Gracie Gold set to return

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Bellanca

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"There has been no official confirmation of who is coaching her and where." :unsure:

We're currently in a stay tuned mode...
 

Jot the Dot Dot

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Good news! Cautious tho.....and hoping for the best. Always thought of Gracie as having the "Disney Princess" look, and I mean that in a positive way.
 

aftershocks

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Hey, if GG wants to be the best, or if she just wants to come back and have fun skating and competing, it's all up to her. And I mean come back because you really want to and because you love competing, not because others want you to. I'd love to see scintillating Twitter Gracie doing her thang on the ice. Forget about medals and placements and what other people think, especially the critics and the fawners. Be yo'self GG and you can accomplish whatever you desire.

Chill out the noise. Lower down the outside over-expectations volume and enjoy yourself.
 

berthesghost

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So, what’s the tea & shade on all the cut & paste “only if she wants it” comments?
Is it a dig at her skatingmom?
Is it a dig at her fan base?
Is it a conspiracy theory that USFS is pressuring a return?
A conspiracy theory based solely on “I can tell from her resting bitch face that she doesn’t want to be here”?
Is it a conspiracy theory that her favorite Barbie is held hostage by the Chinese gov and they’ll rip it’s head off if she doesn’t skate in the next olympics?
Seriously, what’s the Reddit tea on this nonsense?
 

aftershocks

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Oh eh @berthesghost, the proof is in the pudding. What are you expecting fans' reactions to be in the first place, eh? Gracie experienced a lot of ups-and-downs in skating, and she was greeted with huge over-expectations from the start of her senior career. Surely, any fan who truly cares about the person and not just the skater would wish for Gracie to be happy and self-motivated no matter what she chooses to do going forward. She took time off for a reason. Hello!

Do you find it cool to be contrarian all the time? ;)
 
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berthesghost

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Oh eh @berthesghost, the proof is in the pudding. What are you expecting fans' reactions to be in the first place, eh? Gracie experienced a lot of ups-and-downs in skating, and she was greeted with huge over-expectations from the start of her senior career. Surely, any fan who truly cares about the person and not just the skater would wish for Gracie to be happy and self-motivated no matter what she chooses to do going forward. She took time off for a reason. Hello!

Do you find it cool to be contrarian all the time? ;)
:huh:
Are we going to pretend this is a common response and not particular to Gracie? Like people are going around saying “I’m so happy Bradie is going to be at SA! But, you know, only if she wants to.” :lol:

Technically, wouldn’t contrariness be “I’m glad she’s going to Russia, but only if she doesn’t want to go!” :lol: but yeah, duh, a simple thumbs up is fine for any post one agrees with. Why bother to type all those words unless you have something different to say than what’s already been said?

As for what I personally consider a good response, this very first one seemed good to me:
Great news!! Best of luck to Gracie! :)
 
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aftershocks

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Are we going to pretend this is a common response and not particular to Gracie?

^^ Well speaking for myself, of course my response is particular to Gracie. :)

Why bother to type all those words

And that's a question you along with many of us might rightly ponder. :p

As far as the brief thumbs-up responses, cool. My response is certainly not a thumbs-down. As I said, in figure skating, the proof is always in the pudding regarding outcomes. Beyond that, even though I've never met her, I care about Gracie truly being happy. And I hope she had a chance to discover what that looks and feels like for her, during her time off.

It's hard as a fan to hold one's horses and not go 'Yippee aye yaay' in anticipation for a skater I like and support (such as Gracie) being successful. But in general, as we've learned over the years, it's better to slow those horsies down a tad and try to enjoy the process and their journeys. That goes for every discipline, because time passes so quickly and we sometimes miss actually enjoying the extraordinary moments, in the rush to count medals and tear down skaters for not living up to over-expectations. :drama:

In any case, I'll be damn glad if it ever comes to pass that U.S. ladies once again slam-bang the rest of the field mightily or at least consistently fiercely if not always winningly. :D And I'm talking about as a group, not any one or two U.S. ladies in particular. The dissing of U.S. ladies is getting so old and tired, as is the holdover expectations from the Kwan era of having an unbeatable superstar dominating the field. Let's all breathe and let the skaters have the last word, regardless of federation ineptness, figure skating politics, and fallible conflict-of-interest judges' scores.
 

aftershocks

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I have no interest in asking invasive questions.

Yeah, hopefully the media will comply with that simple courtesy, but you know the media. My reflective and supportive posts have nothing to do with desiring to ask Gracie personal questions, btw. I'm just hoping she's in a good place overall and ready to rock the kind of sass she's brung to her Twitter ripostes. :D
 
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Carolla5501

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So, what’s the tea & shade on all the cut & paste “only if she wants it” comments?
Is it a dig at her skatingmom?
Is it a dig at her fan base?
Is it a conspiracy theory that USFS is pressuring a return?
A conspiracy theory based solely on “I can tell from her resting bitch face that she doesn’t want to be here”?
Is it a conspiracy theory that her favorite Barbie is held hostage by the Chinese gov and they’ll rip it’s head off if she doesn’t skate in the next olympics?
Seriously, what’s the Reddit tea on this nonsense?


