Track and field doesn’t need to be a niche sport

While watching the World Cup this month, I have considered the rise of soccer (or football) in the United States. Especially when realizing Doug Logan’s former position as Commissioner of Major League Soccer, it’s difficult to not make comparisons between soccer and track and field.

In 1994, the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup.  I adhere to the argument that this event was the beginning of the rise of soccer in the United States.  Major League Soccer is growing (beginning with 10 teams in 1996, the league expanded to 12 in 1998, contracted to 10 after the 2001 season and, since 2004, has proceeded to add six teams for a total of 16 at present, with plans to expand to 18 prior to the 2011 season) at a swift rate and average attendance at MLS games nearly equal to that of the NBA (in 2009, average attendance at an MLS game was 16,120, while the NBA’s average attendance for the 2009-2010 season was 17,149). Full disclosure: the NBA has 30 teams who play 81 games per year, whereas MLS has 16 teams who play 30 games per year.

In addition to MLS, leagues such as the United Soccer League, Premiere Development League, and the National Premiere Soccer League continue to make soccer accessible to the masses in the United States.  (See Wikipedia’s entry on the United States soccer pyramid for more details about the various leagues. I will assume rudimentary knowledge of the league structures for the remainder of this article.)

American track and field could learn from the way soccer has grown in the United States.  Although, unlike soccer, track and field doesn’t need to be structured into leagues, the concepts can be matched.

The top tier track and field meets in the United States are the two Diamond League meets: the adidas Grand Prix, in New York City, and the Prefontaine Classic, in Eugene, Oregon.  A tier below that is high-quality invitational meets that aren’t part of the Diamond League, such as the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational, or (if they were outdoor meets) the Millrose Games or Boston Indoor Games.  Below that, meets like the USATF High Performance Meets (such as the one hosted at Occidental College in late May).  Meets falling under the fourth tier would be those like the New Balance Boston Twilight Series or the Music City Distance Carnival.  Finally, the ATC Track and Field Classic would be classified as a fifth tier meet, that is, one that is designed exclusively for amateur competition.

USA Track and Field has a responsibility to encourage meets at all five levels to exist.  These meets make track and field accessible to the masses.  While Diamond League meets are great (and vital!), second, third and fourth tier meets are those that are easy to attend.  I covered the Music City Distance Carnival for Flotrack, and I saw things there that could be compared to (what I know of) European summer track meets.  First of all, it was a short program: the entire meet took place within the span of 2.5 hours.  I was also struck by a scene when I drove into the parking lot: tailgaters.  Inside the track the atmosphere was similar, with fans relaxing and enjoying an evening of races.  Entry was $5, so very reasonable.  Finally, the races were fast, with several people qualifying for the USATF Championships and multiple Olympians in the fields.  Events like the one I described make track and field enjoyable and accessible for the every-man who doesn’t live in New York City or Eugene.  Grass-roots growth of the sport is vital for growing a knowledgeable fan base.

A concerted effort towards the creation of entertaining meets—meets that don’t last two or three days, but rather, two or three hours—needs to be made.  If managed properly, the effect of a meet such as the Music City Distance Carnival could be similar to that of a National Premiere Soccer League team on a local level.  In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the city’s NPSL club, Chattanooga FC has turned the city soccer crazy.  The team plays their home games at UT-Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium, and regularly outdraws the university’s football team.  Last month, over 6,000 “Chattahooligans” showed up for a friendly match against FC Atlas, a U-23 team from Guadalajara, Mexico, for a game that didn’t even count in the standings!  During the World Cup, Chattanooga FC hosted viewing parties at a local restaurant, Big River Grille & Brewing Company, for Team USA matches.  For the team’s second match of the tournament, against Slovenia, over 150 people showed up to watch.  At 9 o’clock on a Friday morning.  What if that happened for the finals of an IAAF World Championship?  Track aficionados would be ecstatic.  I believe it can happen.