IFSA snubbed again?

[Garrick Daft]

Pfister Prepping For Poland, WSM by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. | ©2006 IronMind


MILO cover guy Phillip Pfister said that he’s training hard, preparing for the WSMSS contest in Poland next month, and that he’s got his eye firmly fixed on this year’s World’s Strongest Man contest.


MILO cover guy Phil Pfister nailed the Circus Dumbbell at the 2006 Arnold, igniting the crowd in the process. Pfister told IronMind that he considers the Arnold and World’s Strongest Man to be the two top contests in the field. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Part of Mr. Pfister’s special World’s Strongest Man preparation involves driving from West Virginia to Columbus, Ohio once a week to train for a few hours with Nick Osborne, followed by another few-hour training session the next morning, before driving back home. Pfister sees the effort as well worth it because he’s aiming to do very well at this year’s World’s Strongest Man contest, the top dog in the strongman world and a contest that no American has won since the great Bill Kazmaier swept it in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

“I am back to my Arnold body weight of 350,” Pfister to IronMind, a high water mark for the fireman who lights up strongman like no other competitor, being such a crowd favorite that after watching him perform in St. Louis one year, IronMind’s Randall Strossen dubbed to Pfister “the future mayor of St. Louis.”

Looking down the road, Pfister said that he plans “to do the full WSMSS circuit next year,” but for now, it’s Poland, and then the 2006 World’s Strongest Man contest.
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What's the deal here? Last year he was saying how great IFSA is and that he had a fresh feeling of excitement for the sport because of IFSA. Now he's claiming WSM is the best "top dog" contest there is...?

I guess Mariusz is ripe for the picking though....if Phil and Karl bring some slamming never say die or quit attitude then definitely Mariusz will fall to one of them. Phil should just screw with Mariusz's head as much as possible.....tell him how much of a puss he is for not going after Vasyl and Zydrunas....!!....and that he beat him at the Arnold!

He did screw with him a little at the Arnold...he kept covering Mariusz up with the American flag during the line-up...pretty funny to watch...!

Of course if Phil does get the WSM....he'll have to contend with the Texas Stoneman, Travis Ortmayer...hahahaha.....time to settle the question once and for all!!!

[Jesse Snadden]

I think it's awesome that Phil is back with WSM. Too bad Hugo is injured. The two of them can give Mariusz a good fight.

[Garrick Daft]

I think it's awesome that Phil is back with WSM. Too bad Hugo is injured. The two of them can give Mariusz a good fight.
I agree it is awesome....will definitely make for an interesting WSM contest!

[ClayEdgin]

If Phil makes it, and he should little problem doing so, then it should be another banner year for American strongmen at WSM.

[Mike Gill]

The thing is, that in the USA the Worlds Stongest man title is the one that most casual fans know and have seen. It's the strongman we have all grown up with and I think the one everyone would like to win. Only hardcore fans and competitors know what IFSA is or that there is even a difference between the two.

I think it would be bennifical for everyone for stongman to strat patterning itself after golf. There are 4 Majors a year sponsored by different groups all falling under the same rules and guidelines.... Wouldn't it be neat to have:

A US open Strongman
A European open
An invitation only event (like the Masters)
and a pro chapionship


To me and I think a lot of people, the MET-RX title is meaningful because of its history, and still makes you king of the hill, even if there is another contest that may be more difficult.

[Barry Perkins]

i believe we have alot of great american strongman blood coming up..Travis, Josh, Jesse, Kevin, pope, smith.....all of which can..and will most likely scare the panties off of Mariusz ...it's gonna be a great showdown...
and on top of those young guys..you've still got the pfisters and gillinghams and the like...

the pool of top grade pros in america is getting larger by the day....and the bar just keeps rising...

it's only a matter of time!...maybe this is the year....

[Kevin Cronin]

To me and I think a lot of people, the MET-RX title is meaningful because of its history, and still makes you king of the hill, even if there is another contest that may be more difficult.

King of the hill? Come on, do you REALLY think Mariusz was king of the hill last year? Theres no way Mariusz was stronger than Zydrunas last year, and Vasyl was right behind him (at least in a couple of events, I dont know the final standings.) This past year was pretty clear cut, but that's the problem with this split, its only going to get murkier.

