I don't necessarily mean controversial as in widespread claims of an "uncrowned O", a la Vic 2007, Nasser 1996 (?), etc. But going by what I read on getbig, it seems while most acknowledge Phil should win, most also aren't very impressed with him, and don't consider him a dominant Mr. O.
On the other hand, most getbiggers today seem to acknowledge Ronnie, Dorian, Haney, and Arnold to be legitimate, dominant Mr. Os. They're all held in relatively high regard.
So here's my question: in ten, twenty years, will Phil (or Jay, for that matter) be talked about the same way? Will the cries of "narrow fraud" and "line stepping tiny tit" fade away? Were Dorian and Ronnie more sharply criticized (or Haney and Arnold, for those old enough to remember) in their heydays, before they were considered legends? If so, at what point do they naysayers get drowned out? How, when, and why does history show them in an ever more flattering light?
Or are Phil and Jay never going to be able to shirk the hate?
Another thing to consider: are we just all old and jaded? Do the kids on bbing.com think Phil is hot shit? I honestly don't know, since this is the only bbing board I've visited in years. Maybe Phil already stands alongside Ronnie and Dorian in the eyes of young bodybuilders across the globe?
