The Shibutanis Thread 4: Ready for Paradise

MRani said:
Mine too! I think Nathan was winning by 58% of the votes (wow :eek:) and Morgan by a sizable margin too but it was less than 50%.

Awesome for US figure skating leading into the Olympics.
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I did not know the other athletes, only the Shibs and Nathan, I felt bad because I was voting randomly for the other guys and thinking if other people were doing the same with Maia and Alex :lol:.

VIETgrlTerifa said:
Here's a cute throwback video from Detroit News four years ago in the lead-up to the Sochi games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYIUSjUoZpc

It's nice to see them back then and see them now and how they simply matured into their new roles as the face of American ice dance.
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Hard to believe that it was only 3 years ago, although they have always been very good speakers, if I compare them with the Shibs of today, they still looked like children and very innocent in that video.
 
After every GP passes I get more convinced that the Shibs have the best SD of the season, but more worried about the state of their FD. I'm sure there are so many benefits of having 4 weeks between your first and second GP but sheesh, I get more nervous. The vocal H/D and no other American team stans are really overzealous right now and are adopting an entitled-ish attitude about nationals and that PBP has really shown how many want the Shibs to lose their title. I hope the Shibs perform well enough at Skate America to win some people back.
 
They can be as entitled as they want, but the judges and USFSA are ultimately who are going to decide who wins US Nats. Honestly I'm not sure anything the Shibs do will win over the most rabid of stans. Although I would like to see H/D move up to 2nd over C/B. Haha.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
After every GP passes I get more convinced that the Shibs have the best SD of the season, but more worried about the state of their FD. I'm sure there are so many benefits of having 4 weeks between your first and second GP but sheesh, I get more nervous. The vocal H/D and no other American team stans are really overzealous right now and are adopting an entitled-ish attitude about nationals and that PBP has really shown how many want the Shibs to lose their title. I hope the Shibs perform well enough at Skate America to win some people back.
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Yeah, there is a sort of aura building of “their turn”— plus their FD really is beautiful. But there is a lot of “US no. 1” hype around Maia and Alex too, and I am confident that they know what they need to do to win. I think their FD will be more powerful when we next see it.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
The vocal H/D and no other American team stans are really overzealous right now and are adopting an entitled-ish attitude about nationals and that PBP has really shown how many want the Shibs to lose their title. I hope the Shibs perform well enough at Skate America to win some people back.
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Do they need to win people back to win? The judges decide the winner, and so far, they like the Shibs.
 
Spun Silver said:
Oh, I think the judges are influenced by people. They HAD to reward Fix You.
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Agreed. Whispers become narratives which become accepted truth. Someone else mentioned it, but H/D have an unearned reputation of being placed lower than deserved which I’m not sure where that’s coming from since they made real technical errors in every competition they competed at last season other than Skate America but somehow people are using the Shibs are undeservedly rewarded narrative that was used two seasons ago for the Shibs when Chock/Bates had stumbles and falls and still placed ahead of them like at the 2015/2016 GPF (like the GPF prior) because they think it’ll work. I never thought there was a placement that H/D received that they didn’t deserve but they do have a lot of potential and people simply prefer them over the Shibs, so I get why they’re using certain strategies to will a changing of the guard.
 
Eh, Hubbell and Donahue fans have been pretty vocal FOR years. This is not a new thing -- they were SURE that they were gong to pass the Shibs for the 3rd Olympic spot back in 2014.

I will say that to H/D's credit, they have actually improved leaps and bounds since then and they're getting the solid scores to show for it. That said, the Shibs have also improved as well. The Shibs are also TOUGH. Yes, Hubbell and Donohue have gone through injury/tough times too (again credit to them for bouncing back), but for the Shibs to bottom out like they did and then emerge from the ashes takes GRIT. Lots of it. This stuff now? Child's play.
 