[Mike Gill]

King of the hill? Come on, do you REALLY think Mariusz was king of the hill last year? Theres no way Mariusz was stronger than Zydrunas last year, and Vasyl was right behind him (at least in a couple of events, I dont know the final standings.) This past year was pretty clear cut, but that's the problem with this split, its only going to get murkier.


Thats the thing, it depends on who you are asking.... Ask a casual fan if they watch the WSM on TV. They will give you the same answer: That Polish guy is awesome. They don't even know the IFSA exists. And the thing is perception IS reality.

Since events are not standardized there is no even comparison between the two federations. Hell, look at some of the Pro-ams today(Like Big Tony's), the weights are heavier than some pro shows just a few years ago. So in reality there are a few AM's out there that are stronger than some of the Pro's. It's just harder to get a card today.

Enven though comparatively Z was stronger in his contests than Mariusz was in his, they are both dominating in their federations. But in the end "The Polish Guy" is known in the US and Big Z isn't.

Its all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

[davebeers]

Hell, look at some of the Pro-ams today(Like Big Tony's), the weights are heavier than some pro shows just a few years ago. So in reality there are a few AM's out there that are stronger than some of the Pro's. It's just harder to get a card today.
.

many pro-ams this year have been heavier than the Met-rx WSM last year

[Ryan Brown]

Since events are not standardized there is no even comparison between the two federations. Hell, look at some of the Pro-ams today(Like Big Tony's), the weights are heavier than some pro shows just a few years ago. So in reality there are a few AM's out there that are stronger than some of the Pro's. It's just harder to get a card today.


mike,

not to say anything offensive or contraversial, but I think most would agree that the am field is much more watered down than it was a couple of years ago. This really only makes sense given that since the pro-am system has been implemented there have been a lot of people go pro. Before this system you had a lot of great guys like Ostlund, Glassman, etc. without an established way to get to the pro ranks. Back then there were many, many ams that were better than some of the older pros. With a very few exceptions almost everyone I knew and competed with a few years ago that was pretty good is pro now; take a show like monsters from 2003--almost everyone that competed there is pro now. A couple of years ago there were guys like Van having to do 3 pro-ams just to get a pro card. Now I'm fairly confident he could stroll into just about any pro-am he wanted to and beat all the ams easily. Big Tony's looks like a very fun show and I wish I could get up there to it, but actually except for the max log I don't see that show as being a very hard show compared to WSM. Short yoke with only 800, short frame carry with not a ton of weight; stones are heavy but low platforms--most any pro would mow through the majority of this. Just my opinion.

[Kevin Cronin]

Thats the thing, it depends on who you are asking.... Ask a casual fan if they watch the WSM on TV. They will give you the same answer: That Polish guy is awesome. They don't even know the IFSA exists. And the thing is perception IS reality.

Since events are not standardized there is no even comparison between the two federations. Hell, look at some of the Pro-ams today(Like Big Tony's), the weights are heavier than some pro shows just a few years ago. So in reality there are a few AM's out there that are stronger than some of the Pro's. It's just harder to get a card today.

Enven though comparatively Z was stronger in his contests than Mariusz was in his, they are both dominating in their federations. But in the end "The Polish Guy" is known in the US and Big Z isn't.

Its all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

I dont think that the best in the world in any contest depends upon whom you ask. It's certainly open for debate, at least until the two meet. I dont care what evidence a USC trojans fan, or a dallas mavericks fan could come up with as to why they were the best team, the most damning evidence is what it says on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

It really isnt about being known in the US, or the cash, it's about beating your opponents.

[Garrick Daft]

I dont think that the best in the world in any contest depends upon whom you ask. It's certainly open for debate, at least until the two meet. I dont care what evidence a USC trojans fan, or a dallas mavericks fan could come up with as to why they were the best team, the most damning evidence is what it says on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

It really isnt about being known in the US, or the cash, it's about beating your opponents.
Yeah, the only person getting rich from WSM is Mariusz...he's laughing all the way to the bank....the polish bank.

Hope that Pfister finally brings the WSM back to America.....as he said he would during the Hercules Hold a while back. Has Gillingham and Nee qualified for WSM yet?

