Osmond to skip Grand Prix (and more?)

[mag]

Not in the sense of Mao/Yuna, no. The skaters who drive people to events as of now are:

1. Hanyu

huge gap

2. Med
3. Sui/Han
4. PapCiz

I agree that Hanyu and Med are as close to universally big as one can get. After that, I suspect it depends on the location. For example, in Canada (maybe even North America) V&M would be a much bigger draw than P&C, In Europe, S&M are probably a bigger draw than S&H. Who we perceive to be a big draw probably depends greatly on who we prefer.

 

[euterpe]

Didn't Sasha Cohen take a year off to regroup and re-evaluate? Tried acting and a few other outlets. And then came back with a bang, winning the Olympic Silver in Torino! And she was a year younger - 21!

Sasha competed at 2003 Worlds (4th behind Kwan, Sokolova and Suguri) 2004 Worlds (2nd to Arakawa), 2005 Worlds (2nd to Slutskaya) before finishing 2nd to Arakawa at the 2006 Olympics and 3rd behind Meissner and Suguri at 2006 Worlds. 2006 Worlds was her final competition, then she tried acting.

 

[berthesghost]

iirc Sasha got injured after 05 Lalique so had to skip her next gp and the gpf to heal b4 nats, Olys, worlds in 06.

I don’t get the point of saying YuNa is more famous, as she skipped the GPS after Vancouver so.... I also suspect KO not doing SC is a ticket slump

 

[kwanfan1818]

I also suspect KO not doing SC is a ticket slump

If true, it's because the burden was on her alone to continue, with Chan, V/M, and D/H all such big draws in Canada and the latter two training local to the comp.

I hope Skate Canada draws well for at least Men, Ladies, and Pairs. (I have fingers and toes crossed for a Med pick.) They have more interesting dancers this season than host spots.

 

[Rock2]

The world champion and Olympic bronze medalist isn't a big enough star?

Not really, no. Especially as far as a Japan world's is concerned.

There's more to being a star than winning a big medal or two (just ask Evan Lysacek, but I digress....)

One (but not the only) indicator might be Insta followers:

Medvedeva: 718K
Kim: 542K
Zagitova: 465K
Gold: 313K
Nagasu: 204K
Kostner: 110K
Osmond: 95K
Daleman: 74K

KO is barely ahead of Daleman. I don't think she has the international appeal of some of the other names.....yet!!

 

[aml78]

Not really, no. Especially as far as a Japan world's is concerned.

There's more to being a star than winning a big medal or two (just ask Evan Lysacek, but I digress....)

One (but not the only) indicator might be Insta followers:

Medvedeva: 718K
Kim: 542K
Zagitova: 465K
Gold: 313K
Nagasu: 204K
Kostner: 110K
Osmond: 95K
Daleman: 74K

KO is barely ahead of Daleman. I don't think she has the international appeal of some of the other names.....yet!!

I also think she hasn’t gotten the attention or airtime from th media that some of these others have gotten. She’s flown under the radar but I think that was a mistake on the media’s part as she has a great personality and is very articulate.

 

[Rock2]

Yup. Lots to like about her. Small-town, salt-of-the-earth, intelligent, great skater etc.

But in terms of star quality, people for now find her a bit generic, especially in Eastern and Western Europe. She has to develop a bit more of a brand off and on the ice to get to the next level. I think she has for now the best potential in Japan. Might be to her advantage to go to worlds next year. Learn a few lines of Japanese. Work it a bit...

(that's not a criticism, just reconciling the gaps between her and others in terms of what drives popularity)

 

[berthesghost]

Generic? Wait... there are people who can’t tell Osmund, Daelman, Rochette and Phaneuf apart, but find Zag, Med, Tuk and Sot all unique and captivating individuals? :O

 

[Rafter]

Not in the sense of Mao/Yuna, no. The skaters who drive people to events as of now are:

1. Hanyu

huge gap

2. Med
3. Sui/Han
4. PapCiz

Sui/Han? Ummm......no. And I say this as a fan of S/H.

