MAKE WAY FOR THE ELEPHANTS!

Or, in this case, the return of Kevin Levrone

By Bill Dobbins

There are two things that make events really spectacular: spectacle and controversy. P.T. Barnum understood this and staged elaborate parades around the country to promote his shows, complete with elephants parading down the main street of town. Gold’s Gym did the same thing in 1977 when they staged a parade through Santa Monica featuring bodybuilding pro Bill Grant posing on the back of a lumbering pachyderm while marching down Ocean Avenue.

The IFBB Mr. Olympia has turned into quite a spectacle in its own right. You have an amazing expo taking place, with hundreds of vendors, thousands of fans, and a room full of all sorts of incredible male and female muscle. In addition to the best pro bodybuilders in the world onstage, there are also the absolute best “fit and fabulous” females in fitness, figure, physique, and bikini categories who are not only beautiful but display wonderfully shapely and aesthetic hard bodies.

P.T. Barnum would approve.

Barnum was also known to generate controversy to boost attendance. For example, he exhibited a creature he claimed was a mermaid—a total hoax. He also floated the rumour that one of his featured “freaks” was really an automaton operated by a ventriloquist. Barnum knew that all this flim-flam sold tickets.

Bodybuilding hasn’t seen all that much controversy. Sure, competitors have failed drug tests. But that’s not so unusual in the world of modern sport. A few bodybuilders have been involved in major crimes, including murder, but given the reports we frequently see on the news about criminal behaviour in other sports that includes homicide, domestic abuse, and more, it seems that bodybuilders are comparatively law-abiding by comparison.

The last major controversy involving the Mr. Olympia itself was when Arnold returned to competition in 1980 and won the title despite a large body of opinion that he was far from his best and benefited from his relationship with the promoter (a business partner) and close relationships with some of the judges. Of course, this was long before the age of the internet, so whatever outrage existed had a limited opportunity to express itself.

But in 2016, we do have some controversy. Kevin Levrone, one of the most successful pro bodybuilders of all time, is returning to competition at age 51 after not having been onstage since 2003. Will this be a triumphant comeback or a major disappointment for his fans? Age is a factor in sports or else there would be a lot of 50-year-old athletic champions. But mass and strength tend to increase with maturity—at least up to a point—and bodybuilders aren’t required to run, jump, or throw. So while the odds are against Kevin being able to compete for a high placing, there’s no evidence this is impossible.

This is what is exciting the fans and generating a lot of interest in the upcoming Mr. Olympia. Of course, many will choose to watch the show on the internet or on video. But this reminds me of the story of a father showing his son a copy of Playboy for the first time. “Remember,” he told the young man, “you aren’t looking at a girl. You’re looking at a picture of a girl.” Actually being at a sporting event, a major music concert, or any other event has a reality that doesn’t come across as fully when you’re just dealing with pixels on a screen.

So a lot of fans who are rooting for Kevin Levrone and want to see him triumph in Vegas are eager to see this in person and ticket sales reflect this. But these fans and supporters shouldn’t count on there being any elephants. They aren’t on the schedule. Although with the massive size of some of the pro bodybuilders who will be standing with Kevin Levrone on the Olympia stage, I doubt the elephants will be missed.