FLEXONLINE:
"Both Deckard and Ergas fought back tears after winning their respective classes, fitting considering the long roads each took to finally get to the pros. Deckard has been aiming for the honor since first competing at the USAs in 2000; the last two years, he was third in the super-heavies in Vegas. And Ergas was on the verge of retiring after falling to Jonathan Rowe at the '05 Nationals; friends and others in the industry helped talk him out of it, and it's a good thing they were successful."
Are pro cards no longer given to the best guy onstage, but to the guy who has "paid his dues"? Aside from Phil heath, many of the recent pro cards - haley, world harris, willmore, ergas, omar - have gone to guys who plugged away for years (read: their peak years) and are on their way down. This might lead to a feelgood story, but it might shortchange the IFBB if the guys with best shape and size are bypassed so John Doe can avenge being robbed last year.
