Figure skating, the Olympics and whatever else

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Comments by: YACCS

 
I think the Skategods have come to a consensus. They're determined to keep me in tears the entire Olympics.


posted by Julia at 8:52 AM

 
I've never cried after a skating competition. Usually I'll sit there in shock and disbelief. Or more commonly I'll have that look of resignation when the judges simply have other ideas. I might wail a plaintive "No!" at the results. Last night there nothing plaintive about my cry. I felt angry and hurt, like a child who has had something near and dear taken away from them.

I had just sat and watched nervously as the two top pairs team had skated their programs. The warmup had included a freakish collision between Anton Sikharulidzhe and Jamie Sale, which required everyone to put their shaky nerves back together. I watched the mistake on Anton Sikharulidzhe's double axel. I noticed the expressions on the Russian team or rather noticeable lack of expression. They have lovely carriage and style, but no fire or passion. This was supposed to be a *pairs* program and yet I barely noticed them even glance at each other. I wanted to like their "Thais", but in the words of the "Chorus Line" song, "I felt nothing". I saw the wall of 5.9s come up for presentation and had an ugly feeling at the pit of my stomach, despite Scott Hamilton's suggestions otherwise. He was looking at the technical mark, but the presentation mark breaks all tiebreakers in the long program.

And then Sale & Pelletier skated their "Love Story". I so *wanted* them to skate well. I have loved their skating since that first time I saw them in Skate America. As always, I didn't want them to stop skating. With every element, they seemed to grow stronger. They didn't seem to be muscling everything, like the Russians. The crowd absolutely roared its approval. There was no doubt who *the audience* liked. But the judges are always another matter.

NBC made a crucial beginner's mistake. Anton & Elena made a mistake and the Canadians were clean, so obviously Jamie & David have won. Right? WRONG. In the first controversy of many more to come, the Russians won the gold medal in a 5-4 split. Yet again the Russian dynasty has struck, continuing a streak that goes back to 1964, almost forty years.

I could *not* believe it. I was just angry and saddened. And yes, I cried. I remembered Nagano when so many things *didn't* happen the way I'd hoped. I nearly left the sport. And now I'm hearing the same about this result from other fans online. "I can't watch this sport anymore". Why do I put myself through this? Why do I invest so much in my favorite skaters?

If I could point to *something*, Jamie and David simply weren't as on fire as the Grand Prix Final performance. They were good, but they needed to be unbelievable to beat the Russians. Did they really need "Orchid"? The one was a classic and the other was more of a stretch artistically, technically more complex. Could the other program have matched the Russians even more evenly?

In a way, I felt bad for Anton and Elena. No one wants to win an Olympic gold medal this way. No one wants to have everyone looking at you, saying "You didn't deserve those medals". No one wants to be painted as the evil Russians either. The audience did seem to applaud Anton and Elena at the medal ceremony which was nice. I hope no one will take it on them. I don't dislike *them*. I'm just not passionate about their skating.

I also felt a little bad for Shen & Zhao from China, having to skate after the Canadians' marks came up and the groans from the audience. They were *that* close to landing the first throw quadruple salchow. She had the landing and then couldn't hold onto the edge.

On the other hand, Ina & Zimmerman gave the performance of their lives. I've always criticized them for "only performing at Nationals". Their best performances have been at US Nationals and then they fall apart under pressure at the big events. They didn't last night. They looked *so* happy. I have never seen that Kyoka Ina that emotional; usually she's the quiet part of the team. They've really come together this season.

I called this little journal "Mad Season" because it summed up my feelings about the Olympic season. Oh god, how could I have gotten it so *right* and those judges have gotten it *so* wrong? They say things happen for a reason, but I'll be damned if I can come up with an explanation for this one.



posted by Julia at 12:47 PM

 
Yesterday Americans managed a sweep of the medals in men's snowboarding half-pipe competition, lead by the amazing gold medalist Ross Powers. Yagudin and Plushenko's quadruple airtime have nothing on the snowboarders' amplitude over the half-pipe, just hanging up there. Okay, it's a little on the weird extreme side for me, but it's not dull. To watch the medal ceremony and see *three* American flags being raised was pretty amazing. Oddly enough, the last time the U.S. swept the Olympic medals was in figure skating.

The year was 1956 at Cortina D'Ampezzo in Italy. The American men had watched Dick Button dominate the world scene. At the time, onlookers probably wondered "Who's next?" Did the Americans have other great skaters to take Button's place?

The answer was a resounding "YES!", courtesy of two brothers and a spinning top. Hayes Alan Jenkins won the gold medal and his younger brother David won the bronze. David Jenkins would eventually win gold at Squaw Valley to his future sister-in-law Carol Heiss' gold. Ronnie Robertson was the odd man out, winning the silver medal. He dazzled audiences with his amazing spins, even appearing on the Ed Sullivan show after he turned professional reportedly in disgust. Even today, when Dick Button talks about spinners, he always mentions Ronnie Robertson first.

