I love watching figure skating...Who's with me?

[bicentennial_baby]

I'm watching the Men's US Championship Finals...I missed yesterday's b/c I had a dinner to attend...But, I never tire of watching skating. I can't f'n wait for the next Winter Olympics! :bounce:

[redwitch]

1. Me.

It is such a graceful sport and it also requires amazing strength.

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Agreed!

My favorite is the Women's Olympic competition, it's just incredible. The only thing I don't watch is Ice Dancing.

And I <3 Johnny Weir. :D

[Manifestor_of_Light]

27. I don't consider Ice Dancing a sport.

Kinda like Ballroom Dancing. No interest in it at all.

Now on the other hand, the physics of flinging yourself into the air, spinning, coming down and not breaking your leg, stabilizing and standing up again, and to keep going without crashing, is awesome!!

Scott Hamilton is still my hero. I remember when he got the gold medal at the Olympics (when ever that was -- a loooong time ago) in his blue bellbottoms and he cried during the medal ceremony. That really got me, and I'm not really into that nationalistic stuff.

I've seen him on TV in the last few years doing exhibition -- non-competitive stuff, where they can get a lot wilder and flashier -- watching him doing backflips was great!! He and Soraya, the black girl from France who did backflips, are excellent. She wuz robbed when she was competing, IMHO.

[Karenina]

54. There is a case to be made...

However w/o its Olympic status we'd not see it at all. Let's just call it the Sports/Fine Arts Vortex.

[Jade Fox]

45. I don't watch the skating couples.....

Call me an old fashioned Feminist, but the sight of women being flung around like rag dolls offends me. It's getting worse too. All the couples these days feature a small woman and a large man (which was not always true). All the better to fling her around.

[Tracer]

91. Heh. My son and I call it the "Girl Tossing Competition."

NT

[Shallah Kali]

96. One male pair skater called it 'Pitching the Broad'

He later married his partner and they now coach together-
http://www.canoe.ca/SlamSkating99Worlds/mar24_rus.html

[Jade Fox]

99. "Girl Tossing Competition"

LOL! That's really funny. I'm afraid I may have to steal that from you. ;)

[matcom]

2. *crickets*

unless there is knee-breaking involved

:D

[no name no slogan]

3. They're taking place about a mile away from my house!

Too bad you guys weren't here-- we could walk downtown and watch them! It was sunny and 35° here today-- perfect winter day for a stroll... :hi:

[bicentennial_baby]

6. Aw man, that would have been awesome!!

Good luck tomorrow, btw... :hug:

[no name no slogan]

10. Thanks!

This will be the second trip to this emergency room in 2.5 years. Last time I had to wait in an ER examining room for EIGHT HOURS before they admitted me to the mental health ward. :scared: Oh well, I guess I'll bring a good book.

[karmaqueen]

4. I love it too!

It is the only sport I really try to watch .

[bicentennial_baby]

8. I watch other sports, but this is one of my absolute favorites...

Always has been, since I was little. :hi:

[matcom]

7. ...

[bicentennial_baby]

9. !

:rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

15. Of all the ice skating photos you have, you chose THAT one?

:D

[TheMightyFavog]

11. You mean people like watching a damn shameful waste of a perfectly good hockey rink?

:hide:

[KG]

12. i like the cut of your jib!

:rofl:

[TheMightyFavog]

14. Would you like to subscribe to my newsletter?

End of Line.

[driver8]

31. Ha Ha -- good one!! n/t

[DarkTirade]

13. I find it to be far more entertaining than most other sports they show on TV. :)

I've just started skating again myself... I used to be decently competant on skates. Something like 12 or 13 years ago. :P Not great, but I could at least T and spin stop so I didn't have to use the toepick.

