Nathan Chen (#Slaythan Fans) thread

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^^ Nathan has a Twitter account. If you want to send a private message, I suppose you can DM him on Twitter. I don't think at the moment that Nathan really has time to peruse through Twitter, and I would honestly advise him against doing so. Hopefully, he has friends and family who are able to take him aside for some quiet time to relax and to laugh it all off. Failure happens. You don't succeed unless you fail. Nathan will be fine, no matter what happens in the fp. Figure skating is not life or death. Some of us follow it perhaps to forget about our own troubles, which will always be waiting in the wings to challenge us to grow. I'm going to channel encouraging thoughts to Nathan, and I'll maybe send direct words of support and encouragement to Nathan when he arrives back home. :)

More than Nathan learning something, when will figure skating PTB and federations ever learn something that truly benefits the skaters and helps the sport to grow in a better direction?

You are babbling. Conciseness of thought, economy of words, and sticking to the point is your friend. I do tend to only scan your posts since I don't have time to read lengthly tomes word for word, so maybe I missed something profound up in there. As for my impression, yes, it was my impression. As in: not based on known facts or press reports. As in: opinion based on gut feel that it's not 100% nerves/pressure. Am I not entitled to voicing an opinion?

Voice away @jiejie. No one is stopping you. And I will continue sticking to whatever point, and using whatever plethora of words I please to stick my points, regardless of your sensitivities about my responding to your comments. Rattle off your own observations as much as you please. :)

We are not all going to feel the same way. You expressed your thoughts and I expressed mine. It is what it is. You can have an impression. It's easy to have impressions, which doesn't always mean anything, especially not in hindsight, and especially not when it's been obvious for some time that something's been going on with Nathan that's been unclear but speculated about, as to whether he's dealing with an undisclosed injury, etc. Like I said, lots of things happen during warm-ups which may or may not indicate how a skater will perform. And we already know how Nathan performed in the Team Event, therefore all kinds of impressions are possible, and apparently forthcoming ad nauseam... :watch:
 
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Nathan :wuzrobbed

Yes I think some of the blame for his poor performances is nerves/pressure and some on the changing up of the program too often, but I also agree that I think there may be an underlying issue here - slight injury, or something else going on. I feel like Raf keeps alluding to something but not saying it. At Nationals Raf said there were other issues besides his illness. And we all know he took out the 4 lutz there so something was going on. As to changing the program elements around - Nathan may be his own worst enemy there. If he only did two different quads he wouldn't be switching them out so often for whatever feels like he's doing better with at the moment. I do think he needs to stick with one layout.

Regardless, he's such a talent that I hope whatever is preventing him from skating his best right now (nerves, injury, equipment, whatever) can get taken care of and we can see a more confident Nathan in the future. I'll be cheering him on always! :cheer2:
 
Nathan :wuzrobbed
Regardless, he's such a talent that I hope whatever is preventing him from skating his best right now (nerves, injury, equipment, whatever) can get taken care of and we can see a more confident Nathan in the future. I'll be cheering him on always! :cheer2:

I'll add my :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2: to yours. He looked tense before his programs, and that is not his usual. The media/NBC hyped him up so much, we can only imagine the pressure and the distraction and what could be going through your head. And then Hanyu steps on the ice, knocks it out of the ballpark, gets rained upon by Winnie the Poohs, right before Nathan skates. He has no experience to draw upon, to deal with that. Maybe Raf didn't prepare him well enough, or couldn't prepare him.

I remember he said that Boitano offered to talk with him and others, before the Olympics. He said he didn't return the call because he wanted to have "his own experience." That was unfortunate, and a mistake. But, he can only go on to the next program or competition from here, and hopefully he will learn not from his falls necessarily, but from the mindset he needs going into any copetitimon, to be able to do his best work.
 
I remember he said that Boitano offered to talk with him and others, before the Olympics. He said he didn't return the call because he wanted to have "his own experience." That was unfortunate, and a mistake.

