Opinions on Arnold's showing at the 1980 Mr. O

[Disgusted]

Sadly Arnold only trained a weeks and still looked way better than most of these guys. I really wonder what he would have looked like with 4 months of solid training.

[Pollux]

Wasn't Arnold causing a whole lot of fuss, by not voting with the other competitors to get rid of the weight classes, at one point?

Yeah, and almost got into a fight with Mike "Cry Baby" Mentzer.

[JohnnyVegas]

close call. arnold lacked tibialis anterior ........  

     

Are you fucking kidding me, do you even know what the tibialis anterior or where it is located???

It is a SMALL muscle that runs down the front of the lower leg and  would be little more than 10 pieces of spaghetti tied together. The notion that ANYONE can even see the tibialis anterior is from outed space.

You just lost all credibility.

Sadly Arnold only trained a weeks and still looked way better than most of these guys. I really wonder what he would have looked like with 4 months of solid training.

The notion that Arnold looked "way better than most" is the dumbest statement ever made.

[MCWAY]

Yeah, and almost got into a fight with Mike "Cry Baby" Mentzer.

I can see why Mentzer would be adamant about that, seeing that he won the over-200-lb class the previous year (but lost the overall to Frank Zane).

At the end of the day, there can be only one Mr. Olympia. I guess the other folks want to argue about who's #2: the other weight-class winner or the runner-up in the class that produced the overall champion.

[JohnnyVegas]

I would say that Arnold probably just about shaded the decision in 1980. He certainly got there on his name but his physique was still good enough to be considered better than guys like Dickerson who were just starting thir competitive careers back then.

Yes, Chris had "just started"his competitive career...LOL..I will limit his shows just to the Pro's and will not toss in the amatuer contests.

1973

Pro Mr America - WBBG, Winner
Mr Universe - NABBA, Short, 1st
Mr Universe - NABBA, Overall Winner


1974

Universe - Pro - NABBA, Short, 1st
Universe - Pro - NABBA, Overall Winner


1975

Universe - Pro - PBBA, 2nd
Pro Mr World - WBBG, 2nd


1976

Olympus - WBBG, 4th
Universe - Pro - NABBA, 3rd
Universe - Pro - NABBA, Short, 2nd


1979

Canada Diamond Pro Cup - IFBB, 2nd
Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Vancouver - IFBB, 2nd
Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 4th


1980

Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, Winner
Florida Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix California - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Louisiana - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Miami - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Pennsylvania - IFBB, 2nd
Night of Champions - IFBB, Winner
Olympia - IFBB, 2nd
Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 2nd

[Pollux]

Arnold said it best when he said people will say what they want, and be in an uproar, but when it's all said and done history will still have him as 7 x's Mr. Olympia. 

[phenom]

Chris had plenty of experience by then not to mention the fact that he had Bill Pearl as his mentor. Who was the head judge at the 1980 Olympia. As for the booing not to sure about that on the GMV video he got the loudest cheers. The only booing was when Roger Walker the hometown fav was given 6th place. All the stuff about Arnold only training a month was BS he trained as he always had and if he hadn't hurt his shoulder and taken a cortisone shot I don't think there would be much to even debate.

[MikeThaMachine]

Arnold was still dwarfing everyone.

[Pollux]

Close call for Arnold! 

[CigaretteMan]

  Arnold won the 1980 Olympia on charisma and name recognition. He was smaller and softer than he was even at the 1972 Olympia. The thing is that none of the other guys were clearly better than him, so the judges gave it to him because, since everything else was equal, Arnold is Arnold.

[GoneAway]

   

Are you fucking kidding me, do you even know what the tibialis anterior or where it is located???

It is a SMALL muscle that runs down the front of the lower leg and  would be little more than 10 pieces of spaghetti tied together. The notion that ANYONE can even see the tibialis anterior is from outed space.

