Gutted for Amber but completely not surprised - her nerves were obvious. It was soooo close until that dayum loop.
..I would assume that Japanese and Russian-spaking fans combined make at least 50% of the overall watching/paying figure skating fashionados. So if using this logic, ISU should bring back the Russian skaters and ensure they get enough medals.Eh. I think Ami, Kaori, Mone, and Alysa are more likely to have Solid Skates than either the skate of a lifetime than a complete meltdown. I honestly think Petrosian is more likely to move down rather than up. But we'll see
I do wonder if anyone at the ISU has ever thought to do a study to see how many skating fans they lose versus how many they keep with their inconsistencies in judging. I'm sure there are FSUers--probably the ones who lurk rather than the ones typing I'M DONE but still--who will genuinely not watch skating again if Petrosian wins. I'd like to know: 1. how much of a bounce skating gets after the Olympics 2. how many of those Oly fans turn into actual skating fans. which to me would be watching Nationals, Worlds, and at least one other competition so a low baseline here, versus 3. how many long term fans are lost after each cycle.
While some of y'all bringing up the numbers and judging and blah-blah are f-ing annoying, y'all are also the absolute backbone of the sport--those who pay $$$ to go to multiple events, hype up events, talk about it beyond FSU. My perception is that viewership has gone down and it is inexplicable to me why Eteri skaters are so valued as it's bad for the long-term growth of the sport, it's just not good skating, and it's not good judging.
There's no upside to the promotion of skaters like Petrosian and Gumennik. Especially as most of the "outrage" over his scoring is Russian bots botting. I checked out a lot of the profiles of those saying he wuz-robbed on ISU, The Skating Lesson, etc and the vast majority were obviously not real profiles. This is manufactured rage and those who were real people CLEARLY understood less about COP than I do and did not regularly follow skating. They couldn't even spell SATO. Even I can manage Sato.
I'll still watch skating BUT, and this is a big BUT, I stopped fitting my life around skating along time ago. If I miss a Grand Prix, oh well. If I only see one event at Euros, that's how it goes. If I totally miss 4CC, well, I needed the sleep. Hell, I didn't even know who the Canadian entry for men was until the Team Event. Eight years ago, I'd have been snarling and complaining and angry and overjoyed and ecstatic about...something. Now, it's just a fun thing I watch. Like, once upon a time, I'd have lost sleep over Ilia's skate in sympathy AND M/K's in excitement, replaying both in my head for different reasons. Now, I just close the computer and honestly, I'm done. I guess it's more healthy but it's also sad that something that used to bring me a lot of joy and was an emotional outlet is now...not.
I swear I don't know why any of these athletes (or honestly people in general) would be on social media. Is the latest TikTok dance worth it? I like kitten and puppies as much as the next person but really I don't see many useful things.
The Mao in Sochi special (though that predates the couch).
Someone tell them to stop trying to make fetch happen (the judges should also be informed of this).
Skating has always had dramas and complaints about judging. I don't think it makes a difference either way. Most people couldn't care less about it until it gets a focus every 4 years. The latest carry on about the dance result (focusing on the evil French judge) that ended up being all over my social media was really unhealthy in terms of how it presented the sport. But most of it came from the US. I didn't see it from anywhere else. Doesn't help that algorithms don't do any favours so that is what I was getting. But I did see MSM outlets also trying to drum up the drama. Thankfully there were just as many comments trying to explain how the judging worked, that it wasn't fair to single out one judge but also they preferred the French.Eh. I think Ami, Kaori, Mone, and Alysa are more likely to have Solid Skates than either the skate of a lifetime than a complete meltdown. I honestly think Petrosian is more likely to move down rather than up. But we'll see
I do wonder if anyone at the ISU has ever thought to do a study to see how many skating fans they lose versus how many they keep with their inconsistencies in judging. I'm sure there are FSUers--probably the ones who lurk rather than the ones typing I'M DONE but still--who will genuinely not watch skating again if Petrosian wins. I'd like to know: 1. how much of a bounce skating gets after the Olympics 2. how many of those Oly fans turn into actual skating fans. which to me would be watching Nationals, Worlds, and at least one other competition so a low baseline here, versus 3. how many long term fans are lost after each cycle.
While some of y'all bringing up the numbers and judging and blah-blah are f-ing annoying, y'all are also the absolute backbone of the sport--those who pay $$$ to go to multiple events, hype up events, talk about it beyond FSU. My perception is that viewership has gone down and it is inexplicable to me why Eteri skaters are so valued as it's bad for the long-term growth of the sport, it's just not good skating, and it's not good judging.
There's no upside to the promotion of skaters like Petrosian and Gumennik. Especially as most of the "outrage" over his scoring is Russian bots botting. I checked out a lot of the profiles of those saying he wuz-robbed on ISU, The Skating Lesson, etc and the vast majority were obviously not real profiles. This is manufactured rage and those who were real people CLEARLY understood less about COP than I do and did not regularly follow skating. They couldn't even spell SATO. Even I can manage Sato.
I'll still watch skating BUT, and this is a big BUT, I stopped fitting my life around skating along time ago. If I miss a Grand Prix, oh well. If I only see one event at Euros, that's how it goes. If I totally miss 4CC, well, I needed the sleep. Hell, I didn't even know who the Canadian entry for men was until the Team Event. Eight years ago, I'd have been snarling and complaining and angry and overjoyed and ecstatic about...something. Now, it's just a fun thing I watch. Like, once upon a time, I'd have lost sleep over Ilia's skate in sympathy AND M/K's in excitement, replaying both in my head for different reasons. Now, I just close the computer and honestly, I'm done. I guess it's more healthy but it's also sad that something that used to bring me a lot of joy and was an emotional outlet is now...not.
Where's the Boitano cocktail lounge when one needs it
It might be the panel cannot see clearly either with the eye or the replay of the edge because of the angle of their camera. They don't get the same video that the audience do.
Yes he should. His ancestry is Italian.
I am so impressed with Alysa's mental headspace. Where she is at now by just enjoying her sport I think she is more than making up for the early years when it wasn't fun.
Maybe it is time for overhead cameras with AI to evaluate the rotation of the jumps at the international events. If they can show the video replays of jump height and distance then surely it is possible to take out the human factor in calling jump rotation.
It’s there in Milan at the US Winter House! I was there last night and it was fabulous. And of course I drank a lot again.
This (plus the triple axel) is why I picked Ami to win in the pre-Olympic Substack Live I did. My cohost calls it the Surprise Teenager phenomenon.
Not to pile on Amber with the shoulda, woulda, couldas, but if she had powered through and sold the ending of the program a bit better, she could be in the penultimate group.
