DWTS S26: All-Athletes Edition! (i.e. the DWTS thread for NOT yammering about what happened 24 years ago)

[jeffisjeff]

I haven't been watching DWTS, and have no idea how they handled their face-off, but...

I have always thought that seeding in tournaments, as well as early round byes, were ways to reward performance in the regular season/preliminary rounds. If team A ends the regular season/preliminary round with a better record than team B, they earn themselves a better seeding in the tournament. That seems quite fair to me - why should teams A and B be treated equally when one has performed better than the other? It might have the side benefit of (typically) keeping team A alive in the tournament longer, but I don't think that is the intent.

 

[taf2002]

I don't think Tonya should be on the show. No one cares what I think. But if I were matching teams for competition, I would match them by general ability level. If Mirai and Adam are the two best dancers, matching them against anyone but each other would be pretty unfair.

I don't see it that way. If you match 1 & 2, then 2 gets eliminated before 3 & 4. Adam could have been matched against Chris or Josh who had both had some pretty good dances. And are much hotter than Adam.

It doesn't really matter, I knew Mirai was toast going in, esp after her 1st dance. Her scores plus a lot of nitpicky remarks were right out of the DWTS playbook.

 

[berthesghost]

I’m not your bitch, so don’t put your shit on me.

and what could make a DWTS thread more complete than a madonna reference!

 

[NinjaTurtles]

NCAA style tournament is being held up as a bastion of fairness now? It's scrutinized every year for it's rigged-ness against smaller schools. The choice of teams that get to play is made by a cabal that only provide semi-transparency into the factors that are reviewed for decision making -and several of those factors are subjective, not stats.

 

[Prancer]

NCAA style tournament is being held up as a bastion of fairness now? It's scrutinized every year for it's rigged-ness against smaller schools. The choice of teams that gets to play is made by a cabal that only provide semi-transparency into the factors that are reviewed for decision making -and several of those factors are subjective, not stats.

But it's a real sport!

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Sasha on the campaign trail for Tonya. https://www.usmagazine.com/entertai...tonya-harding-get-a-second-chance-at-skating/

I don't tend to watch DWTS, but I caught Adam, Mirai, and Tonya's performances on Monday. Decided to read through this thread and had a mini heart attack at your post; thought you meant Cohen at first.

 

[Susan1]

I don't tend to watch DWTS, but I caught Adam, Mirai, and Tonya's performances on Monday. Decided to read through this thread and had a mini heart attack at your post; thought you meant Cohen at first.

Funny, I do watch DWTS, but that's the first thing that crossed my mind too! Maybe because she was just mentioned in a thread about a picture with James Comey.

But, I just want to say - Only on a figure skating forum could the wuzrobbed controversy happen over a 4 week reality show dance competition. It's not the Olympic figure skating trials!

Do you think they are arguing on the baseball and softball forums somewhere over eliminations or fairness of a dance competition? Maybe who makes the better dancer, a baseball or a softball player?

 

[VGThuy]

Do you think they are arguing on the baseball and softball forums somewhere over eliminations or fairness of a dance competition? Maybe who makes the better dancer, a baseball or a softball player?

Yes...if that person was a fan fave on those forums.

 

[LarrySK8]

You have a real need to try to put others on this forum down as you do it constantly despite the fact that you exhibit the same behaviors that you accuse everybody else of doing. I don’t know how you conduct yourself with your loved ones at home, but I’m not going to play your game as I’m not your bitch, so don’t put your shit on me.

No, you just don't like your ideas to be called stupid. Your talk about tournament and team sports is totally idiotic. Higher seeded teams play lower seeded teams in the structure because they earned it - not to 'make sure the top seeded teams get in' or to create a script for sport. Your conspiracy idiocy is stupid.

And when you divulge your thoughts on a public forum - you are open to being anyone's bitch - so keep your childish, stupid potty mouth to yourself, Stupid!

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Everyone has an opinion. Imo, it was rigged to ensure Tonya would be in that final. Anyway, I'm glad that at least Mirai and Alan will be there for the final show along with the others who were eliminated in order to dance a final dance and/or group number.

I hope Mirai and the others all got paid well $$!! I remember reading a breakdown, during Shawn Johnson's stint, of what the competitors got paid for the first day and so on if they progressed to the next round but that was for a regular season. No idea what it would be for this truncated athlete's version.

