ABB2000 Olympia Weekend


Meet The Olympians
Thursday evening, 8pm

    This year, something new was added Thursday night. Titled 'Meet the Olympians', this was a ballroom filled with competitors around tables where you can come and meet them, get an autographed picture, take your own personal picture with them, or buy their video tapes, Olympia Weekend T-shirts, and souviner books. VIP ticketholders got to enter the ballroom at 7pm, while anyone else could arrive from 8-10 pm.

    When I arrived there at 8:15pm, the room was already packed with hundreds of people, and there was a line of 100 people waiting to get in. When I left at 9:15pm, the line had grown to over 300 people outside. It seemed like everyone in the hotel wanted to come and say hello to their favorite competitors.

    I was impressed with how nice many of the competitors were this year, mostly everyone saying hello to their fans and posing for pictures. Other people were there too, including Lou Ferrigno, who stood next to Jay Cutler. The longest line of the evening was for Ronnie Coleman, who was the last person next to the exit, and the second longest line was a tie, between Nasser El Sonbaty, and Gunter Schlierkamp. It was nice to see Lee & Cathy Priest (the only married couple both competing in the Mr. And Mrs. Olympia this year) having fun.

    All in all, this new event was definately a success, and should be added to the line up every year, as I overheard many fans saying they were so happy the Olympia organizers thought more of the fans this year. All fans, not just VIP ticketholders.

    Pictures include