The Shibutanis Thread Cinco...Mambo!

I was talking to my sister-in-law regarding a surprise late birthday/graduation present for my 14-year-old nieces -- a trip to Vidcon! And then I talked about the Shibutanis and she said my nieces requested turning on the Olympics to see them and nobody else. It turns out they've known about the Shibs for a while because they're Ryan Higa ubers, LOL.

Now I'm hoping the Shibs will be at Vidcon, LOL.
 
That Megyn Kelly interview was actually really cute. Maia and Alex are so relaxed now and their personalities are so winning.

I have to say I sensed a difference in the way Alex and Maia conducted themselves throughout the entire games than they have in the past. They were still giving thoughtful, careful, and eloquent answers but they also allowed tinge of some snark and fun as well. I have a feeling that they were feeling somewhat down this season and not immune from hearing about how their time was passing and how their rivals were rising. The skating world is small and insular and people talk and I’m sure they heard things being said about their prospects or feeling like they didn’t have the same support that they had before. It seems these games that were being seen by the outside world rejuvenated them. They gained so many new fans and the fans that were always there were way more vocal and that had to have a positive impact on Alex and Maia. The most telling thing is that no amount of pre-Olympic hype and publicity can gain them the passionate and dedicated fans that they had, but rather it was them and their skating that did it. It was their short dance in the team event that captured people and people then fell in love with their critically-muted Coldplay FD (it wasn’t that muted at Skate America but people pretend that competition didn’t happen). When they got fourth in the SD, all the reactions online were about how they deserved better and how people loved their Latin dance. The fact that Maia and Alex acknowledged the support and love that they received online in-between the SD and FD shows that they were paying attention and probably got a boost.

I’m so happy these games happened because I think it gave the Shibs exactly what they needed to succeed here.
 
I love it that they are comfortable being natural with journalists now and letting their funny sides and repartee out. I look forward to seeing the sarcastic side of Maia that Madison Hubbell mentioned in a recent interview. :)

They've joined a long list of people who achieved what they were told they never could or would. There are so many of those in opera (one of my passions) it's ridiculous. They are an inspiration for everyone who's ever had to shut out negative voices to pursue their own path. They don't talk about it, but some of that negativity must have crept inside their heads and created doubts at times. But they kept going until they shaped reality to match their dreams. So proud of them.

So, they may not go to Worlds? I can understand why. They must be exhausted and probably have all kinds of media and sponsorship opportunities right now. I hope they enjoy every drop of their Olympic glory. But it will be a strange Worlds without them if they do skip it.
 
I can see the Shibs being apprehensive about Worlds due to the scoring but they’ve never been ones to shy away from challenges like that.
 
Spun Silver said:
So, they may not go to Worlds? I can understand why. They must be exhausted and probably have all kinds of media and sponsorship opportunities right now. I hope they enjoy every drop of their Olympic glory. But it will be a strange Worlds without them if they do skip it.
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Did they mention it? :confused::( I would really enjoy watching them at Worlds, I would not even mind if H/D overtook them, Maia y Alex are Olympic medalists.
 
chapis said:
Did they mention it? :confused::( I would really enjoy watching them at Worlds, I would not even mind if H/D overtook them, Maia y Alex are Olympic medalists.
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Sylvia posted a tweet today, not from them but i think maybe Ice Network, saying they weren't sure yet.

I want to see if the judges treat them differently now. I think they will. Maybe I am too optimistic but I think that phase of their struggles is over.
 
Kuurisu said:
so we aren't allowed to post pictures even though the option is alvailable? that sucks :T
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We usually use links. If I were you, i would go ahead and post the pic and wait for the Admins to remove it. :) I wonder if the new server update will change the photo policy. Probably not. You can imagine what would happen to this site if everyone posted loads of skater pix. Crash!
 
Spun Silver said:
Sylvia posted a tweet today, not from them but i think maybe Ice Network, saying they weren't sure yet.

I want to see if the judges treat them differently now. I think they will. Maybe I am too optimistic but I think that phase of their struggles is over.
Click to expand...

I doubt it
 
Spun Silver said:
We usually use links. If I were you, i would go ahead and post the pic and wait for the Admins to remove it. :) I wonder if the new server update will change the photo policy. Probably not. You can imagine what would happen to this site if everyone posted loads of skater pix. Crash!
Click to expand...

Yes, I am in another forum where everyone can post pictures but there are not many posters, maybe that is the reason.
 
I want to see Maia on DWTS. I think she will be great and i promise to watch the show if she is in it (I rarely watch DWTS unless there is someone that interests me in it, like Kurt Warner or Kristi Yamaguchi, for example).
 
Spun Silver said:
Sylvia posted a tweet today, not from them but i think maybe Ice Network, saying they weren't sure yet.

I want to see if the judges treat them differently now. I think they will. Maybe I am too optimistic but I think that phase of their struggles is over.
Click to expand...

At this point it doesn't matter to me. They're 3-time World medalists, 2-time Olympic medalists! They're probably now the third most decorated American team behind Davis/White and Belbin/Agosto. Everything from here on out is buttercream icing.

