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Footlocker versus NXN - Some
Thoughts
Bill Meylan ... (December
27, 2008)
Nike decided to transform NTN to NXN in 2008
by adding individual runners to the championship races. I was planning to
write an article concerning the Footlocker versus NXN meets before the 2008
season started, but decided more information would be available after the 2008
XC was over.
Both Footlocker and NXN are great meets.
Footlocker and Nike use these events for advertising purposes, and in the
process, many runners get some excellent opportunities and experience ... It's a
win-win situation for both the companies and the runners ... Cross country
runners are fortunate to have this opportunity at top-level post-season
competition. This article is not meant to pick one event over the
other, but to present some information and thoughts at the conclusion of the
2008 XC season.
Competitor
Numbers
I compiled some figures to see
how many runners have been competing in the Footlocker and NXN (NTN) qualifying
races in hopes of seeing some impact-trends of NXN on Footlocker ... The
competition numbers are shown in the table below:
| Number of runners competing at the NXN and
Footlocker Qualifying Meets between 2003 - 2008
To get the numbers below, I used available on-line
results and added-up the number of high school boys and girls who
competed in each meet ... There were seven regional NXN meets (the NY
and NE regionals are combined into a single event) ... California does
not have an NXN regional (they use the CA State Meet, but those numbers
are excluded here).
|
Actual Number of Runners Competing
---------------------------------------
Qualifying Race 2008 Date 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
================= ============ ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ====
NXN NY & NE (11-29-2008) 540 444 -- -- -- --
NXN Southeast (11-29-2008) 414 271 -- -- -- --
NXN Southwest (11-22-2008) 776 513 -- -- -- --
NXN South (11-22-2008) 552 393? -- -- -- --
NXN Midwest (11-15-2008) 586 328 -- -- -- --
NXN Heartland (11-15-2008) 716 492 -- -- -- --
NXN Northwest (11-15-2008) 760 606 -- -- -- --
---- ----
Total 4344 3047
Footlocker West (12-06-2008) 1759 1805 2022 2117 1995 2156
Footlocker NE (11-29-2008) 1389 1552 1951 1910 1810 1944
Footlocker South (11-29-2008) 1418 1502 1736 1730 1584 1690
Footlocker Midwest (11-29-2008) 1053 1259 1405 1506 1444 1483
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Total 5619 6118 7114 7263 6833 7273
|
It is obvious from the table that the start of NXN (NTN)
regional qualifiers in 2007 had an immediate impact on the number of runners
competing at Footlockers ... the number of Footlocker competitors dropped by
roughly 1000 (or about a 14% drop in 2007).
The total number of runners at both Footlocker and NXN in
2008 and 2007 was 9964 and 9165 respectively ... Compared to previous years at
Footlocker, the number of runners competing in the post-season has increased
on the order of 2000 or more (a small fraction of runners did compete in
both races, but that's being ignored for now).
Footlocker Northeast vs. NXN-New York-Northeast
.... These two races offer some perspective of having separate races on the same
day ... Both races were run on Nov 29, 2008 ... NXN was run at Bowdoin Park (NY)
... Footlocker NE was run at Van Cortlandt Park (NY) ... These two sites are
only 61.5 miles apart (according to Microsoft Streets & Trip).
Looking at the numbers above, there appears to be a strong
correlation between the drop in number of runners at Footlocker NE and the
number of runners at NXN-NY-NE .... The Northeast is not contributing
significantly to the increase in number of post-season competitors (the close
proximity of the sites on the same day may be the reason) ... Even with fewer
runners than previous years, Footlocker NE is still getting more than 2.5 times as many runners as NXN-NY-NE.
Competitor Numbers - Random Thoughts
Just speculation on my part ... The 2000+ increase
in runner participation nationwide could simply be due to the increase in
regional qualifying sites established by Nike ... more sites conveniently
located will attract more runners ... I wonder what would happen if the four
Footlocker sites were removed from the mix?
There is probably a finite number of high school
runners available (or willing) to run post-season meets. The "team"
concept of NTN is a bit more demanding than individual participation because is
requires teams to stay together after the official high school season ends ...
And I believe there are a limited number of teams available (or willing)
to compete in a team competition post-season. At any NXN regional, a
limited number of teams will come with legitimate hopes of qualifying ... a few teams
will come because it's a great experience ... a small number of local teams will
come because it's close and convenient ... but the total number of teams will be
limited in a post-season environment.
My first thought when hearing NXN was adding individuals
--> NXN is trying to increase their participation numbers ... It's a good idea
because it allows more runners to experience a special event ... My second
thought was "NXN wants to compete with Footlocker" ... My third thought was "If
Nike wants to grow NXN significantly, they did not have
a choice except to add individuals and set-up a confrontation with
Footlocker".
