I just realized that Ronnie Coleman was right about a very controversial statement. A while ago on PBBW, as in more than a year, Chick asked Ronnie why he didn't name Jay the heir apparent, and instead picked Victor Martinez as the man who he thought would be the next Mr. Olympia after he retired. I know for me, when i heard that Ronnie didn't even consider Jay a contender, i thought that he was either pompous or just very very focused, or even both of the above.
Today at work, as i spend most of my time waiting, i spent some time beginning to ponder why Ronnie would say that, since Jay was number two to him for those many years. Jay had always been huge, reasonably in condition and always a crowd pleaser. Then, i remembered the video that was posted of Jay vs. Dex. Jay still looked huge in that video, which i'm assuming is hype for the upcoming olympia, but he still looked like the same off-season Jay, hefty with not much definition. Nothing wrong with off-season condition, but even at the last olympia, jay still did not hit his peak. Dexter Jackson in the same video looks jacked and almost in olympia condition already, but with an additional very obvious 7 pounds of muscle. It could even be said that Dex, a smaller man in the world of bodybuilding, has at least out-armed the great Jay Cutler. Agree or disagree, the great Jay Cutler has gone soft. Although he says he has more of a drive, i don't know if it's age, workout, or anything else, but in my humble opinion, Jay Cutler is past his prime.
In comes Victor. In the mass game that bodybuilding is currently involved in, Victor is a forerunner. Ronnie may not have known it, or may have hit the nail on the head, Jay's reign is over. Victor and the other mass monsters with better conditioning and size are now the next generation. Ronnie's comment, although very apparently demeaning, was 100% the truth.
