Why powerlifting is not popular in 100 words or less

[TerryB]

Today you can turn on your xbox and kill 10,000 people in an hour,then win a super bowl,then turn on your computer and jerk off to porn,then download any tv show you have ever seen and finnish your day listening to any song you want.Who the fuck wants to sit there for 10 hours , in a chalk filled motel room,stinking of linament and amonia,while loud blaring music blasts to the point that you cant hear the guy next to you,watching fat guys lift weights.Get real.

:point :factoid

[powerlifter54]

Point well taken. But ask Billy or anybody else who has walked out on to a platform why they like it.

[Fat Cat]

You could pretty well substitute a lot of niche sports for PL in that formulation. Fuck paying $100 to spend my weekend in a sweaty old HS gym.

[powerlifter54]

You could pretty well substitute a lot of niche sports for PL in that formulation. Fuck paying $100 to spend my weekend in a sweaty old HS gym.

As long as you understand PL is never gonna be more than a cult sport you are gonna keep your head on your gorilla like traps.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Most niche sports are this way...and most things worth doing are this way as well.

If need spectators to affirm your sport become a stripper.

[Thatcher II]

Disappointing post, Proto. Modern life has its distractions, yes. But "shooting people and winning the Superbowl" on a computer is pretty hollow, even for a stupid teenager. When compared with real life achievement and exhilaration the virtual world is all shit. That's why things like actual sex and CrossFit are popular. They are real. As is powerlifting. As is cooking (that one's for the ladies).

The real reason powerlifting is such a niche sport is because for most, to be competitive, you need to compete in a weight class that means you're competitive. So you have to manage your weight like a jockey with OCD. And you need to do shit to your body that probably isn't adding to your overall health and longevity. And the champions don't generally look that desirable from a sexual standpoint compared to football players or even cyclists.

Another reason is that if you're any good at sport you'll play a sport. Football. Soccer. Rugby. Lacrosse. Squash. Tennis. Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Hockey. That's what kids with co-ordination do. Kids without it do cycling. Or running. Or lifting. Or something else that they don't need masses of skill for.

[TerryB]

Disappointing post, Proto. Modern life has its distractions, yes. But "shooting people and winning the Superbowl" on a computer is pretty hollow, even for a stupid teenager. When compared with real life achievement and exhilaration the virtual world is all shit. That's why things like actual sex and CrossFit are popular. They are real. As is powerlifting. As is cooking (that one's for the ladies).

The real reason powerlifting is such a niche sport is because for most, to be competitive, you need to compete in a weight class that means you're competitive. So you have to manage your weight like a jockey with OCD. And you need to do shit to your body that probably isn't adding to your overall health and longevity. And the champions don't generally look that desirable from a sexual standpoint compared to football players or even cyclists.

Another reason is that if you're any good at sport you'll play a sport. Football. Soccer. Rugby. Lacrosse. Squash. Tennis. Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Hockey. That's what kids with co-ordination do. Kids without it do cycling. Or running. Or lifting. Or something else that they don't need masses of skill for.

STFU

[Thatcher II]

Disappointing post, Proto. Modern life has its distractions, yes. But "shooting people and winning the Superbowl" on a computer is pretty hollow, even for a stupid teenager. When compared with real life achievement and exhilaration the virtual world is all shit. That's why things like actual sex and CrossFit are popular. They are real. As is powerlifting. As is cooking (that one's for the ladies).

The real reason powerlifting is such a niche sport is because for most, to be competitive, you need to compete in a weight class that means you're competitive. So you have to manage your weight like a jockey with OCD. And you need to do shit to your body that probably isn't adding to your overall health and longevity. And the champions don't generally look that desirable from a sexual standpoint compared to football players or even cyclists.

Another reason is that if you're any good at sport you'll play a sport. Football. Soccer. Rugby. Lacrosse. Squash. Tennis. Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Hockey. That's what kids with co-ordination do. Kids without it do cycling. Or running. Or lifting. Or something else that they don't need masses of skill for.

STFU

GFY

[Dunn]

But "shooting people and winning the Superbowl" on a computer is pretty hollow, even for a stupid teenager. When compared with real life achievement and exhilaration the virtual world is all shit.

