Fancy name does not lend credibility to event

In the film Semi-Pro, lead character Jackie Moon tries to save his drowning basketball team from oblivion by convincing the media that the result of a random league match has far more value than it really does.

After purchasing what must be the world’s most extravagant trophy and calling a press conference, his attempted ruse falls flat.

“In the annals of history, people are going to be talking about three things: the discovery of fire, the invention of the submarine and the Flint Michigan Megabowl,” Moon tells the media.

His audience, however, is far from convinced, explaining to him that a massive trophy and a fancy name do not amount to much unless there’s a worthy achievement attached.

Jackie Moon turns instead to gimmicks like wrestling bears in cages at half time and giving a false cheque to a “dirty hippy” for making a free throw from the halfway line. None of it works.

This weekend, London will host the track and field equivalent of the Flint Michigan Megabowl.

Perhaps that’s a stretch of a comparison because there is some value to the Athletics World Cup, with tons of money up for grabs.

But athletics already has a World Cup. It’s just not called the World Cup anymore.

In 2010, after tweaking the format of the quadrennial championship which sees athletes representing their continents rather than their countries, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) opted to change the name of the competition to the Continental Cup. The next edition will be held later this year and it’s taking place in Ostrava, in the Czech Republic.

With the World Cup brand up

Wesley Bo on

for grabs, promoters of the inaugural event in London this weekend snatched an opportunity by tagging their event with the fancy name.

Unlike actual international championships, however, athletes are not forced to compete for their national teams if they are selected, resulting in the likes of Caster Semenya and Akani Simbine (who has since picked up a niggling injury) withdrawing from the SA squad in order to commit to the Diamond League meeting in Rabat last night.

From a South African perspec- tive, organisers of the World Cup can be grateful that the long jump in Morocco did not form part of the official Diamond League series, or world champion Luvo Manyonga may also have opted out.

The eight nations participating in London today and tomorrow are athletics powerhouses, but it doesn’t help inviting the likes of the United States and China unless they’re going to send strong teams.

My interest in the World Cup is so pitiful, I’m not sure who will represent the other seven countries, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they won’t be at full strength.

And the reason for this is that you can call an athletics meeting whatever you want, only the IAAF can create an official global championship.

The World Cup organisers could have picked any other extravagant name. How about the Universal Championship of Awesomeness? That may have worked too.

You can throw money at it, buy the biggest trophies and medals you can find and you can promote it until you’re blue in the face. It doesn’t make it an official championship.

Promoters of this weekend’s meeting have done a great job in pulling the wool over the eyes of athletics fans by picking a cool name and offering buckets of cash. The event, however, is likely to be a relative flop.

I’m a big fan of silly movies and the sport of track and field is close to my heart, but I have no time for fake events.

This week’s meeting has been named the Athletics World Cup but it may as well be called the Flint Michigan Megabowl.