Six out of first 16 threads are Webb threads

[DrJay]

Counting this one.

[15mph]

Re: Six out of first 16 threads are Webb threads

Counting this one.

This is further proof that along with the 100 meters the mile/1500 is the most interesting track and field event.

[paulthefan]

a shame, he certainly deserved 8 of the top 16.

[Matt]

I know I will be blasted for this but boy am I sick of Webb threads!

He has run a decent 1500 and a good mile this year - (and accepting that this is a US board) but get over it everyone, there are plenty more athletes out there performing similarly or at a better level than he is!

[paulthefan]

yea, but only Webb is from the USA.

[deca-pat]

where is MattMarriott when we need him?! :wink:

[ponytayne]

I know I will be blasted for this but boy am I sick of Webb threads!

He has run a decent 1500 and a good mile this year - (and accepting that this is a US board) but get over it everyone, there are plenty more athletes out there performing similarly or at a better level than he is!

Really? Last I saw, he leads the world list for both mile and 1500m. So, where are those who are performing better? Oh, that's right. There are none in those events.

[Hufcor]

He has run a decent 1500 and a good mile this year

Wow, Matt if you are not impressed with a 3:30 / 3:46 PR…

I think this is one of the reasons track does so poorly in this country. All the major sports do a good job of branding their hero’s. But, judging from the comments on this board…people would start to complain if they see the same guy on two magazine covers!

Webb deserves the attention he is getting and more. He just broke a record that had been standing since 1982! Just look at American miling for the past decade, it wasn’t that long ago that Nationals were won by guys who could not make it out of their heat in a major Championship. Now we have someone that looks like he could be a contender…its exciting.

Come to think about it…what attention? Outside of the handful of people on message boards…I have seen no attention given by the sports media.

[Half Miler]

I never understand why people complain about these things. Those who post to Webb threads are interested in him. So what? If you're not interested, don't read or post to the threads.

[eldrick]

I know I will be blasted for this but boy am I sick of Webb threads!

He has run a decent 1500 and a good mile this year - (and accepting that this is a US board) but get over it everyone, there are plenty more athletes out there performing similarly or at a better level than he is!

he's just run a mile quicker than our 2 greatest icons - coe & ovett

for us, i can't even remember last time any brit even ran < 3'50

[nevetsllim]

I never understand why people complain about these things. Those who post to Webb threads are interested in him. So what? If you're not interested, don't read or post to the threads.

I just thought it was quite ironic after Epelle said that the British fans own their athletes more than people from other countries and somebody else said something like they always laugh when the Brits talk about the Americans being patriotic.

[KevinM]

I never understand why people complain about these things. Those who post to Webb threads are interested in him. So what? If you're not interested, don't read or post to the threads.

Agreed. There's also an implication in these types of complaints that T&F fandom is supposed to be performance or merit-based. Where's the fun in that? If someone told me that they were fans of the Colts, Cardinals, Spurs, Anaheim, and Man U, I would laugh in their faces, even if they claimed to merely be fans of great performances. Without cheering interests that go beyond the numbers, sports are meaningless to me. The enormous interest one finds here in Alan Webb isn't merely that he is on the short list of medal threats in Osaka -- it goes far beyond that. This is a guy many of us have been following since 1999, when he broke Ryun's sophomore record in the mile. Fast forward through his 3:53 at Pre, his rough year at Michigan (and a rough 2003 afterwards), his leap to true world-class ability in 2004 and 2005, his eye-opening range and disappointing Euro season in 2006, and now his leap from "just" world class to potential world-beater.

Eh, maybe you're right. Maybe fan interest should be based on the IAAF tables.

[Matt]

I knew that certain folk would get defensive!

Bettering Coe and Ovett's mile times when those times are over 25 years old is no big achievement as far as I am concerned - the current standard is 3:43, and he is almost four seconds behind that.

A very exciting athlete for sure, but worthy of countless threads, or indeed threads about how many threads he has? Nah.

[eldrick]

Bettering Coe and Ovett's mile times when those times are over 25 years old is no big achievement as far as I am concerned - the current standard is 3:43, and he is almost four seconds behind that

it woud be if a brit beat their times !!!

like i said, when was the last time one of our brit boys even cracked 3'50 ?

[eldrick]

i looked it up - elliot with 3'49.46 in '91 !!!

that's 16y since a brit even got within 2.5s of webb's time !!!