[DaneGarreau]

They don't really need to qualify. Last year they gave out a million invites to people who didn't qualify.

[Garrick Daft]

They don't really need to qualify. Last year they gave out a million invites to people who didn't qualify.
Oh okay....I thought that they only special invited very few people...and that you had to place top 4 or something in a SS to be sure of a spot in the heats.
Phil Pfister is looking in good shape...I just wonder how having the WSM this year be light and fast will effect the outcome? Dane do you know who all is qualified so far this year? It would be cool to have a list to look at and think about who will place where..

[DaneGarreau]

Mariusz Pudzianowski
Jesse Marunde
Josh Thigpen
Terry Hollands
Nigmatulin
Paulin
Haraldsson

I think there is only 1 more Super Series event, that means like 4 more guys will qualify(assuming qualified guys don't compete). That would bring the total up to 11. The other 14 spots will be via invite.

Why do you think it will be light and fast?

Pfister will be very good. I haven't seen him compete since the Arnold so there is no telling what he may bring to the table.

[Mike Gill]

It really isnt about being known in the US, or the cash, it's about beating your opponents.

Gotta disagree. Many Strongmen work as trainers and look for sponsorship money. Being on ESPN is a HUGE boost to what you can charge a client and to get additional sponsorships.

Rich lawyer guy would love to brag at a friends party that his trainer is going to be on ESPN this weekend and everyone needs to watch him. Try doing that with OLN, that pretty much no one has.

Additionally, guys who are into body building in this country spend the most on supplements. Hence Flex, MD, Muscle and Fitness being sold at newstands (and milo and the likes being mail-order) BBers watch WSM. They know the competitors and will buy their supps. These same guys though have zero idea who Big Z is.

Maybe Im just looking at it from my point of view, but my goals are to go pro and compete in the WSM. Im a trainer and I think that if I could do both of those, I would have more marketing potential than going pro and competeing in IFSA.

[Garrick Daft]

Regardless of the exact form and mix of events, though, it seems likely that they will be designed to create the excitement that only comes when the events have a dynamic nature. In contrast to the trend in some contests toward such heavy events that there is little movement and a low percentage of the field actually demonstrates mastery
Maybe I am reading that wrong..but to me it means lighter and faster....as opposed to the Mohegan Sun Super Series....where some athletes couldn't finish or do certain events.

It's a safer way to go overall...but it puts the advantage with Mariusz and allows the IFSA competitors to continue advancing strength and speed. So that if ever an IFSA athlete decides to jump over to WSM then immediately they are very battle hardened and able to contend with the best of WSM. The future of the sport will be very interesting indeed...next year is the 30th year anniversary....so who knows what will happen!

Thanks for that competitor line up....!

:YR:

[Kevin Cronin]

Gotta disagree. Many Strongmen work as trainers and look for sponsorship money. Being on ESPN is a HUGE boost to what you can charge a client and to get additional sponsorships.

Rich lawyer guy would love to brag at a friends party that his trainer is going to be on ESPN this weekend and everyone needs to watch him. Try doing that with OLN, that pretty much no one has.

Additionally, guys who are into body building in this country spend the most on supplements. Hence Flex, MD, Muscle and Fitness being sold at newstands (and milo and the likes being mail-order) BBers watch WSM. They know the competitors and will buy their supps. These same guys though have zero idea who Big Z is.

I dont disagree with anything you've written here. Anything on ESPN WILL have better visibilty than anything on oln. But worlds strongest man doesnt exist to act as an advertising service (for lack of a better term) for personal trainers. Plenty of competitors arent even personal trainers; I have no stats on this, and indeed, perhaps the majority are, but magnus was (is?) a farmer, and pfister is a fireman. Im sure being WSM helped sell some of samuelsson's training dvds, but if they never sold another copy I doubt he'd starve.

Of course money (and how to get it) is a pragmatic reality for anyone who wants to invest a lot of time in ANY activity that doesnt come with an hourly wage attached. But I have to believe that the majority got into strongman because
a) they thought it was fun
and/or
b) they wanted to be considered the Worlds Strongest Man

once you are into it, again, money is a pragmatic reality, but it wasnt the ORIGINAL POINT. I dont imagine anyone says to themselves "I'd really like to make a lot of money someday, I think I'll try this strongman stuff." I have to imagine there are PLENTY of pursuits with a better financial ROI than strongman.

