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Strength Athletes-- Do they get the respect they deserve? by
Bill Morrison Have you ever watched the World's Strongest Man competitions on TV and noticed how small the crowds were? Usually the competitions have a few hundred spectators at most, and a good portion of them are involved with the event, being a trainer, organizer, sponsor, or friend or family of the competitor. Heck, Bill Kazmaier, one of the strongest and most famous strongmen of all time, could walk down the street of almost any city and be unrecognized. He has said that he wouldn't be recognized, but that he would be approached by curious people asking if he was a wrestler or something(actually he was once). The same could be said for every single top competitor in almost all strength sports including strongman competitors, Olympic weight lifters, powerlifters, armwrestlers, with the possible exception of a few top competitors in bodybuilding, which isn't exactly a strength sport, but requires years of dedicated strength training to achieve. Perhaps Bodybuilding gets more respect and recognition from the general public due to the marketing of the numerous bodybuilding magazines on the market. Note that on the front cover of virtually every one of these magazines are scantily clad men and women in provocative poses. Why? Because sex sells, and the majority of bodybuilding magazine publishers know it, and capitalize on it. And who can blame them? Not me. Anyhow, back to the topic on hand. Why do most of these sports receive so little coverage and the athletes little recognition for their hard work? With the exception of weight-lifting, none of the sports are accepted by the Olympics, which seems to set the standard of being a real athlete in the public's eyes. Perhaps it's also because the athletes are competing individually instead of as a team. I know that the World Armsport Federation(WAF) has been working hard over the years to gain Olympic recognition. One of the problems with armwrestling gaining respect has been the old stigma of being labeled a 'bar room' sport, although most tournaments are now held in prestigious venues, and the athletes train hard and seriously for what they do. Powerlifting also has a reputation for anabolic steroid use, although many sanctioned competitions are now drug free and tested. Mind you though, there are always alot of positive steroid tests in the Olympic games in anything from swimming to track and field, and they seem to be immensely popular sports. I think that the point I'm trying to make is that most strength competitors are real, hard working athletes, and special in the fact that they know that there is no promise of glitz, glamour, wealth, or major public fame by being the competing successfully in their sport. They do it from sheer desire to be the best at what they do, and that in itself earns my respect....
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