Track at the Garden

Have you ever had one of those days that you'll never forget, no matter how long you live?  I had one of those days yesterday.  Thanks to a great number of factors working out in my favor, I got the opportunity to work on the track at the inaugural U.S. Open last night at Madison Square Garden.  The experience was beyond words.

For starters, the lovely Anna Pierce was more than willing to indulge me for a picture.  She even offered up a personalized autograph (that was written in pink) unsolicited.  I don't think my substantial crush on her will subside anytime soon.

That's me with 2008 Olympian Anna Pierce

Talking about what I actually did won't sound at all glamorous.  I did a lot of things, from moving mats to setting up hurdles to retrieving shot puts.  I even made my way into some of the pictures and saw myself on the ESPN2 broadcast more than a few times.  But, frankly, it wasn't about any of that.  I wanted to be there, up close and personal, for the thrill of track & field at The World's Most Famous Arena.  All the other stuff was just a bonus.

I don't know what the attendance and TV ratings were like, but in my opinion, the inaugural U.S. Open was a success.  Most importantly, it continued the 99-year tradition of track & field at the Garden.  For the sake of the sport, that was paramount.  Especially in an Olympic year, track & field needs the opportunity to be showcased on the biggest stage.  And no stage is bigger than Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, it looked for a while like track & field was going to lose that stage.  For 98 years, the Millrose Games, held at Madison Square Garden, were the most prestigious track meet in the United States, if not the world.  Last year's Millrose Games were the last to be held at the Garden.  The people who own the Armory, a venue in Upper Manhattan that hosts a number of meets at all levels every year (I've run there many times) took over organization of the Millrose Games a few years ago.  After last year's meet, they made the controversial decision to move the Millrose Games to the Armory.  Knowing that losing the Garden wasn't an option, USA Track & Field stepped in and staged the inaugural U.S. Open.  The first Armory-version of the Millrose Games will take place in a few weeks.

There's quite a debate going on about whether or not two competing meets in the same city a few weeks apart can both survive.  I say we've got to wait until after the Millrose Games are over before we draw any conclusions.  But I don't see how they both can't.  If anything, the Millrose Games might be the meet that's in trouble.  Consider: the U.S. Open has the prestige of Madison Square Garden, USATF's backing and, most importantly, TV coverage.

The Millrose Games had all that, but now doesn't.  Instead, it's another track meet at a facility that holds thousands of track meets a year.  Sure it's got the name and the facility is much better.  Big deal.  The biggest thing going against the Millrose Games is that the meet's no longer on TV (update: they announced today that the Millrose Games will be streamed live on YouTube).  In fact, USATF is sponsoring and televising another meet in Arkansas that weekend.  That meet is part of the Visa Championship Series, which awards prize money to athletes based on their best performance at one of four top-tier indoor meets.  So is the U.S. Open.

Maybe the U.S. Open and Millrose Games will be able to make peace.  Better yet, maybe both will survive.  But I think if there's anything that the inaugural U.S. Open proved, it's that regardless of the meet's name, there's still something special about running at Madison Square Garden.  That's never going to change.