It seems the use of the metric system in world sports is
upsetting to many Americans. So much for the Olympics teaching the
Americans about metric or about Americans understanding what is happening when
something is given in metres.
David Noble, high school and college stand-out in track
who spent nearly 40 years as one of the nation's most respected coaches (the
Angelo State Relays now are named in his honor), thinks one of the most tragic
mistakes made in his sport came in 1976. That's when the United States and
Great Britain "pulled the plug" on the English system of measuring distances.
They felt the metric system closing in.
"It wasn't smart," he insists. "Few Americans will take
the time to equate metrics to yards, feet and inches." A dozen years ago,
Southwest Texas State's Charles Austin was about to try a record high jump in
San Angelo. The public address announcer droned that he was attempting a jump
of 2.23 meters. The crowd yawned.
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"Somebody tell him that he's going for 7 feet, 3 inches,"
Noble urged, and when the announcer changed it to feet and inches, the fans
rushed closer to the jumping pit. (Austin cleared it, and later was a world
champion at 7-8. He won Olympic gold in 1996 on his third try at 7-10, or, if
you prefer, 2.4 meters. Anyway, it was nearly two feet above his
head!)
Meanwhile, metrics are being held at bay in other sports.
You might hear a football announcer say, "Third and long," but never "third
and 1.1 meter."
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http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2004/08/22/opinion/opinion07.txt
