Is Michelle Kwan underrated

[UGG]

Underrated like compared to who? She is always in the convo mix when it comes to the US Ladies GOAT. Nicole B, Tara, Sarah and Sasha and anyone after 2005 aren’t in that convo. Internationally I don’t think many believe she is the GOAT but one could possibly make a case for her without sounding like a dumb ass. It’s a far fetched argument due to her not winning the Olympics but it wouldn’t be weird to include her in the discussion as opposed to say Sotnikova. So I don’t think she is underrated at all.

 

[IceJunkie]

She probably could have maybe won 1 of either the 99 or 2002 worlds even if things had gone differently for her.

Yeah, a lot of people could’ve won worlds had things gone differently for them.

 

[jenny12]

I think Michelle Kwan is appropriately rated. Overall, I feel like people acknowledge her greatness as a skater and what she has done for the sport.

Perhaps during her time people got tired of her dominance and had some negative feelings toward her (I think perhaps there might have been some resentment about her dominance even though honestly I think she was significantly better than her competitors overall for a good chunk of her career). However, I think now it’s pretty much conventional wisdom that a Michelle Kwan was great.

 

[bcash]

I think she's maybe underrated in the rest of the world, but not in the US. Understandable since most of her iconic performances happened in domestic competitions or international comps that were held in North America.

 

[gotoschool]

I think Michelle is an impressive skater especially because of her consistency, smooth and fluid skating skills, beautiful spirals, and engaging expression, but there are a number of other skaters whose performances I would rather watch. In terms of Americans, I always thought Kristi Yamaguchi who is probably my favorite American skater was underrated by comparison and though her and Tara Lipinski retired early I never understood why Michelle Kwan was praised as so much better on forums other than she skated longer. But this is an important point. Michelle's most impressive quality is that she skated consistency well for a long time, though she often got generous scoring and made her content easier as her career went on.

Personally in terms of Americans who are mentioned far less often, I liked Kristi's musicality, grace, posture, expression and lines better though she wasn't as consistent and I don't connect with Michelle's artistry as much as the people who praised it so highly, though I respect everyone's right to have their own opinion, and her jumps were not impressive to me. except for the consistency. Also in a personal preference sense, I admit her comparison to two of my favorite skaters plays a role. I feel strongly that Lu Chen should have won Worlds in both 1995 and 1996, losing because of the artistic mark in 1996 especially when Michelle Kwan's artistry had not developed to its peak was a clear contradiction in my view considering that Lu Chen's FS performance is one of my favorites, and I think Mao should have won Worlds in 2007. So in my opinion, I think Mao and Michelle Kwan should both have won 4 World titles, instead of Michelle having 5 and Mao having 3. And relative number of World wins plays a role in being under or overrated in my view.

 

[VGThuy]

Kwan does have five world titles. Oh wait, you did get rid of one of her titles.

 

[Lemonade20]

Of all the American women’s, I always thought Michelle was the best and most well rounded one.

 

[VGThuy]

I think Kwan is underrated in a way that someone with her record and amount of success should have been an even bigger star than she already was during her time period. It's just her choice of sport in this country limited her.

 

[bardtoob]

I think Kwan is underrated in a way that someone with her record and amount of success should have been an even bigger star than she already was during her time period. It's just her choice of sport in this country limited her.

She had her own video game and celebrity Barbie doll. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. She had a TV special called "Disney Presents Michelle Kwan: Princess On Ice".

 

[VGThuy]

She had her own video game and celebrity Barbie doll. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and had a TV special called "Disney Presents Michelle Kwan: Princess On Ice".

I didn't stutter. Like I said, "someone with her record and amount of success should have been an even bigger star than she already was during her time period." I don't think she got 1/4 of the fame in America that Mao/Yuna had in their own countries....and not even close to Yuzu. She was famous in the skating world and she did transcend it, but I still think it could have been bigger. I mean Quarterbacks who never win playoffs have more fame.

 

[Coco]

How much bigger could she have gotten? I mean, she put the jacket on the President when the Olympians went to the White House.

I have to say...I'm not a Kwaniac but I did get very emotional rewatching her 2003 Worlds FS last night. It was a combination of many things, including listening to Dick and Peggy, and being nostalgic for a simpler time.

 

[VGThuy]

How much bigger could she have gotten? I mean, she put the jacket on the President when the Olympians went to the White House.

I have to say...I'm not a Kwaniac but I did get very emotional rewatching her 2003 Worlds FS last night. It was a combination of many things, including listening to Dick and Peggy, and being nostalgic for a simpler time.

Bigger. I think the reason some aren't understanding me is because they're limiting their imagination on how famous a figure skating can be in America. IMO, I'm thinking beyond that. Like I said, I think for someone with her record and level of dominance would have been bigger if she competed for a different more popular sport. It's not just her though.

 

[bardtoob]

I didn't stutter. Like I said, "someone with her record and amount of success should have been an even bigger star than she already was during her time period." I don't think she got 1/4 of the fame in America that Mao/Yuna had in their own countries....and not even close to Yuzu. She was famous in the skating world and she did transcend it, but I still think it could have been bigger. I mean Quarterbacks who never win playoffs have more fame.

She probably would have actually needed the Olympic Gold Medal to get on the Wheaties box.

How much bigger could she have gotten? I mean, she put the jacket on the President when the Olympians went to the White House.

She put the jacket on the President when the actually Ladies Olympic Figure Skating Champion went to the White House.

 

[VGThuy]

She probably would have actually needed the Olympic Gold Medal to get on the Wheaties box.