Another reason is that if you're any good at sport you'll play a sport. Football. Soccer. Rugby. Lacrosse. Squash. Tennis. Baseball. Basketball. Volleyball. Hockey. That's what kids with co-ordination do. Kids without it do cycling. Or running. Or lifting. Or something else that they don't need masses of skill for.

These two points I disagree with.

On the first, there are a large number of adults that don't do shit. Living vicariously through virtual shit, be it video games or just television, is all they have outside of their 9-5 humdrum life. These days, at least in the part of America I live in, having a fitness hobby or really any hobby that takes time and effort makes you the odd one out.

On to the second....

Those sports you list are all fantastic sports when you are a kid. And there is the issue, you have access to them as a kid. Most kids are not exposed to the SPORTS of competitive cycling, running, lifting, or any of the myriad of Olympic sports out there.

[Blaidd Drwg]

All sports are a Niche.

Kids with a lack of options and creativity end up on team sports. The semi-coordinated ones do well. The other 97% become fans who break their ankles playing every 7th saturday pick up basketball when they really should have been powerlifting to keep from turning into a sack of shite.


At the end of the day, some people with good kinesthetic awareness play your team sports but the best of the best end up in real sports where their talent is highly prized, grappling, surfing, motocross, skateboarding, climbing.


Dunn's point is well taken..Truly honorable sports recognize and instill a lifelong passion for play. Soccer is one, golf is another, many of the martial arts too. racquet sports, the lifting throwing and running sports all do as well. Most of the big time ball sports can suck it.

[Mountebank]

If I didn't have friends training with me and going to meets, I would have never done the 4 or 5 meets I did. Would have quit a lot sooner. That video of the woman suffering in getting out of her gear was enough to solidify that I don't ever want to go that route.

It's niche because it's hard, as are most things worth doing. It also demands a focused attention to get good, something lacking in our techy ADD world these days. PL doesn't lend itself well (for most) to being "just a hobby".

[Holland Oates]

Billy comes out with a "today's powerlifters are pussies" or "powerlifting today sucks" or other self hating nonsense article on regular basis to keep his low level of notoriety.

Guys a nut, albeit a strong nut.

[Brutal Bajan]

Eh, I disagree with Billy's assessment. And I also disagree about truly athletic people gravitating toward team sports. When I was in school I played baseball. It was fun for a few years, and I was pretty good at it, but in high school I just got sort of bored with it, and around the same time I discovered skating. To the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit baseball and started skating almost everyday with my friends. It was a million times more fun and rewarding to me, and believe it or not it was way more athletic than baseball, even though at the time it was still somewhat of an "underground" sport or activity. The X-Games eventually came around and skating got marginally popular, but still nowhere near the levels of pro or even minor league baseball.

And with powerlifting, I think it could be very popular. But imagine if there were 100 football leagues in the US, each with 12 different divisions, and with their own rules, champions, etc... per league and per division. The talent pool, revenue, and event coordination would be diluted. Would football in general be as popular as the NFL if it was set up like powerlifting is? Probably not.

That said, I don't think powerlifting could ever be as popular as the NFL is today, but if the people involved, especially the contemporary leaders of the sport, were willing to cooperate, work together, and form one major unifying federation, simplify the rules, simplify the divisions, and actually involve some investors and businessmen to run it, it could be much more popular and profitable than it is today.

I don't buy the "no one wants to see fat guys lift weights" argument. That's a cop out. What, people want to see skinny fat faggots throwing a softball or doing pullups? No, of course not. But Crossfit (and the pro sports) know what they're doing in terms of marketing and event planning.

In 100 words or less: Powerlifting is not popular because it's completely mismanaged as a spectator sport.

[Jay]

Powerlifting isn't popular because bodybuilding is more popular.

Most people want to look good rather than push large amounts of weight, most people don't realize you can do both, they just want to be "toned and have abs"

/thread

[tzg]

I totally believe that skating is more athletic than baseball (at least, typical baseball).

[Jay]

without a doubt.... having played both ice hockey and baseball I can attest to that too

[Fat Cat]

Powerlifting is too awesome to appeal to people who are not.

[Schlegel]

at least it's more exciting than watching GS comps. faster action.

Grass growing<paint drying<GS<PL<Olympic Shuffleboard

[Yes, I'm drunk]

Money creates athletic excellence. Nothing else.

The best go where the shekels are.

For completeness, and not to upset our communist friends, I'd also include the carrot of socially mandated honour and prestige. But, in capitalist systems, those two motivations - money and honour - are interchangeable.

