Reading the threads on this year's Mr. O and then also a previous Lee Haney thread greatly saddened me. I remember driving all night to get to the 1986 Mr. Olympia in Columbus, Ohio. When that prejudging started there was a huge sense of anticipation in the air, as there always is before the competitors walk out in any big show especially where it has been hyped in the magazines for a year, but to me this anticipation was the greatest I ever experienced. Haney, Gaspari, Christian, etc.
And it lived up to the hype. I was 26 rows back at the prejudging and when Gaspari and Haney walked on stage it was effing amazing. I could see veins in Gaspari's triceps from 26 rows back. Haney was huge and shredded. Great conditioning in an era when they were setting new standards for what was "ripped."
I could not afford tickets to the finals that night, but I didn't care. I got what I came for and I was amazed and inspired.
The anticipation for this year's O entirely fell flat. No one looked worth a shit. No one set any new standard. No one lived up to the hype. They might as well have run last years again, not much difference.