Whereas for other athletes, it was enough that they won their annual national titles to get on it, which is my point. I'm sorry, "world titles" even though only Americans compete in it.

 

[bardtoob]

I mean Quarterbacks who never win playoffs have more fame.

Whereas for other athletes, it was enough that they won their annual national titles to get on it, which is my point. I'm sorry, "world titles" even though only Americans compete in it.

And the Women's US National Soccer Team wins Olympic Gold medals and World Cups while the Men's US National Soccer Team does not qualify but still the women struggles to get equal pay.

I don't disagree.

 

[Coco]

Bigger. I think the reason some aren't understanding me is because they're limiting their imagination on how famous a figure skating can be in America. IMO, I'm thinking beyond that.

We are limited, but you are all seeing. Got it.

 

[VGThuy]

We are limited, but you are all seeing. Got it.

There's no other reaction I could have considering the responses I got which was basically "She got this, isn't that enough?" Obviously, I didn't think so. And I didn't say I was "all seeing", that's your twist.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Terry Gannon once said Michelle was the Michael Jordan of figure skating. I definitely agree she didn't get the level of attention that other sports in the US would have given her.

 

[Fiero425]

Terry Gannon once said Michelle was the Michael Jordan of figure skating. I definitely agree she didn't get the level of attention that other sports in the US would have given her.

You can say the level of competition was about the same, but over the years Michelle coasted; esp. when her comp. was rather weak! Jordan had to continue working to stay above the fray! Even when MK fell off, the judges kept giving her the benefit of the doubt and would mark her above the performance! I can go down so many examples of unbelievable scoring; even after going to the new system! The sport will continue being one of the shadiest due to the subjectivity being employed!

 

[VGThuy]

Even Ali was accused of the same.

 

[bardtoob]

Even when MK fell off, the judges kept giving her the benefit of the doubt and would mark her above the performance! I can go down so many examples of unbelievable scoring; even after going to the new system! The sport will continue being one of the shadiest due to the subjectivity being employed!

This reminds me of Witt circa 1985-1988, who had state-sponsored training for a second Olympic cycle. Of course, MK was in the first wave of American skaters that could have a simultaneous eligible and pro career to support continued training.

 

[Fiero425]

This reminds me of Witt circa 1985-1988, who had state-sponsored training for a second Olympic cycle. Of course, MK was in the first wave of American skaters that could have a simultaneous eligible and pro career to support continued training.

Rules were made to be "bent out of shape" when it concerned certain skaters! Heaven knows MK and Evgeni Plushenko could walk around with impunity and thumb their noses at admin. of the Figure Skating Intelligentsia! They were the stars at the time and knew it!

 

[Japanfan]

I think most people in the western World would know the name Michelle Kwan, including those who don't follow FS. Particularly in Canada and the US.

 

[Skibean]

I don’t feel Kwan ever coasted. People have complained about her lack of a 3/3 for years, however one of her fan pages had a tally of how many 3/3’s she actually did and it was very impressive for that time. I also think people forget she was injured longer than what her team was willing to admit. She performed very well considering the severity of her injury.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I think most people in the western World would know the name Michelle Kwan, including those who don't follow FS. Particularly in Canada and the US.

Yup and the majority of people in the US still think she won the Olympics

and the fact that the skaters who beat her were fellow Americans makes it even funnier because that should mean they ought to know better


EDIT: There was a period of time where it was popular to trash her and dismiss her accomplishments. I remember when the US ladies were at their lowest some people even blamed her claiming her dominance for so long hampered the development of younger girls or some shit like that

 

[attyfan]

Yup and the majority of people in the US still think she won the Olympics

and the fact that the skaters who beat her were fellow Americans makes it even funnier because that should mean they ought to know better

IMO, with the exception of Nancy and Tonay, Americans equate famous female skaters with OGMs. Michelle was never whacked ... and she was never involved in a conspiracy to whack one of her rivals ... so she must be an OGM.

 

[IceJunkie]

She put the jacket on the President when the actually Ladies Olympic Figure Skating Champion went to the White House.

The absolute shade of this still makes me laugh, and I always thought Tara was unfairly maligned. What was the USOC's rationale for having the ladies silver medalist do this? Just because Kwan was better liked or what?

 

[NAOTMAA]

The absolute shade of this still makes me laugh, and I always thought Tara was unfairly maligned. What was the USOC's rationale for having the ladies silver medalist do this? Just because Kwan was better liked or what?

The skier Picabo Street was supposed to do it originally but for reasons I can't remember (I think it was surgery) couldn't attend so Michelle was their second pick. I believe their fellow Olympic team members voted them the honor and not the USOC.

It was Pat Lipinski who threw a hissy fit over it and unfortunately Tara got burnt over it in public opinion. A lot of the bad things related to Tara really stem from her mother and not her personally.

 

[attyfan]

The absolute shade of this still makes me laugh, and I always thought Tara was unfairly maligned. What was the USOC's rationale for having the ladies silver medalist do this? Just because Kwan was better liked or what?

Around the time, I can't tell you how many people I knew mis-spoke themselves, confusing "Lipinski" with "Lewinsky". I've always thought that the suggestion that Michelle present the jacket originated with the White House ... Michelle's name wasn't confused with anyone else's name.

 

[NAOTMAA]

She had her own video game and celebrity Barbie doll. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. She had a TV special called "Disney Presents Michelle Kwan: Princess On Ice".

She also hosted TGIF and appeared on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She got detention from Mr Kraft for wearing her skates to school! Why the hell do I remember this