Can we all agree that...
1) Bodybuilding is intentionally kept small time because the fat cats like the Weiders understand it must remain an underground sport in order to continue lining their own pockets? If it were to get too big, it would force the hand of law enforcement, even Congress (as we have seen) to intervene. The effort to make it an Olympic sport is thus a weak facade that isn't believed for a minute by anyone of reasonable intellect. As it is now, people like the Weiders and their small cadre of promoters can always disavow themselves of the drug issue because they can claim they somehow didn't know about it. While this stretches the limits of plausible deniability, it might stand up with enough high powered lawyers and pseudo-science peddling legal supplement manufactures claiming the current pros are natural. Yes, it is also inherently self-limiting because the average person doesn't like the physique of the modern bodybuilder, but behind even that is a collection of smart people running a (comparatively) small operation that flies under the radar of the people whose job is to "protect our children".
Can we also agree that..
2) There is tremendous irony involved when pros call each out for excessive drug usage or Synthol use since there is no guarantee that the current top pros would still be the best of the bunch if no one was allowed to use AAS? Just as the response to training is genetic, so is the response to AAS? Take it away and who's to say many current pros would not be also-rans as natural competitors? When you allow drugs in the mix, you set the scene for a macabre arms race. Yes, a lot of former great BBs are alive and kicking today, but does anyone really think today's champions will enjoy the same longevity?
Finally, can we agree that...
3) If there had been no Bill Gates, there would still be some sort of "Windows" on everyone's computer today, just as there would still be bodybuilding today without Joe Weider? That there is just as much chance he has hurt bodybuilding as we know it today as helped it along? The marathon might be of a different length today had there been no Greco-Persian Wars, but does anyone doubt there wouldn't be some form of long distance running race in the Olympics today regardless? Ask yourself...who are the men who so greatly praise Weider for their success, and who is it that signs their paycheck's?