 

[DimaToe]

Not really, no. Especially as far as a Japan world's is concerned.

There's more to being a star than winning a big medal or two (just ask Evan Lysacek, but I digress....)

One (but not the only) indicator might be Insta followers:

Medvedeva: 718K
Kim: 542K
Zagitova: 465K
Gold: 313K
Nagasu: 204K
Kostner: 110K
Osmond: 95K
Daleman: 74K

KO is barely ahead of Daleman. I don't think she has the international appeal of some of the other names.....yet!!

Not everyone is on social media. Check on how many show skating, media, etc. opportunities Osmond gets compared to others. Then hit me up.

 

[Japanfan]

Yup. Lots to like about her. Small-town, salt-of-the-earth, intelligent, great skater etc.

But in terms of star quality, people for now find her a bit generic, especially in Eastern and Western Europe.

If you say so.

IMO Kaetlyn has star quality in spades. Her vivacious personality shines through at all times, and she's got a gorgeous smile that can light up an arena! And her style is by no means generic. She's not cast herself in the mold of the baby ballerina, the 'feminine' tinkly piano music FS lady stereotype, or the classical/operatic Russian lady.

I think she's one of the most powerful, expressive ladies in the field today.

But of course I'm Canadian, so some will think that my opinion does not matter much.

 

[oleada]

No one is saying Kaetlyn isn’t powerful or expressive. They’re saying she’s not as well known or as popular to the general public as Med, Hanyu, and others. Which is true.

 

[ninjapirate]

Not really, no. Especially as far as a Japan world's is concerned.

There's more to being a star than winning a big medal or two (just ask Evan Lysacek, but I digress....)

One (but not the only) indicator might be Insta followers:

Medvedeva: 718K
Kim: 542K
Zagitova: 465K
Gold: 313K
Nagasu: 204K
Kostner: 110K
Osmond: 95K
Daleman: 74K

KO is barely ahead of Daleman. I don't think she has the international appeal of some of the other names.....yet!!

Follower counts actually have more to do with winning consistently... or winning the Olympics... and national appeal(which means a nations size matters)... and creating gimmicks that appeal to the Japanese audience. Medvedeva got a lot of followers from the Sailor Moon exhibition... and from tweeting about Yuri on Ice... and from k-pop fans. Zagitova probably got 20k japanese followers just from the whole Akita dog thing. And then there's a network effect where those with higher follower counts are probably going to get more followers from people looking through follower lists.

 

[MAXSwagg]

Sui/Han? Ummm......no. And I say this as a fan of S/H.

Anyway the point is she is no Med, and neither are anywhere near Hanyu. Osmond has minimal effect in drawing people to events...

 

[alchemy void]

I strongly believe number of followers on Twitter is the most accurate measurement of a skater's popularity and reach in drawing people to attend events.

Osmond has 49K followers on Twitter.

Janny has 212K followers on Twitter.

Alena Leonova has 218K followers on Twitter.

 

[SmallFairy]

I strongly believe number of followers on Twitter is the most accurate measurement of a skater's popularity and reach in drawing people to attend events.

Osmond has 49K followers on Twitter.

Janny has 212K followers on Twitter.

Alena Leonova has 218K followers on Twitter.

No way, since I am not on Twitter

 

[believed]

I strongly believe number of followers on Twitter is the most accurate measurement of a skater's popularity and reach in drawing people to attend events.

I’m sure that’s part of it, but then again, it doesn’t account for a lot of other factors. Tessa Virtue has 131K on Twitter but she and Scott are pretty popular and have a large following outside of Canada.

 

[berthesghost]

I strongly believe number of followers on Twitter is the most accurate measurement of a skater's popularity and reach in drawing people to attend events.

Osmond has 49K followers on Twitter.

Janny has 212K followers on Twitter.

