I think it can be hard for those who train casually to relate to people that are really invested in a sport like powerlifting. I understand we all have different ideas about what's important in life which is fine. However, it's kind of asinine to tell people lifting should only be a casual hobby of low importance.
That being said, the forum has gone to shit in the last year. It doesn't seem like we have very many strong, knowledgeable guys around anymore. Also, the posts in main forum are usually retarded and not worth the read. I kind of miss the days when devilsson and enright were still posting.
I think you are misinterpreting what I said or you didn't follow the beginning of the conversation. I may not have explained myself well either. Cratos has always talked about people making excuses and brought that up particularly in this thread in regards to DrBdan. The conversation then went into people prioritizing things above lifting, which is going to be very common as you get older. People stating they didn't lift because of _____________ aren't "making excuses" most of the time, they are simply stating what they chose to do. Lifting isn't near as important to most people as it is for you or Cratos.
Cratos then goes on to talk about people being content "being mediocre". My point there is that you are going to be in the minority if powerlifting is and remains one of the most important aspects in your life. That's a fact. There is no pot of gold at the end of the powerlifting rainbow. There is little money in it and little exposure. It's not uncommon for many meets to have very few in a weight class, the audience is essentially your fellow competitors + family, and your reward is a sword or a trophy. It shouldn't be surprising when people lose interest in it and have other things take over.
That brings up my point of also loling at "being mediocre" as if achieving some sort of success at powerlifting is something most would consider a great accomplishment. Most people are going to progress in life, and as mentioned, hobbies become a smaller part of life once you progress. That's why I brought up the constant competition aspect, traveling, sponsorship, monetary reward, training people, and accomplishing something in the business side of powerlifting. It's not exactly a noble concept to look back on a life and say "I put up a great total in a couple powerlifting competitions after devoting thousands of hours to it". I'd hope anyone that makes powerlifting one of the more important aspects in their life goes beyond something like that and gets some experience of travel, developing in the business side, training people, etc. Hitting #'s in the gym and hitting up a couple competitions and considering that a huge part of life is not something most will make sacrifices for.
This may sound like I'm knocking people who choose to make powerlifting a large part of their life, but I'm really not trying to do that. I'm knocking people who think others should be going after that pursuit. As mentioned above, there is a lot of reasons most won't go that route. I personally would rather have a lot of experiences with other hobbies and be "mediocre" with them. I can look back on my life and say I had a lot of experiences doing different things even if I didn't reach the top at them. Most importantly, the things that begin to matter the most when you get older - family, career, your home, financial security, etc. is where I choose to excel. To me, having the experiences + multiple experiences through hobbies trumps grinding away in a gym chasing #'s anyday. Everyone is different though, and that's fine. I'm all for anyone accomplishing their own particular goals.