In hindsight, was this Olympia really epic?

**littlearm** · 10-02-2013, 02:33 PM

I can't remember the last time the hype machine DIDN'T declare that that year's Olympia would be among the greatest of all time, and this year was the same. But most of the potential excitement really fizzled out at the actual event.

Jay Cutler was a dud. His return was going to set up a 3-way battle between him and Kai and Phil which never happened. Jay was basically a non-player this year.

Phil's victory was declared early on. I know a lot of people believe Kai should have won. But if you watched prejudging, the judges made it clear VERY early that Phil was their number one choice. It doesn't matter if you think Kai had the win, NOBODY should have been surprised with the final result. I think it's stupid for the judges to be so blatant about their rankings early on - it would be a much more exciting show to watch if they didn't isolate the winner.

Phil & Kai, 1 and 2. Same as last year. Nothing new.

Big Ramy was average. Ramy got a ton of hype - probably too much. He was never a serious contender for the top 3, yet people were talking about the possibility of him even winning it. He had a great showing and placed 8th - pretty much exactly where he should have been.

Probably the most surprising result was Wolf placing third. That's a huge placing for him, and a lot of people (myself included) think he was battling for the #2 slot. But when the most interesting part of the Olympia is the 3rd place guy, it doesn't say a lot about the show.

Look, it's the Olympia. The most exciting day of the year. I get it, and you can argue that the overall line-up may have had the deepest field ever. But in terms of how things actually played out, it seems like this wound up being kind of predictable.

**Unbiasedfan** · 10-02-2013, 02:41 PM

Ramy was easily ahead of Jay and possibly more. Majority of fans here predict he would place 5-6. Although he didn't place that high, he was not a disappointment and that will be proven with the enormous amount of hype he will have when prepping for his next show.

The only way Ramy was average is if you'd expect him to win.

From the moment i realized Kai was soft, the O lost most of its interest to me, therefore it wasn't as epic as predicted. In all fairness, it would be dam hard for the O to be as good as i was expecting it to be.

**ZBlacktt** · 10-02-2013, 02:41 PM

No one even talked about Roelly at all. Never made anyone's list either. Yet, aside from the gift veteran placing for Jay. We would have seen Roelly in the 6th spot. He has never made the top 10. Now in one years time he is looked at as one of the good ones. So while the elite names might not have lived up to the hype. A few names came out of it. Given the way Ramy made Jay look very small. It also showed that Ramy is going to be a huge contender come next year. Out with the old because here comes the new.

**Groggery** · 10-02-2013, 02:44 PM

Had vast expectations, but those were shot back down to reality after the show.

Knew i shouldn't have thought this year would be any different.

**Aguakate** · 10-02-2013, 02:51 PM

This may have been the best Olympia in terms of so many different contests (Men and Women's Bodybuilding, Figure, Bikini, Physique, etc) as well as a huge expo (can't forget that the total prize was a million dollars, too). So I think that those who say this was the best O, they're referring to all of these factors.

In terms of the actual contest, it wasn't the best Olympia but it wasn't that bad, either. I enjoyed it. We knew Phil was the winner, but from 2nd to 10th place we had a nice battle.

**Big Slim DaDDy** · 10-02-2013, 02:56 PM

It's why I don't put any stock into prediction threads. You really have no idea who is going to place where ect. until the day of the show.

**Loctus** · 10-02-2013, 02:57 PM

It was amazing. Just because no huge upsets happened placing-wise that doesn't mean anything. The guys who placed 10th-15th now could've placed 5th or 6th just a few years back.

**Oxus007** · 10-02-2013, 03:02 PM

The show itself wasn't the most exciting, especially after Phil was removed from the line. However, the amount of banter and drama on the forums and between Kai and Phil made it an interesting few days.

**Big Slim DaDDy** · 10-02-2013, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by ZBlacktt

No one even talked about Roelly at all. Never made anyone's list either. Yet, aside from the gift veteran placing for Jay. We would have seen Roelly in the 6th spot. He has never made the top 10. Now in one years time he is looked at as one of the good ones. So while the elite names might not have lived up to the hype. A few names came out of it. Given the way Ramy made Jay look very small. It also showed that Ramy is going to be a huge contender come next year. Out with the old because here comes the new.

What was the show he won earlier in the year? I remember seeing him win that and how he looked there and having different prep made me think he might do well this year.

