While in Eugene for the Oregon22 World Championships, I couldn’t help but think of the similarities between watching track and field, and and my other sporting love: soccer.
As an avid soccer fan, it can be tough sometimes to separate my thoughts between the two sports, so why even try? Below are five ways track and field feels like soccer.
For in-stadium viewing, higher up is better
For half the meet we had second row seats the first turn, the other half we were in the upper section looking down the home straight. While you can see and appreciate the intensity and speed (and in our case, the high jump) from the track side seats, you lose too much perspective on the events. For the field events, we could only go by the crowd reaction as to the quality of the attempt. It was hard to see the action on the far turn and though we could see the finish line, it was impossible to sort out finish order. I’ve found soccer to be the same – the close ups are cool but it’s hard to follow the action anywhere but in front of you.
You can’t blame on field officials for what it says in the rule books
We’ve been through this many times. People get upset at the referees for applying the rules as written. Your problem isn’t with the referee, it’s with the rules. This happened at the World Championships to Devon Allen, US hurdler who had an excellent chance to medal. Unfortunately, he was disqualified for a false start because his reaction time to the gun was .099, or .001 faster than allowable. No doubt it sucked, on many levels. But how is the starter supposed to make an exception? He’s a medal contender so we’ll let it slide? Or, this is his hometown crowd so we’ll ignore it? That’s a dangerous road to go down. Not saying it’s a good rule, but fix the rule, don’t apply it only when you feel like it.
Announcers will frequently say “His first attempt was way over the bar.”
I realize that’s a good thing in the high jump but lousy in soccer but the announcers do say it in both sports.
There are guys named Przybylko
Speaking of high jump, the brother of MLS striker Kacper Przybylko, Mateusz, competed in the final in Eugene. He cleared the first two heights but went out at 2.27 meters (7 ft 51/4 inches) to finish 12th out of 13. At 30, he is in the twilight of his career.
Oh, and though it was hard to hear, I think the stadium announcer butchered the pronunciation.
Sausage sandwiches!
Just like Subaru Park, right down to the production delays and supply issues. By the time we got to the front of the line, the only choice was chicken basil sausage topped with tomato salsa. The good news though is that it was really good.
Like following along with the beautiful game as much as I do? Check out my musings on EPL, MLS, World Cup, Football Manager, and more at Booked for Simulation.