Now my older brother on the other hand... he's the reason I went skating 12 or 13 years ago in the first place. He worked at an ice rink so he skated all the time (and got me in for free/discount price now and then). He was good enough that several people asked him to try out for the Tampa hockey team. (Whichever one that is. I don't pay attention.) I don't know why he didn't. He woulda been a little small compared to the other guys (same build as me, only 5'10 but fairly broad), but with skates he is RIDICULOUSLY agile. So he'd be able to avoid getting knocked down by the bigger guys pretty well. :P But he wanted to keep all of his teeth and give up a chance for riches, fame and glory. Or something like that.

[quip]

16. Johnny Weir's outfit broke my gaydar

[Richardo]

17. That outfit was too femme for some *women* I know...

What a rip that he tied for point total and still lost.

[Bluebear]

19. Is that so.

:eyes:

[quip]

22. It was too effeminate for my taste.

YMMV :hi:

[Bluebear]

25. My mileage may have been the same, but I hate the word "gaydar"...

which really reinforces stereotypes.

[quip]

23. DUPE

:grr:

[Jade Fox]

18. Johnny war robbed!!!!

I admit I'm a Weir nut. There's just something about that boy. Lysecek is a stick compared to him.

The women's finals were great too. I love it when everyone skates well, and last night the top three women could have all won first place IMO.

[Bluebear]

20. I miss 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.8 6.0... and 4.8 from the Bulgarian judge

The new scoring system sucks.

[Jade Fox]

21. I dunno.....

I think the old system was too subjective, but they may have gone too far in the opposite direction with this new deal.

[Shallah Kali]

81. the new system just gives them more numbers to bury the evidence in

The sight of 6.0s didn't drive judges mad and make 'em cheat.

[bicentennial_baby]

30. Damn straight!

That was a travesty....he landed the Quad! :mad:

[Jade Fox]

37. What I don't get....

is that Weir and Lysacek had the same amount of points. Doesn't that make it a tie? Why not call it a tie? I'm confused.

Go, Johnny go!!

[bicentennial_baby]

38. I know...The way they explained it,

They tied in overall points, but Lysacek got more points in the Free Skate? I don't see how that makes him the winner, when in the end they were *tied*. And I think the fact that he fell on his Quad and Johnny landed his, albeit a little clumsily, should count for something. I was so pissed...

That pic is adorable! :bounce:

[Jade Fox]

41. I agree.....

I thought Johnny did better in the long program. In addition to messing up a couple of jumps, Lysacek was stiff and shaky. I've seen him skate well (like at last years nationals), but he wasn't at the top of his game last night.

Besides, Johnny is just so much funnier and cuter!!

[quip]

39. The rules state that in the event of a tie, the winner of the short program is declared the winner

overall.

[bicentennial_baby]

40. But Weir was first after the short program, I thought...

Me so confused. :crazy:

[quip]

43. I'm sorry, I had it wrong. The tiebreaker is determined by the winner of the FREE skate

Weir was ahead in combined points (Free and short) going into the Long, but Lysacek came back to tie in the Long.

[bicentennial_baby]

44. Ah, I see...

Still sucks that Weir lost though. x(

Thanks for the info! :hi:

[Jade Fox]

42. Johnny won the Short Program.....

if only by a small margin. :shrug:

[SPKrazy]

24. i like women's figure skating

and couple's and ice dancing

men's is okay

:hi:

[Skittles]

28. same here

couples is awesome

[amitten]

26. I watch it and I love it.

And it's like so beautiful...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. I love watching it; but I hate the commentaries.

I wish they'd shut up so we could enjoy the artistry of the athletes without a bunch of wannabees and has-beens flapping their gums.

[Midlodemocrat]

32. Honestly, it makes me nervous to watch.

I love the movement, etc., but I get uncomfortable when one of the skaters falls. Not so much for the injury, but for the dashed dreams.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

33. I am , I am.

This is the first year in 20 years that I didn't tape the US Nats.

The VCR in the front room isn't hooked up to the TV we have there for now. We're going to get an HDTV but we're saving up the money for one.

I didn't see the Ladies competition Saturday night and it looks like I missed a humdinger. I did watch the Men's last night and I think Johnny Weir was robbed.