[Mike Gill]

once you are into it, again, money is a pragmatic reality, but it wasnt the ORIGINAL POINT. I dont imagine anyone says to themselves "I'd really like to make a lot of money someday, I think I'll try this strongman stuff." I have to imagine there are PLENTY of pursuits with a better financial ROI than strongman.

Well, yes. I do it out of love, and I'm sure the other guys do too. It's hard to be good at something you hate.

[DKirby]

I know when I mention I do strongman to most adults who aren't that familiar with the sport, especially ones thats heard that I won some contests last year (which were gold level amatuer) they ask me if they're going to see me competing on ESPN, and I have to explain no, that those contests I won were just amatuer, and I'm just an amatuer. We all know most adults have heard of and many have seen WSM on ESPN over the last 20 or so years. Now when I mention IFSA and OLN I get a blank look, and usually try to explain the split. Pretty much the only adults familiar with IFSA are us strongmen and some of our families and friends, and others involved in some of the other strength sports- powerlifting, Highland games, OLY.

I have OLN with my Direct TV. So I imagine most people that have Direct, Dish, and Cable, at least satellite, have OLN. IFSA from Brazil, Quebec, and Europe was on OLN countless times earlier this year in the afternoon and the AM hrs. I know one HS strength coach who said that his kids were very familiar with IFSA because they watched it on OLN when it came on in the mid-late afternoons this spring when they got home from school. He said he knew this was the case with kids from some other schools too. I'm curious if this was nationwide- that if alot of hight school football players who lifted weights were familiar with IFSA because of the afternoon tapings on OLN?

If you mention WSM to adults in the US, at least those who follow sports, many might say, "Yeah, I've seen that on ESPN" and some "That polish guy what's his name is awesome" If you mention Mariusz Pudzianowski, you might get, "Isn't he that polish guy?"
If you mention IFSA and Zydrunas Savickas, again 99+% will give you never heard of him. But in Poland Mariusz is super famous, and I imagine to a much lesser extent the rest of Europe. The same thing can be said of Zydrunas. I've heard he's super famous in Lithuania, and I imagine to a much lesser extent, the rest of Europe, because isn't IFSA ALOT bigger in Europe than it is in the US? He probably doesn't care that he's an unkown in the US. The cost of living in Lithuania, a poor former Soviet bloc country in Eastern Europe, is so low that I'm sure Zydrunas is probably considered very rich by European standards.

[Garrick Daft]

I heard that Mark Felix has jumped over to WSM also..... :confused:

[Mac Smith]

I believe IFSA is more popular in Europe than it is in the US, but in order to bring real money into a sport, you have to be popular here in the US (in terms of athletes getting paid better). For instance, we all know that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, but here in the US it's only a blip on the screen during the World Cup. The top paid athlete in professional soccer world wide is David Beckham. Beckham only makes 8 million from his salary for playing soccer. Of course his endorsement deals put him around the 20million a year mark. But 8 million a year would only put him at a mid-range football, baseball, or basketball player. Reynaldo (Brazil) is often touted as the best player on the planet but his salary is only rumored around 4 million (even less by some estimates). Granted in Brazil that is huge, but even some bad baseball and basketball players make more than that.

Let's face that facts, even though the athletes of WSMSS may seem inferior to those in IFSA (Travis isn't ranked in the top 10 in IFSA but he has beaten Jesse 3 times this year and Jesse is the number 2 man in WSMSS), the masses only recognize WSM and not the IFSA athletes. Jesse and Mariusz as well as the athletes jumping from IFSA to WSM are smart in my opinion. Go where the money is and the most prestigious title in the sport, and that's the World's Strongest Man, not the IFSA World Champion. Sure we all do it for the love, but let's keep it real, everyone here knows that if you know you have the talent to turn pro in this sport, you do it for the love of the game, but the prospect of making money doing it makes it that much more appealing. And even though it doesn't pay much... yet, everyone who is a pro has that fantasy of doing what Ronnie Coleman and Arnold Schwartzennager did for bodybuilding and that is to transfer their prowess in strength into millions of dollars. It's always great to be the first at something and what better that to be the first strongman to make a million dollars doing this? That is one of my underlying goals!!! :IMHO:

