Kai Greene talks fan judging vs official judging with head just Steve Weinberger in this throwback clip.
Every few major competitions, there is eventually a controversial pick by the judges that gets criticized by fans. Most recently, many were shocked at Chris Bumstead’s victor over Breon Ansley in the Classic Physique Olympia 2019. But this ranges back far as well. Some found Dorian Yates’ last Olympia win to be a gimme – due to his injury that was obvious to some on stage. Today with the advent of live streams and internet commenting, criticism has become louder than ever whenever fans seem to disagree with the judges decisions. Some blame politics or favoritism. Others claim that a live stream or images is very different that seeing the show up front and in person like the judges do. In our latest GI Exclusive Vault clip, Kai Greene debates with head judge Steve Weinberger about fan vs official judging.
With the Olympia 2020 around the corner, we decided to dig into our old archived material and pull an extended clip from East Coast Mecca. In this clip, Kai Greene visited Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym and got into quite a debate with Steve Weinberger. The discussion revolved around a question: why do fans so often seem to disagree with judges opinions?
The concept of politics or favoritism has been a consistent murmer amongst fans throughout the years. Of course, this can be true of all sports. Fans who are passionate about the sport will always want to see it work their way. The truth is that things are usually a bit more complicated than they seem on the surface.
But Kai Greene wanted to know, in the few instances were massive amounts of fans disagreed with the judges, what happened? How could there be such a big split in opinion? Steve Weinberger blames it on not being there in person.
As they debate back and forth, Weinberger explains how a video feed showcases everything through a different lens. Not only that, but fans often take professional photos from the event and compare images next to each other in an attempt to size up the athletes. Weinberger points out a flaw in this attempt.
Odds are, each photograph is taken a few minutes a part from each other. Five minutes can make a huge difference in physique. Comparing two pictures only showcases one single second in time. For pro bodybuilders, the entire comparison round and individual posing rounds go into consideration. It’s not about one image. It’s about the entire time they are on stage.
Kai Greene is a thoughtful man who often puts deep thinking into everything he dedicates his time too. Steve Weinberger is a confident and often blunt man that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is (this is in part what makes him a head judge). So to see these two debate is entertaining to say the least. It’s rare that the head judge would discuss at such length the concept of potential politics in judging. This moment from East Coast Mecca is a rare glimpse of candid conversation between two big names in the sport.
You can watch the full clip above in our latest GI Exclusive Vault interview. Also, if you want to flashback and watch the entire series – head over to the official landing page for East Coast Mecca here to get an inside look into one of the biggest gyms in bodybuilding.
