As I was finishing that last grueling rep with a 25 lb dumbbell this morning at the iron asylum, many thoughts crossed my mind, thoughts that although meaningless to many, hold so much value for fans of this sport like myself. I'm not a competitor, I'm not a promoter and I'm not judge, I am but a mere fan of this sport that would like to hear your responses to what I consider a phenomenon that has slowly morphed this industry to something which it wasn't many years ago.
Throughout the many years that the Mr. Olympia has graced our eyes, it never fails to make me wonder that maybe, behind the scenes, the Weider boys and their new cronies in charge of sales have stuck to some sort of hidden agenda. Many of you here have mentioned that whenever an actual Mr. Olympia champion, the likes of Ronnie, is present that no one else has a chance, because it's not common practice for a reigning champion to be dethrowned. Why is that? We don't need to be a bunch of judges sitting in little booths across from the stage to be able to say that many times the reigning champ lacks many things that the underdog has, so what gives?
To add to that, how many times will we sit around and allow for gift placings to be handed down to the likes of guys like Gunter, who although a hell of a nice guy to everyone, doesn't have the frame or overall asthetics to save his life in an amateur contest? Now, Im not a supporter of any particular Pro, but I do find that a many times throughout the last few years, the Mr. Olympia contest seemed fixed, because you can't honestly tell me that Ronnie truly beat out guys like Cutler circa 2001/2002 or even a guy like Dexter who comes in looking close to perfect from head to toe. Is the Mr. Olympia a size contest or is it a bodybuilding contest?
Sure, with today's modern supplementation and new workout techniques, we have progressed to a point where our athletes are bigger and stronger than before, but symmetry must play a role in all this and although I do think that Ronnie Coleman did deserve to be a champion years back, I do find that today the man is a little too deformed to do the sport any justice. I was there a few years back when Ronnie Coleman visited the Jay Leno show and to say that people were amazed at what they saw would be ridiculous. People weren't amazed, peopled were disgusted. I say this with no disrespect to Ronnie, but people looked at him more in the way that you would look at a caged animal. They weren't in awe of his amazing proportions, they were quite frankly scared. Ronnie looked very impressive and even appealing to the eye back in 98 or so, before resorting to extreme measures and I hope he can find it in himself to do the sport and his body justice by reverting to those days.
When will bodybuilding go back to the time where bodybuilding was just about bodybuilding and not about looking like a freak on stage? When will guys like Dexter, Martinez or even newcomers like Heath and Dugdale get a chance win the Mr.Olympia while keeping their symmetrical bodies in check without having to resort to the size game? What goes through the mind of warriors of the past the likes of Shawn Ray who always maintained a balanced physique but never gave into the temptation of the size game out of respect for the sport and himself? Maybe it's just that the Mr. Olympia contest is not about bodybuilding anymore. I thought bodybuilding was to supposed to be healthy. I thought bodybuilding was supposed to make you look good every day of your life not just 1 day of the year. I thought bodybuilding was supposed to extend your lifespan. I thought bodybuilding was about building all parts of your body in a way that would allow for your body to flow and look like that of a work of art.
Have we truly lost grip with the meaning behind this sport and, most importantly, is the Mr. Olympia fixed?
