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Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American?

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frogonawire

Nov 3, 09 11:15

Post #1 of 63 (1899 views)

Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American?	Can't Post

One of my parents was born in a foreign country, am I a "real" American? Ridiculous

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...-the_new_york_times/
By Gina Kolata

NEW YORK - As soon as Mebrahtom Keflezighi , better known as Meb, won the New York City Marathon on Sunday, an uncommon sports dispute erupted online, fraught with racial and nationalistic components: Should Keflezighi�s triumph count as an American victory?
He was widely celebrated as the first American to win the New York race since 1982. Having immigrated to the United States at age 12, he is an American citizen

and a product of American distance running programs at the youth, college and professional levels.
But, some said, because he was born in Eritrea, he is not really an American runner.

__________________________________________________
Splash me!

jackmott

Nov 3, 09 11:17

Post #2 of 63 (1881 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

given that he got here at 12

yeah hes is as american as anyone

I think a lot of people probably assume he is a recent east african transplant though. Which would be a legit thing to gripe about (in the context of caring what country a runner is "from" which is kinda of a bankrupt thing to worry about anyway)
----
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hgrong

Nov 3, 09 11:22

Post #3 of 63 (1854 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

How to test if someone is a "real" American:

Question 1: Are they an American citizen?

If yes, they are a "real" American.

There is no question 2.

dcsxtri10

Nov 3, 09 11:27

Post #4 of 63 (1820 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well, there is a second question .... could he be president??? So, I agree he is a real American .... but just not real real ;-)

Dave

gbot

Nov 3, 09 11:28

Post #5 of 63 (1811 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Exactly. What a stupid argument to have in a country of immigrants.

champy

Nov 3, 09 11:28

Post #6 of 63 (1809 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Right, citizenship is the on question. Everyone in this country, except for Native American decent, has relatives that came from another place. How long and how many generations back is it supposed to go before you are considered an American? I feel it's whatever the law is on citizenship.

BarryP

Nov 3, 09 11:28

Post #7 of 63 (1806 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

It's not a matter if someone is an American citizen. When runners are looking at "American" winners, what we are looking for are people who, on one level, are products of American distance running or at least, on a different level, decided to become Americans because they actually wanted to become Americans regardless of the running opportunities.

In my opinion, Meb as well as Lamong qualify.

As far as some of us are concerned, the only need for distinction is discounting someone who got an American citizenship simply because it would be easier to qualify for teh Olympics than back in their own country, just as an example.
-----------------------------Barry Pollock (aka Baron Von Speedypants)
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DaveRoche

Nov 3, 09 11:28

Post #8 of 63 (1805 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I only consider a person a 'real' American if they have a pair of Truck Nutz on a pick-up.

Apple pie, baseball, and xenophobia, THAT IS WHAT AMERICA DOES. Why do you hate the USA, Meb?
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paul_tx

Nov 3, 09 11:29

Post #9 of 63 (1798 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

The Onion should do a story on whether or not he's a real runner because he once wore Compression socks.
****************************

(This post was edited by paul_tx on Nov 3, 09 11:32)

burnman

Nov 3, 09 11:31

Post #10 of 63 (1784 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

At last check, this was the NYC marathon, not the olympics. Country of origin is completely irrelevant, and anyone that takes issue - asserting that he's not a 'real American' - should go fuck themselves.

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Hunting is only a sport if your prey is human and he shoots back.

STJay

Nov 3, 09 11:31

Post #11 of 63 (1779 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yeah, that was the most igonrant shit I've read in a long time. One of my colleagues said CNBC's Darren Rovell is a great writer, but I said that may be true, but it doesn't stop him from being a bigot. I also said he must be a Native American, must be his only explanation for such a brazen statement.

dvfmfidc

Nov 3, 09 11:35

Post #12 of 63 (1745 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [burnman] [In reply to]	Can't Post

What he/she said!

spomeroy

Nov 3, 09 11:36

Post #13 of 63 (1741 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [gbot] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

Exactly. What a stupid argument to have in a country of immigrants.