This, for those that care, is my 'training philosophy'.....

[Blaidd Drwg]

Money creates athletic excellence. Nothing else.

The best go where the shekels are.

There's far more shit than corn in this tired bit dogma.

Money attracts a lot of talent, but really what Money does best is create a spectacle. "Excellence" in one kind of spectacle is not some immutable transferable quality. Talent and the ratio of fast to slow twitch muscle fibers may be the raw materials of excellence but there's more naturally talented people washed up and quit than there are champions contenders and also rans.

Desire is what makes great athletes and it's sport specific, all the "talent" in the world will not turn the greatest football player into the greatest anything else, Floyd Mayweather is not Chael Sonnon, hell he's not even Michael Bisping.

Desire+Talent plus love of the game is what makes great athletes in any sport...except John McEnroe..in his case it's desire, talent and self loathing.

[Batboy2/75]

In keeping with the spirt of the post, in 100 words or less.

No money, no hot chicks, & no explosions = powerlifting in a High school gym, grappling in a community college auditorium, and boxing at the local VFW.

Fuck what the steeple like or want to do. More fun for me.

[Yes, I'm drunk]

Money creates athletic excellence. Nothing else.

The best go where the shekels are.

There's far more shit than corn in this tired bit dogma.

Money attracts a lot of talent, but really what Money does best is create a spectacle. "Excellence" in one kind of spectacle is not some immutable transferable quality. Talent and the ratio of fast to slow twitch muscle fibers may be the raw materials of excellence but there's more naturally talented people washed up and quit than there are champions contenders and also rans.

Desire is what makes great athletes and it's sport specific, all the "talent" in the world will not turn the greatest football player into the greatest anything else, Floyd Mayweather is not Chael Sonnon, hell he's not even Michael Bisping.

Desire+Talent plus love of the game is what makes great athletes in any sport...except John McEnroe..in his case it's desire, talent and self loathing.

No. I never once mentioned the word 'talent' in my 'training philosophy', so I don't know why you're basing your refutation of my comments on that concept.

Excellence is progressive. There has to be a locomotive that drives this on. The locomotive is money/prestige.

Gold medals, jackpots, and a sponsorship that provides a decent living are the drivers of athletic success and innovation.

[keyboardpress]

All sports are a Niche.

Kids with a lack of options and creativity end up on team sports. The semi-coordinated ones do well. The other 97% become fans who break their ankles playing every 7th saturday pick up basketball when they really should have been powerlifting to keep from turning into a sack of shite.


At the end of the day, some people with good kinesthetic awareness play your team sports but the best of the best end up in real sports where their talent is highly prized, grappling, surfing, motocross, skateboarding, climbing.


Dunn's point is well taken..Truly honorable sports recognize and instill a lifelong passion for play. Soccer is one, golf is another, many of the martial arts too. racquet sports, the lifting throwing and running sports all do as well. Most of the big time ball sports can suck it.

Soooth.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Money creates athletic excellence. Nothing else.

The best go where the shekels are.

There's far more shit than corn in this tired bit dogma.

Money attracts a lot of talent, but really what Money does best is create a spectacle. "Excellence" in one kind of spectacle is not some immutable transferable quality. Talent and the ratio of fast to slow twitch muscle fibers may be the raw materials of excellence but there's more naturally talented people washed up and quit than there are champions contenders and also rans.

Desire is what makes great athletes and it's sport specific, all the "talent" in the world will not turn the greatest football player into the greatest anything else, Floyd Mayweather is not Chael Sonnon, hell he's not even Michael Bisping.

Desire+Talent plus love of the game is what makes great athletes in any sport...except John McEnroe..in his case it's desire, talent and self loathing.

No. I never once mentioned the word 'talent' in my 'training philosophy', so I don't know why you're basing your refutation of my comments on that concept.

Excellence is progressive. There has to be a locomotive that drives this on. The locomotive is money/prestige.

Gold medals, jackpots, and a sponsorship that provides a decent living are the drivers of athletic success and innovation.

Because it's strongly resonant and the perennial excuse that all the "real athletes" end up in the money sports.

Unmuddle your point. Which is the locomotive? prestige or money? Discus has no money, Are you saying if only athletes were paid they'd throw 80 meters?

[Holland Oates]

It's all about the gold medals nigga!