I am sure Sasha is sincere in his defense of Tonya, but even if he weren't, what was he going to do? Refuse to dance with her? I don't think the Pros have a choice in who they will be partnered with and it would not look good (to the producers especially) if Sasha had gone rogue and trash talked Tonya. He wouldn't have a job for very long. I'm guessing any one who refused might not have been allowed to compete again and sent back to the corp of dancers, if they were not fired outright.

 

[VGThuy]

No, you just don't like your ideas to be called stupid. Your talk about tournament and team sports is totally idiotic. Higher seeded teams play lower seeded teams in the structure because they earned it - not to 'make sure the top seeded teams get in' or to create a script for sport. Your conspiracy idiocy is stupid.

But obviously there’s a reason and rationale to do it that way and it just so happens to be a way in which top seeds are not facing each other too early. Anyway, this is sort of moot as the DWTS pair offs, as thoroughly explained to me by RoseRed, is not an elimination tournament at all and is a wholly different scheme.

And when you divulge your thoughts on a public forum - you are open to being anyone's bitch - so keep your childish, stupid potty mouth to yourself, Stupid!

I’m pretty sure this public forum also has rules in place to prevent anybody being being subjected to that sort of verbal abuse.

I’m sure if we took a poll, my admittedly potty language would be seen as less offensive as your average post, and doesn’t shock the conscience of this forum as much as yours do.

 

[vgerdes]

Sasha was a competitive ballroom dancer in the dance world, correct? They have competitions and world championships just like in skating, correct? I wonder how he would feel about one of his competitors being involved in a plot to injure his partner to take them out of the most prized event in ballroom dancing, and how willing he would say that all of the competitive ballroom dancers should just give the poor dear a second chance.Perhaps he should have done a little research so he could see how much lying and twisting of the truth Tonya still does to this day. They can't even get thru an episode of freaking DWTS without twisting the truth. Does he actually believe that I, Tonya was a true story? Absolutely nothing was "taken away from her".

This is where Sasha lost me. At first I thought it was kind of sweet how he was supporting her. But some of his comments have led me to think that he simply doesn't know the whole story - that or he's totally drinking the Tonya koolaid. I would actually support a Tonya redemption story if she wasn't still sobbing about how she was robbed of her skating career some 24 years later. She's disingenuous to say the least, and it grates.

 

[screech]

And even if the dance off hadn't happened, Tonya could still have come in ahead of Mirai if she had enough of a lead in votes.

Heading into the dance off, when Mirai was ahead in points, Tonya needed 10,000 points more than Mirai to beat her overall. Considering how many people usually vote for DWTS, and that each person could vote multiple times, it doesn't seem unreasonable. Especially since I bet Adam and Mirai were splitting some votes.

 

[LarrySK8]

I’m pretty sure this public forum also has rules in place to prevent anybody being being subjected to that sort of verbal abuse.

I’m sure if we took a poll, my admittedly potty language would be seen as less offensive as your average post, and doesn’t shock the conscience of this forum as much as yours do.

Are you kidding? You are trying to invoke an imagined popularity contest to defend stupid comments about sports and invoke group think? You type reams of pretentious crap that are barely worth scanning, dropping idiot bombs so frequently that you should be ignored.

Done!

 

[Prancer]

Larry, dear, do you need a few days off to, I dunno, get a grip?

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting from earlier:

Press release for the May 21st finale: https://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/shows/dancing-with-the-stars-athletes/episodes/episode-2604-1/

Each couple will dance to the following songs (in alphabetical order):

Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson – Jazz – “Anything You Can Do” from “Annie Get Your Gun” – The new Broadway cast recording

Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess – Foxtrot – “Conqueror” by “Empire” cast, featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett

Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber – Viennese Waltz – “The Time of My Life” by David Cook

Each couple will dance freestyle to the following songs (in alphabetical order):

Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson – “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” by DJ Kass

Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess – “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber – “I Will Survive” by The Pussycat Dolls

 

[4rkidz]

Wow you can tell it’s the off season lol .. the reality is the best dancers didn’t make it into the final but the ones who the audience related to or felt emotions for .. whether it be by producer manipulation or not that folks I s reality TV. In thr Land of Trump I would expect nothing less

 

[bardtoob]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Carrie Anne told Mirai's mom directly that Mirai did well publicly because Carrie Anne knew the deck was stacked against Mirai and Carrie wanted to dismiss any claim that could be held over Mirai to the effect that "she was not good enough".

