SICK AND TIRED OF POOR COVERAGE

[TreyDECA]

it seems CBS, stands for Clement Broadcast Station. i, and hope everyone else, was displeased with how the entire show was about 2 or 3 teams. i know this isn't the first year they've done this, but we bitched and complained last year too... are they using sample groups? this is just a recruiting tool for the teams that win. they didn't show 1/3 of the meet, and they just flashed up the winners of some of the most exciting events! no offense to ucla, or chelsea,(because they had nothing to do with it) but she got more coverage than the entire men's and women's vault competitions combined!!! and it was still only about 10 seconds!!! the women's heptathlon, which is a two day event and crown's the nations top female athlete, recieve NO AIRTIME!! NOT EVEN ONE SECOND!! if i'm the only one who's a little pissed off i'll stop, but this was rediculous. i don't give a s*** what kerron clement does in his spare time!!!! and i don't want to see tyson gay and wallace spearmon hugging for what seemed like an inappropriate amount of time 5 times!!! and i don't give a rat's a** what the hell the 4th place arkansas finisher in the 1500 was thinking as he was getting bent over by a TEXAS FRESHMAN!!!

[bjvando]

very nicely put....

They showed them hugging SO MUCH!!! I wonder when the 2nd date is....

I noticed one vault that was the background of something... it was Russ Weaver skying some height, but you had to be looking for it to see it.....

Has anyone actually writtien a letter to CBS or to any other major conglomerates that cover track and field?

[95]

I concur. That was the weakest vault coverage I have ever seen. I don't think they even showed the graphic noting Pratt and his winning height of 5.50 for as long as an entire second.

[MightyMouse]

They tired to make the show appealing by doing all those behind the scenes crap, and went overboard. Lots of races with SHORT stories about individual athlets would make the entire show more appealing, harp on the rivalry between two athletes rather than their tramatic past would lead to a lot more exciting races for general viewers.

There was also far to much time spent staring at the athletes on the starting blocks and not enough actual racing. Its not like they were showing it live or anything.

I think T+F meets could reel in some decent numbers if they just found a way 2 package it.

[CHC04Vault]

Its not Track and Field when it comes to TV...its track, and not even track, just 1 and 2, and the mile

[Scott Go Pre]

If someone gives me the address to the guys who edit and produce these events, I will be more than happy to write a letter to them. I think we all should write letters to these guys (and/or ladies) who make these special broadcasts. Anyone up for the challenge?

[Vaulter99]

its not just cbs, whenever any meet is on tv, whether it be cbs, nbc, or espn, they focus on the major running events for 1 hour 57 min, and show a glimpse of the field events for the rest. oh, and then you have commercials.

[CHC04Vault]

which then takes the 2 hours of "coverage" to about 30 minutes of actaul compition.

[VTechVaulter]

in fairness we got good olympic coverage with the vault. but yeah, the rest of the time it sux

[BritDawg]

the thing that pisses me off the most is when they'll show the WHOLE 5,000 for like 13 or 14 min and then not even show a single vault! (or any field event for that matter!)

[CHC04Vault]

Yeah, but if they are gonna abbrivate one event they should do it to all of them. I mean, T&F is already the marginalized sport of america so we ALL need a decent coverage and not 2 seconds. I actaully like seeing the whole 5 or 10K races because people like Legat makes it fun to watch. I think they need to find a sponsor like in soccer, which will make sure there is no commericial interruptions so we can get more time in. You would just hear "this 100m final is brought to you by gatorade, the fuel of champions" or "this spot put final is brought to you by weight watchers, some people dont need to lose weight, but u may be one of them." Overall, i think CBS just throws reporters out there and says wing it.

[dj]

i think it's time to create our own circuit... the events are there... we just have to organize them... get sponsors and "cable" tv time..

$crew.... usatf.. ncaa... and the non coverage...

it's time to form our own "union" and have them come to us...

i'm serious... plans were being made in the late 80's for a beach circuit..

it's time to get things going again...

reno...street vaults... beach vaults..

cable networks need something to play over and over... prime time and the middle of the night....

i know this doesn't help the ncaa because you have to "represent" your school.. but maybe we can stir the pot a little and help everyone....

you will here more from me on this one... EB has been discussing this for a while now.., and others...

dj