Nathan Chen (#Slaythan Fans) thread

[Skittl1321]

I wish the Olympics did mini medals though.

 

[Allskate]

Agreed. I'd rather lose 4th by 0.42 than lose a medal by 0.42.

He doesn't seem to be thinking about the little things that might have earned him .42. Based on the interview they just did with him, I don't think being fifth makes it any easier for him. He's "what iffing" big time. What if he had landed just the lutz in the short? What if he had landed just the combo in the short? He was asking a lot of what ifs. That short program will haunt him. It probably also will drive him.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Agreed. I'd rather lose 4th by 0.42 than lose a medal by 0.42.

exactly! can you imagine conversation:

Nathan: I finished 5th at the Olympics
anonymous person: That's fantastic!

Nathan: I finished 4th at the Olympics
anonymous person: fantastic, but damn you were so close to a medal!

I'd rather have the first

 

[Allskate]

It also spares us of years of FSU and .

No, it won't. For one thing, drama thrives here! Also, this isn't the thread for it, but the PCS debate is just going to intensify after tonight, and that will include Nathan's PCS scores relative to some of the other PCS scores.

 

[NAOTMAA]

He doesn't seem to be thinking about the little things that might have earned him .42. Based on the interview they just did with him, I don't think being fifth makes it any easier for him. He's "what iffing" big time. What if he had landed just the lutz in the short? What if he had landed just the combo in the short? He was asking a lot of what ifs. That short program will haunt him. It probably also will drive him.

one hopes not too much! all those quads, and from the way I hear he practices, he may not last the four years to get a second chance

I do hope he's strong enough because "what iffing" can destroy you as well and he didn't really handle the pressure that well in the beginning

 

[Allskate]

I do hope he's strong enough because "what iffing" can destroy you as well and he didn't really handle the pressure that well in the beginning

We'll see. Think about Javi, the last Olympics, and then the following four years and tonight. I saw an interview with him today, and he said that there's no way he could be where he is today without the last four years of experience. I think Nathan will learn from this Olympics. Tara Lipinski had a horrible short program at her first Worlds. She came back and skated a clean long. And the next year she won Worlds. And then the next year she won the Olympics.

 

[lala]

He won the FS with 9 points! If he had a little bit better SP he can win... But congratulations to him! He is very young!

 

[NAOTMAA]

We'll see. Think about Javi, the last Olympics, and then the following four years and tonight. I saw an interview with him today, and he said that there's no way he could be where he is today without the last four years of experience. I think Nathan will learn from this Olympics. Tara Lipinski had a horrible short program at her first Worlds. She came back and skated a clean long. And the next year she won Worlds. And then the next year she won the Olympics.

true, but you need the right team around you too and for some reason, after seeing all his interaction with Ashley and press interviews, I don't completely trust Rafael to help make that happen

Frankly, I think his inexperience showed as much as Nathan's because his managing this season was a bit sloppy and it hurt Nathan a lot in the end. I kind of wish he stayed with Marina Zueva

 

[Interludes]

Nathan may be "what iffing" but it's hard to know if he had been higher in the SP, would he have been able to pull out a performance like that. What he did tonight though - he took back the story. The story isn't going to be about him choking, or bombing, etc. Sure, there will be some of those what if's or could have been's - but it's now also going to be about his resilience and courage under fire. I didn't expect much of anything after watching his practice this morning, he just looked defeated. And I would have understood if he had gone out there and just gone through the motions. But doing what he did tonight - that's the kind of performance that molds someone. The look on his face after he lands his last jump is something. Sure, a medal would have been amazing - but I hope he's super proud of what he did out there. I know I am.

 

[Bellanca]

Now that's what you call a comeback! Nice job, Nathan!

 

[Firedancer]

Wow! Congratulations to Nathan for winning the FS and for an amazing comeback! I am so happy for him that he was able to end his Olympics this way!!

 

[Frida80]

Scott Hamilton tweeted to Nathan that both he and Brian Botano were both fifth in their first Olympics. I’d say that’s a good sign.

 

[MRani]

So proud and happy for Nathan. He can leave these Games with his head held high. Congratulations for winning the free skate at the Olympics!!

 

[paskatefan]

Following the heartbreak of his short program, I said to my husband, "I hope Nathan will do a "Mao Asada," & that's exactly what he did! So proud of you, Nathan!

 

[nimi]

If they ever make a Lifetime movie about Nathan, I hope it will feature a scene where dejected Nathan scrolls through his twitter mentions before his FS, comes across this tweet sent by Uncle Dick, The Grand Old Olympic Champion Wise Old Man:

Hey Nathan Chen Beyonce fell off the stage at a concert and got right back up, so can you.

*cue swelling music & shot of Nathan raising his head, clenching his jaw, gazing into the distance with a determined look in his eyes*

I don't care if this never actually happened, it just needs to happen on screen!

 

[rosewood]

Following the heartbreak of his short program, I said to my husband, "I hope Nathan will do a "Mao Asada," & that's exactly what he did! So proud of you, Nathan!

And Mao updated her instagram saying

そして、、、ネイサン️最高の演技ができて良かった️️
たくさんの感動をありがとう️️️

(my rough translation)
And...Nathan! I'm glad you could show your best skate!!
Thanks a lot. That was so moving!!!