NXN - Random Thoughts
NXN (NTN) has been in existence for five years. Nike
and all of the people involved with NXN have done an outstanding job in
promoting the sport and delivering a great opportunity and experience to teams
and runners traveling to Portland Meadows. Nike should be congratulated
for providing a real team championship scenario through head-to-head
competition, and doing a very good job in the process. I have talked to
coaches and runners who have competed at NXN (NTN) and heard many good things
about their treatment and experiences in Portland.
Portland Meadows in not my favorite cross country course
(I have been one of the critics of the course itself when it's compared to other
XC courses around the country
)
... However, Portland Meadows (or another horse racing facility) has many
advantages which make it good site for a national event: (a) designed to
accommodate large crowds, (b) conveniently located near airports, hotels and
major highways, (c) great spectator viewing, and (d) on-site satellite uplink
capabilities for live television or webcasts (especially if you have a
Race Track Network satellite dish that
picks up Portland Meadows through Roberts Communication who transmitted the
webcast
).
Portland Meadows XC course ... Nike representatives
(such Paul Limmer and coworkers) have done a great job in developing a
challenging course on the interior of a race track ... But I prefer a course
with some small hills similar to "Cardiac Hill" at Sunken Meadows or some narrow
wooded trails where an expert hip-nudge stops a competitor cold
(just kidding) ... Paul (and other NY and NE guys) were expert in their design
to maximize the potential of the NY and NE teams
... So from that point-of-view, I appreciate Portland Meadows.
Here's the Important Random Thought --> NXN
(NTN) has been very successful in developing, promoting, and conducting a
national Team championship event ... NXN does not need individual runners
to be successful; they have already proven that ... However,
individual runners are necessary for NXN to grow significantly beyond what they
have already achieved.
Footlocker - Random
Thoughts
Continuing the Important Random Thought -->
Footlocker has been very successful for 30 years in conducting an "Individual"
championship ... Footlocker does not need a team concept to be successful.
The real question becomes: "Does Footlocker even
want teams to be part of their champion event??" ... Right now, the answer
"appears" to be NO ... (note that "appears" is in quotation).
Most of the Footlocker Finalists I have talked to like the
fact that only 40 (or 32) runners are in the race ... They appreciate how well
they are treated ... They like the individual attention they receive at
Footlocker Finals ... Nearly all of the Finalists I have talked to do not want
that to change.
Over the years I have asked many runners why they compete
at Footlocker regional races (mostly in the Northeast) ... The varied answers include (a) one final race of the
season, (b) it's a really nice event, (c) a trip to New York City, and (d) hopes of qualifying for Finals ... But one re-occurring notion is "I don't have
to worry about any team responsibilities ... I can just enjoy the race and not
worry about how I finish" ... and this leads to a root cause of various NXN vs.
Footlocker disagreements amongst coaches, runners, fans and media people.
The Team vs The Individual
Is Cross Country a Team sport or an Individual sport??
... I wrote a long section here but deleted most of it because this is just a
case of
differing opinions ... Personally, I believe cross country is both with team and
individual being equal (it's one factor that makes XC special ... and it causes
very few problems during the course of a high school season) ... The team vs.
individual aspect never really mattered at the
national-level until the introduction of NTN which forced a choice on top
runners of top teams.
Many current NXN people seem to be strong advocates of
"team before individual" (as are many coaches and former coaches) ... This is
perfectly fine and desirable for a team competition ... BUT - We are
talking about the post-season and that means the "official" high school "team"
is done for the year ... If the team members decide to stay together for the
post-season, that's great ... BUT if an individual wants to compete as an
individual and attain as an individual, that choice needs to be respected
equally IF the NXN vs. Footlocker confrontation wants to find an amicable
and joint solution.
Why is Footlocker on
National TV (and NXN isn't)??
Footlocker Finals is broadcast nationally on TV by FSN
(Fox Sports Net) over a number of cable and satellite channels. Initially,
NTN was also broadcast by FSN, but then it stopped ... I enjoyed those
broadcasts and was annoyed that FSN stopped ... I spent some time trying to find
out why, but never got connected with the right person ... However, I did get a
few ideas from several TV production people (such as a producer who decides
which camera picture to show).
The current notion of sports promotion is to promote "star
individuals", especially of pro teams ... The NBA used Michael Jordan with great
success ... LeBron James is currently used to promote Cleveland ... Kobe Bryant
to promote LA ... Tiger Woods to promote golf ... and so forth.
The TV producer noted the "Up Close & Personal" segments
of the Olympics ... I wonder how many hours of my life have been consumed
watching "Up Close & Personal" segments of the Olympics??
Apparently, TV producers like to focus on an individual,
and put a name and story on the individual ... This became painfully obvious
during the live broadcast of the 2008 NCAA Division 1 Cross Championships on
CSTV ... Sally Kipyego is great repeat winner, but keeping the camera focused on
her for virtually the entire race
and then keeping the camera on her after her finish (to the exclusion of all
other runners finishing) was too much ... The same thing happened in the guys
race with Galen Rupp vs. Samuel Chelanga which was covered to the exclusion of
the runners behind them ... The team aspect of the races took a back-seat
to the individuals.
