Making Track and Field Cool

One of the areas our sport needs to focus on is the "coolness" of the sport. Basketball, football, baseball, NASCAR, hockey and soccer all are cool in their own way in the United States. Not only do they have constant news attention on TV and in newspapers, but they have amazing interactive websites, magazines and they showcase their athletes as superstars.

Track and field doesn't have that. In fact, there is only one true superstar in the sport, that being Usain Bolt. Despite Bolt's success, he'll do very little to actually improve the status of the sport in the U.S. simply because he competes rarely in the U.S., and he's not American. Tyson Gay has the potential to be a superstar in the sport nationally, but he'll have to beat Bolt and push the world record if he hopes to reach Bolt-like status.

So how can track and field become cool? While it certainly poses a challenge, there seem to be many opportunities to at least attempt to make the sport "cool." In reading an article today on how IUPUI might tear apart their nationally recognized track to build dorm space, I was intriguied by one paragraph in particular:

"One of IUPUI's most urgent concerns, Bantz said, is to invest in a soccer field with artificial turf. That would help not only the soccer team -- which plays some games on a superior surface at Kuntz Stadium -- but also students in rec leagues."

Rec leagues? Perhaps that's the key to making track and field cool. I've talked before about the need for more community track and field meets, stating it would more than likely spark at least a little more interest in the sport within communities, but what about a nationwide attempt to create college track and field recreational leagues? Dorms could battle floor v. floor, or the greeks (sororities and fraternities) could go head-to-head in weekly track competitions. It could work.

For all intents and purposes, there needs to be a organization funded by the most influential in the sport to create such movements. While National Running Day is a decent idea, how about creating it during the school year and involving thousands, even millions, of kids at the elementary and middle school level? They could train for a few weeks leading up to a proposed cross country or track meet.

The sport will never expand or grow more popular if adults are the only ones being marketed to. That's a fact of life. The coolest things catch on with teenagers, then expand to adults. If anything, the growth of Facebook has proven such. It all started with college kids loving it, then high school kids, then adults. That's the way the world works. If track and field ever catches on and reaches its tipping point, it will be because track and field became cool amongst those under the age of 25.