Superfan Daily: Your Track Vault Pick of the Week

Today we have a Sports Illustrated article from 1965 profiling the start of the track season.

Two months ago the prospects for a successful indoor track season seemed about as rosy as winter slush. The combination of post-Olympic ennui and post-truce hostilities between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Amateur Athletic Union made promoters wonder where they would get enough athletes to fill their programs or enough ticket buyers to fill their seats.


They need not have worried. What threatened to be one of track's dullest winters in years shows every sign of being its brightest and most exciting. Last week in San Francisco a crowd of 11,412 showed up at the Cow Palace for the first indoor meet of the season. No legitimate indoor records were jeopardized, but as a preview of things to come the meet was a rousing success.


First of all, it was revealed that there will be girls, lots of them. There will be plenty of visitors from abroad, too, the largest and most exotic group the indoor season has ever enjoyed. There will be imaginative new events that would have tickled P. T. Barnum. And finally, to assuage fears of the serious indoor track enthusiast that more cake than bread will be available, there will be lots of plain, nourishing competition.

Track on TV
Endurance, 6:00 AM tomorrow onFLiX
Running , 9:30 AM tomorrow on Showtime Family Zone
Prefontaine, 9:30 AM tomorrow on Showtime Showcase

News Links
Runner's World's Racing News has all the headlines: Millrose adds Galen Rupp and a 2-mile race, the Boston Indoor Games have a new title sponsor, and more.

Lolo Jones wins Mr. Universe's Tweet of the Week award.

Part 2 of iRunnerblog's interview with Shalane Flanagan.

Galen Rupp's 2011 season will have distinct and separate indoor and outdoor portions.

Olympic News: the USOC and IOC are opening discussions on a new revenue-sharing agreement, and GM paid big to be the lone auto advertiser for NBC's 2012 Olympic coverage.

TFN's Garry Hill says loud music and other histrionics get in the way of experiencing a track meet.  Agreed.  I've also noticed that a road race or triathlon that has a DJ is almost invariably poorly organized.

College news: Pre-season D-II rankings released, and Florida's super-sprinter/footballer Jeff Demps will miss the season opener (and maybe more).

Anti-doping news: The two Greek sprinters are finally in court for their 2004 Olympic antics, a key suspect in Operation Galgo has been found dead, an editorial explains how dope cheaters who pass tests are still found, and a researcher will probe into Kenyan running.