 

[MRani]

Press release for the May 21st finale: https://www.disneyabcpress.com/abc/shows/dancing-with-the-stars-athletes/episodes/episode-2604-1/

Each couple will dance to the following songs (in alphabetical order):

Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson – Jazz – “Anything You Can Do” from “Annie Get Your Gun” – The new Broadway cast recording

Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess – Foxtrot – “Conqueror” by “Empire” cast, featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett

Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber – Viennese Waltz – “The Time of My Life” by David Cook

Each couple will dance freestyle to the following songs (in alphabetical order):

Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson – “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” by DJ Kass

Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess – “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber – “I Will Survive” by The Pussycat Dolls

OMG. Super excited for this music choice. That could be epic.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Carrie Anne told Mirai's mom directly that Mirai did well publicly because Carrie Anne knew the deck was stacked against Mirai and Carrie wanted to dismiss any claim that could be held over Mirai to the effect that "she was not good enough".

I had forgotten about that! And I think you are right.

 

[nimi]

Some DWTS fluff on the Team USA YT channel: Which Olympic Sport Would "Dancing with the Stars" Pros Do?

Also, Adam & Jenna did a DWTS FB live thing. I'm not on FB and I can't figure out how to post a direct link to the archived video there, but it's also viewable on YT.

ETA: Not sure if this vid has already been posted in this thread... but anyway, Mirai Nagasu Lived Her Best Life On "Dancing With The Stars"

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Wow you can tell it’s the off season lol .. the reality is the best dancers didn’t make it into the final but the ones who the audience related to or felt emotions for .. whether it be by producer manipulation or not that folks I s reality TV. In thr Land of Trump I would expect nothing less

Part of the bread and circuses - I marvel that any of you are really surprised.

The 1976 movie "Network" understated by a factor of hundreds the absurdity (my polite term) of what is put out in terms of media and "reality" as "entertainment" or "news" today.

 

[just tuned in]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Carrie Anne told Mirai's mom directly that Mirai did well publicly because Carrie Anne knew the deck was stacked against Mirai and Carrie wanted to dismiss any claim that could be held over Mirai to the effect that "she was not good enough".

I agree, and I wonder what is going to happen with the Junior version -- are they going to dismiss children for the sake of drama, not caring about their feelings or even accurate assessments of their ability?

 

[miav9]

Cross-posting from the Adam good news thread - The DWTS Instagram posted some rehearsal photos of Adam, Jenna, and some troupe gals with (literal) fans: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi7TYYTDlUJ/

I think this will be for their freestyle? I'm so excited for this fan choreography haha

 

[screech]

Cross-posting from the Adam good news thread - The DWTS Instagram posted some rehearsal photos of Adam, Jenna, and some troupe gals with (literal) fans: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi7TYYTDlUJ/

I think this will be for their freestyle? I'm so excited for this fan choreography haha

Last time a skater used props, it didn't work out so well... And hilariously, when they had a re-do of the same performance in the finale, they made it through that part but a prop broke at a different point.
That routine by Charlie and Sharna is still one of my all time favourite DWTS dances, despite the prop malfunction(s). Hopefully the props work better for Adam!

 

[DimaToe]

I feel like the skating fandom is Frodo and Nagasu is the ring. She was not robbed or anything like that, even if TPTB manipulated the results at the end of the day someone will relate more easily to Tonya than Mirai, were the target audience 16 year olds it might be a different story but it just feels like a rehash of the last decade in skating “Mirai wuzrobbed blah blah”

 

[bardtoob]

I feel like the skating fandom is Frodo and Nagasu is the ring. She was not robbed or anything like that, even if TPTB manipulated the results at the end of the day someone will relate more easily to Tonya than Mirai, were the target audience 16 year olds it might be a different story but it just feels like a rehash of the last decade in skating “Mirai wuzrobbed blah blah”

Tonya wuzrobbed.

Mirai wuzrobbed.

I do prefer how Mirai responded to being wuzrobbed over Tonya's response to being wuzrobbed.

 

[mrr50]

Tonya cries with ease. If anyone remembers the 1994 Olympic long program with Tonya crying about her skate lace and poor Josee Chouinard getting jerked out of warm-up to go on the ice.

 

[VGThuy]

I think you mean the average DWTS watcher may relate to Tonya more than Mirai. The comment that people will automatically relate to Tonya more than Mirai seems loaded to me. It doesn’t matter because more people apparently voted for Tonya, but just making that comment sort of brings out Mirai’s “otherness” to the forefront.

 

[berthesghost]

Yes, but I still don’t quite get who these people are anyways. Who goes “oh, a former criminal who lies constantly and blames others for her own failings. That sounds just like me!” ?