As far as the commentary goes, I love Dick Button. He's the voice of American figure skating and what he says is usually right. Both Scott Hamilton and Bob Costas were great as well. However, I cannot stand to listen to Sandra Bezic. She turned me off in 2002 during the Olympics with the controversy between the Canadians and the Russian pairs skaters. She made the Russian couple out to be the bad guys in all of that, when they weren't. It was the corrupt judging, nothing more, nothing less.

Looking for the World Championships next month. It'll be very interesting.

[WolverineDG]

36. Dick Buttons always jinxes the Americans in competition

He'll say something like "Coming up is the jump she is known for & NEVER falls on (insert ridiculously difficult jump here)." Then the skater falls & what does he say "Well, that just goes to show you that you really have to work hard in training, she's not doing what she's supposed to, etc etc etc." :grr:

dg

[LibDemAlways]

68. He's a total blowhard. Every so often some tv sports

show will run some old footage of Button skating back in 1952. By today's standards, he would have been laughed out of the competition. He has a hell of a lot of nerve criticizing any of today's much more technically proficient skaters.

[Chovexani]

75. Amen. He needs to STFU.

Scott Hamilton could skate circles around that old fool.

[Chovexani]

58. I hate Dick Button

He's a racist prick and always has something negative to say about the skaters of color no matter how brilliant they are and the white skaters can do no wrong, no matter how many times they fall on their asses.

I seriously have to put dude on mute.

[sasquatch]

34. A word of advice: never bet on the straight guy

x(

[LibDemAlways]

35. It has to be one of the most expensive sports around and

one which requires incredible sacrifice and dedication. My daughter has a friend who started 9 years ago when she was in the first grade. Over the years the parents have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into it. The kid has multiple coaches, including one of Michelle Kwan's former coaches, who charges big bucks for a 20 minute lesson. The kid gets up at the crack of dawn to endure an hour ride on the clogged LA freeways to the rink for practice and a lesson. She's home-schooled, so after the lesson, the mom drives the girl home so she can study and do homework before heading back out to another rink for more practice and another lesson. Add in the cost of skates, outfits, ballet lessons, travel expenses associated with competitions, and it all adds up bigtime.

In this girl's case, the family can afford it. They're loaded. But it would be a dealbreaker for most. And, sadly enough, despite the megabucks, time, and effort put forth so far, the girl doesn't have what it takes to compete at the national level. She's 15 and still several levels away from the top "senior" tier.

I enjoy watching skating, too. For those who are the most gifted, the potential rewards are many. For the rest, it's the satisfaction of knowing they tried something very physically demanding and gave it their best shot.

[Jade Fox]

46. It amazes me how many skaters there are......

in spite of all the things you listed.

I wanted to be a skater when I was a kid, and my mother told me flat out we did not have the money. :(

[LibDemAlways]

47. When I was growing up, I had a friend whose dad owned a

skating rink. My friend was a pretty good skater, but even her parents put a damper on it because of the cost. Most of those kids out there today have to have parents with very deep pockets. It's become a very elite sport.

[Karenina]

49. It amazes me how many skaters there are...

When most people's first exposure is to those crappy rental skates. No, your ankles are NOT too weak, your BOOTS have no support! Take a look at those puppies Weir is sporting! Hubba, hubba!

Competition skating is indeed a pricey lifestyle and a weird one I wouldn't wish upon any kid who didn't REALLY WANT IT. Jo Benet+Stictly Ballroom in an icy environment. Hmmm...

Skating is a high. I got zapped by Torvill & Dean. Everbody wanned to "be like Mike" and as I sat in the rafters in L.A., witness to their interpretation of Holst's "The Planets" something deep inside me exploded to the surface...

I WANNA BE LIKE JAYNE!!!

