I used to be a competitive athlete. Therefore, I can well imagine how demoralizing and discouraging it would be to have only a handful of people show up to watch the biggest events of one’s career.
After all, when I competed, the cheers of the crowds were often more gratifying than any medal I won. Nothing vindicated grueling drills quite like glorifying cheers.
Besides, what’s the point of a victory lap if there are no people in the stands to shower you with cheers that would make even a Roman gladiator green with envy. No doubt the lure of such cheers – more than the amount of cash prizes – explains why so many track & field athletes prefer competing in Europe, where stadiums seem always filled to capacity.
In any event, the following excerpt summarizes the criticisms I’ve been hurling at empty seats for over a decade. It’s from “PyeongChang Olympics: Day 7 — Lindsey Vonn: Return of the Snow Queen,” February 17, 2018:
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Media reports gave the impression that hundreds of North Korean cheerleaders would be leading goodwill cheers during every event at every venue. But even they are nowhere to be seen. There was virtually nobody in the stands for one of the feature events of these Games, the Women’s Giant Slalom. WTF!
I hoped the screed I wrote four years ago would be instructive. Here is an excerpt from “Sochi Olympics: Day 1,” February 8, 2014:
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I have a gripe about something that is becoming as much a staple at Olympic Games as the Opening Ceremony.
I find it more than a little difficult to reconcile all of the Chinese hype about these Olympic Games being such a source of national pride with all of the empty seats at so many events.
(“Beijing Olympics,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 15, 2008)
The first day of competition in Sochi makes clear that we’re going to be treated to the dispiriting eyesore of empty seats here too. To be fair, Western media have done all they possibly could to scare away spectators with their hysterical reporting on potential terrorist attacks.
Still, you’d think the Russians would have learned from the Chinese, or heeded my advice:
Again, it’s not as if the London organizers were not aware that this might be the case. It boggles the mind, therefore, that they did not enlist tens of thousands of volunteers (from pensioners to school kids) to show up at a moment’s notice to fill seats if ticket holders do not show up. They could have warned in print on all tickets that the holder forfeits the seat if it is not occupied by [45] minutes before the scheduled start of the event.
(“London Olympics: Day 1,” The iPINIONS Journal, July 28, 2012)
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That said, I feel a bit foolish. After all, Chinese organizers had 1.3 billion people from which to draft and even they couldn’t ensure all venues were jam-packed to save face. Therefore, it seems foolhardy to expect any other host country to do so.
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Still, notwithstanding the paradigm the Chinese set over a decade ago, I found myself venting similar frustration over the weekend. I was watching this year’s International Association of Athletics Federations (the IAAF) World Championship in Doha, Qatar.
Organizers bill the 100m finals as the feature events at every major championship. They reinforced this billing in Doha by introducing each final with pageantry usually reserved for heavyweight boxing matches.
But surely we can do without those intimate camera shots. Imagine the discomfort, especially for women sprinters, of having to squat over a miniature camera to settle into your starting block, knowing that a “block cam” is exposing you to the whole world from angles only your lover should see. And this in a country where women are obliged to cover their bodies with a black dress called an abaya. The irony, if not the hypocrisy, never ceases. But I digress …
Unfortunately, the practically empty stadium betrayed the pageantry. But far more prominent commentators are now venting this abiding frustration on behalf of all athletes:
A furious Denise Lewis has hit out at the World Championships in Doha and athletics’ governing body after pathetic attendance for its events. …
Speaking on the BBC, the 2000 Olympic heptathlon champion said the IAAF has ‘let down’ the athletes competing in the Qatar capital city. …
‘The athletes, they work so hard, they try to peak at the right time for an empty stadium, I just think it’s not right,’ Lewis continued.
(Daily Mail, September 29, 2019)
Mind you, track & field is about as popular in Qatar as skiing is in The Bahamas. Which makes all the more venal the IAAF’s decision to award Qatar hosting duties.
Yet, as it was with China’s dictatorial leaders, I don’t understand why Qatar’s did not dictate that all seats must be filled for every event. You’d think even they would want to give the appearance that they did not waste the billions invested to stage these championships.
Given all that, you’ll appreciate why the athletic feats on display seemed like afterthoughts. Still, I’d be remiss not to share that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Team Jamaica blew away the field (in 10.71) to win a record-setting fourth title in the women’s 100m.
She gave birth to her son just 13 months ago. Therefore, her victory provides a noteworthy contrast to Serena Williams’s notorious failure to return to championship form. After all, she gave birth to her daughter over 24 months ago.
Meanwhile, Christian Coleman of Team USA blew away the field (in 9.76) to win his first title in the men’s 100m. Unfortunately, no matter how many more he wins, his career will be forever tarnished by this doping scandal:
Sprinter Christian Coleman cannot be the face of athletics following the controversy over his missed drugs tests, says US legend Michael Johnson. …
‘It completely disqualifies him, at this point, from ever being that face of the sport. This will follow him, as it should,’ Johnson told BBC Sport.
(BBC, September 27, 2019)
Thanks to dogged investigative reporting, we found out how cycling’s top officials turned a blind eye to Lance Armstrong’s doping. Not to mention the extraordinary feat doper Marion Jones pulled off by winning so many titles before getting caught.
Therefore, we can be forgiven for suspecting that track & field’s top officials are turning a blind eye to Coleman’s doping. If so, we can rest assured that it’s only a matter of time before he gets his comeuppance too.
Related commentaries:
PyeongChang…
Lance Armstrong…
Marion Jones…