Really? I wonder if someone advised Nathan not to accept Boitano's call, such as coach, family member, USFS official. Who knows? Otherwise, why wouldn't a young athlete like Nathan simply speak to Boitano, a past Olympic champion? BB may just have wanted to offer encouragement, not lengthy competitive advice! :drama:

Phil Hersh said in his IN article that Raf tweeted a cryptic response when he queried him after the sp about what happened, Raf: "It's too complicated." Oh well, journalists and USFS can stop wondering what happened, take a step back, wipe the shock off their faces and accept some of the blame re not knowing exactly how to effectively and reasonably respond to Nathan's accomplishments at last year's U.S. Nationals and 4CCs events. Even ISU, Brian Orser, Nathan, various and sundry fs commentators, and Nathan's competitors have all struggled with how to react, describe, respond. It's been mostly jaw-dropping speechlessness and then rushing to hype almighty quad feats, without any historical perspective regarding the sport's trajectory, and absolutely no grounding in common sense for how to treat a young athlete who is definitely still very talented, but is not actually a superhero, just as Hanyu is not Pooh, nor Majestic Ice Prince, and Javi is not really 'Jean Paul Belmondo' as Dick B imagines ;), nor is Javi really Don Quixote. :lol: Dick Button has always been realistic, humble, witty and reflective about his own accomplishments, and he's also a living legend, for real.

Figure skating is always awash in superlatives, hype, and what happened five minutes ago. :COP:
 
Get a grip, now. And you call yourself a doctor? What are you looking for? A new patient to operate on?! ;)

I only practice under the table. :sekret:

Unfortunately I think this was Nathan's only chance. :( I'm not sure his knees and ankles will last another quad, notwithstanding his fabulous teknik
 
I remember he said that Boitano offered to talk with him and others, before the Olympics. He said he didn't return the call because he wanted to have "his own experience." That was unfortunate, and a mistake. But, he can only go on to the next program or competition from here, and hopefully he will learn not from his falls necessarily, but from the mindset he needs going into any competition, to be able to do his best work.

that was very considerate on Brian's part, so nice.
 
Based on some interviews he’s given I think Nathan was looking for this to be his moment and then he would ride off into the sunset to college. He has some pretty lofty academic and life goals. I don’t think he was looking for a long career. And I agree that I don’t know if his body can hold up. If he sticks around, I wonder if he will leave Arutunian.
 
I only practice under the table. :sekret:

Unfortunately I think this was Nathan's only chance. :( I'm not sure his knees and ankles will last another quad, notwithstanding his fabulous teknik

:lol: Oh well, ya know such is life. We could walk outside one day and meet with misfortune. Wake up another day and achieve our wildest dreams. Life is a journey. I don't know if everyone saw the Nathan commercial. "It's not about the quad..." That was another cool commercial, not as kinetic and catchy perhaps as the James Brown 'Bad Mother...' superbowl ad, but cool and rather wise indeed. Nathan is 18-years-old, and God willing (whether skate gods are involved or not), he's got a full life ahead of him. As Scott Hamilton said, 'This is Nathan's choice, how he will respond.' Everyone who is human in this world, meets with failure and has choices to make at crucial moments. It's a growth process. Nathan's Pyeongchang experience does not erase his accomplishments or his talents. Have we forgotten the trials and tribulations of so many Olympic athletes past and present?

Jeremy Abbott (who is still one of the greatest athletes/artists and dancers on the ice) could have won it all at 2010 Olympics, but he was in 15th place after the sp, and then he pulled up to 9th and placed 9th overall. Jeremy had some kind words for Nathan, and for all the top men in Pyeongchang on his Twitter.

Plenty of skaters will go under the knife sooner or later. As long as Nathan chooses to do what makes him happy, it doesn't matter what happens in the scheme of everything at this Olympics. Nathan will have so much to tell his grandchildren one day. And in the meantime,

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it." -- Charles R. Swindoll

"Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs
while you're climbing it"
-- Andy Rooney
 
Just stopped in to say how gutted I am for Nathan. I hope he comes out skates a'blazing just as Mao did in Sochi where she delivered the best free skate of the ladies that night, IMHO. I hope Nathan does not limit himself to one Oly quad (provided he doesn't suffer any career-ending injury). I know it's selfish of me, but he is so gifted with a talent so rare, and I want to see him grow as a skater and an artist. I still believe in him.
 