I bought skates for $50 the next day and another pair 3 months later for 10X that amount. It was an investment in my spirit and has stood me in good stead. (I was ejected from my ballet class 6 months after I went up on point. The Balletmeisterin, "Unfortunately, the Negro body is not suitable for classical dance. She is so enthusiastic and I would feel guilty raising her hopes up.") Ice skating gave me my dream back. Not only can I still dance, I can do it on VERY THIN ICE TOO! ;-)

[LibDemAlways]

50. It's great that you chose to do it for the sheer

enjoyment of it. That's rare!:-)

[Karenina]

52. Please, please go lookee here! T&D Paso Doble!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7od_7g5ciCk

[LibDemAlways]

67. Flawless. I remember Bolero, too. Spine tingling and

inspirational.

Thanks for sharing.

[Chovexani]

76. OMG! Figure Skating on YouTube!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. :loveya: :loveya:

--C, ain't getting shit done at work tonight

[Lydia Leftcoast]

88. As one of the You Tube comments says, those two are REALLY DANCING

The contemporary ice dancers do more dangerous moves, but they look more like pairs skaters without the throws and side-by-side jumps.

[Karenina]

93. And THEY DANCED to the music!!!

I was once told by a judge that the reason songs were disallowed was that you might dance to the lyrics rather than the music. :freak: :shrug:

Yeah, they are beginning to look like pairs. Saw that one coming and the BIG QUAD PUSH... By the time skaters mature they get retired.

The Protopopovs have the right idea.

Ink here:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2006/12/23/2003341677

VIDEO HERE! These two are in their 70's.
http://www.lifeskate.com/skate/2008/01/clip-of-the-w-1.html

[applegrove]

48. I used to watch. Such excitement.

[Shell Beau]

51. I used to. Not so much anymore. I still do love watching gymnastics though!

[bicentennial_baby]

53. Oh I love that too!

That's my favorite Summer Olympics sport! :bounce:

:hi:

[Shell Beau]

56. I hate that I can never find it on TV either. Only when it is the Olympics is

it ever on. I used to want to be Kim Zmeskal if you can remember her. She kinda cracked under pressure though! I think it was 1992 Olympics.

[colinmom71]

84. Oh, if you want a resource that lists when figure skating will air on TV...

Go here - http://www.heatherw.com/mk/sch.htm

Heather's pretty good about keeping her site updated on skating shows/competitions throughout the skating season (usually September - April). Hope this helps!

[lizerdbits]

98. They hardly have any gymn on anymore

(Sc)American cup, nationals, and if we're lucky some worlds. And that's only for women, good luck finding men's competitions other than nationals. The worlds coverage for men was 15 minutes of routines! Gah!

Where I am CN8 (Comcast sports) is now showing some lesser known competitions like Parkette Invitational, US Classic, etc. They also show some NCAA as does ESPN/ESPN2.

Zmeskal was in 1992. She messed up beam in the all around. Am I the only one who misses compulsories?

[Whisp]

55. me too. gynmastics ballet with sharp knives.

amazing what they do.

[bicentennial_baby]

65. Hehe, good description

:hi:

[Chovexani]

57. OMG! I knew you were awesome!

I'm a figure skating NUT...the very first thing I watched on my new TV this weekend was the Ladies Short Program.

I missed the Men's competition though, how was it?

[bicentennial_baby]

63. And I missed the Women's!

I only saw the Long Program for the Men...There were a surprising number of fuckups, considering. The guy who won, Lysacek, fell on his ass on the Quad, and Weir landed his, but Lysacek won!! Motherfuckers! x(

And you're even awesomer now :D

:loveya:

[Chovexani]

73. Insert rant about judging

:argh:

Poor Johnny. I love that boy and he never seems to get a fair shake from the judges. Lysacek skates like an epileptic monkey on crack.

[bicentennial_baby]

74. !

:spray:

:rofl: You got that right, Pookie.... :rofl:

[Chovexani]

77. We so need to hang out when I get back East

:D

[bicentennial_baby]

80. You've got that right, sista...

:hug:

:loveya:

[WolverineDG]

78. Yeah, well they always loved Todd Eldredge too

for some bizarre reason. Yet, every time the Olympics rolled around, he choked.

dg

[Chovexani]

79. I liked his LotR routine at the last one he was in

Damn shame, he could skate his ass off when he wanted to, but he always seemed to cave at the wrong time.

