USA vs JAMAICA in Home & Away Showdown

[Paul Henry]

I think this is one positive that came out of the new directive from the US track Officials. Apprently Doug Logan has spearheaded an invitation to JAAA to ask for interests in a USA vs JA series. It seems loga wants to settle the score. LINK:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/ ... orts1.html

This like having a target shooting competion before a big war.

My personal view is that Ja. should agree to this only after the World Champioship (....yeah I smell a concerted cheeky strategy here).

My suggestion would be to make an official showdown between 2 USA teams and 2 JAM teams in the 4x100 for men and women, further to this a sries aspect could be added by having the same teams compete at the JA. Invitational.

[Smoke]

Too much cynicism in the world. This is track and field and we need to get back to pure competition. Too many that watch the sport worry about nonsense. Friendly, heated rivalry is what will drive this into the future.
Time to take the heat from Penn Relays to the professional level. Time to toughen up and remind all what it is to compete. The iron is hot as the saying goes. American fans have a team to love or hate. Track has a natural born rivalry. Jamaicans have taken over what has been historically American and we want it back! If you cannot see the excitement in this it is hopeless for you.

[eldrick]

this might work for a season or 5, but americans don't really need it

jama is currently king in sprints & relays with a golden age of athletes, but small population & that mandates difficulty to keep producing & invariably 5 or 10y down the line americans will be back on top ( inexhaustible conveyor belt of top talent ) with jama possibly back to situation of '90s with the odd good man or woman in an event

americans shoud just concentrate on themselves & get better in internal competition & euro circuit like always

they have never needed to issue a challenge in 110y+ of elite competition ( well apart from ? ddr & cccp meets in '70s ?! ) & they don't need to now

[rudeboy]

This USA VS Jamaica thing should be pushed to 2010. The top athletes have already set their schedules. Besides, the best in the world should not be determined at any regular meet. It should be determined at the highest level, Olympics or WC.

[Paul Henry]

Too much cynicism in the world. This is track and field and we need to get back to pure competition. Too many that watch the sport worry about nonsense. Friendly, heated rivalry is what will drive this into the future.
Time to take the heat from Penn Relays to the professional level. Time to toughen up and remind all what it is to compete. The iron is hot as the saying goes. American fans have a team to love or hate. Track has a natural born rivalry. Jamaicans have taken over what has been historically American and we want it back! If you cannot see the excitement in this it is hopeless for you.

Support You 100% . But with that taken we still need to face our adversaries with the correct startegies and right priorities. And another point is that in reality a whole lot put a lot of priority to nonesense.

What's more important to JA: Winning this steak in the name of competition or fully concentrating on the WORLDS to continue a sprint world dominance that might never come again?

So we will have the entire Ja. team go up against the entire US team just before the World Champs, this while Ja is coming off an olympic dominance (of sprints) and are the seeming favourites...Who has more to lose?

I see your point, (LORD KNOWS DEPP DOWN I AM STEAMING TO SEE THIS HAPPEN) but you dont know what shape the Iron will have after being struck hot as against carefully sawing it.

OF course my views are strictly selfish and selfishly guards the interests of the JA athletes gaining supremacy in Germany.

[Smoke]

Eldrick there was a US v USSR meet back in the day so you are wrong about that.

You are also wrong about your years of Jamaican sprint prowess. Last I checked Lennox Miller and Don Quarry ran in the 60s and 70s, and there are a number of others too. SO we are 40+ years in of that little island kicking out sprinters. Just think if Sanya would have remained Jamaican.

