Yuzuru Hanyu announces his retirement from competition (updated after his press conference)

Polaris

Well-Known Member
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1,261
Well... like this indeed:
https://twitter.com/tiandadida810/status/1116550960321445888 (plus look at the replies)

Not even getting to that gorilla emoji they use for him because he did a hip hop dance break. And funnily, the actual team china athletes don't have fans who behave like this.

So yeah. Don't tell me I'm "salty". And don't tell me Yuzuru Hanyu is a perfect angel for never calling out trash like this. He markets himself in that place lol, you think he doesn't know what kind of people have started following him? Please. I do have less respect for him than some others do, and at this point, what does it matter if I say it, right? He can take these people with him. I hope they never look at competitive ice again.

If Fanyus bother your mental space this much, you should probably 1) create a separate thread to complain instead of attempting to derail a thread, 2) learn how to curate your social media, 3) get off social media altogether. Looking for bad fandom tweets on Twitter (of all platforms, lol) and then fixating about them is unhealthily obsessive behavior.

Hanyu is like the BTS of the skating world and there's a strong overlap between extreme parts of his fandom and the k-pop world (especially in recent years). The pearl clutching here is amusing and bemusing to see. It's like watching a bunch of people go on Parler and then running back to report breathlessly on what QAnon is saying and acting all scandalized.
 
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Garden Kitty

Tranquillo
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29,723
It's incredibly hard to stay at the top of a sport for so long and it must take a toll on the individual. He certainly has earned a chance to relax and skate for fun and artistic expression rather than judges' points if that's what he wants. I'm glad he intends to stay active in the sport so his fans can still see him skate.

His athletic accomplishments are many and clearly on the record, but I was also impressed by his sportsmanship (especially when he and Javier were training together and competing). The nice tributes by so many of his competitors and fellow skaters show how much they admire him as a skater and a person, and that is always a great compliment
 
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Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
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43,977
It's a crying shame that a skater so talented ended up being associated with a bunch of people who act like rabid wolves. But that's what happened. And I agree that Yuzuru should have tried to do something about it. I don't blame him for not wanting to engage directly with the worst of them -- who would? But he has an agency; he could have asked them to keep an eye out and to put out public statements that he didn't want to be associated with any bullying or vandalism. If someone were cyberbullying a teenager like Ilia Malinin or tweeting out racist slurs about Nathan Chen in my name, I'd want it stopped immediately, and I'd do everything in my power to stop it.

It's nice that Yuzuru was a good sportsman in person. He should have tried to be one in this way as well. He didn't, and so he got his name tied to this rabble. As I said, it's a shame.
 

Trillian

Well-Known Member
Messages
962
If Fanyus bother your mental space this much, you should probably 1) create a separate thread to complain instead of attempting to derail a thread, 2) learn how to curate your social media, 3) get off social media altogether. Looking for bad fandom tweets on Twitter (of all platforms, lol) and then fixating about them is unhealthily obsessive behavior.

I barely engage with any skating content on Twitter aside from a few media sources, and I’ve still seen some nasty attacks the Fanyus have posted against other skaters, people in the media, etc. The issue - with the more problematic ones - is that you don’t have to go looking for it. They’ve openly harassed people. The targets of their attacks shouldn’t have to deal with that, and the rest of us are going to have opinions about it. If they want to post whatever vile garbage they want without anyone else reacting, they can stay in their little corner of the internet, leave other skaters alone, and stop being deranged in the spaces they share with everyone else.

I don’t know how much I blame Yuzu for not speaking up publicly, though, honestly - and we don’t know what he might have done behind the scenes. On one hand, maybe he’d have some pull with them. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples of really unhinged fans turning on the object of their obsession. I suspect for the last decade or so, it hasn’t been easy to be Yuzuru Hanyu in a lot of contexts.
 

jenny12

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,239
It's a crying shame that a skater so talented ended up being associated with a bunch of people who act like rabid wolves. But that's what happened. And I agree that Yuzuru should have tried to do something about it. I don't blame him for not wanting to engage directly with the worst of them -- who would? But he has an agency; he could have asked them to keep an eye out and to put out public statements that he didn't want to be associated with any bullying or vandalism. If someone were cyberbullying a teenager like Ilia Malinin or tweeting out racist slurs about Nathan Chen in my name, I'd want it stopped immediately, and I'd do everything in my power to stop it.

It's nice that Yuzuru was a good sportsman in person. He should have tried to be one in this way as well. He didn't, and so he got his name tied to this rabble. As I said, it's a shame.

I don’t think Hanyu is to blame for what his fans do. What if he totally stays away from social media? Does Beyoncé put out statements about her fans or Taylor Swift?
 

rfisher

Let the skating begin
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73,819
He's always been a favorite and over the years has had some of the best skating performances I've seen. He's skated a very long time, but has been injured so much over the last 6 years or so, his body just can't do what he may want it to do. He'll do very well professionally and Japan will continue to love his skating. All skaters eventually retire. He could have done so after the first OGM, but he continued to push himself another 8 years and had some memorable performances. Good luck to him.
 

overedge

Mayor of Carrot City
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35,792
I don’t think Hanyu is to blame for what his fans do. What if he totally stays away from social media? Does Beyoncé put out statements about her fans or Taylor Swift?

He's not directly responsible for it, of course not. But I agree with @Wyliefan that he could have said something publicly after some of the more outrageous events, like the Hanyus defacing the fireplace in Torino. Asking fans not to do things like that on his "behalf" might have had some positive effects.
 

Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
Messages
43,977
He's not directly responsible for it, of course not. But I agree with @Wyliefan that he could have said something publicly after some of the more outrageous events, like the Hanyus defacing the fireplace in Torino. Asking fans not to do things like that on his "behalf" might have had some positive effects.
Yes, exactly.

But since people have been asking us to take the fanyu discussion out of this thread, let's go ahead and do that. I'll start a separate thread for that.
 

Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
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43,977
In the Trash Can please.
Sorry, didn't see this till I'd already made the thread. Can an admin move it?

 

Sylvia

TBD
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79,976
Sorry, didn't see this till I'd already made the thread. Can an admin move it?
You can report your own post and make the request.
2018 Olympics Short and Free
I loved Seimei at the Olympics! It's such an interesting and unique program.
It's available to watch via the Olympics YT channel :): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EfsN7vEOA

Also his 2018 Olympics SP to Chopin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7rZ4G1f0w
 

skatfan

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,372
What an amazing athlete - we will remember Hanyu for a long time. Can’t wait to see him produce a skating show!
 

Trillian

Well-Known Member
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962
What were some of your favorite/most memorable performances? Anyone can reply.

Weirdly enough, I have a really fond memory of seeing him in what must have been an early GP appearance (no idea which event) when he didn’t skate well at all. I was like, “This kid is a hot mess, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be an all-time great.”

Yuzu always had rivals and was never 100% consistent, so maybe there’s a version of the timeline in a some far-away alternate universe where he never won an Olympic gold medal. But he was always going to be unforgettable.
 

once_upon

Better off now than 4 years ago? Have TP now
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30,039
What a long career - while never my favorite skater, one cannot deny he was skilled and artistic.
I'm not one to declare GOATs and don't know that I would call him that. But he was on top for a long time.
 

Tahuu

Well-Known Member
Messages
363
Thank God we won't be hearing "I want to win. I absolutely need to win. Please support me" to stir up his fans before competitions anymore.
 

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