[flamingyouth]

59. I am totally with you.

I watch all of it: the European Championships, the Grand Prix, the Canadian Championships, Worlds, etc.

I loved Mirai Nagasu's outfit in the short program - that pink dress was AWESOME! :D

[bicentennial_baby]

64. I missed the Women's!!

x( I was at a Prof's house, having dinner...I'm looking forward to this winter's other events though.

:yourock:

:loveya:

[ceile]

60. Love it!

Happened to catch on Saturday Sarah Brightman singing while some guy was skating. Normally, I'd pay attention to the skating, but when that woman sings "Time to Say Goodbye" I think the world stops.

[unpossibles]

61. I generally love it - some versions more than others

although I have to say, sometimes the costumes bother me in their hideousness. And what's with the nude hose over the skates that everyone wears now? Do they want to look like they were born with blades on their feet?

[yellowdogintexas]

62. I am most definitely. I have been a skating junkie since way back when

like maybe the Janet Lynn days...

I have seen Dorothy Hamill skate live twice, and one of the shows was a Stars on Ice which featured several great skaters and it was a lot of fun.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

66. I love watching skating

When I lived in Portland, I used to sometimes change buses at Clackamas Town Center, a shopping mall that contains the ice rink where Tonya Harding used to train.

The food court overlooks the ice rink, and it was fun to watch the young kids learning to spin and jump. It gives you a real appreciation for the pros, seeing how many times kids have to fall on their butts before they can complete even one rotation, not to mention three or four with the fine distinctions between lutzes, axels, toe loops, flips, etc.

[crim son]

69. Dammit, I missed the women's and the men's.

I knew I missed the women's but I'd intended to watch last night & then I forgot. Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!:cry:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

70. I love it too

Can't get enough of it. I just wish they'd always show live programs instead of taped, because I'm online a lot and invariably see who won, and I hate knowing the outcome of a sporting event in advance!

[Pale Blue Dot]

71. One of my favorite David Letterman Top 10 entries,

from "Top 10 Good Things About the Ice Capades":

5. Cold Air + Thin Costumes = Fun for Dad.

:rofl:

[quip]

89. Hey, it's a little nipply in here....

:rofl:

[GreenPartyVoter]

72. I do, but I haven't watched it as much in recent years. Been busy with watching

gymnastics and cheerleading a bit more. (Satellite dish and Tivo.. what a combo!)

[Shallah Kali]

82. Love FS! The age rule sucks - 3 of the top 4 girls can't go to worlds

So they are off to world jrs which is not televised or even on the online subscription thingy the usfsa has these days as far as I can tell. The age rule is supposed to protect young skaters form injury when all it does is let them burn out on the jr level trying to crank out 3/3s and level 4 spins before they become big names so there won't be a public outcry about then busting their hips a la Naomi Nari Nam & Tara Lipinski or literally breaking their backs like Sasha Cohen and her spinal stress fracture.

[colinmom71]

86. Ice Network's contract is only with the USFS....

They do not, as of yet, have a contract with the ISU for international competitions. But yeah, I'd be thrilled if they'd manage to work out a deal with the ISU to also air Junior Worlds and Worlds! Eh, I'll likely be subscribing next year either way since most folks at FSUniverse seemed pleased with the service this season...

Personally, I agree with the age rule and for the reasons you mention above - overuse injuries. That and maturity. I really felt that Mirai Nagasu's SP was rather "juniorish" and somewhat over-marked in the PCS scores. She needed another year I think to mature her presentation style to be in the Senior levels. She reminded me a lot of Kwan during her pre-1995/1996 season. Darn good skater but something in her performance quality hasn't quite gelled yet...

I just worry a bit that the USFS is so desperate to find the "next Michelle Kwan" that they may be over-promoting some skaters (Zhang, Nagasu, etc.) before they're fully ready. Under the traditional 6.0 system, I would have put the Ladies podium as Flatt, Nagasu, and Wagner.

