Wow, a lot of smoke blowing up a lot of asses on this string.
First, Vince. He's shot himself in the foot more than once, including denouncing his loss of the Masters O in 2002 as a racist conspiracy (accusing people who voted him a winner in the show 5 times in a row). I was at the Masters O & from what I saw, Don Youngblood won the show fair & square. Vince made a great comeback this year, though, & since he can go the the O, why not do it? He won't crack the top 6, but he might get into the top 10. It's a prestige thing, not a money thing. Since when did competing lead to money awards for most pros?
Next, Chick. No one paid more dues than he did, hanging in as a top amateur far longer than anyone else ever did. He's doing an impossible job, & gets a lot of shit for it. At least he's willing to communicate with the yahoos who don't know shit about what they're talking about.
Next, Lee. He says what he thinks, no matter what it is. Sometimes it's smart, sometimes it's not. But he won't cut his conscience to fit this year's fashions. You gotta give it to him. If he says Emperor Weider isn't wearing any clothes, then sure there are going to be repercussions. But it's his choice. As for being banned from the IFBB, he isn't exactly outside the whale. More like the goldfish. The IFBB needs him more than he needs it. He's one of the two white guys who can get on a cover & sell mags (Branch is the other one).
Next, Ben & Joe. They did their homework, outlasted (& outlived) their competition, & mythologized themselves in their own mags, creating an empire by destroying their competition. They haven't had any since the early 1980s, & now that DeMilia is doing to them what they did to the AAU (with DeMilia's help), they're finally going to have to own up to treating their pros like difficult children. The Weider dynasty is nearly over anyway. They can't last much longer, & their son isn't following in their footsteps.
There is enough bad blood to go around in bodybuilding. Any enterprise in which individuals agree to be judged by appearance is going to produce bad blood, because the judging is subjective & often political (& so corrupt). But that is what bodybuilding is, & the people involved know it. If they don't want to be part of it, no one is forcing them to. Every once in a while, there's some good blood in bodybuilding as well.
No one has a crystal ball on the PDI. Let's see how it plays out. Competition between federations can lead to more opportunities. Since the men haven't had nearly the opportunities for pro cards that the women have had recently, more pro opportunities for men can't hurt. & at least some of the mags (other than M&F & FLEX) will play them up.
