I attended the Reebok for the first time this year. This was one terrific meet with a lot of early-season world bests. Unfortunately, the capacity crowd was pretty much non-responsive to the great performances.
While I can't fault the promoters for doing their best to fill the stands and to raise enthusiasm by having an on-field cheerleader, the simple fact is that the Jamaicans who made up the large percentage of the crowd just don't give a damn about anyone not wearing the colors of Jamaica. As the afternoon wore on and the Jamaicans were getting clobbered by US sprinters, the mood of the crowd became surly to the point that Tyson Gay's terrific performance was hardly acknowledged. Nor were any of the winners of other events met with much more than scattered applause. This crowd paid almost no attention to any race or event that didn't include a Jamaican; and if the race/event did include a Jamaican, there was no applause for the winner. It got to the point that I was quietly rooting against the Jamaican sprinters due to the impolite attitude of their countrymen. These folks aren't track fans and no amount of prodding by the announcer would keep them quiet for the start or in their seats for the races. I'm convinced that if Jamaica's track fortunes faded tomorrow and the ping pong team became a world leader, the same fans would fill Madison Square Garden for ping pong championships and forget about track entirely.
It'll be a pleasure to return to Hayward this week and be amongst a crowd that acknowledges terrific performances, regardless of what colors the athletes are wearing.
While I can't fault the promoters for doing their best to fill the stands and to raise enthusiasm by having an on-field cheerleader, the simple fact is that the Jamaicans who made up the large percentage of the crowd just don't give a damn about anyone not wearing the colors of Jamaica. As the afternoon wore on and the Jamaicans were getting clobbered by US sprinters, the mood of the crowd became surly to the point that Tyson Gay's terrific performance was hardly acknowledged. Nor were any of the winners of other events met with much more than scattered applause. This crowd paid almost no attention to any race or event that didn't include a Jamaican; and if the race/event did include a Jamaican, there was no applause for the winner. It got to the point that I was quietly rooting against the Jamaican sprinters due to the impolite attitude of their countrymen. These folks aren't track fans and no amount of prodding by the announcer would keep them quiet for the start or in their seats for the races. I'm convinced that if Jamaica's track fortunes faded tomorrow and the ping pong team became a world leader, the same fans would fill Madison Square Garden for ping pong championships and forget about track entirely.
It'll be a pleasure to return to Hayward this week and be amongst a crowd that acknowledges terrific performances, regardless of what colors the athletes are wearing.
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