Johnny Weir news, quotes and articles - v.3

[attyfan]

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@attyfan: "(Michael W is ahead by one world bronze)." Thanks for pointing that out, attyfan. I enjoyed some of Michael's performances when he was competing in the eligible ranks, and having seen him recently in a fluff competition, I think he's continued to hone his skating skills. Yet, I still have to at the notion that counting "hardware" is the most important way of determining the success or lack of success of skaters. [e.g., Michelle Kwan has two Olympic medals, but no gold -- and so what? MK is and will likely remain for a long time one of the most decorated skaters in fs history. Beyond medals, what she accomplished was amazing on so many levels. Sure the "hardware" stats are tremendous, but what I will remember most about her is the courage, passion, exquisite grace, and determination she always displayed on and off the ice -- and most importantly the way her spirit soared, taking the entire audience with her ... The experience was spine-tingling and uplifting.]

Back to the mundane task at hand. So what that Michael W is ahead of Johnny W by one World bronze. Some people are understandably stat crazy about baseball, but figure skating?! As I mentioned about Paul Wylie earlier, the important thing that matters is he put it all together and shined at the penultimate moment of his eligible career, which led to his having a long and satisfying professional career, and to his fans being able to experience so many memorable and fantastic moments. Great accomplishment re the silver Olympic medal itself, but the number of medals Paul was or was not able to garner over his career is not a measure of his success nor who he was as a skater.
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ITA that there is more to skating than the medals or the stats. The issue, however, is whether there is some improper reason for SOI not hiring Johnny ... and one poster noted in support of this theory that there were people on SOI whose competitive records were not as impressive as Weir's. I merely countered that the fact that Johnny's record is not more impressive than any of the men currently under contract with SOI. That his record is more impressive than Alissa C's (for example) does not show any bad reason for not hiring Johnny if SOI needed a ladies singles skater.

[zaphyre14]

The last I knew SOI was not federally funded and so wasn't subject to EEO regulations. If they don't want to invite Johnny - or Plushenko - or Joe Schmoe off the street, they don't have to, regardless of qualifications. They can hire who they want - and who they want is obviously someone whom they believe fits into their corporate culture best.

In any business structure, there are people who don't fit in, no matter how talented or smart or creative they are. In a tight marketplace, the intelligent candidate learns how to adapt and fit themselves into the market, not stand up and demand that the market change to suit them.

Putting Johnny into SOI would be like pounding a square peg in a round hole - it's painful to both objects and one or the other ends up irreparbly damaged. I'm betting that Scott & Co decided that Johnny, no matter how popular he may or may not be to spectators, just isn't worth the drama that would come along with him.

[REO]

Just because something is repeated over and over does not make it so. When Johnny gets his show or tour or whatever he is working on up and running and he can actually demonstrate his ability to put butts in seats in substantial numbers, then this argument might have some validity.

I certainly didn't mean he could fill the arena but he does have a huge following. I don't know how such a thing could be confirmed except by the fact that he won the Kwan trophy placing 6th when the OGM did not in an Olympic year. He was chosen to be the subject of a documentary and tv show (even Michelle did not get that attention) and his Facebook and Twitter followings supercede the other men. I still think butts would be added if he was included.

That being said this is all so old. It's never going to happen for whatever reason.
The notion that he would cause drama is unfounded. The European and Asian companies have no problem in hiring him. Attyfan's post about balancing the ticket is certainly reasonable and plausible. I think he's doing okay without SOI.

[REO]

Unless you consider his comments about always riding the bus with the Russians when he traveled with COI and the comments he made about the atmosphere on the more American bus.

They are his friends. What did he say about the atmosphere on the "American" bus?

[judiz]

They are his friends. What did he say about the atmosphere on the "American" bus?

I remember Johnny referring to the "Russian" bus as the party bus so I assume the "American" bus was too quiet for Johnny. However, in the last summer of COI, there was only one bus and everyone rode together.

[judiz]

Except maybe in the group numbers which are a feature of SOI shows.

There were group numbers in COI too, remember the James Bond theme the last year where Evan (James Bond) and Johnny ( a villian) had a mock fight and Evan killed Johnny? I remember seeing COI in 2006 and watching the skaters, including Johnny moving props in the dark and helping to set up the scenery for the individual and group programs.

