So, Did You Survive?

[Vagabond]

How is everyone doing after the past several days of watching and discussing Europeans and U.S. Nationals, which were the same week this year and followed close on the heels of Canadian Nationals? I still haven't watched quite a bit of stuff, but I may need to spend a few days catching up on sleep, life, work, and the world at large.

 

[mjb52]

I am an absolute mess! But #stillhere

 

[Amy L]

I'm recovering from gallbladder surgery. I couldn't watch everything live because I'd just end up napping through it instead. I relied on the NBC Sports Gold replays (which are awful BTW, trying to fast forward is such a pain in the ass). But I do have plenty of free time and I have to rest, so I probably had the best excuse to be a total skating glutton!

 

[Braulio]

I feel TIRED and need to catch up with some 8-10 hours of sleep given the time zone difference with Europe

But Lucky I was able to watch almost everything some 5-6 years ago that would be almost unthinkable (for me)

 

[misskarne]

Australia Day long weekend, plus working at home the two days beforehand, did wonders for my ability to watch.

 

[vireo]

It ain't over yet. Four Continents competition starts in ten days. Not sure I'll be able to peak again so soon.

 

[dinakt]

I miss it already. Lots to rewatch, too, as life interfered quite a bit; should tie me up till Four Continents and Russian Junior Nationals. Great competitions are such a rush.

 

[misskarne]

It ain't over yet. Four Continents competition starts in ten days. Not sure I'll be able to peak again so soon.

Yay 4CC!

 

[AxelAnnie]

I am exhausted! Multiple browsers to watch different events and keep up with all the comments and insights of y'all....to say nothing of ...what music is that? Which skater is skating? Their record
...i need a week off.

 

[ChelleC]

I'm tired. I took a three day weekend to be able to watch, but of course I got up early on Friday and Saturday. Now it's time to go back to work, I'm not really ready, and to be quite honest I feel like I'm getting a sinus infection.

But I so enjoyed the last three days.

 

[Immortelle]

Back at work tomorrow, looking forward to the break before 4CC!

 

[Kateri]

I still haven't caught up on the men's short programme! Any of them!

 

[Frau Muller]

Exhausted but happy...and I just watched (mostly) regular TV NBC or NBCSN, “taping” all, cutting out ads and fluff. I’m exhausted by making my DVDs, more than anything else. Now I know those programs really, really well.

 

[Coco]

Next time this happens, remind me to take off work!!!!

 

[ChelleC]

I definitely have a sinus infection.

 

[Aceon6]

BTW, it was 76 hours if you watched everything including US Junior.

 

[MacMadame]

I still haven't watched the US Men! I only watched Junior Rythmn dance and I didn't watch all the Ladies FS and Pairs FS at Euros. I will watch the Men tonight but I'm not watching the other stuff. I'm already really behind.

 

[clairecloutier]

I still haven't watched the Euros free dance. And I watched only 5 min total of Euros ladies. Don't plan to go back to the latter, but I'll try to watch the free dance tonight or tomorrow.

My plans for a (relatively) placid weekend of figure skating viewing went out the window when our hot water heater and furnace got turned off for safety reasons on Thursday morning, after a routine gas meter replacement, just as Natls was kicking into gear. The next 24 hours was a whirlwind as we tried to figure out what to do. Wound up getting a brand-new furnace and hot water heater, but not after much angst and second-guessing. Not to mention 4 days without heat or hot water!!

 

[Lizziebeth]

I still have not watched the US nationals RD's.

Claire, I feel your pain. I can't imagine 4 days without heat or hot water

Got up this morning and it was 58F in the house. I figured I was out of propane but I was too lazy to go out in a snowdrift to find out. Ordered propane and went to town to do some stuff. Returned home and it was 60F in the house. Now it is nice and warm. Sorry you had to get a new furnace and water heater. I was lucky that it was only that I needed propane.

 

[skategal]

Let’s just say I picked a very poor time to be in full-time (5 days a week) training for work.

If I was doing my regular 3 days in office and 2 days working at home, I would have seen a lot more of the skating.

 

[Lacey]

My experience was not with television/on line watching but with live competition. My oldest DD, who was an Int and Nov Ice Dancer years ago, gave me tickets for a weekend package. She lives an hour east of Greensboro and was mad that I hadn't gone to the other two Nats there. So we drove 7 hrs to her house from PA on Fri. Plus she has 4 boys, so we could catch up on basketball and college applications, and then came over for Fri night, Sat and Sun. These grandsons are 9, 11, 16 and 17 and for sure not skaters, but tremendous athletes. Initially I was upset that it wasn't the whole week of programs, but I am not a Practice or Jr watcher anyway, so was happy we saw all of the Sr LPs plus Sr Men's Sh. I was following you guys here and don't know how some of you did the whole week, including practices! And, as I remembered the last Nats & Wrlds I had gone to were Boston, I was reminded how much I love live competition. DD was right, it was fun. I will forever remember Gracie, Mariah, little Alyssa, Nathan and Jason, and all of the dance and pairs and seeing it all in person live and up close. One forgets how strong the best of these skaters flow.