Just stopped in to say how gutted I am for Nathan. I hope he comes out skates a'blazing just as Mao did in Sochi where she delivered the best free skate of the ladies that night, IMHO. I hope Nathan does not limit himself to one Oly quad (provided he doesn't suffer any career-ending injury). I know it's selfish of me, but he is so gifted with a talent so rare, and I want to see him grow as a skater and an artist. I still believe in him.
Agreed.
 
I am heart broken for Nathan. It has been hard to watch him struggle and appear so lost. I hope he can go out tonight and have the FS he always would have wanted to have here to at least move up significantly in the standings and end the Olympics on a positive note for him. And I hope his family and the other skaters are there for him so he can come back from this. He has said in several interviews in the past few months that he wants to continue past this year so I hope that is still true. I still believe in him too!
 
Just stopped in to say how gutted I am for Nathan. I hope he comes out skates a'blazing just as Mao did in Sochi where she delivered the best free skate of the ladies that night, IMHO. I hope Nathan does not limit himself to one Oly quad (provided he doesn't suffer any career-ending injury). I know it's selfish of me, but he is so gifted with a talent so rare, and I want to see him grow as a skater and an artist. I still believe in him.
Oh gosh, absolutely, I believe in him 100%. My biggest concern for Nathan at this very point in time, is that he gets the hell out of PyeongChang with his mental health intact and that there is proper support for him when he gets home. Not so he can go another quad, but so that he can move on personally. I am sure all will be well. But I am a bit of an annoying motherly over reactor, though, LOL, and this is all I can think about right now. I will be screaming from Canada for him tonight!!
 
My heart goes out to Nathan. I think that rough skate in the team short shook his confidence. I had this sick feeling he wasn't going to be able to shake it off for the individuals. He seemed almost defeated to me, even in those celebratory pics with the rest of team after winning the bronze medal. I wonder if his team short performance still weighed heavily on his mind when he took the ice last night.

It's so much easier to have a great skate when there are no expectations placed on your shoulders. Those of us who've followed the sport for years have seen it happen time and again.

I think Michael Weiss said it best in the following tweet:

https://twitter.com/MichaelWeiss2/status/964365388925452293
 
Oh gosh, absolutely, I believe in him 100%. My biggest concern for Nathan at this very point in time, is that he gets the hell out of PyeongChang with his mental health intact and that there is proper support for him when he gets home. Not so he can go another quad, but so that he can move on personally. I am sure all will be well. But I am a bit of an annoying motherly over reactor, though, LOL, and this is all I can think about right now. I will be screaming from Canada for him tonight!!

Everyone needs a loving, supportive mom even if she "overreacts" sometimes. It's in the DNA, You can't fight it. We wouldn't want any other way:lol:
 
My heart goes out to Nathan. I think that rough skate in the team short shook his confidence. I had this sick feeling he wasn't going to be able to shake it off for the individuals. He seemed almost defeated to me, even in those celebratory pics with the rest of team after winning the bronze medal. I wonder if his team short performance still weighed heavily on his mind when he took the ice last night.

It's so much easier to have a great skate when there are no expectations placed on your shoulders. Those of us who've followed the sport for years have seen it happen time and again.

I think Michael Weiss said it best in the following tweet:

https://twitter.com/MichaelWeiss2/status/964365388925452293

It already has 1.4 million "likes." I hope Nathan knows how beloved he is.
 
Jackie Wong of Rocker Skating posted just posted minutes ago that Nathan's run-through this AM was mostly smooth. He tripled out of the Lutz and Flip, but landed a 4F-3T later. He landed the 2 4Ts and a 4S w/ a step-out in the 2nd half of the run-through program. But, make of that what you will ......

Raf's 'It's complicated' comment to Hersh really makes me wonder.
 
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