**___** · 10-02-2013, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by Oxus007

The show itself wasn't the most exciting, especially after Phil was removed from the line. However, the amount of banter and drama on the forums and between Kai and Phil made it an interesting few days.

i agree..
i completely lost the interest for the olympia when they removed Phil from being compared

**Unbiasedfan** · 10-02-2013, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Big Slim DaDDy

What was the show he won earlier in the year? I remember seeing him win that and how he looked there and having different prep made me think he might do well this year.

Chicago

**BlackNumero** · 10-02-2013, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Loctus

It was amazing. Just because no huge upsets happened placing-wise that doesn't mean anything. The guys who placed 10th-15th now could've placed 5th or 6th just a few years back.

I gotta agree with this, though I do think some of its epicness was due to Wolf (as a fanboy) placing so unexpectedly well.

The problem with the Olympia (and bodybuilding shows in general) is that the fans let their imagination run wild into thinking that every competitor is going to show up at their elusive "100%". BRB a rookie pro going on stage at 285lbs in 2003 coleman conditioning. Oh yeah, and a pro who lost the title in 2011 with multiple injuries (arguably the worst he looked) is going to come back and win it. The list goes on and on. I've been disapointed and angry at my fair share of contests, but I've tried very hard to not get caught up in all the hype, because its mostly just a marketing tactic to get the fans riled up.

**TTimmerman** · 10-02-2013, 03:33 PM

this picture is enough reason for this O to be deemed legendary imo

**Kiwi_** · 10-02-2013, 03:34 PM

The anticipation always seems to be greater than the actual event.

**Oxus007** · 10-02-2013, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by TTimmerman

this picture is enough reason for this O to be deemed legendary imo

I got so excited when I saw that live.

**TTimmerman** · 10-02-2013, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by Oxus007

I got so excited when I saw that live.

think i have replayed it like 20 times so far haha

**flangmasterj** · 10-02-2013, 03:47 PM

Hopefully a high res shot of that moment comes out. Would make an awesome poster.

**1quick1** · 10-02-2013, 03:47 PM

^^ so epic

**chevy2g3** · 10-02-2013, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by Oxus007

I got so excited when I saw that live.

Me too! I'm so glad that this was my first Mr. O attendance. I'll definitely be back next year.

**BartPimpson** · 10-02-2013, 06:22 PM

Other than the bad judging I had no problems with the show, it more or less delivered what I expected.

Jay's comeback...well, we all saw the pics leading up to it, I don't know what people were expecting. 6th place was Christmas come early for him.

Ramy was a slight letdown, although in hindsight he looks better than I initially thought. 8th is a respectable Olympia virgin finish. Jay, Ronnie, and Dexter all placed worse than that at their first Olymipa.

Wolf and Roelly made amazing improvements. I honestly thought Wolf's career was on its last legs.

Lionel, for the first time, was actually in shape. Hopefully he can keep it up, he has some of the best genetics on stage.

Kai and Phil...well, I've already said what I think about that.

Dexter continued to hold his ground. He's not improving, but he's not regressing. He says he'll still be competing when he's fifty and I believe it.

Branch and Kevin looked slightly better than the last time we saw them, both were gifted horribly, whatever.

Victor screwed the pooch. He looked sharp and crisp at the NY Pro but bloated and spilling over here.

Rhoden, Toney, Evan, Kuclo, Abbaspour, Essa, Robert, Brandon and Cedric placed more or less where they deserved.

**RoroCwalker** · 10-02-2013, 06:23 PM

What makes an Olympia exciting is the unpredictability of the outcome. This Olympia was the most exciting, by far.

**Rambo26** · 10-02-2013, 06:33 PM

best since 2009, maybe longer

the quality of the top 10 was excellent

**Penile_Dementia** · 10-02-2013, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by Loctus

It was amazing. Just because no huge upsets happened placing-wise that doesn't mean anything. The guys who placed 10th-15th now could've placed 5th or 6th just a few years back.

This. No Jay and Branch, and to a lesser extent Kai (who has hit all new levels of development despite conditioning issue), weren't at their best, but this was, overall, the strongest Olympia lineup I've seen on the webcast yet.

I do think last year was a tad more exciting because of prejudging between Kai and Phil.