But people really prefer to H/D?, I mean, I already realized that people who post in forums is a very low percentage of figure skating fans. I just don´t understand if H/D are so loved, why this season their performance with the most views has 12,000 views while Shibs have FD 32,000 views and SD 28,000? And I don´t think it is about popularity because IMO the best performance of Maia and Alex in all their career was FD 4cc and it had only 19,000 views. We almost everyone agree that Shibs SD is better than fd but it seems that people really wanted see their FD performance more times.

If we talk only about programs, I think the FD of C/B have potential to be more crowd friendly, it is a famous and emotive song with some eye-catcher lifts . And if Maia and Alex get better their music, they will have the same advantage, the total package is more stricking than that of H/D.
 
That’s true. I’m just not used to the Shibs being a target as I’m still not used to thinking about the Shibs as being a no. 1 anything even though they have been the no. 1 American team since 2016. Behind their smiles and friendliness are real fighters and survivors. I still marvel that they stuck with this sport for so long considering everything they’ve been through and obviously heard. I also should remember that as others keep talking about how the Shibs should be shaking in their skates, should watch behind their backs, and how Nationals isn’t theirs, that the Shibs aren’t busy looking behind their backs or trying to simply survive to keep what they have but are actually looking forward and beyond others’ goals and expectations for them. If they just stuck with being happy with what the ice dance fandom thought they were capable of, none of us would be here talking about them in this capacity.
 
chapis said:
If we talk only about programs, I think the FD of C/B have potential to be more crowd friendly, it is a famous and emotive song with some eye-catcher lifts . And if Maia and Alex get better their music, they will have the same advantage, the total package is more stricking than that of H/D.
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Have you all noticed how C/B’s “Imagine” program is structurally reminiscent to the Shibutani’s “Fix You?” Evan really comes alive in that orchestral swell that happens in a similar point in the program as the swell in “Fix You” when the crowd goes crazy for Maia and Alex’s twizzles.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
Agreed. Whispers become narratives which become accepted truth. Someone else mentioned it, but H/D have an unearned reputation of being placed lower than deserved which I’m not sure where that’s coming from since they made real technical errors in every competition they competed at last season other than Skate America but somehow people are using the Shibs are undeservedly rewarded narrative that was used two seasons ago for the Shibs when Chock/Bates had stumbles and falls and still placed ahead of them like at the 2015/2016 GPF (like the GPF prior) because they think it’ll work. I never thought there was a placement that H/D received that they didn’t deserve but they do have a lot of potential and people simply prefer them over the Shibs, so I get why they’re using certain strategies to will a changing of the guard.
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Actually, I didn’t mean people in that sense, of fan talk on the Internet. I meant audiences, as in their recurring enormous response to Fix You, which led to all the YT views. Maybe it is due to ignorance or laziness, but I tune out the other stuff, “what people are saying.” I don’t care what people are saying, I believe what I see, and what I see is three really good teams at the top in US ice dance - I am afraid Evan and Maddie have won me over to some extent with their SD - but one that seems more perfect, more authentically joyful, and artistically more profound, with a bigger range, than the other two. I would hazard that they may be harder working too but that’s just a guess. I’m sure they all work super hard and they’re all worthy and special.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
That’s true. I’m just not used to the Shibs being a target as I’m still not used to thinking about the Shibs as being a no. 1 anything even though they have been the no. 1 American team since 2016. Behind their smiles and friendliness are real fighters and survivors. I still marvel that they stuck with this sport for so long considering everything they’ve been through and obviously heard. I also should remember that as others keep talking about how the Shibs should be shaking in their skates, should watch behind their backs, and how Nationals isn’t theirs, that the Shibs aren’t busy looking behind their backs or trying to simply survive to keep what they have but are actually looking forward and beyond others’ goals and expectations for them. If they just stuck with being happy with what the ice dance fandom thought they were capable of, none of us would be here talking about them in this capacity.
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Maia and Alex seem to have been brought up in the most ideal way. Hats off to their wonderful parents who not only raised them so well and teamed them up but also documented their whole adorable childhood. They are pure positivity and they believe in themselves. I dont think they pay attention to the negative talk either, they just stay busy doing their thing with Marina, Massimo and their army of collaborators, and striving to be the best in the world. (I remember Alex saying point blank a couple years ago that he, or they, felt they truly had the ability to be the best in the world.)
 
