"Legacy on Ice" benefit show in D.C. (March 2, 2025) and ways to help those affected by the air tragedy over the Potomac River

That was a very emotional show and I hope the participants gained some closure and healing. I definitely sobbed during a few of the performances, especially max with the scob skaters.

Regarding the prayer, as someone who is not Christian I found it incredibly inappropriate. I actually went back and listened so that I wasn’t just mad in the heat of the moment. Faith and spirituality is beautiful, and especially the community it brings together. It’s why the Ava Maria stuff does not bother me. That was the skaters expressing their own faith with no expectation that others need to also believe the same.

The issue with Scott’s prayer is that it is extremely non inclusive. He starts it with “our lord, our god, our savior” “to be absent with the body is to be present with the lord” he used a lot of we statements and that again makes the assumption that a 20,000 person arena shares his beliefs. It’s just disrespectful. it also just went on way too long. It also makes assumptions that all the families and people in mourning share his beliefs. There’s ways of showing faith that does not proselytize.
 
Tinycities said:
Except the song hallelujah by Leonard cohen, which is what was sung today, is about sex, not religion.
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Hallelujah! ;)

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Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is Not a Nice Song

Let’s go over this again, shall we? It has been brought to my attention that Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was either sung or played at the Republican National Convention today. You might …
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ETA
Tinycities said:
I’m convinced people have never read the lyrics, it’s literally about an orgasm ?
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And other things, mostly not nice. See above.

This reminds me of when church choirs sing Hozer's "Take me to Church"
 
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According to Cohen, it was a breakup song infused with Biblical imagery. And for that matter Dance Me to the End of Love derives from Auschwitz, which is why Green/Parsons FD disturbs me despite its beauty.

But it’s the age-old debate between creator’s intent and audience interpretation.

And by the way, I noticed that several people around me did not bow their heads, close their eyes or look touched by Scott’s prayer, it was definitely the wrong note. The rest of the show was done so well despite some glitches and less than perfect line-reading. And my eyes still hurt.
 
Tinycities said:
The issue with Scott’s prayer is that it is extremely non inclusive. He starts it with “our lord, our god, our savior” “to be absent with the body is to be present with the lord” he used a lot of we statements and that again makes the assumption that a 20,000 person arena shares his beliefs. It’s just disrespectful. it also just went on way too long. It also makes assumptions that all the families and people in mourning share his beliefs. There’s ways of showing faith that does not proselytize.
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The proselytizing is the point though! I'm exvangelical and I wouldn't have really cared if Scott talked about HIS savior that HE believes in, but when he says "our" he's more than assuming that the arena shares his beliefs, it's a statement that everyone in the arena should believe in his truth, because it is the truth.

Tinycities said:
Except the song hallelujah by Leonard cohen, which is what was sung today, is about sex, not religion.
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Rukia said:
i will not rest until people understand hallelujah is a sex song :soapbox:
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MacMadame said:
This reminds me of when church choirs sing Hozer's "Take me to Church"
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I was going to mention that Hallelujah is like the musical father of Hozier's whole vibe but @MacMadame got to it first!
 
Tinycities said:
Except the song hallelujah by Leonard cohen, which is what was sung today, is about sex, not religion.
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The lyrics draw upon verses from the Second Book of Samuel (the story of David and Bathsheba) and the Book of Judges (Samson and Delilah). If you want to make the argument that the Scriptures are about sex, not religion, please go right ahead.
 
