, for example, if it wasn't for the work of Coach Roy Griak. The Griak track? The Fortune Gordien discus throwing circle?
The tradition is there. We should all recognize it.
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota
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