I wonder if this makes a difference in FSN covering
Footlocker, but not NXN?? (the fact that is easier to follow and talk about
individuals during an XC race as compared to teams) ... I do not know ... I
wonder if it would make a difference if NXN got all the top individuals to race
with the teams?? ... Who knows - maybe one of the ESPN channels would broadcast
the combined Footlocker-NXN Championships live ... I wonder who would get the
most attention during the broadcast??
NXN Web-cast
I thought Rich Gonzalez, Tony Reavis and company did a
great job during the NXN web-cast this year. They were informative and
entertaining.
The perception to NXN webcast-viewers during and immediately following the races
was Individual over Team aspect because the majority of camera-time was spent
following the leaders ... From a cameraman’s perspective, it’s much easier
to follow the front runners, especially when one of the main cameras is on the
lead-vehicle. Trying to follow scoring team members
during most cross country races is hard enough, but trying to do it at a quality
race like NXN is nearly impossible ... I had no idea where any of the
Fayetteville-Manlius girls were running during the race except that the team was
leading at every 1K split ... The people at Portland Meadows got a very
different perception of the race than the people watching at home because they
had the ability to see and follow team members throughout the race.
Top Runners Split Between
Footlocker and NXN
In 2008, top runners in the NY, Northeast, Southeast and
California regions of NXN were forced to choose either Footlocker or NXN ... a
few runners in other regions were able to do both because the Footlocker and NXN
qualifiers were on different weekends.
The majority of top individual girls competed at
Footlocker in 2008 (the matchup between Jordan Hasay, Ashley Brasovan and Kathy
Kroeger certainly helped). On the boy's-side, the top talent was split
more evenly between NXN and Footlocker with NXN having some excellent talent
from the team runners ... but the top two boys (Solomon Haile and Trevor Dunbar)
were at Footlocker and they ran one-two.
From a purely numbers point-of-view, the majority of top
individual runners from around the country are very unlikely to be members of
teams qualifying for NXN ... only 22 teams qualify for NXN (boys and girls
each) ... Some of the top runners nationwide will be NXN team runners (that's one reason
their teams qualified for NXN) ... But most top individual runners will come from teams
unable to qualify for NXN.
Several Footlocker Finalists (who qualified at Footlocker
regional races) have told me the same thing ... Why should they pick NXN over
Footlocker when Footlocker treats them so well and gives them special individual
attention?? .... This is a major hurdle in combining the NXN Nationals and
Footlocker Finals into a single race ... BUT this hurdle can be jumped if the
parties involved want to.
Tradition
I appreciate tradition ... Footlocker/Kinney has been
going strong for 30 years ... Footlocker/Kinney has provided great opportunities
for many runners and I hope that continues ... The question is "What is the
Tradition?" ... Is it the regional qualifying races?? ... Is it the Finals??
... or Is it both??
By far, the majority of participants compete at the four
regional Footlocker races ... In 2008, 5619 high school runners competed at the
Footlocker regional races ... Compared to the 80 qualifying finalists (40 boys +
40 girls), 98.6% of all runners had their only traditional experience at their
regional race.
By simply maintaining the four regional races in their
current form, Footlocker would maintain the "traditional experience" for the
vast percentage of runners, volunteers, fans and spectators.
Now the hard part ... Footlocker Finals is a
wonderful advertising promotion for Footlocker. They get national media
attention and national TV coverage via FSN ... The Footlocker Finalists are
treated like celebrities ... Seems like a "tradition" worth preserving.
So - Assuming some "Act-of-God" encouraged Nike and
Footlocker to discuss combining their Finals into a single race ... Is it
possible to maintain the "tradition" and the individuality for the Footlocker
Finalists in a combined final?? ... I'm on the individualist-side on things, but
to me the answer is obvious ... the answer is YES.
How To Combine Races
Discussing details is pointless until both sides
acknowledge the principle that combining races is possible (that would be a
major accomplishment ... might cause an earthquake in California)
... Sometimes the "devil is in the details", but this could be one situation
where the details "are the solution".
NXN Nationals and Footlocker Finals each have
significant strengths ... Certainly the advertising genius of Nike and
Footlocker could leverage those strengths into a combined event to benefit both
the companies and the participants.
Maintaining individuality for the Footlocker Finalists
... This is important (the NXN notion that making individuals feel like team
members is not the sole solution) ... I suggest the following:
(1) get ideas directly from runners who have done both NXN
(NTN) and Footlocker (past & present)
(2) get ideas from successful college runners familiar
with high school and college championships
Conclusion
This article presents some random thoughts. I expect
next year will be the same as this year (separate NXN and Footlocker Finals);
and into the foreseeable future ... The top runners will be split between the
two races - for some top runners (especially the top individuals at Footlocker),
that's not a bad thing.