bodybuilding in our current economy

[abolish the weak]

Do you think the economy has changed bodybuilding? I think it has, not sure how it is in your neck of the woods, but seems like the past few years the crowds and competitors at local shows have gotten worse and worse. The damn NPC cards are $90 now from what I'm hearing!! And most shows are costing $50-$60 to enter. Who can afford it now? It's crazy! Your talking $150 just to enter, PLUS grocery bill, supplements, anabolics, travel expense, hotel, tanning, Pro Tan, posing trunks, etc etc. On one hand it's drawing tighter competition because a guy dishing out that kind of cash on a show is taking it serious, but its drawing less competitors at the same time. What pisses me off around here is the promoters are making their money off contestants, not the crowd so much. So what do I think will become of our sport? It's always going to be there, but I feel less guys will be in the heavier classes and more will place emphasis on conditioning. It costs more to be bigger once you get to a certain point. I think the 202 class at this years Olympia is a great thing to have. As money gets tighter for people, more and more guys will either quit or give competition a break. I know I have to. Lately, everywhere I look people are hurting. And the one's who aren't just aren't showing it. What cracks me up is these people who say "Well I think after the election is over things will get better" What are they snorting? A figurehead for Congress is not going to bail out our country overnight, this shit is going to take YEARS to fix.