The Worlds, Part 3: Fun with Fans in the Stands

Mingling and people-watching is a special treat at The Worlds. You might see athletes from the Italian team walking down the concourse…hear foreign languages spoken on the grounds outside…and notice spectators’ t-shirts from school track teams all over the U.S. as well as nostalgic themes (“Stop Pre” was a favorite). The organizers cleverly captured this social aspect with their “Hello WORLD. MEET Eugene” graphic.  

Legend the mascot. He's...well, legendary. Note the two U.S. and one Canadian competitor in the background, taking their victory lap.

In keeping with Eugene’s cool vibe, Legend the mascot was edgy and funny. When the stadium-cam screen showed a woman with a sign that said “Legend – my daughter is single,” Legend climbed to their upper-level seats and got down on one knee to propose. Legend also held up goofy posters, jumped on and off railings like a skateboarding kid, somersaulted and danced. All this under a glaring sun with temps in the mid to upper 80s. Makes you wonder how many brave clowns took turns powering the Legend costume and whether they needed treatment for heat exhaustion. 

Some people will do anything to stay cool.

​Yes, folks, the heat was hot (to quote a famously dumb song lyric). Most of our seats along the back stretch faced the searing late-afternoon sun: by and large, the only sections available and affordable to the general public when tickets went on sale a year ago.
 
Sunblock was only the beginning. We learned to carry absorbent towels, wet them at the ubiquitous water bottle filling faucets, and drape them all over. Does it look like I’m channeling my inner Lawrence of Arabia? The people sitting around me didn’t seem impressed.
 
Tom’s endurance strategy focused on Pepsi over ice. He bought three $7.50 souvenir cups in three days. We brought them home, and they’re now available at auction with a reserve price of $21.50 each (Pepsi not included). Put in your bid today.
 
Two concession stands were named after famous University of Oregon athletes: Ashton’s Eatin’s (two-time Olympic decathlete champion Ashton Eaton) and English’s Garden (English Gardner, whose 10.74 PR ranks her in the top ten all-time in the 100 meters).

Hair Today, Fun Tomorrow
 
During the 100-meter women’s heats, a Jamaican fan sitting next to Tom observed that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce could run even faster “if she wasn’t carrying four pounds of hair.” Her infamous haircolor changes were evident each time she stepped on the track: orange, pink, green, yellow, yellow with green. Afterward, she explained that she had packed 10 wigs, colored and styled in Jamaica, in her luggage for Eugene.
 
And hair weight hasn’t kept her from becoming one of the greatest sprinters of all time, as well as leading a Jamaican sweep of The Worlds’ podium in the women’s 100m final, with Shericka Jackson earning silver and Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah taking bronze.
 
As for hair color, Shelly-Ann said, “I want to show young girls that it’s okay to be different and have your personality.”
 
The Hayward Field of Dreams
 
One final note about the venue: Hayward Field was remodeled in 2018. Even though it had fallen into disrepair, some people opposed any changes, citing the iconic look, feel and history of the stadium. We understand nostalgia, sure. But having watched the U.S. Olympic track and field trials there in 2008, sitting on rickety old wooden seats in which our knees bumped the back of the person sitting in front of us (and our own backs were kneed by the person behind), we weren’t sorry to learn of the update. Seating capacity expanded from 12,650 to 25,000. The new stadium is beautiful – and beautifully functional.
 
Every year the University of Oregon hosts the Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event. One of the premier track and field meets in the United States, it draws a world-caliber field. You might want to add this to your bucket list. 
-- Leah Rewolinski

NEXT  Scroll down for the final post in this series, Part 4: Getting There and Back Again