We skipped the exh to drive from 6pm to midnight to our other DD, also a Dance and Moves Gold Medalist, now in Nashville with her DH and infant DD, to help them move into new house and get them settled before she goes back to work. So we had a great time the whole weekend and now week. I just fed the baby oatmeal because DD's choice was avocado, but she seemed to have gas gas gas from that. This one will not be a skater either, even though Scottie Hamilton is somehow involved here. We will, however, definitely get some kind of tickets for Natls here in '22, it's about 10 min from their house.

We are staying until Sunday, and it looks like we will drive 12 hrs home to snow in Pa, the part I don't like. Hopefully, I have some taped events and fortunately we have the ability to see again with repeats.

 

[Japanfan]

Yay 4CC!

I don't think we'll be getting any coverage in Canada on TV - I generally don't watch stream, but might do so if the competition times are convenient and I'm free. I don't have the stamina to watch skating at very early hours, as some here do.

I was able to watch GPF because the Eurosport broadcast was available on Eurosport. But I doubt that Eurosport covers 4CCs.

The end of CBC's contract for FS has left a huge gap in terms of watching any FS on TV. CTV still covers Skate Canada and Nationals, but that contract is probably going to end some time.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I still have not watched the US nationals RD's.

Claire, I feel your pain. I can't imagine 4 days without heat or hot water

Got up this morning and it was 58F in the house. I figured I was out of propane but I was too lazy to go out in a snowdrift to find out. Ordered propane and went to town to do some stuff. Returned home and it was 60F in the house. Now it is nice and warm. Sorry you had to get a new furnace and water heater. I was lucky that it was only that I needed propane.

I woke up and try to find my sunglasses. 80° in Los Angeles. Then I had to make the walk 30 feet down the hallway to the pool.

 

[paskatefan]

We just returned from Greensboro Thursday evening (did some sightseeing there & in Raleigh, NC & Richmond, VA). We just started watching the men's SP from Europeans last night, will try to catch up with as much of the Europeans coverage as possible this weekend. After that, we want to play back all of the US Nationals coverage that we DVRed (we want to hear it all with commentary). I guess our Netflix movie rentals will have to wait another 2 weeks!

 

[PairSkater12345]

My experience was not with television/on line watching but with live competition. My oldest DD, who was an Int and Nov Ice Dancer years ago, gave me tickets for a weekend package. She lives an hour east of Greensboro and was mad that I hadn't gone to the other two Nats there. So we drove 7 hrs to her house from PA on Fri. Plus she has 4 boys, so we could catch up on basketball and college applications, and then came over for Fri night, Sat and Sun. These grandsons are 9, 11, 16 and 17 and for sure not skaters, but tremendous athletes. Initially I was upset that it wasn't the whole week of programs, but I am not a Practice or Jr watcher anyway, so was happy we saw all of the Sr LPs plus Sr Men's Sh. I was following you guys here and don't know how some of you did the whole week, including practices! And, as I remembered the last Nats & Wrlds I had gone to were Boston, I was reminded how much I love live competition. DD was right, it was fun. I will forever remember Gracie, Mariah, little Alyssa, Nathan and Jason, and all of the dance and pairs and seeing it all in person live and up close. One forgets how strong the best of these skaters flow.

We skipped the exh to drive from 6pm to midnight to our other DD, also a Dance and Moves Gold Medalist, now in Nashville with her DH and infant DD, to help them move into new house and get them settled before she goes back to work. So we had a great time the whole weekend and now week. I just fed the baby oatmeal because DD's choice was avocado, but she seemed to have gas gas gas from that. This one will not be a skater either, even though Scottie Hamilton is somehow involved here. We will, however, definitely get some kind of tickets for Natls here in '22, it's about 10 min from their house.

We are staying until Sunday, and it looks like we will drive 12 hrs home to snow in Pa, the part I don't like. Hopefully, I have some taped events and fortunately we have the ability to see again with repeats.

I found the crowd at the Arena excited and into it. Based on past Greensboro nationals the numbers looked down. Seats everywhere for the Marque events. The marketing exposure on local TV was light. Like always nice people good time just seemed not as exciting as previous Champs there.

 

[Lacey]

Also, whole sections in the top tier were blocked off with huge blanket type things--probably because not sold; also some of the same blocks in lower tiers--most of those were for sight lines. Definitely not full.

I had seen Nathan many many times on tv and on line at various competitions. However, nothing beats seeing him in person, as he throws his personality and dance training into his programs. Ditto Jason. No camera can capture the closeness some of these skaters bring to the live audience. Also, in Greensboro, I found the crowd more apt to give standing Os to several men and women, and also to pairs and dance teams, rather than to just the winners. Placements 1-5 were often much more special skating than what we saw from 5 up, which makes sense, ah, they placed higher.