Spun Silver said:
Actually, I didn’t mean people in that sense, of fan talk on the Internet. I meant audiences, as in their recurring enormous response to Fix You, which led to all the YT views. Maybe it is due to ignorance or laziness, but I tune out the other stuff, “what people are saying.” I don’t care what people are saying, I believe what I see, and what I see is three really good teams at the top in US ice dance - I am afraid Evan and Maddie have won me over to some extent with their SD - but one that seems more perfect, more authentically joyful, and artistically more profound, with a bigger range, than the other two. I would hazard that they may be harder working too but that’s just a guess. I’m sure they all work super hard and they’re all worthy and special.
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I know what you meant. I do think if there's a great audience response then there are people in the background who will talk and try to persuade those to see the teams in a different way. Right now, I think H/D are getting some of that talk in their favor in the background because if skating fans are seeing it, then there's got to be others inside who see it too. Just like if audiences have strong reactions then there will be people on the inside who can't deny it either. I think real politicking isn't really giving gifts or whatnot, but more about having narratives shifts in a way where all-of-a-sudden skaters/teams start getting the benefit of the doubt more than they did before and their scores increase...at first incrementally, and then...
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
I know what you meant. I do think if there's a great audience response then there are people in the background who will talk and try to persuade those to see the teams in a different way. Right now, I think H/D are getting some of that talk in their favor in the background because if skating fans are seeing it, then there's got to be others inside who see it too. Just like if audiences have strong reactions then there will be people on the inside who can't deny it either. I think real politicking isn't really giving gifts or whatnot, but more about having narratives shifts in a way where all-of-a-sudden skaters/teams start getting the benefit of the doubt more than they did before and their scores increase...at first incrementally, and then...
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I am putting this down to your annual Shibutani jitters compounded by wedding nerves. I’m sure by the time you’re back from your honeymoon and watching SA you’ll feel much better! :lol:
 
The other thing is, @chapis may have a point about the numbers. I think it is possible to get a somewhat slanted view of things hanging out with the contrarians at FSU. Think how many fans Alena Leonova has here and how few will admit to really liking Medvedeva or, heaven forfend, Zagitova. Evan Lysacek was about the most unpopular skater ever on the fan boards but that did him no harm at the Olympics. I realize ice dance is more political but maybe (hopefully) less than before?
 
Spun Silver said:
I am putting this down to your annual Shibutani jitters compounded by wedding nerves. I’m sure by the time you’re back from your honeymoon and watching SA you’ll feel much better! :lol:
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:lol: Good call. I've been semi-posting on FSU the past few days as a distraction and something new to focus on since I've taken off from work so I don't have that to fall back on. I've also been drinking so my posts are becoming a bit more talky as I'm accused of being when I drink.
 
chapis said:
Serge Onik is a specialist in latin dance who have worked with other ice dance teams too.
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He also used to be a troupe dancer on Dancing With The Stars, and a good friend of Maks Chmerkovskiy (DWTS pro). This is how Meryl Davis became acquainted with him, and it was she who recommended he work with the Team USA ice dancers and pairs skaters.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
:lol: Good call. I've been semi-posting on FSU the past few days as a distraction and something new to focus on since I've taken off from work so I don't have that to fall back on. I've also been drinking so my posts are becoming a bit more talky as I'm accused of being when I drink.
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Talky is good. As long as you don’t get weepy. :) BTW, are you a Bridezilla? I hear about them sometimes from other Etsy sellers. PS: You’ll get through it! Both the wedding and the Oly season!
 
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