Alan Webb, again

[Guest]

He's been bashed right and left on these boards.
Yet when he runs something respectable, no one comments. I'd like to know why that is? Any answers out there from the learned ones?

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

We have commented. see the "Webb back in action" thread.

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

Since he is getting paid $250,000 a year respectable is not good enough. The time he ran this weekend is not an elite time. According to the track table I have at home his 8K time was equivalent to a 4:11 mile.

Steve Scott, Jim Spivey, and Tim Hacker would have loved to have Webb's contract. Those guys were getting school teacher salaries to run super elite times. Webb's is getting paid a fortune to run 4 minute miles. If Webb were working for George Steinbrenner he would be in trouble.

Webb's PR by 2006 (guess)

3:50.4 mile
1:45.5 800meters
3:33 1500meters
7:37 3000 meters

My belief is Webb will equal Steve Holman, but will just fall short of the level Scott and Spivey attained. This is what has happened to every elite US miler since Falcon retired. I am almost positive Webb will be down to 3:50+ someday. From what I have read Webb does not put in enough distance to run sub 3:50. I thought Krummenacker would have run a 3:50 mile by now. He does have the fastest 800meter time of any US miler. I wish I could say Krummenacker is the next great American miler but he will be 29 next year. Remember at 28 Spivey lost his contract with Nike. Come to think of it Lunn will also be 29 next year.

Webb and Stember are going to have to take the lead in US miling soon. Yes, I guess Gabe Jenning will also have to contribute, that is unless he decides to go on another bike trip.

I got all the Alan Webb talk out of my system.
Time to move on...............

Mr. Magoo is now going to the rest home for a long sleep.

[MJD]

Re: Alan Webb, again

>Since he is getting paid $250,000 a year
>respectable is not good enough.

He's worth whatever someone is willing to pay him. With the exception of Cuba, North Korea and, periodically, certain Canadian provinces, that all got settled when the Berlin wall came tumbling down.

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

>Since he is getting paid $250,000 a year
>respectable is not good enough. The time he ran
>this weekend is not an elite time. According to
>the track table I have at home his 8K time was
>equivalent to a 4:11 mile.

But he is not getting paid to run xc - he's getting paid to run the mile and promote Nike. This race was insignificant except to show us that he is healthy and somewhat fit and to give him an indication of his fitness and get a solid workout. Nike has reason to believe Alan Webb is marketable otherwise they wouldn't have given him the contract.

Webb already has name by virtue of his 3:53 now he needs to get back to into form this spring/ summer and he can start giving Nike what they are paying him for - a very marketable athlete.

The 80's were a different era. Contracts are bigger now. And, as unfair as it may be, Alan Webb is a bigger name than Jim Spivey and probably even Steve Scott ever were.

If Webb comes through this summer he will get big-time publicity again. The move to drop out of Michigan, as contraversial as it was, will only help his marketability if he is able to produce on the track.

The interest on these boards shows how much interest there is in this guy. All of that interest can make money. By discussing it here we are feeding the Webb frenzy - good for A.W.'s pockets, good for Nike and, I think, ultimately good for the sport.

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

Way too many electrons have been jostled to and fro by Webb talk, speculating, hypothesizing, and fantasizing. Nothing matters till he's on the track next summer. Till then, let the poor elementary particles rest in peace.

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

<<The 80's were a different era. Contracts are bigger now. And, as unfair as it may be, Alan Webb is a bigger name than Jim Spivey and probably even Steve Scott ever were.>>

I don't think Webb will be as at the same level as either Scott or Spivey. I hope Webb does not become a one shot wonder. It would be a tragedy to waste a 3:53 mile in high school.
Webb should run a 3:50 within the next few years. Remember, he has not only the Africans to worry about but also the French and Spanish milers.

It is a sad fact but Webb bashing is becoming a sport on the internet. It is just the dark side of human nature to pan somebody we think is not performing up to ability. Look what Yankee fans do to high priced players that don't perform. Webb has become the first highly paid US distance runner and fans expect something in return. It sounds unfair but it has always been that way in sports.

[Guest]

Re: Alan Webb, again

He's
>worth whatever someone is willing to pay him.
>With the exception of Cuba, North Korea and,
>periodically, certain Canadian provinces, that
>all got settled when the Berlin wall came
>tumbling down.

To say someone is worth whatever he's paid is a tautology, but a little off -- he receives what someone is willing to pay him, but as an investment, it may be a bust, meaning the investor in him loses on the deal. So whether the investment is worth it to the investor seems to be the real question. If I pay double the price on a car than I should have, and it's a lemon to boot, then the car was "worth" whatever I paid for it, but it really wasn't worth it . . .
Nike won't be able to put out its "Webb" web (a la the Bob Kennedy shoe) until he does better.

[MJD]

Re: Alan Webb, again

I was trying to find the first ever thread and stumbled upon this where Mr Magoo weighed in with some predictions. Just wondering if he would care to revise and extend his remarks.

[tafnut]

Re: Alan Webb, again

but he said GOOD things about Webb - was afraid he MIGHT become a Holman - remains to be seen.

[MJD]

Re: Alan Webb, again

>but he said GOOD things about Webb - was afraid he MIGHT become a Holman -
>remains to be seen.

He is already hitting the times though. Maybe it was you tafnut!

[ycn]

Re: Alan Webb, again

I think we've barely seen the beginning of what AW can do. Call me an optimist or an idiot, but a guy who rededicates himself to his sport can be a very dangerous thing.

AW certainly fits the profile as well as it can be described. We will find out more in the next couple of months, but I am cautiously optimistic, and most enthusiastically in his corner.

What I worry about more than anything is burnout. The fact that he dropped Bislett tells me that he is more aware of the possibility than I am. God bless this young man, and I wish him nothing but the best.

PS - I'm a little sad to see Sanya Richards give up her college eligibility for her pro potential at this time. My thoughts are that she needs the relative anonymity and comfort of a college environment for a while longer, but if she truly dedicates herself to the sport, the sky may be the limit. It really is all up to her. And good luck to her as well.

[KeepMoving]

Re: Alan Webb, again

>Webb should run a 3:50 within the next few years.<

Great! That will bring him into the 1980's! How much were they paid back then?

[MJD]

Re: Alan Webb, again

>I think we've barely seen the beginning of what AW can do. Call me an optimist
>or an idiot, but a guy who rededicates himself to his sport can be a very
>dangerous thing.

I don't think he ever stopped dedicating himself.

[gh]

Re: Alan Webb, again

I have no idea about the specific of Webb's deal with Nike, but it would seem logical that while there was probably significant up-front money, and some guaranteed payments, that he has to meet certain performance standards to continue to collect for the life of it. I doubt his dedication faltered for an instant.