Prince
Board Sponsor
https://www.ironmaglabs.com/2024/do-close-calls-grow-bodybuilding/
This is actually a very interesting question that I have had posed to me over the years in the sport of bodybuilding by competitors and enthusiasts alike. It is the idea that razor thin wins and losses create tremendous discussion on message boards, social media platforms, and even at gyms and contests. It is a novel concept because of the fact that we are dealing with a very subjective sport unlike objective sports like basketball or football or baseball. In bodybuilding there are no goals or baskets to be made. In this sport it's about subjective criteria determined by a panel of judges. It is not the same panel of judges and they are not looking at the same physiques. Things like symmetry and balance are judged on a number of different physiques. Some are mass monsters others are streamlined aesthetic freaks others are hybrids. It really it runs the gamut.
The argument being made here is that competitions that go down to the wire and require multiple comparisons are the ones that create the interest that will grow the sport. And I suspect that that is true to a certain extent. I think anytime you have competitiveness that is going to generate buzz. When fans are stumped and can't make up their mind and judges are in the same boat you have the makings of a truly nail-biting situation. This is why I think fans get turned off when you have multi-year champions at the Olympia or the Arnold. And that is why I think people got a little bit bored with Ronnie, Phil, and even Jay to a certain extent even though his reign was interrupted one year. Anytime fans pretty much expect who is going to win and who is going to place second and who is going to place third, then going to the show is not really a top priority. And sometimes even watching the show on pay-per-view or worse yet - on a free webcast - has lost value its well. Therefore I 100% agree that close calls increase interest in bodybuilding but we can't stop there. https://www.ironmaglabs.com/2024/do-close-calls-grow-bodybuilding/
This is actually a very interesting question that I have had posed to me over the years in the sport of bodybuilding by competitors and enthusiasts alike. It is the idea that razor thin wins and losses create tremendous discussion on message boards, social media platforms, and even at gyms and contests. It is a novel concept because of the fact that we are dealing with a very subjective sport unlike objective sports like basketball or football or baseball. In bodybuilding there are no goals or baskets to be made. In this sport it's about subjective criteria determined by a panel of judges. It is not the same panel of judges and they are not looking at the same physiques. Things like symmetry and balance are judged on a number of different physiques. Some are mass monsters others are streamlined aesthetic freaks others are hybrids. It really it runs the gamut.
The argument being made here is that competitions that go down to the wire and require multiple comparisons are the ones that create the interest that will grow the sport. And I suspect that that is true to a certain extent. I think anytime you have competitiveness that is going to generate buzz. When fans are stumped and can't make up their mind and judges are in the same boat you have the makings of a truly nail-biting situation. This is why I think fans get turned off when you have multi-year champions at the Olympia or the Arnold. And that is why I think people got a little bit bored with Ronnie, Phil, and even Jay to a certain extent even though his reign was interrupted one year. Anytime fans pretty much expect who is going to win and who is going to place second and who is going to place third, then going to the show is not really a top priority. And sometimes even watching the show on pay-per-view or worse yet - on a free webcast - has lost value its well. Therefore I 100% agree that close calls increase interest in bodybuilding but we can't stop there. https://www.ironmaglabs.com/2024/do-close-calls-grow-bodybuilding/
