How do we make skating popular again?

[senorita]

And Elvis and Plushenko. Oh well, at least I am in good company.

who said elvis or plushenko want to get rid of music? Because their artistry is in question, and I see their style similar like day and night btw, but that doesnt mean they dont put a thought or a penny about their music and would prefer to skate around like jumping black eyed peas.

Gymnastics was way more popular with both the casual and core audiences before they tried to make it more "objective" and thus sucked the soul out of the sport. Compare the routines on beam and FX now to those being done in the 80s and 90s. Most people will tell you what they prefer.

Oh yes, maybe it is the same case like 6.0 and CoP considering audience comprehension but in gymnastics the effect was totally negative regarding the programs and the audience reception, never the same before. Especially the beam

[Polymer Bob]

Open up opportunities for fans to gamble! When people have $$ at stake, they will start to care who wins the free dance.

That's something I've been wondering about. How much gambling on skating actually takes place?

[danceronice]

That's something I've been wondering about. How much gambling on skating actually takes place?

Legally? None I'm aware of outside Vegas.

But there's an idea....serious horse racing fans are, 99% of the time, the bettors. Now, how about raising prize money for skating with pari-mutual wagering...

[iarispiralllyof]

it's interesting someone mentioned tiger woods. he's undoubtedly an icon and has made hundreds of millions of dollars. but golf is most definitely nowhere near as accessible or overall more popular than basketball to most americans, however tiger makes far more than michael jordan ever did, for the sole reason that golf appeals to rich older white men and thus tiger's endorsement deals were gigantic.

it's interesting because figure skating kind of has this dual identity. on one hand it's one of the most expensive sports and many who skate come from more well-off backgrounds, you have skaters like dick button whose even of the ivy league type. but then there's also that stereotype about skating being cheesy/uncool and a large portion its fanbase being less urban and from certain regions .. it seems to me like skating's core base has changed around quite a bit throughout the decades and that certainly affects things like funding and potential endorsements

[gkelly]

That's something I've been wondering about. How much gambling on skating actually takes place?

It wouldn't be a good idea to bet on the results in skating or any judged sport because there would be too much temptation to try to influence the judges.

Twenty years ago there was a story in Patinage mentioning that Oleg Tataurov used to bet people whether he would land a triple axel in the exhibition. I hope he wasn't betting against it.

Maybe there could be similar bets on specific elements, falls, etc., defined in ways that are relatively objective and would give little incentive for judges or tech panels to manipulate the results.

And of course if the officials were caught betting at all, or the skaters betting against themselves . . .

[danceronice]

Racehorse owners (and IIRC jockeys and trainers) can bet ON their own horses. They are not, however, permitted to bet AGAINST them. Someone in the UK just got a suspension for it, IIRC. (Though their betting system, private oddsmakers, lets them do things that would be a little dodgy here, like organize group bets to affect the win pool, since the number of people wagering doesn't affect the payout.)

Judges wouldn't be able to bet, at least not on results, but they could probably bet on things like "how many falls per competition!"

Though seriously, while I'm sure in Vegas people bet on skating (people bet on EVERYTHING in Vegas) I doubt there'd be a serious interest in wagering. I think the real trick is you need a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan or some other kind of figure who transcends skating. I think that it also would be hard for it to be a girl--yes, we have our 'ice princesses', but besides Peggy Flemming (who had a post-Olympic market that allowed her to grow into a more mature, prima-ballerina role) the young or young-looking girl champion is in big trouble as she gets older--marketing wise, people still want the pixie. (How long did Dorothy Hamil have the same damn haircut?) Not only physically but artistically it starts to get silly for women to keep that icebox baby ballerina thing going. A woman who could come across as a woman in commericals, and not a teenybopper, who has just enough sex appeal men like her and just enough accessibility women don't resent her, and she has to have the kind of sports-charisma of a Tiger or a Michael Jordan or a Venus Williams.

I don't think we're going to get it with a male skater. Let's be honest, male skaters aren't going to sell Gillette or Old Spice. Fairly or unfairly in all cases they're not percieved as masculine. Even on here, those that try either get mocked a la Elvis (who's hardly a sex symbol anyway) or accused of being in the closet (a la Evan.) A small section of the market goes for a Johnny Weir, but not people who come at it from a male athletic perspective. For a male figure skater to become a counter-stereotype, you need a Baryshnikov, not an Elvis--someone both unappologetically artistic AND masculine. "I'm a man, and I'm dancing, and I'm 1000 times more ripped than most men will ever be, and women want me. Put that in your pipe and smoke it." Not going around with a WHOPPING GREAT CHIP on their shoulder like Elvis and, to a lesser extent, Michael Weiss, or publically molesting their pairs partner *cough*Baldwin*cough* to prove they're straight. They don't even have to BE straight. Just supremely confident about being male. "Yep, I'm skating. Yes, I have screaming fangirls lusting after me. I just can't help being that awesome."

[viennese]

One word: Twilight.

Sad but true.

Skating insiders love the gossip of who's dating who. You want skating really break out, it needs the manufactured drama of love triangle.

Come on, skaters and choreographers. Hint, loudly, and choreograph some over-dramatic pas de trois exhibition - one girl skater torn between two feuding guys (one pale and brooding, one shirtless and muscular.) Rumors of weeping, glaring, thrown drinks, slammed hotel room doors, coach changes.

I leave it to FSU to cast the trio. Make sure that at least one is American -- or people magazine won't care.

[danceronice]

Sad but true.

Skating insiders love the gossip of who's dating who. You want skating really break out, it needs the manufactured drama of love triangle.

Come on, skaters and choreographers. Hint, loudly, and choreograph some over-dramatic pas de trois exhibition - one girl skater torn between two feuding guys (one pale and brooding, one shirtless and muscular.) Rumors of weeping, glaring, thrown drinks, slammed hotel room doors, coach changes.

I leave it to FSU to cast the trio. Make sure that at least one is American -- or people magazine won't care.

Don't forget to set it to Muse.

[Screenie]

Evgeni Pluschenko, Alexei Mishin, and . . . . (need someone dark-haired)...Nikolai Morosov?

But then it would have to be set to the music of virtuoso violinist Edvin Marton. Who would join them on the ice, of course.

ETA: I change my music choice to Yakity Sax: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg. But Marton can still play it.