**Aguakate** · 10-02-2013, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by TTimmerman

this picture is enough reason for this O to be deemed legendary imo

**RoroCwalker** · 10-02-2013, 06:51 PM

^
Levrone's reaction made me laugh, he's like ''f*ck this sh*t', idiots'.

**littlearm** · 10-02-2013, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by RoroCwalker

What makes an Olympia exciting is the unpredictability of the outcome. This Olympia was the most exciting, by far.

If you are talking about the Olympia SEASON, including the weeks leading up to the event, then I'd agree with you. But as for the actual event on stage, it was very predictable. Compare it with last year: in 2012, when it was just Phil and Kai, I really had no idea who was going to win. It could have gone either way. This year, there really was no surprise.

Olympias can also be exciting when guys improve a lot from Friday to Saturday. But look at the scorecard: the final results were nearly identical to the placings after prejudging. The only difference is that 9th and 10th places swapped.

**Big Slim DaDDy** · 10-02-2013, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by Aguakate

[img]http://i.imgflip.com/3z5iy.gif[g]

This makes anything that happened this year look tame.

**Aguakate** · 10-02-2013, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Big Slim DaDDy

This makes anything that happened this year look tame.

No doubt.

**lotus_esprit5** · 10-02-2013, 07:43 PM

Personally I thought it was pretty epic. The line-up was great and many of the competitors really delivered, including several who we didn't expect.

-Phil and Kai were 1 and 2, as I (and probably many others) expected, but this is a big deal despite the predictability because Kai came in looking pretty good. Sure it wasn't his top form, he could have been sharper, but he didn't totally botch his prep the way he has several times in the past and this bodes well for the level of competition between him and Phil over the next several years. The better his consistency, the better the rivalry.

-Ramy didn't improve much from NYPro but really, anyone who seriously expected him to make leaps and bounds or take top 3 was delusional. He came in looking good, solid first O showing, and it was exciting to see him next to the other top guys. I predicted he had a decent chance at top 6 but thanks to a couple unexpected dark horses (Wolf and Roelly) he was bumped down to 8th. Which brings me to my next point...

-WOLF AND ROELLY. Hugely exciting to see Wolf finally make a really big showing at an O, and Roelly has improved a lot. 7th in an Olympia this stacked was something I never would have predicted and proves his Chicago showing wasn't a fluke, in fact he looked better. Finally growing into the up-and-comer hype he started getting a couple years ago and his overall shape and lines have improved beyond what I thought was possible for him. Beyeke gets some props here too for similar reasons.

-Consistent showing from Rhoden. Sure he hasn't put on tons of size since last year and wasn't as peeled as I'd like, but he has improved from last year and showed he can consistently make top 4. IMO it's as important for new-ish competitors to establish a consistent record of good showings early on as it is to make improvements. As we've seen in many others (especially Wolf) all the potential in the world means much less when we can't rely on them to look good consistently.

-Jay...ok, he didn't deliver like a lot of people hoped and some people expected, was good to see him back on stage and in good condition anyway though and his showing definitely didn't ruin the contest or anything, just a minor disappointment that he wasn't good enough to really push Kai and Phil. Certainly impressive for 10 weeks of prep, mad respect for that.

-THE 212's! Best lineup ever, everyone* looked good, close competition and pretty well judged aside from Kevin English' ridiculous placing. (*everyone doesn't include English, obviously. Respect his competitiveness and tenacity, but...dude does not look good)

So overall yes, epic O. Huge line-up, many good showings, a few nice surprises, mostly respectable judging, and just enough drama and trash talk to make things interesting without ruining anyone's good time. That's what an Olympia contest should be.

**Canuck77** · 10-03-2013, 04:26 PM

It was disappointing in that as already stated, Jay was off and did not regain his full size, Kai was off, even Phil was off from last year and the previous year to that (I still think '11 was Heath's best showing). Ramy didn't live up to the hype, Evan was off, Branch was off (even for Branch), Dex seemed to have even faded some. Only highlight was really Wolf and some could say Rhoden as he brought an expected package.

The fact that it was over within minutes of the first callout really sucked the life out of the show for me. Especially since the winner by a mile (according to judges) was Phil, who although looking decent, still looked worse than last year and definitely worse than '11.

So in the end, it was kind of meh...thought it was going to be a battle between Jay, Kai and Phil like it was with Kai and Phil in '12 or Jay and Ronnie in the early 2000's et.

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