I don’t have any of those motives. I just don’t want her to come back because “I don’t know how to do anything else ". Sadly as we have seen all too often education and other opportunities are pushed aside for skating. I don’t want anyone to come back to the sport just because they don’t feel like they have other options.
 
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GreatLakesGal

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I've been wondering if Gracie might see Adam Rippon as her role model/reason for returning to the sport.

Before Gracie stopped competing, she gave an interview in which she said that the most memorable moment of her skating career was juggling on Jay Leno. She then added later that, yes, going to the Olympics was exciting too. But it was obvious to me that being on a late night talk show was what she really loved.

She also mentioned in an IceNetwork podcast that she would love to do something like having her own travel show.

So instead of coming back to skating with her eye on winning gold medals, it may be that she would just like to use competing again as a way to get herself back in the public eye and then eventually use that exposure to get sponsors and eventually a media career going for herself.

She's beautiful, reasonably articulate, and she has a "story" that many can identify with. If Adam can do it, why not Gracie?
 

DimaToe

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I hope the USFS, fandom, etc. does what they couldn’t do the first time. Back the F off and let her decide where her skating will go. Whatever the results end up being placement wise I hope that comeback to competitive skating ends up being a positive experience for her and that she realizes that being a talented skater is not the only thing she has to give. Now kick some a$$ Gracie :cheer:
 

bardtoob

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Before Gracie stopped competing, she gave an interview in which she said that the most memorable moment of her skating career was juggling on Jay Leno. She then added later that, yes, going to the Olympics was exciting too. But it was obvious to me that being on a late night talk show was what she really loved.

Maybe it was because Gracie actually skated very well at those Olympics, much better than her scores indicated. I rewatched her programs from Sochi recently, and I was rather stunned. Gracie basically got the pre-Sochi scale, like Mao, while others got inflated scores.
 
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Japanfan

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I don’t have any of those motives. I just don’t want her to come back because “I don’t know how to do anything else quote. Sadly as we have seen all too often education and other opportunities are pushed aside for skating. I don’t want anyone to come back to the sport just because they don’t feel like they have other options.

Many young skaters don't know how to do anything else because figure skating is such a narrow, demanding and all-consuming focus. From what I can tell, education more often than not takes a secondary focus. And I don't think skaters having many opportunities to really pursue other interests.

In addition, some skaters enjoy the discipline and routine of training and competing.

And lots of skaters continue to compete when they've past their peak in the sport. They find value and purpose in this, even though we as fans may not. The example that comes to mind is Elvis Stojko competing at the 2002 OG. This one stands out for me because he brought back his 1994 Olympic free skate, but didn't skate it as well as he had done in the past. The program had really lost its luster. A remember a (rather insensitive IMO) Canadian commentator asking Elvis what new thing he had brought to the sport, and Elvis being rather embarrassed by the question.

In any case, Elvis is an extreme example.

In the case of Gracie, it may well just be the case that she is not done with FS yet.

One can only wish her the best.
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

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I've been wondering if Gracie might see Adam Rippon as her role model/reason for returning to the sport.

Before Gracie stopped competing, she gave an interview in which she said that the most memorable moment of her skating career was juggling on Jay Leno. She then added later that, yes, going to the Olympics was exciting too. But it was obvious to me that being on a late night talk show was what she really loved.

She also mentioned in an IceNetwork podcast that she would love to do something like having her own travel show.

So instead of coming back to skating with her eye on winning gold medals, it may be that she would just like to use competing again as a way to get herself back in the public eye and then eventually use that exposure to get sponsors and eventually a media career going for herself.

She's beautiful, reasonably articulate, and she has a "story" that many can identify with. If Adam can do it, why not Gracie?

I saw her on Leno, too, and I agree. Gold has a natural on - screen charisma that would be perfect hosting material.
 

Jammers

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I worry for Gracie. I don't want to see her as she was in her last season when she could barely land a triple jump. It was painful watching a talented skater fall so far so quick if she can't be competitive better to retire. Nothing worse then seeing a great athlete being a shadow of their former self getting beat by mediocre skaters.
 

Japanfan

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I worry for Gracie. I don't want to see her as she was in her last season when she could barely land a triple jump. It was painful watching a talented skater fall so far so quick if she can't be competitive better to retire. Nothing worse then seeing a great athlete being a shadow of their former self getting beat by mediocre skaters.

What you describe is exactly how I perceived Elvis's comeback in 2002.

But, for a skater it could be less about outcomes and more about closure.
 
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