BTW, is this the Shallah from the old MKForum? If so, great to see you again! :hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

87. Yes, there is something to be said for maturity

Even though Kimmie Meissner didn't execute her jumps very well, she has a sense of style that the fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds lack.

I recall the first time Michelle Kwan appeared at the seniors. She was very much like Mirai Nagasu, a skinny kid with tremendous jumping talent but little sense of flow or posture. (By the way, that was at the U.S. championships that featured the Tonya-Nancy brouhaha.)

[Shallah Kali]

92. I disagree with the rule because it does *not* stop overuse injury

These kids are still working on cranking out the 3/3s, 3/2/2s and level 4 spins with as many contortions and hyper extensions as possible. All it means is they will be risking lifetime pain for a jr world title that only a few people will see instead of for sr worlds and olympics.

As for the skills that usually come with maturity they *could* properly reward that with actual application of their own rules. itty bitty jumps that barely clear the ice and don't have any flow coming out shouldn't get the grade of execution of a big beautiful jump with height and distance. And as you said they should give top PCS scores to those with clean coherent and controlled elements & choreography.

Of the Wunderkids I feel that Flatt had the most mature skating by a good margin. Zhang has a gorgeous lyrical flow across the ice which normally gets my personal pick but Rachael with her complete execution of choreography throughout the program in which she used her entire body to express the music has me on her bandwagon. I look forward to seeing her grow even more in the future!

& yes I am the MKF Shallah :) :hi:

[Jade Fox]

100. I agree with your take on Mirai Nagasu.....

She just looked like a little kid out there. I would have chosen Rachel Flatt or Ashley Wagner over her, at least this year.

[RadiationTherapy]

83. Chazz-Michael Michaels is my favorite!!

[tigereye]

85. all of it except the schlocky music ones where they are paired with some

scary bad singer... :scared:




I like the competitions though - I love winter sports - my husband loves curling, too. :wtf:

[ThatsMyBarack]

90. Sometimes, I even like watching my OWN!

In case you've never seen 'em (shameless plug alert!):

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=70s80s

What's more, I've improved even more since I posted those! :woohoo:

[bicentennial_baby]

94. I was hoping you'd see this!!

:bounce:

:yourock:

[DarkTirade]

95. Okay, this seems like the thread to post this in...

the girl I've been kinda sorta not quite dating for a while is moving back home tomorrow morning. One of the things we've been doing together on a regular basis is going skating. We both still suck a wee bit, but I like to skate, and she's a figure skating fanatic.

So we went skating again today. Last chance before she moves, ect. . Afterwards I decide to take her down to a sporting goods store so we can look at buying our own skates. Not only will they be better than the rental crap, but it'll save money in the long run since we both intend to keep skating.

So we get there... find the skating section... and find one figure skate.

Not a pair. A single figure skate. An old display model or something like that.

Turns out that they'd decided that skating season was over. So that afternoon, just a few hours before we got there, they'd shipped out the HUNDRED AND FIFTY pairs of figure skates they'd had on the shelves to another branch of their store in Indiana. Didn't leave a single pair.

So they called the other branch that was nearby. They'd done the exact same thing. Today.

And to add salt to the wound, they didn't even have hockey skates in my size.

D'oh.

So I'm thinking about emailing a friend of mine who lives in Indiana and seeing if he can find a woman's size 7 figure skate, and a men's 11 extra wide... :P

[femmocrat]

97. I love it too.

I watch every event from Skate America to World's. Looks like the USA has a very talented field going into the 2010 Olympics.

[Shallah Kali]

101. Videos up of most medalist's performances on NBC sports - link

http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/articles/show/42812

[KT2000]

102. No more quads!

I would rather see graceful, elegant men's skating than a quad any time. I really think they are sacrificing too much for the quads. There is too much trying to hold on to their landings etc.
and recovery.

The best male skaters I remember probably never attempted quads but they were wonderful to watch.