Which foreign skaters do Russian fans like?

[pani]

Interesting that Pani noted Chan specifically being unloved. He has nice skating skills, but is it Chanflation, big mouth? Interesting...

People didnt like him because of his medals with falls and big mouth

[AliasJohnDoe]

Do Russians prefer Kwan or Cohen more?

Just thought I'd get this thread to 1k posts.

[pani]

Do Russians prefer Kwan or Cohen more?

Just thought I'd get this thread to 1k posts.

Slutskay They prefer Slutskay more and a lot off people think she msut be Olympic champion.
But this didnt mean all russian fans dont like Kwan and Cohen. I love them both

[Moka-Ananas]

Do Russians prefer Kwan or Cohen more?

Just thought I'd get this thread to 1k posts.

Well I don't really like either one but I prefer Cohen.

[Fashionista]

Do Russians prefer Kwan or Cohen more?

Neutral to both may be with a little bit a soft spot for Cohen. Almost the same attitude towards Kwan as to Lysacek. S/P and Hughes are widely hated.
Interestingly, Russians never cared about American skaters in any discipline (until Johnny appeared). However two Brians battle was very popular with Russian fans. Toller Cranston was loved by Soviets. Yes, Canadians definitely gained more Russian love than Americans (and still do).

[dinakt]

Vast generalizations, but:
Cohen over Kwan, but Slutskaya above all.
Joubert, Weir and Verner can do no wrong. Soft spot for Preaubert- generally a soft spot for the French. Joubert, Preaubert, Amodio, Pechalat/ Bourzat.
Lambiel is very much loved, as well. Perhaps not as universally as a Russian champion would be, but very passionately.
Mao over Kim, for the most part.
Yagudin/Plushenko rivalry is legendary and a source of great pride.
Saying that Virtue/ Moir are " aristocratic", far beyong their years; their win is not disputed or, even, resented.
Generally Canadians have faired better with Russians than Americans over the years ( Johnny excepted), so the dislike of Chan is only due to perceived overscoring. His quad, and 4+3 are going a long way to remedy that.

[topaz]

One skater, who didnt have a lot off supporters in Russia - Patrick Chan

Somehow I figured this would be the case.

I thought the Russian fans were kind to Shen/Zhao at the Worlds a few year ago. From what I watched, it seemed the fans enjoyed their performances. S/Z have a certain intimacy on the ice that is hard to ignore and not appreciate.

[topaz]

Doesn't Cohen have Russian ancestry?

[Nomad]

Doesn't Cohen have Russian ancestry?

I think her mother is a Russian national from the Ukraine.

[olympic]

Neutral to both may be with a little bit a soft spot for Cohen. Almost the same attitude towards Kwan as to Lysacek. S/P and Hughes are widely hated.
Interestingly, Russians never cared about American skaters in any discipline (until Johnny appeared). However two Brians battle was very popular with Russian fans. Toller Cranston was loved by Soviets. Yes, Canadians definitely gained more Russian love than Americans (and still do).

Wouldn't the rivalry over the years with Slute and Bute have perhaps made Russians look at Kwan as more of a nemesis [bad guy]?

[IceAlisa]

http://weir.ru/

Holy cow, it says Johnny has accepted the role of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland On Ice which will take place in Russia over the winter. Also to take part is Elena Berezhnaya as White Queen and Tatiana Totmianina as Red Queen. Cool!

Back to the thread topic: as an ex-Soviet I guess my Russian roots were showing when I liked Cohen over Kwan and Asada over Kim. And I always loved Johnny who it appears has a huge following. Virtue/Moir did win me over with their elegance.

[MR-FAN]

Russians went crazy for the Duchesnays at the 1990 Euros

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucR_UgA4s3E

[krenseby]

Back to the thread topic: as an ex-Soviet I guess my Russian roots were showing when I liked Cohen over Kwan and Asada over Kim.

It seems to me that it's possible to like both skaters whatever nationality/background you have. Cohen and Asada both have lots of American fans. (Well I assume Asada has American fans, I can't prove it of course.)

[mia joy]

Yuka Kawaguchi, Jérôme Blanchard, Tatiana Volosozhar, Ksenia Makarova, and Jonathan Guerreiro

[galaxy]

I take it Mao is pretty popular in Russia. How about other Japanese skaters?

Oh, #17 says Takahashi is well liked. Other than Mao and Dai, who gets good response?

[IceAlisa]

It seems to me that it's possible to like both skaters whatever nationality/background you have.

Yes, but this thread it titled "Which foreign skaters do Russian fans like."

[Fashionista]

Oh, #17 says Takahashi is well liked. Other than Mao and Dai, who gets good response?

Miki Ando. Even more than Takahashi.

[Fashionista]

Wouldn't the rivalry over the years with Slute and Bute have perhaps made Russians look at Kwan as more of a nemesis [bad guy]?

You know, all skaters have their main rivals but it's silly to consider all rivals of your favorite skater to be bad guys. En masse skating funs realize that. Rival should do really "bad" thing (like cheating (Hughes) or whining (S/P)) to become a "bad guy" in some other skater's fans' eyes.
Talking about Kwan Russian public wasn't mad about her skating because in average Russian skating fan's eyes her programs were a kind of boring (remember Russians love everything dramatic and passionate) and she didn't have any wow-elements to impress.