_____
Happy to see Nathan's redemption! I'm proud of you!

 

[Interludes]

If you guys get to see Kurt Browning's call of Nathan's FS, you should try to watch it. He calls it one of the emotional Olympic comeback stories in history - no doubt reliving his own Olympic experience as he watched it. So, so proud of him.

 

[nguyhm]

And Mao updated her instagram saying

(my rough translation)
And...Nathan! I'm glad you could show your best skate!!
Thanks a lot. That was so moving!!!

_____
Happy to see Nathan's redemption! I'm proud of you!

I'm crying.... No you're crying.... They're both my heroes and I miss Mao

 

[DreamSkates]

Blog post by Sandra Bezic

http://smb-creative.tumblr.com/post/170952295625/hype

So well stated.
And then, I have to wonder why so many changes along the way - like she said, no muscle memory to help hold him up especially with his first skate on Olympic ice. That goes back to the coach. I'll stop there, except that Nathan was able to put down an exemplary free skate and the highest technical score of the night.

 

[DreamSkates]

Raf’s comment makes me wonder as well.

Maybe Raf made it too "complicated" by changing up the programs so much. Too much for Olympic ice.

 

[Firedancer]

If you guys get to see Kurt Browning's call of Nathan's FS, you should try to watch it. He calls it one of the emotional Olympic comeback stories in history - no doubt reliving his own Olympic experience as he watched it. So, so proud of him.

I would love to see this if any has a link?

 

[chapis]

I have to say that those costumes were a HUGE mistake, in the Olympics no less. He needs to get a restriction order against Vera.

 

[Rafter]

The LP costume wasn’t bad. It was the SP that was awful.

But what redemption for Chen in the LP. Unreal skate! I know the pressure was off and he had nothing to lose but WOW. Can’t wait to see what he does next.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Man how hard this is,.... he won the Free skate by like 10 POINTS!!

If only he hadnt buried himself so much in SP he would be OLY CHAMP!!!!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I have to say that those costumes were a HUGE mistake, in the Olympics no less. He needs to get a restriction order against Vera.

I actually preferred BOTH these costumes... modern, clean, sophisticated...

My problem is that each time out his SP costume and Free costume are basically the same...

Its kinda like Zag coming out in a tutu for every single thing...

His costumes by Vera are ALWAYS way too similar to one another..

but as stand alone they are very nice!!!!!!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

17th in the SP

FIRST in the free..

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DreamSkates]

Really?

Yes, really, that is exactly what Nathan said but as you added, others could have encouraged him not to return the call. Doesn't make sense to me given Nathan had 0 experience at the Olympics. But, this is all history now, time to move on to Worlds.

 

[Dobre]

I think second guessing is what people do when you have a rough skate, but let's be fair. Nathan, himself, was in a hurry to win. He said so before he ever started competing in seniors. Non-skating fans weren't paying attention to him back then, but he wanted the attention & the buzz. And who can blame him when setting out to compete against the likes of Hanyu/Fernandez/Chan? (It's on the sport that reputation is required in order to grab the PCS marks necessary to compete with established medalists. And it's on the sport that younger athletes have to compete more in order to become established). And Nathan, himself, changes his programs. Rafael does as well, but I look at his other skaters and don't see a pattern anything like Nathan's. You have one bad competition, and people start blaming the coach.

I wish Rafael could have seen Marina as a form of support. I think that working together, she could have saved the details in that LP. Not all of them, but I think she would have saved some of them. But she couldn't get Patrick to practice and put in a normal season or save Gracie from her personal/emotional/family issues. Coaches can only do so much. We all know Rafael cares about Nathan and gave him the best opportunities and skills he could along this journey.

But this was a learning experience for Nathan. He was in a hurry to be a contender, and by golly he made himself one. Against the likes of men who have been competing and raking in gold medals for years. Men whom--we all know--did not skate so hot four years ago or while earning a few of those titles. In the end, Jin & Shoma competed better. And, in the end, it may have come down to one more Worlds experience--an experience Nathan earned but could not take part in. Or it may have come down to sheer luck with regards to the numbers against Jin. And to Shoma ultimately coming in with a bit less pressure as #2 from his country. (He looked to feel plenty of pressure while Hanyu was out during the season). Shoma competed just as long and full a season as Nathan did, and he walked away with a medal. But, in the end, only Nathan bested Hanyu in any portion of this competition and by quite a bit at that. Nathan came in with the ability and the programs to get the job done. They weren't enough to get through the nerves in the SP, but there is no replacement for experience. Especially Olympic experience.

Nathan grabbed a ton of it here.

 

[DreamSkates]

I have to say that those costumes were a HUGE mistake, in the Olympics no less. He needs to get a restriction order against Vera.

I wondered why he changed from what he wore at Nationals. Those were much better designs in comparison.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

^^^ Really? You saw no need to get rid of the zipper on steroids??? lol

I thought the costumes he wore here were streamlined, elegant and sophisticated. BEST Dressed man by MILES!!!!

But like I said the 2 costumes are always too similar to each other...