+1 freaking million..shit I couldn't believe when I read there was actually debate about this...

cheers
S.
// it never gets easier, you just get faster.

bmcmaster11

Nov 3, 09 11:39

Post #14 of 63 (1724 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I didn't read the article, but I watched the end of the race. He's as real of an American as Matty Reed, George Washington, Either George Bush's or any of the rest of the American born "Americans". Probably more so than most American born "Americans"

walnutcreek tri

Nov 3, 09 11:39

Post #15 of 63 (1716 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Let's not forget the last American to win the NYC marathon in 1982, was born in Cuba. If you're looking for American born, you'll have to go back to 1979

dvfmfidc

Nov 3, 09 11:49

Post #16 of 63 (1678 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [bmcmaster11] [In reply to]	Can't Post

i watched all of the race, and that USA looked damn good on him. He wore that jersey PROUD. I have read many articles about him and listened to many interviews with him, he is one proud, humble and happy AMERICAN.

STP

Nov 3, 09 11:58

Post #17 of 63 (1638 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

The best thing I read on this was the last sentence of the NYT article you quote. It was Alberto Salazar, the last American to win the NYC Marathon pointing out that he was not born here either.

Salazar was born in Cuba and moved here as a kid with his family, just like Meb.

The real issue is did the American running world produce a winner. The answer is yes. Meb came here when he was 12 and had not run before. He did all his training and development here. So, since he was developed in the American running system from day one, in the context of did an "American" runner win the NYC marathon, the answer is most definitely yes.

Titanflexr

Nov 3, 09 12:01

Post #18 of 63 (1612 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

The only reason this became a controversy is that he looks a lot like the Ethiopians and Kenyans that have been dominating distance running. As a pp pointed out, no one had issues with Salazar. It's just racism pure and simple.

American is a nationality, not an ethnicity. He's a US citizen, and showed enough pride to have a USA jersey instead of a big corporate logo...sorry if some people were pissed that he's not white....and glad to see that "some people" doesn't include the ST crowd.

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baxnelly

Nov 3, 09 12:09

Post #19 of 63 (1570 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [jackmott] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To:

I was wondering if this would get argued as I watched him win Sunday. I knew he was not born here but I did not realize he came here so young and did his racing/training from his youth days in our country. I thought it was more of a just-moved-here recently thing.

No argument, he's an American and looked good winning.
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wesc

Nov 3, 09 12:14

Post #20 of 63 (1551 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [Titanflexr] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I agree 100%. There would be no article written if he came froom Germany at age 12 and his name was Peter Wagner.

(This post was edited by wesc on Nov 3, 09 12:16)

tsmagnum

Nov 3, 09 12:29

Post #21 of 63 (1498 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [hgrong] [In reply to]	Can't Post

And, wasn't Meb the only American wearing the USA singlet? And pointing to USA on his jersey while finishing. He showed more pride being American than any of the natural born guys.

wonder bread

Nov 3, 09 12:40

Post #22 of 63 (1459 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [bmcmaster11] [In reply to]	Can't Post

it's not just about citizenship. When I see a person of Chinese decent playing ping pong for some African country in the Olympics I don't think how great African's are at ping pong. I think, why not just watch the Chinese national championships?

Meb didn't move here because he couldn't win a spot on his own country's team. So I count him as 'real'. If some well established Kenyan marathoner immigrates to the U.S. I don't care what his paperwork says... I will feel no national pride at his accomplishments. Because those accomplishments are no reflection on the country he represents.

Robert@Newton

Nov 3, 09 12:41

Post #23 of 63 (1457 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [wesc] [In reply to]	Can't Post

This "real" American thing started with Meb when he broke the AR in the 10,000m back in '01 I believe. It was a Letsrun.com deal (we don't want to be like those guys do we?) I know Meb a little back to his days at ucla. YES! Meb is as real American as any of us. He is damned proud of his Eritrean heritage and to be an American. It IS a stupid xenophobic argument, and those of you who know me, know I am NOT some overly PC guy. I knew this sh*t would be brought up again when Meb ran by me in the park 300 yards from victory, I did not expect it from the Rag that the NY Times has become. I am much more proud to call Meb a fellow American than the likes of "Jon and Kate". - My $.02

furiousferret

Nov 3, 09 12:53

Post #24 of 63 (1413 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [Robert@Newton] [In reply to]	Can't Post

To me, its about the program. Its not really a matter of citizenship but where they built the talent and habits to get them here. Meb followed the USA formula of distance running from Junior High on up. If a guy comes here after being trained by another country (see Freddy Adu), that's one thing but he developed as a distance runner in this country.

LazyEP

Nov 3, 09 13:00

Post #25 of 63 (1378 views)

Re: Meb - NYC Marathon - a "real" American? [frogonawire] [In reply to]	Can't Post

All right...Where's Lou Dobbs & FOX TV lurking here on ST?
Sean Phelps
"It's not the age sweetheart. It's the mileage."
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