[overedge]

There were group numbers in COI too, remember the James Bond theme the last year where Evan (James Bond) and Johnny ( a villian) had a mock fight and Evan killed Johnny? I remember seeing COI in 2006 and watching the skaters, including Johnny moving props in the dark and helping to set up the scenery for the individual and group programs.

Uh, no, COI could never be bothered to tour in Canada, so I don't remember any of its group numbers

But my impression of the difference between the two shows was that COI was more of a collection of performances by individual skaters without any connection (usually just the skaters doing whatever show number(s) they had that year), while SOI was more of a group show with a "theme" that was often reflected in the skaters' individual programs and costumes.

[REO]

I remember Johnny referring to the "Russian" bus as the party bus so I assume the "American" bus was too quiet for Johnny. However, in the last summer of COI, there was only one bus and everyone rode together.

Well I'll get the tar you get the feathers! Imagine a 20 year old wanting to party!

JMO but I would think that if SOI had certain themes or songs or moves they did not like, they would say something and the skater would have to comply if he or she wished to be paid. This is pro skating. Johnny might protest but in the end they would be his bosses and he would either give in or get out. He never got that chance. To tag him as uncooperative and a trouble maker before the fact is unfair and not based on truth.

[aftershocks]

There were group numbers in COI too, remember the James Bond theme the last year where Evan (James Bond) and Johnny (a villian) had a mock fight and Evan killed Johnny? I remember seeing COI in 2006 and watching the skaters, including Johnny moving props in the dark and helping to set up the scenery for the individual and group programs.

I do remember that group number Seriously , if Johnny went along with being the villian while Evan as James Bond had the chance to "do away with him" at every tour performance, well ... Johnny accepting that scenario (even while he probably didn't enjoy it), as well as helping set up scenery (!) sure seems like "team player" behavior to me, as in "somebody who works cooperatively: a member of a group who cooperates with other people and who subordinates personal interests in order to achieve a common goal."


@REO: "To tag [Johnny] as uncooperative and a trouble maker before the fact is unfair and not based on truth."




BTW, @manleywoman: Thanks for responding to my earlier queries about the interview with Johnny's agent, Tara. Do you recall who the skater was that you previously interviewed prior to eligible retirement?

[antmanb]

Well I'll get the tar you get the feathers! Imagine a 20 year old wanting to party!

JMO but I would think that if SOI had certain themes or songs or moves they did not like, they would say something and the skater would have to comply if he or she wished to be paid. This is pro skating. Johnny might protest but in the end they would be his bosses and he would either give in or get out. He never got that chance. To tag him as uncooperative and a trouble maker before the fact is unfair and not based on truth.

But it happens all the time in job interviews - people make those value judgments all the time about people when they go to hire them. If we equate the hardware to a written CV, someone else has said that every male on the cast of SOI has more hardware than Johnny, so if it boils down to skating, personality and likeability all of those things would have to be better than someone with more hardware to justify the hire. If someone has made very public PR blunders or holds controversial views (like loving fur) then as an employer wanting things to go smoothly, who would you hire?

Pain in the ass divas (like Naomi Campbell) have to be twice as good as their competition in order to get booked to offset the inevitable drama that goes with it. If you market yourself as a diva, you can't be disappointed when people don't hire you because of it (whether you actually are a diva or not).

[Justathoughtabl]

But it happens all the time in job interviews - people make those value judgments all the time about people when they go to hire them. If we equate the hardware to a written CV, someone else has said that every male on the cast of SOI has more hardware than Johnny, so if it boils down to skating, personality and likeability all of those things would have to be better than someone with more hardware to justify the hire. If someone has made very public PR blunders or holds controversial views (like loving fur) then as an employer wanting things to go smoothly, who would you hire?
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I personally think Johnny and SOI are not a good match, and I think Johnny feels the same way. I think he'd prefer to do shows in Russia and Japan and one-off shows in the U.S. But I will say that in my opinion, "Twittergate" was much worse than anything Johnny has said. I'll also say that Johnny is a great skater, since some people seem to be implying that he's not. Johnny loses his head during competitions, kind of like Jeremy Abbott. But he's capable of amazing, gorgeous skating that has left more than one person breathless. And to those who say he's quadless, put Fred Astaire in an athletic dance contest, and he'd probably lose to Gene Kelly. But he's Fred Astaire and there's no one like him.

[Jenny]

And as far as that show being a team, it's not really. They can call themselves anything they like but one's performance does not affect anothers'.

