EUGENE, Ore., June 24, 2012 — Without emotions, nothing matters in the human world. People would be plants. Without emotions, sports wouldn’t exist.
Emotions can even overwhelm a sports arena like a tropical rain forest shower. It is intense and out of control but creates a beautiful oasis. The emotions are shared between competitor to competitor, spectator to spectator and competitor to spectator not to mention the media and any other relational complexities. The emotional rollercoaster of sports is what makes sports so addicting.
One of the more raw sports is running. The race to the Olympics for track and field is taking place at one of the most prestigious tracks to run on in the world, Hayward Field at University of Oregon. It is known for it’s magic since the Prefontaine days. Hayward Field is not one of the best tracks to race on because of the Nike input. Although nobody could do it better, it is one of the only tracks where the town actively participates in seeing the athletes do well and cheering them on through the struggles. The fans found at Hayward are arguably the best track fans in the world.
Zach Ancell, a former Oregon Duck sprinter and up-and-coming sports photographer talked about how much he likes working with runners. “Running is such a raw sport. It is the only sport that is shared amongst every language and doesn’t require any expensive equipment or fancy arenas to participate.”
It is apart of every sport and the only thing a runner can rely on is his/her own body to succeed. This self-contained sport only leads to success when an individual performs at his or her best with nothing else to rely on. The face can express emotion that cannot be hidden during a run.
Hayward field has hosted four Olympic trials, ten NCAA Championships and eight World Championships. Being located in Eugene, Ore. makes Hayward Field unique in its own right. Eugene is extremely rainy, averaging 51 inches of rainfall each year.
The track is impeccable and the conditions are anything but ideal, yet. However, it is still a favorite amongst athletes and fans. Nothing beats a beautiful day at Eugene but expecting to compete in the rain should not warrant such world-record breaking performances that can be found here. This speaks volumes about how powerful the positive energy is from all the emotions that are brought to the track by the athletes and fans.
Could positive energy make everyone a world champion? Probably not, but it certainly can make a runner feel like s/he could. You can be apart of the evolution of emotion-laden success found in sports by tuning in to Hayward Field all this week.
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