Push to make track the fifth most popular sport in the U.S.

La Jolla High's Payton Smith, then a

sophomore, runs in the LJ-Hoover dual

meet April 14, 2022. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

USA Track and Field, which has relied for the last several decades on the popularity of its sport on Eugene, Oregon and Hayward Field located in that hallowed city, is initiating a series of five major track meets in five different U.S. cities next summer.

Phil Knight and Nike have bankrolled most of track's thrust and operating costs over that period (including a rebuilding and improvement of Hayward Field). I've written before about Knight's manipulation of the University of Oregon's athletics through the vast sums of money his company invests in collegiate sports there.

But Eugene is also a "shrine" to Steve Prefontaine, a dedicated runner who excelled but eventually died too young. That's a positive association for me.

In any case, USATF wants to push to make track the fifth most popular sport in our country by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics come to town. Right now, according to a Nielsen study in 2019, the number-one most followed sport is football (66 percent of 1,000+ respondents); second is baseball (56 percent); third is basketball (55 percent); coming in fourth is soccer (47 percent).

Track stands at eighth in popularity. It would have to leapfrog over swimming, tennis, and motor racing to move up to fifth.

I love track. One point the report this week (in the L.A. Times) makes is that full stadiums for high school track meets doesn't automatically translate to sellouts at major college and pro meets.

One feature of track is the varied events that showcase skills ranging from sprinting and long-distance running, to leaping and throwing. You can't get such a variety in one sport too many times.

In my halcyon days, I attended the L.A. Times Indoor Games, in the 70's. Jim Ryun, the top mile runner, plodded the bouncy wooden track. There were other meets that I sought out and went to, including watching British decathlete Daley Carmichael compete in the 1984 Olympics in L.A.

As a kid growing up playing, first, baseball, then, basketball, I knew the skill and challenges of running because I did a lot of running to train for the latter of my two favorite sports. Not being an athlete gifted to run or jump in track, I admired those who were. In high school, that meant Jeff Ropes, who combined football and basketball with track, his spring sport. That's the name that pops to mind.

At La Jolla High presently, rising junior Payton Smith alone is worth the price of admission. She runs the 100 and 200 meters. In long distance, someone who is going to set tons of LJHS records is Kirra Fisk.

Let's way and see if track can regain its former foothold on the U.S. viewing public.