29:35
I got an email from Flotrack.org with the rather alarming subject line Will The Athletes Revolt!?.
Apparently, a blog post entitled I'm Tired of USATF and IAAF Crippling Our Sport has caused a two month-long controversy about sponsorship in track and field.
My initial reaction was skeptical, as the author is essentially complaining that runners aren't allowed to have MORE sponsorship, as in other sports. But if the governing bodies are monopolising their bodies for their own sponsorship money, that is of course terrible, and if there must be advertising in sports, athletes should have some control over it, since they're the ones wearing it. It's a little confusing. He seems to say Nike, Samsung et al are victims but also benefit from this set-up.
And then there's the whole issue of whether we should be able to "make a living" from running rather than just enjoying it. Well under capitalism, it's nice to have some people who work to entertain, I guess. Under another system, you could run for the love of it, without needing to worry about paying bills but without feeling the need to be famous either. Anyway...
Then I got annoyed at this: "Since when does the greatest nation in the world kowtow to an international governing body?" Um, well it controls most of the "international" governing bodies out there, but really, shouldn't it be listening to legitimate international governing bodies? That's the point of having rules everyone in the world has to follow. The rest of the paragraph is like that.
And to have him saying he was old and his career on the cusp of being over at age 27 was utterly humbling, to put it lightly...
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I got the same email but didn't really feel like reading it. Basically I think for Olympic sports, American athletes have always kind have gotten the shaft. Back in Pre's day, they couldn't even make any money running if they wanted to compete in the Olympics (whereas at the same time Europeans didn't save the same constraints). I personally couldn't care less how many sponsors are on their jerseys when they are running. I know it's already near impossible to make enough money to live being a professional runner as it is unless you're Galen Rupp or a few select others.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm applying my mid-to-long-term vision for how I'd like the world to be to a smaller and more immediate situation. Which is a flawed argument. I would rather runners had as little advertising as possible because I think we all see more than enough as it is, but it doesn't mean the runners themselves should be ripped off. I imagine that the problem could be solved by alternative means though.
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