[DKirby]

I believe IFSA is more popular in Europe than it is in the US, but in order to bring real money into a sport, you have to be popular here in the US (in terms of athletes getting paid better). For instance, we all know that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, but here in the US it's only a blip on the screen during the World Cup. The top paid athlete in professional soccer world wide is David Beckham. Beckham only makes 8 million from his salary for playing soccer. Of course his endorsement deals put him around the 20million a year mark. But 8 million a year would only put him at a mid-range football, baseball, or basketball player. Reynaldo (Brazil) is often touted as the best player on the planet but his salary is only rumored around 4 million (even less by some estimates). Granted in Brazil that is huge, but even some bad baseball and basketball players make more than that.


I know I'm nitpicking here, but the avg NFL (05') and NHL salaries are reported at about 1.3 million, MLB at about 2.5 million, and NBA at about 4.9 million. However, each MLB team has 162 regular season games, NBA 82, I believe NHL also 82, and NFL 16. I'm not sure how many games the pro soccer leagues play over in Europe, but I imagine the # is closer to 16 than 82, so the best US pro team sport to compare it with is the NFL.

Avg NFL salary 05' 1.3 million. Avg English premier league salary is now reportedly 676,000 pounds, about 1.25 million, almost identical.

32 NFL teams, maybe about 1700 players. About 3 doz make 8 mil or more, which would be in about the top 2+%. Beckham making 8 million in salary (31+ million including endorsements) would roughly put him in the top 2% of NFL salaries, certainly not mid range. Overall NFL avg salary is comparable to premier league European soccer avg salary, maybe a little more, but they're in the same ballpark. It isn't necessary to bring real $ into a sport it has to be really popular in the US, although it certainly helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_professional_sports_league#High_player_salar ies
http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/default.aspx?Loc=Vanity
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=364460&campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5901

[Mac Smith]

I know I'm nitpicking here, but the avg NFL (05') and NHL salaries are reported at about 1.3 million, MLB at about 2.5 million, and NBA at about 4.9 million. However, each MLB team has 162 regular season games, NBA 82, I believe NHL also 82, and NFL 16. I'm not sure how many games the pro soccer leagues play over in Europe, but I imagine the # is closer to 16 than 82, so the best US pro team sport to compare it with is the NFL.

Avg NFL salary 05' 1.3 million. Avg English premier league salary is now reportedly 676,000 pounds, about 1.25 million, almost identical.

32 NFL teams, maybe about 1700 players. About 3 doz make 8 mil or more, which would be in about the top 2+%. Beckham making 8 million in salary (31+ million including endorsements) would roughly put him in the top 2% of NFL salaries, certainly not mid range. Overall NFL avg salary is comparable to premier league European soccer avg salary, maybe a little more, but they're in the same ballpark. It isn't necessary to bring real $ into a sport it has to be really popular in the US, although it certainly helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_professional_sports_league#High_player_salar ies
http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/default.aspx?Loc=Vanity
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=364460&campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5901

Great research DKirby!!! I stand corrected!

[Mike Frost]

Well put BigMac, I concur. :YR:

[Ian Duggan]

I'm not sure how many games the pro soccer leagues play over in Europe, but I imagine the # is closer to 16 than 82, so the best US pro team sport to compare it with is the NFL.Not nit picking in any way, just for info - English Premier League play a minimum of 38 games in the league, once you add in cup games (both domestic and European competitions), the top teams can be in excess of 60. I reckon the average for a team in a season would be around 50.

Just, y'know, in case anybody cared. :)

Really interesting numbers re: the pay though. Good stuff.

[DKirby]

Wow, thats a lot of games, closer to the # played in NBA and the NHL than the NFL. And in the NBA and NHL they have a lot of substitutions. In soccer you got a 90+ min (with injury time) game, and aren't they limited to a few substitutions per game in pro soccer? That takes tremendous cardio conditioning. Since speed and cardio conditioning are 2 of the biggest factors, no wonder most of the players with the exception of the goalies are under 200 lbs.

My point was that a sport doesn't have to be big in the US for there to be tremendous $ involved in the sport (including in terms of the athletes getting paid big $), but of course it certainly helps.