(That said, if they do go to worlds and nab another silver medal, they would match B/A's world medal placements).

I agree that I'd love to see them on DWTS -- sibling rivalry to the max. It would be kinda fun if they had the Hough siblings do it with them LOL...
 
So proud of our Shibs for skating full out and not leaving anything on the ice! They gave the fans what they wanted!

I'm betting the reason they may not go to World's is because they've been asked to do the all sports edition of DWTS. They've been in the audience at one of the shows, so the producers know who they are. The show has had a married couple compete; I'm sure they'd love to have siblings on the show, which I don't think has been done before.
 
There's so much going on, it's hard to keep up with all the quotes and videos and what's happening. I read in another thread that the Shibs have not said definitely that they will be competing at Worlds this year. Does that mean they may decide to move on to other endeavors? I would like to see them continue, but will they? They have certainly been overly criticized by some in the skating community and overly scrutinized in an unfair manner by tech panels. That's a huge reason why I admire their grit, determination and forbearance. They were not to be denied. They kept believing in themselves, and regardless of all the naysayers, there they are standing on the Olympics podium that many seemed to be trying to push them off of.

I still feel so bad for Madi and Zach (because their talent is very worthy of being recognized, and similar to the Shibs, H/D have had a long, hard struggle in the U.S.) -- but there's so much depth in ice dance and it's not going to get any easier. Still, I would like to see the Shibs and Hub/Don continue. Also, it's so sad for Chock/Bates how their Olympics ended, and they seemingly would want to go to Worlds and have a better showing in case they plan to retire soon. There are definitely a lot of good young teams coming up in the U.S. who will need more competitive opportunities in order to prosper.

Maybe the Shibs feel like they've achieved their Paradise and will move on, but I feel kind of cheated in how this past year has gone for them with all the critical comments and negative whispers. But I imagine the fact they prevailed over all of that and they have two Olympic medals feels like a huge victory, and they may feel they have nothing left to prove to anyone. Plus P/C are sure to be at the top for awhile, and talented young teams are trying to move up.

I'm just not ready to let the Shibs go. Oh, but the memory of that Olympic FD and how free they skated it is so sweet! I just did not feel like it would be the end. I was so in the moment and feeling happy with them, and throwing kisses at the television screen during their performance and in that exultant moment when their performance ended. It was not about where they would place. It was about that feeling of personal victory they felt in their hearts (just as Alex later expressed). The scores and the medal are icing on the cake. It was the struggle to overcome all obstacles that they won.

"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
 
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Spun Silver said:
We usually use links. If I were you, i would go ahead and post the pic and wait for the Admins to remove it. :) I wonder if the new server update will change the photo policy. Probably not. You can imagine what would happen to this site if everyone posted loads of skater pix. Crash!
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hm, you are right about that. but i think if the new picture policy allowed a certain amount of pictures (for example, 3 per post) that would work, but then again people would just spam multiple posts hehe :p
 
Laura4 said:
So proud of our Shibs for skating full out and not leaving anything on the ice! They gave the fans what they wanted!

I'm betting the reason they may not go to World's is because they've been asked to do the all sports edition of DWTS. They've been in the audience at one of the shows, so the producers know who they are. The show has had a married couple compete; I'm sure they'd love to have siblings on the show, which I don't think has been done before.
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They could still do Worlds and do DWTS -- This edition starts on April 30. Worlds is March 19-25. Stars of Ice rehearsals will be right after Worlds with the first stop on April 6. DWTS is taped live on Monday and Tuesday in LA. SOI dates are generally Friday-Saturday with a handful of Thursday dates (and one Wednesday show). If they do get on DWTS, it's going to be a few crazy weeks of traveling from SOI and back -- but I recall that Maks and Sharna traveled to SOI cities to work with Meryl and Charlie, so it can be done.

Selfishly, I'd like for them to continue to try new types of programs and experiment with different styles. At the same time, I've also come to enjoy their off-ice activities, i.e. doing the YouTube channel, working with other Asian American artists, etc., that I'd understand their desire to pursue new challenges and interests after two really intense Olympic cycles. There's also all the work with LA 2028, though I'm sure that won't really come into play until after 2020.
 
I’m not ready to think about a potential retirement yet. I just wanna enjoy their phenomenal skates and bronze medals for just a little longer right now :biggrinbo

They did say at the press conference after the FD that they still wanted to go to worlds so unless something changed between last night and now we’ll just have to wait and see.

Also, just gotta say one more time...
#ShibsForAllMedals
#SorryNotSorry

I still can’t believe it actually happened.
 
Laura4 said:
I hope the Shibs aren't planning to retire just yet. I really want to see them win a World's title.
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The way the sport is currently constructed, that would be difficult with a strong team like P/C at the top. The best the Shibs could look forward to is perhaps another silver medal at Worlds, and they already have one, along with two World bronze medals and two Olympic bronze medals, plus a slew of national and international medals of all colors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Shibutani see amazing medal cache

Another interesting article:
https://sports.yahoo.com/shibutanis...e-dance-winning-olympic-bronze-084828035.html
 
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