NY Pro lineup is weaker than other shows. Some competitors are competing in the falls shows, others already competed in the early shows. It gives some competitors a great chance of placing in the top five, and becoming qualified for the 2008 Mr. Olympia. Never the less, we are looking forward to seeing Kai Greene battle it out against Ben White, Ronnie Rockel, David Henry, and Charles Dixon, amonth others.
Dude, regarding money and progress, use another thread. Just the Mr. Olympia alone went from $460 to over $725K. Ironman went from 20 to 30K. Many of the top 20-30 competitors have supplement and other contracts, and so on. 15 years ago, very few had. At the 1997 Olympia, i think there were only 15-20 booths, and many competitors didnt even think of getting a supplement contract then. Some had magazine contracts, but that was it. So things of course have changed.
Have fun at the NY Pro!