Forums >Off the Beaten Path>NYC Macy's parade is ok?
Chasing the bus
“You're either on the bus or off the bus.” ― Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Well, big difference between 3 weeks and 6 days to recover. I think if the marathon had been scheduled for this weekend it would be a go. There is also the fact the parade routes are uptown, and do not cover 26+ miles. I would certainly not advocate cancelling the Thanksgiving day parades. FWIW, I do not believe there was a practical reason to cancel the marathon, but given the irrational political backlash I think it was the right thing to do. I was hoping they would come up with an alternate course, but I doubt any of us understand what is involved politically to secure right of ways in NYC on short notice, especially in that climate. The plan B course would have had to exist ahead of the storm would be my guess.
Yeah, there has been some time. And I don't think the parade is spread across 26.2 and the entire city. And it doesn't involve 10s of 1000s of participants (though both the marathon and parade imply a ton of spectators).
It didn't even occur to me to try to compare the two.
Then again, I haven't paid attention to the Macy's parade in twenty years so there's that.
It's not just an issue of a lot of people and a path to follow. They can't make on-the-fly adjustments to the marathon course due to certification. From my understanding the most significant issue with the marathon was the Staten Island start location. Staten Island was pretty beat up by Sandy. The staging areas on the island are federal property as well. I don't think the two scenarios are comparable.
Puker
The hatred and discrimination against runners must end now! The government is behind it. Wake up people!
Feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive.
During the same weekend, thousands of people traveled through those same hurricane ravished areas to watch the Knicks, Nets and Giants play in midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. Not just one area of NYC.
High Horse
Ultimately it bolis down to politics and what events the population finds desirable. The parade and sporting events are things the masses find entertaining and supportive. Marathons appeal to a much smaller crowd.
What I found just plain dumb were the arguments about allocation of resources. The Non profit Marathon had already pledged more bucks than the entire NFL.
The Macy's Parade the NFL and NBA are institutions of entertainment and but marathoners are quirky wealthy self centered hobbyists in the eyes of many.
I firmly believed the marathon should have been run just as I believe the ball games should be played and the Parade.
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member ~ Groucho Marx.
As a New York City resident, I got to witness some of the destruction caused by Sandy. Fortunately, my area was okay, but I went downtown to go help some friends carry their valuables out of their partially flooded house, and it was not pretty.
At first I too thought the marathon should be run, because it was going to bring in a lot of spectators and money that the city could have used, but at the same time, there were a lot of logistical issues that would not have been easy to resolve. The city started putting those who had been removed from their homes into hotels in Midtown-- the same hotels that were booked for marathon runners and supporters. The staff who had been working overtime to help get people out of houses and keep the streets safe would then have had to spend time setting up the route, staffing the actual run, and then dismantling all the barricades and storing them. All in all, I would have liked to see the marathon go through, but in that short period of time after the hurricane, there was no way the city was going to rally.
Even though it's been about a month, there are still significantly damaged locations (parks, buildings, etc.) that need repair, though none of it was along the route that the parade takes.
Man its Hot Here
I think when it came down to it the difference between the marathon and say The Giants playing is that The Giants are a New Yorkers thing,its their where as the Marathon was seen as a rich out of towners thing. Otherwise they would have been screaming for all the food at the sports events and the generaters from the TV centers at those events to be "donated" into the affected areas.
kween
Go back to R&R, you freakin' hippy.
Nolite te bastardes carborundum.
You're just afraid that I'm gonna tell everyone the truth about how Israel and the Jewish- owned media was behind the marathon cancellation.
what an annoying thread. Oh well. Cheers everyone!