Alena Leonova has 218K followers on Twitter.

twitter #s can be faked with bots easily. Facebook is generally more real people and less fake accounts. But that's just an aside. Someone as media hyped as Med has to be more popular with the general public. But leonova being a bigger draw than either? Is this a wind-up? if it proved anything, it would prove that it takes time to build an audience and the extra year as world champ, and the two solid years being hyped as invincible really helped Med vs Osmond who even after taking silver at worlds was mentioned in the press not as a possible ogm but as one of several possible bronze contenders after the forgone conclusion of Zag/Med 1/2 in some order before the games even opened.

 

[barbarafan]

I’m sure that’s part of it, but then again, it doesn’t account for a lot of other factors. Tessa Virtue has 131K on Twitter but she and Scott are pretty popular and have a large following outside of Canada.

As well...there are several virtue/Moir fan accounts that seem to follow every breath Tessa takes and so you would get more info from those accounts than her official account.

 

[mag]

Anyway the point is she is no Med, and neither are anywhere near Hanyu. Osmond has minimal effect in drawing people to events...

In your opinion. If you would like to state this as fact, please provide your data. Thanks.

 

[Wyliefan]

The original point of this whole exercise was the question of whether Osmond was a big enough star that she might be disciplined for missing the GP season, not to figure out the exact fame ranking of every skater ever. I think it's fair to argue that she's a pretty big star, regardless of whether she's as big as Yuna or Janny or Yuzuru. But in any case, I hope they give her (or have already given her) a pass.

 

[aml78]

You gain more followers if you are very active. Kaetlyn is not particularly active on social. A lot of it seems to be about sponsor obligations. It’s a personal choice. It could be hindering her following and overall popularity but it just doesn’t seem like something that is incredibly important to her.

 

[MAXSwagg]

In your opinion. If you would like to state this as fact, please provide your data. Thanks.

You think she’s more popular than Hanyu? Lol Okay.

 

[berthesghost]

You think she’s more popular than Hanyu? Lol Okay.

if you think “she’s not as popular as Hanyu” and “she has minimal effect in drawing people to events” are equal statements then I don’t know what to say.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Anyway the point is she is no Med, and neither are anywhere near Hanyu. Osmond has minimal effect in drawing people to events...

Na Ha! She drew me to the event. So it can't be Zero.

 

[peibeck]

With Chan and Duhamel/Radford retired and Virtue/Moir probably retired, and Osmond skipping the GP, Skate Canada might be a bit lackluster this year for Canadian fans.

 

[peibeck]

Na Ha! She drew me to the event. So it can't be Zero.

Maybe you'll be lucky and get to see Larkyn Austman though.

 

[barbarafan]

With Chan and Duhamel/Radford retired and Virtue/Moir probably retired, and Osmond skipping the GP, Skate Canada might be a bit lackluster this year for Canadian fans.

With Chan and Duhamel/Radford retired and Virtue/Moir probably retired, and Osmond skipping the GP, Skate Canada might be a bit lackluster this year for Canadian fans.

On the other hand......Med and Hanyu might spice it up

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

With Chan and Duhamel/Radford retired and Virtue/Moir probably retired, and Osmond skipping the GP, Skate Canada might be a bit lackluster this year for Canadian fans.

you ain't lying

but the USA seems to have an exodus (either retired or skipping) too with:

Gracie Gold (probable)
Ashley Wagner
Max Aaron
Adam Rippon
Ross Miner
Pogrebinsky & Benoit

Shibs
Mirai (?)
Courtney (?)
Caroline (?)
Angela (?)

 

[peibeck]

you ain't lying

but the USA seems to have an exodus (either retired or skipping) too with....

Did you miss the Olympics, NATHAN is the face of skating now.

As for the others, I think most of those names were known, or expected retirements and many you listed weren't big draws for the "casual" skating fan anyway.

@barbarafan I concur Hanyu and Med would be great, but everyone loves home country heroes at their GP. That's basically what I was intimating. The GP draws will be... interesting.