Note that again there wasn't a single day that was a complete sell-out at the Worlds. It can be argued that they've been using stadia of late that are too big, but I also note that the last legit SRO crowds we had were in Stuttgart in '93.
What happened in '95, '97, '99, '01 and '03? IAAF changed the format and got rid of the rest day. Perhaps a coincidence, but strikes me that even with the addition of a women's event since then that there are too many sessions that are just too devoid of action and don't justify the high ticket prices.
Also hasn't helped that the WC standards have become tied to the tough OG ones, resulting in the loss of rounds. For example, between Stuttgart and Paris the men's 400 lost a rounds, the men's 10K lost a round.
Or, check out a primo event like the men's 1500. In Stuttgart 44 men were in the heats. In Paris it was 28, leading to a ludicrous situation where the heats were run to eliminate only 4 and the 4 who were eliminated were toss-ins from the third world who couldn't break 3:50 (and I don't mean for the mile!).
The IAAF needs to reconsider this self-destructive policy. Their crown jewel is starting to look like one of those recent NCAAs, with Q rounds that mean nothing.
What happened in '95, '97, '99, '01 and '03? IAAF changed the format and got rid of the rest day. Perhaps a coincidence, but strikes me that even with the addition of a women's event since then that there are too many sessions that are just too devoid of action and don't justify the high ticket prices.
Also hasn't helped that the WC standards have become tied to the tough OG ones, resulting in the loss of rounds. For example, between Stuttgart and Paris the men's 400 lost a rounds, the men's 10K lost a round.
Or, check out a primo event like the men's 1500. In Stuttgart 44 men were in the heats. In Paris it was 28, leading to a ludicrous situation where the heats were run to eliminate only 4 and the 4 who were eliminated were toss-ins from the third world who couldn't break 3:50 (and I don't mean for the mile!).
The IAAF needs to reconsider this self-destructive policy. Their crown jewel is starting to look like one of those recent NCAAs, with Q rounds that mean nothing.
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