Steriods have very little if nothing at all to do with bodybuilding going mainstream. What about all the Pro wrestlers on steriods, or baseball players, football players, etc. Thats really not the reason.
Being a fan for 35 years, It is something that appeals to only a small percentage of people, and will always have just a cult following.
Even myself, who bodybuilds, briefly competed years ago , Reads about 3 of the muscle mags a month...I start to get bored at contests as time drags on, because you can only do so much in a contest, you can only strike so many poses, usually (especially the smaller shows) there are way , way , way too many competitors, many whom dont even belong there, etc.
Anyway, it gets very repetitious after a while..........and I'm a big time fan.
How many of you can watch NFL football every sunday without getting bored ? How many can watch 82 NBA basketball games a season without getting bored ? How many can watch up to 162 major league baseball games a year ? (I'm not even counting exhibition or playoff games either)
No way could we watch that many bodybuilding contests without being bored to death.
Hey, I love Bodybuilding, but it is what it is. Thats still not so bad, eh ?
