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IMovedYourCheese t1_jbviynx wrote

He obviously wasn't racing against Olympic-tier talent, but stuff like this makes you wonder how much better the country would be at track & field events if they were a priority for top-tier high school athletes who instead go into professional football and basketball by default.

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tallboybrews t1_jbwhpk3 wrote

So glad we will never find out, because football and basketball are way more fun to watch than sprinting for 10 seconds.

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Silent-Insurance-139 t1_jbwj1jj wrote

Shit literally every other sport is more fun to watch than track and field. So glad the best athletes in the world choose football basketball and soccer.

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flamin_hot_chitos t1_jbxmwif wrote

I love watching the Olympics but mainly because it is every four years. I wouldn’t watch any of those competitions on a yearly basis or with less fanfare.

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Jawkurt t1_jbxffkc wrote

What about the one where they run around the track multiple times

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handsomehares t1_jbxlk2o wrote

I’m a fan of the spinny throw and try to spear the judge competitions.

And the stick jump.

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Vordeo t1_jbxo802 wrote

It's basically Nascar without cars, tbh. So I kinda wonder why rednecks in the US aren't more into track and field.

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Jawkurt t1_jbxoz3s wrote

Not noisy enough, not enough beer sponsorship.

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Vordeo t1_jbxpb2s wrote

What if people raced in Confederate flag shirts and everyone was required to have a mullet?

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Jawkurt t1_jbxs4g0 wrote

Well that would help... but my concerns would be...

  1. Can you drink booze in the stands?
  2. Can the racers make loud noises?
  3. How often will these racers be running into each other or into walls?
  4. How much greasy ass food is available at these events?
  5. Can we limit the amount of black racers to less than 1% of racers?
  6. Of these possible black racers, can we make sure theres no hippity hoppity ones?
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temujin94 t1_jbxulvd wrote

A lot less brain damage in track and field compared to NFL.

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Smokeysquirrel0 t1_jbxh8cb wrote

A lot of those guys do run track since it helps them improve in their main sports. There have been a few NFL guys to qualify for the Olympics but not sure if any of them have competed.

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flamin_hot_chitos t1_jbxmshg wrote

Marquise Goodwin is a current NFL WR that competed at the 2012 summer Olympics in the long jump. He has also made a jump that would’ve been the Gold medal distance, but that was at team trials. He still finished a respectable 10th place though.

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LieDetect0r t1_jbxiqcy wrote

I like when sorts players come from different spotted backgrounds. Like Mailata from the Eagles, he was a rugby player before he played football and it shows

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EndlersaurusRex t1_jbz6k0f wrote

Our country is already the best in the world overall at track and field for both genders, even with losing athletes to basketball, football, and baseball.

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sullg26535 t1_jbzfat4 wrote

If you look many top highschool sprinters are also football players. I know when my high school won the 4x1 at state they were mostly d1 football players They continue to sometimes run in college as you will see schools like LSU or A&M often have football players on their track team for sprints.

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PM_ME_OVERT_SIDEBOOB t1_jby0uhm wrote

This is my argument against USMNT being bad. If we had our athletes prioritizing soccer we’d wipe the floor with the rest of the world just like we do in pretty much every sport

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207207 t1_jby6cy8 wrote

Way more that needs to happen than having our “best” athletes prioritize soccer. 6’3” 200lb bodies aren’t good for soccer; there’s a reason the best teams and players in the world (where soccer IS prioritized) aren’t that body type.

Additionally, US philosophy/approach to training for soccer is really skewed and, frankly, wrong. Until the US emulates the European system, we won’t be one of the best teams in the world (even IF we threw all of our “best” athletes at the sport).

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Y_R_ALL_NAMES_TAKEN t1_jbyag9j wrote

Why do people always think this lol. The GOAT is 5’7, 150 lbs max. Football is more about skill, which is not emphasized in US football culture.

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LaconicGirth t1_jbytyse wrote

I mean ok. But Ronaldo is 6’2, zlatan is 6’5, and the average height of all World Cup players is like 6’ even. Tons of amazing athletes in the NFL who are 6’ plus or minus 2 or 3 inches, and if they weren’t playing football they wouldn’t have bulked up as much as they have. Also think about the players who tried to make the nfl when they would have been better off starting with soccer but didn’t know that.

Nobody giving a shit about soccer in America is a huge reason we’re not that good, similar to hockey. That’s why minnesota is the best state for hockey even though it doesn’t have as many people as plenty of other states

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