You just lost all credibility.

lol, i know exactly what it is, but it seems that u may be misguided. here's a pic clearly illustrating what it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tibialis_anterior_2.png

u can see it clearly on both of dickerson's lower legs in the shot that pollux posted. when it comes down to close decisions, things like that should matter, which is y i brought it up.

[JohnnyVegas]

Chris had plenty of experience by then not to mention the fact that he had Bill Pearl as his mentor. Who was the head judge at the 1980 Olympia. As for the booing not to sure about that on the GMV video he got the loudest cheers. The only booing was when Roger Walker the hometown fav was given 6th place. All the stuff about Arnold only training a month was BS he trained as he always had and if he hadn't hurt his shoulder and taken a cortisone shot I don't think there would be much to even debate.

Bill Pearl was not a judge at the 1980 O, Head Judge or otherwise. Bill Pearl recused himself as a judge because he said trained Dickerson for the show and said he could not be impartial.

As for ANY film or video (GMV, "The Comeback"), all the cheering was editied into the footage-edited in.

Arnold was widely booed off the stage at the O when he was announced the winner, and ran off the stage and called Maria a "bitch" because he was so upset. This was the first time he had ever been booed.

Vince Basile, who said he was there, said that the booing and cheering were both about the same. Charles Gaines, said there were heavy boos (and also witnessed Arnold calling Maria a "bitch", which is where that came from).

[Disgusted]

The notion that Arnold looked "way better than most" is the dumbest statement ever made.

Better go look a the definiton of notion asscrack. 

[JohnnyVegas]

  Arnold won the 1980 Olympia on charisma and name recognition.

He was smaller and softer than he was even at the 1972 Olympia.

The thing is that none of the other guys were clearly better than him, so the judges gave it to him because, since everything else was equal, Arnold is Arnold.

Yes, Arnold's "charisma" WON him the show....errrr...OK

As for the others, many were at all time peaks, and Arnold was at 80%, so I don't know if they were clearly better or not.

One thing for sure, Arnold was not the reigning champ, so that does not really make sense to give it to him, only the current champ gets a close call.

Better go look a the definiton of notion asscrack. 

no·tion      /ˈnoʊʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[noh-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a general understanding; vague or imperfect conception or idea of something: a notion of how something should be done. 
2. an opinion, view, or belief: That's his notion, not mine. 
3. conception or idea: his notion of democracy. 
4. a fanciful or foolish idea; whim: She had a notion to swim in the winter. 
5. an ingenious article, device, or contrivance; knickknack. 
6. notions, small articles, as buttons, thread, ribbon, and other personal items, esp. such items displayed together for sale, as in a department store. 

 

[Disgusted]

Yes, Arnold's "charisma" WON him the show....errrr...OK

As for the others, many were at all time peaks, and Arnold was at 80%, so I don't know if they were clearly better or not.

One thing for sure, Arnold was not the reigning champ, so that does not really make sense to give it to him, only the current champ gets a close call.


no·tion      /ˈnoʊʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[noh-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a general understanding; vague or imperfect conception or idea of something: a notion of how something should be done. 
2. an opinion, view, or belief: That's his notion, not mine. 
3. conception or idea: his notion of democracy. 
4. a fanciful or foolish idea; whim: She had a notion to swim in the winter. 
5. an ingenious article, device, or contrivance; knickknack. 
6. notions, small articles, as buttons, thread, ribbon, and other personal items, esp. such items displayed together for sale, as in a department store. 

 
[/quote

I had a good comeback all ready but you just ruined it. 

[Meltdown]

It was a Fukin Lock Arnold knew he was going to win the big fix was that there was no prize money given to Arnold best 20k spent on a show.And If one Fukin Pro stepped on stage today with legs that weak you would all Burn Burn Burn.And like somebody has already said 81 was even worse.If you want a laugh look at the 1980 Olympia pics of Tony E and look at the MILK TITTIES.

[Moosejay]

In the dvd "Arnold the early years" there's a rare pic gallery of the 80 Mr.O, where Arnold owns everybody in every single pic....