Logan has said one thing true, it is time for a change. This is not the regular. And you are fooling yourself if you believe the American public does not need this. We need something to make the sport relevant and this is a perfect vehicle. Penn relays has made a life on the relays. You have no idea how hot this will be to that diehard fan base. Who do you think has kept the Reebok Grand prix viable? Trust me it is not the American fans

[Paul Henry]

this might work for a season or 5, but americans don't really need it

jama is currently king in sprints & relays with a golden age of athletes, but small population & that mandates difficulty to keep producing & invariably 5 or 10y down the line americans will be back on top ( inexhaustible conveyor belt of top talent ) with jama possibly back to situation of '90s with the odd good man or woman in an event

americans shoud just concentrate on themselves & get better in internal competition & euro circuit like always

they have never needed to issue a challenge in 110y+ of elite competition ( well apart from ? ddr & cccp meets in '70s ?! ) & they don't need to now

I never thought there would be a day that I might see the point that ELDRICK states, however, the catch is that more Ja. Institutions are more motivated to ensure that athletes have a lower "falling out rate" which was one main problem.

[eldrick]

smoke, i did mention cccp, but i imagine that was to try & develop some better relationship in a cold war situation

lennox & don are dribs & drabs & they hardly dominated the whole US - lennox got beat by hines & don did win gold in a particular weak year of '76 with no injured steve williams to give him a run over 200 & one year too early for clancey to have developed

if sanya had stayed in jama, there is no guarantee she wouda been picked up to top-level - if you've spent most of your life in 1 country, you can only go with that, not what if you had stayed at home - just look at mo farah - he woudn't be winning golds if he'd stayed in sudan

[Paul Henry]

i did mention cccp, but i imagine that was to try & develop some better relationship in a cold war situation

lennox & don are dribs & drabs & they hardly dominated the whole US - lennox got beat by hines & don did win gold in a particular weak year of '76 with no injured steve williams to give him a run over 200 & one year too early for clancey to have developed

Plus true dominance only comes with multiple Golds for both men and women at the olympics and/or the World champs Plus with a couple of records) so far only the US really registeres on that radar. Fortunately Ja. did in Beiijing so people like Eldrick will not need to did for cynisms to derate the acheivments made by the fore-running Ja athletes.

[rumbleyoungmanrumble]

just look at mo farah - he woudn't be winning golds if he'd stayed in sudan

That would be Somalia.

[Gleason]

This USA VS Jamaica thing should be pushed to 2010. The top athletes have already set their schedules. Besides, the best in the world should not be determined at any regular meet. It should be determined at the highest level, Olympics or WC.

I agree. Americas team for 2010 World Cup will have two entries. Elite athletes won't run rounds at a qualifying meet after rounds at their nationals (especially Jamaica & U.S.).

My suggestion -- have athletes with the eight best marks meet on July 31 - August 1 (last two days of Euros) to select Americas team. Sprints, hurdles & long would be a Jamaica - U.S. dual anyway -- check the top eight marks for 2008 in those events.

BTW who will pay elite athletes? Bolt charges $250K!

[eldrick]

just look at mo farah - he woudn't be winning golds if he'd stayed in sudan

That would be Somalia.

same difference

[eldrick]

i did mention cccp, but i imagine that was to try & develop some better relationship in a cold war situation

lennox & don are dribs & drabs & they hardly dominated the whole US - lennox got beat by hines & don did win gold in a particular weak year of '76 with no injured steve williams to give him a run over 200 & one year too early for clancey to have developed

Fortunately Ja. did in Beiijing so people like Eldrick will not need to did for cynisms to derate the acheivments made by the fore-running Ja athletes.

no offence, but on men's side, until safa emerged as a wr holder & bolt last year, i'd normally believe jama dominance in an event was by default of the US having a slack period in it's sprint history - i woudn't have given quarrie a ghost of a chance against tommie smith or the King over 200

last coupla years is 1st time in my lifetime that i didn't think jama got golds just due to paucity of american sprinters

on women's side, merlene disproved that back in '90 with her 21.6s

[sprintblox]

if sanya had stayed in jama, there is no guarantee she wouda been picked up to top-level - if you've spent most of your life in 1 country, you can only go with that, not what if you had stayed at home - just look at mo farah - he woudn't be winning golds if he'd stayed in sudan

Jamaica isn't Sudan or Somalia. If she had stayed in Jamaica there is a good possibility she would have done better than she did in the past couple of years, winning gold at the WC and OG.

[eldrick]

not with your 400m runners...