They do more group numbers, but it's the off-ice atmosphere that has always made SOI a team, or family. I don't know what it's like now, but in the 90s and into the 2000s, the cast members (and much of the crew) were good friends as well as colleagues. Tara messed up the dynamic and they learned their lesson - and that, IMO, is the number one reason why Johnny was never in SOI.

As for these constant comparisons of Johnny to Evan, I have to ask why? On the ice when directly competing against each other, sure, but why is it that Johnny fans, and apparently Johnny himself, constantly bring up Evan and his image and his non-competitive career and his clothes and his behaviour and everything else?

If Johnny is supposed to be so unique and one-of-a-kind, shouldn't he be beyond compare to Evan or anyone else?

These same old discussions are so

[REO]

What did Tara do that mesed up the balance? I wasn't arounds then.

[Justathoughtabl]

As for these constant comparisons of Johnny to Evan, I have to ask why? On the ice when directly competing against each other, sure, but why is it that Johnny fans, and apparently Johnny himself, constantly bring up Evan and his image and his non-competitive career and his clothes and his behaviour and everything else?

I don't know who you're referring to here, but as for me, the only reason i brought up Evan was because I don't understand why Johnny seems to be so picked on all the time when other skaters do questionable things (like Evan and Twittergate). I know a little bit about Evan and he's pretty well loved here, and I don't understand why Johnny doesn't get any of that love (aside from a few posters) when both of them (and probably many more skaters) are far from being saints. Johnny is always pulled out as being the trouble maker, the drama queen, the one who is not a team player. But he's just like all the others. He has his good and bad qualities. The constant bashing of Johnny gets old too.

[Jenny]

Johnny is always pulled out as being the trouble maker, the drama queen, the one who is not a team player.

Because unlike other skaters, Johnny actively promotes this image.

[Jenny]

What did Tara do that mesed up the balance? I wasn't arounds then.

Sorry for the double post - IIRC, Tara was added the tour almost automatically, as the new OGM and latest in a long line of American ice princesses. The problem was, she was still very young and AFAIK had a hard time fitting into the well-established SOI family. It sounded like a gulf was created between her and the rest of the cast because on the one hand she wasn't fitting into their little group, and on the other, she was being coddled because she was young and got star treatment as the show's headliner. She ended up bringing a friend on the tour just to keep her company. There were several meltdowns and backstage dramas along the way, and it was a rough time - and it didn't help that it was around the time the post-whack wave was starting to falter and SOI had to start looking at itself critically, when previously it had been relatively smooth sailing for them.

[manleywoman]

He was chosen to be the subject of a documentary and tv show (even Michelle did not get that attention)

Reality TV didn't exist to the degree it does now when Michelle was big. Plus . . . as much as I love her . . . her personality is way too vanilla for TV.

[manleywoman]

BTW, @manleywoman: Thanks for responding to my earlier queries about the interview with Johnny's agent, Tara. Do you recall who the skater was that you previously interviewed prior to eligible retirement?

Navarro/Bommentre. THe interview was fine because they were older, at the end of their careers, and both insightful, so they could put perspective on themselves. But after that I just made a blanket decision that I wanted to focus on retired skaters. I just don't think my style of interviewing works well with amateur skaters who are too in the myopia of their day-to-day training to necessarily look at the overall picture and where they fit into the history and progression of the sport. Plus there are plenty of outlets that interview current amateur skaters and do it well. I just know my niche.

[Southpaw]

I just know my niche.

Somebody's gotta look out for the old farts!

[antmanb]

I personally think Johnny and SOI are not a good match, and I think Johnny feels the same way. I think he'd prefer to do shows in Russia and Japan and one-off shows in the U.S. But I will say that in my opinion, "Twittergate" was much worse than anything Johnny has said. I'll also say that Johnny is a great skater, since some people seem to be implying that he's not. Johnny loses his head during competitions, kind of like Jeremy Abbott. But he's capable of amazing, gorgeous skating that has left more than one person breathless. And to those who say he's quadless, put Fred Astaire in an athletic dance contest, and he'd probably lose to Gene Kelly. But he's Fred Astaire and there's no one like him.

I agree I don't think SOI and Johnny are a good much as well so I'm always left amazed at all the belly-aching some people make about it.

I think he has been a breath taking skater and I would be the first to get tickets if he is ever in a show in the UK.

I think a discussion of quads is pretty much irrelevant at this stage because he's unlikely to compete again.