Yes, Virginia, everything eventually tracks back to figure skating. After all, it *is* one of the oldest Winter Olympic sports.


posted by Julia at 12:46 PM

 

The only problem with watching the Olympics is avoiding the day's results. Invariably I'll pull up a website and the headline will scream at me on the front page. If the time delay is enough, I might see the headline on someone's newspaper on the Metro. Or worse yet, someone might innocently say "Oh did you hear about so-and-so?"

To be kind, most people, including the media, consider the Olympic results as news. They don't see the harm in telling someone ahead of time who won or lost. To other people, they want to be able to sit down and watch their Olympic coverage without knowing the results ahead of time, so they can *enjoy* the moment completely. To me, anyway, I feel spoiled, because all I have are the results, maybe a still photo. I don't actually get to see what happened.

But even worse was tonight. I sat down at a restaurant to grab a quick dinner before the pairs long program. I was plopped in a seat in front of a television showing ESPN. Okay, so I'll switch around, only to find NBC doing the local news. You don't think they'll flash Olympic news at their first opportunity?

On the plus side, at least the event I was actually interested in *wasn't* spoiled. But it's going to be a long two weeks.


posted by Julia at 8:57 PM

 
To recapitulate, the Russians lead the pairs short program over the Canadians and Chinese teams. The Americans are in fifth place, just out of the final warmup group to go for the medals. The top teams all skated clean, but I have different reactions on those teams. Anton & Elena skated technically clean, but no passion or fire. Jamie & David just *lived* the music. Do they even know it's a short program? If only they hadn't made that mistake on the final pose. On the other hand, maybe that will relax them, take some of the edge off. Who knows?


posted by Julia at 8:55 PM

 

I was watching the weekend's afternoon coverage on NBC. I wasn't expecting anything interesting or surprising. The first event was cross-country skiing, easily my least favorite Winter olympic sport. Who would have thought they could make it interesting? Admittedly the race itself helps a lot. If you have a favorite blowing away the field, it's not that interesting, no matter who is calling the race or how. Not being an extreme sport lover, I hadn't expected snowboarding's half-pipe to be so mind-blowing. How do they do that? WOW!


posted by Julia at 8:53 PM

 
Let the Games begin. The Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City officially opened Friday, ending my long agonizing wait. Full of pomp and splendor, the ceremony was marked also by other goosebump moments. When the Ground Zero flag came into the stadium led by Olympians and rescue workers, there was an unearthly silence as if the world stopped, broken only by a Blackhawk helicopter flying in the background and Bob Costas' annoying commentating. The Parade of Nations provided other heartening moments, seeing the French team bearing double flags, one side French and one side American. Others wore American flags as well, completely unexpected. The British and Canadian teams were welcomed warmly.

The roar of the crowd though was for the home team, led in by flagbearer Amy Peterson, dressed in their navy blue jackets and pants. Some grumbled that the uniforms looked like military dress. And that the ice blue warm up outfits weren't patriotic enough. Of course the uniforms were created before September 11th, intended to be hip and fresh and modern. They take some getting used to -- but then seeing some of the other team uniforms, I can get to used to those caps.

The Opening Ceremony was marked by a *lot* of skating choreographed by Sarah Kawahara. There was a moment when the Native American tribes of Utah offered blessings for the Olympics and an old-fashioned hoedown to mark the settlers.

Jacques Rogge, the IOC President, and President George W. Bush officially opened the Olympic Games with their speeches. Jim Shea took the Olympic oath for the athletes and an American official did the honors for his counterparts.

After all the pomp, though, there was one piece of business, the final torch relay. It was a relay filled with Olympic champions and legends, ending with the *perfect* choice. Some people wanted Mayor Rudy Guliani or even President Bush himself. To me, that would have been even more a political statement than the Ground Zero flag. Instead we had the Miracle Team -- all of them! I was cheering loudly when the whole team joined together to light that magnificent cauldron. That is a memory to inspire.

Commentators and foreign media are angered over the politicizing of the Opening Ceremony that it was "too patriotic". I just watched one expert even grumble about the hockey team wearing their USA uniforms not the plain torch relay outfits required by IOC rules. They objected to President Bush's reworded opening, leading to ugly possibilities by other leaders.

But people always seem to find *something* to object to. It's always something. It won't detract away from the Olympics. They're bigger than those little moments. Years later, we'll remember the flag, but hopefully we'll remember the Games for the athletes and their accomplishments more.


posted by Julia at 8:49 PM

 
Julia ! I love your last post ! The one below, about the opening of the Olympics. I watched the opening ceremonies and was totally blown away, but thanks to my crazy schedule, I haven't been able to see any of my favorite events.

But.... what a beautiful post. You've really got a gift for capturing emotions, and turning them into words that inturn unleash emotions from their beauty and poignancy.

And, I think you captured the meaning of flying the torn flag perfectly: "We're torn and bruised but we're still here, flying high."

Someone should but that on a banner !

Mil abrazos, amiga !!!

Maria :o)



posted by Anonymous at 8:19 PM