I wasn't able to watch the live event but I just finished watching the replay and thought they did a wonderful job with this show. Peacock would gain a lot of my respect for keeping this replay up longer than their normal day or two so that anyone else who wasn't able to see it live could watch the replay. It was such a special show and I loved seeing the huge crowd there. I lost track of how many times I was moved to tears by all the tributes but Max's sobbing absolutely broke me. I have no idea how he skated that gorgeous program and didn't break down until the very end. I'm SO happy that he didn't have to leave the ice by himself and the program he did with Jimmy, Elisa, and Misha was absolutely lovely. :wuzrobbed

The thing that kept making me cry was how visibly emotional most of the performers were once they completed their programs (and Johnny's intro...this has really hit him hard). Their emotions coming out was just heartbreaking....you could tell how much it meant to them that they were able to be part of this show. I'm glad that they had those therapy dogs available for everyone backstage. :fragile:
 
Wyliefan said:
I was hoping Paul might be skating when I heard he was going to be here. But then I don't know how much actual skating he's been able to do since his heart attack.
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Paul has been coaching and participating in workshops around the country. He’s in great shape these days. Perhaps he hasn’t performed full exhibition numbers in a while, but thankfully, he is now very healthy.
 
I got to see the event live and it was amazing. The arena was absolutely packed, it looked like a complete sell out (or very close to it).

As everyone said, Max's skate was incredible - such an impressive tribute. And the group number with him, Jimmy, Alisha, and Misha was wonderful.

Some other things that stood out:
  • Amber's program was stunning - she skates so much faster than the other women and really shines at these emotional, expressive skates
  • Camden was so impressive - I had never seen him in person before - very fast, expressive, captivating skater in a way that doesn't truly come across on TV
  • Very impressive that Isabeau and Andrew skated their short programs with very high levels of technical content and Andrew's program in particular is tremendous
  • Ilia is such a rock star. His program was a very different tone than the others but was still spectacular. He is truly a star and seems really able to live up to the very high expectations on him
  • I thought all of the group numbers were compelling - in my experience, these are usually boring or seem thrown together at other shows but these were all thoughtful and interesting

I'm sure it would be impossible to organize given schedules and the fact that Monumental donated the arena usage, but I would love to see this event go on a mini tour, even if only to Boston and Wichita. Though perhaps the one time only nature of the event is what led to such strong attendance from the skaters.

It was a wonderful show and I'm grateful for everyone who performed in and contributed to the event.
 
DreamSkates said:
That would have been difficult given so many faiths and those not of a religious faith. People who could accept Scott's prayer, did. People who didn't, likely didn't bow their head and were respectful. This is a country with freedom of speech and freedom of religion. We can respect everyone especially during a time of mourning during which people tend to turn toward their God, or some type of hope.
And the song that followed his prayer was Imagine by John Lennon, including imagine there is no heaven, hell or religion. I didn't get upset about that. It represented the beliefs of some people and the show was designed to represent as many people as possible.
You can reply with your thoughts, with no debate from me.
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It's actually not that difficult to create an interfaith prayer. My partner, who is a minister, does it every year for the Remembrance Day Service in our city. It is unlikely that an evangelical could create this type prayer, though -- or would want to -- because it would go against evangelicals' belief that their faith is the truth, and all other faiths are thus in error. Evangelicals may also see death as a chance to convert others as they believe in life after death, and/or an opportunity to reassure people that their loved ones are in heaven (if they had been "born again").
 
For years I've missed skating at MCI Center/Verizon Center/Capitol One arena. It is so sad that this is what brought it back, but it was a beautiful event. It was stunning to see the completely sold out crowd and to see the incredible involvement of skaters from all eras for the show.
 
From the article:

The idea for the event started with Ari Zakarian, Malinin’s agent. He was in Wichita for nationals but had flown to Estonia for European Nationals immediately afterward.
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At the end of the show, I saw Ari on the ice gathering the skaters for a group picture, so I figured he had a role in putting the show together. And I assume the group with the lighted costumes was one of the ensembles from his shows.
 
I think whatever small disconnects there may have been in tone during the event were due to it being kind of a hybrid. It was basically a benefit show, but it was also a memorial happening very soon after the accident and it was going to be hard to do really. I think they did a wonderful job and its incredible that they were able to do this in such short a time and that the skating community and skating fan community showed such amazing support.

My only complaint about Hallelujah is that now its stuck in my head. :lol: My only other complaint was that since I assume they wanted to have the audience included in the event, which made sense, they had spotlights on the audience throughout the show and one was right in my eyes. :drama: But that's minor.
 
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