It'd be great if someone can get a hold of them and post them here.

All hand-picked by Arnold himself

[Moosejay]

I would say that Arnold probably just about shaded the decision in 1980. He certainly got there on his name but his physique was still good enough to be considered better than guys like Dickerson who were just starting thir competitive careers back then. All the other guys in that show were cut and in great shape but their height let them down and whenever they were stood next to Arnold with his height, chest size, and biceps peak, they didn't stand a chance.

Zane Dickerson and Coe were all competing for 15+ years...they were not just starting out....and Zane, at 5'9", had already beaten Arnold

[Moosejay]

I have the GMV version of the 1980 its a must watch if your to have an opinion about the contest. Total rebuild shows nothing of the contest. That said Dickerson was the most complete, Zane was way off his best, and Mentzer had no chest. All 3 of those guys standing alone looked like they could have won. When they stood next to Arnold in the comparison round they were dwarfed both by height and size. He literally was head and shoulders above the pack. I don't blame Mentzers placing on his feud with Arnold I blame it on less than amateur level transitional posing. Mentzer could hit shots with the best of them but his transitions were horrible. He would completely relax and let everything hang out between shots and really began to look gassed very early and started to flatten out. Zane act looked better as the show went on but just couldn't hang with Arnold's size.

Zane suffered a severe urethral puncture wound several weeks prior to the show, but still managed to come in close to his best, he was not 'way off' his best....

[Moosejay]

Sadly Arnold only trained a weeks and still looked way better than most of these guys. I really wonder what he would have looked like with 4 months of solid training.

Arnold trained mush longer than what wqas commonly revealed...this was a 'smoke' ecreen to make folks believe that insufficient training time was responsible for his sub-par condition...

[Moosejay]

Yeah, and almost got into a fight with Mike "Cry Baby" Mentzer.

It was Arnold who was acting like a child during the heated exchange with Mentzer, who had the balls to challenge him 

[Moosejay]

   

Are you fucking kidding me, do you even know what the tibialis anterior or where it is located???

It is a SMALL muscle that runs down the front of the lower leg and  would be little more than 10 pieces of spaghetti tied together. The notion that ANYONE can even see the tibialis anterior is from outed space.

You just lost all credibility.


The notion that Arnold looked "way better than most" is the dumbest statement ever made.

Agree on both.

NEVER heard of anyone commenting on the tib anterior, and have never really looked at it in 20 years of judging.

I don't know if he loses ALL credibility, though....

[Moosejay]

I can see why Mentzer would be adamant about that, seeing that he won the over-200-lb class the previous year (but lost the overall to Frank Zane).

At the end of the day, there can be only one Mr. Olympia. I guess the other folks want to argue about who's #2: the other weight-class winner or the runner-up in the class that produced the overall champion.

Arnold would have had a better chance of at least winning the over 200 if there was that class, and he knew this would help him still be called 'Mr. O over 200' if he'd lost to the under 200...

[Moosejay]

Arnold said it best when he said people will say what they want, and be in an uproar, but when it's all said and done history will still have him as 7 x's Mr. Olympia. 

Yes. Very good. He was qwuoted as saying something very similar to this is the M&F following the 80 Olympia issue, and, many years later, many have forgotten the controversy (including many of the forgiving entrants) and only remember, 'Arnold, 7 times Mr. O...'

[Moosejay]

Chris had plenty of experience by then not to mention the fact that he had Bill Pearl as his mentor. Who was the head judge at the 1980 Olympia.

No. Bill Pearl, gentleman that he was and is, disqualified himself from the judging due to his ties with Dickerson.

As for the booing not to sure about that on the GMV video he got the loudest cheers. The only booing was when Roger Walker the hometown fav was given 6th place.

No, much more than that...

 All the stuff about Arnold only training a month was BS he trained as he always had and if he hadn't hurt his shoulder and taken a cortisone shot I don't think there would be much to even debate.

Correct, but his lack of leg development would have been a sore point regardless...