Figure Skating

[choclatechip45]

Happy for Jason! 

[justmehere]

Just now, emmawoodhouse said:

Jason is in the final group! 

Yay! So happy for him!

I could have sworn he earned 100 in the short one time this season -- yet this was listed as a season's best.

[Sarahsmile416]

I truly get joy out of watching him skate…he puts a smile on my face.  Just incredible.  For once, Johnny hits it right on the nose with the compliments for him. 

[Linderhill]

watching Nathan and the Georgian back to back was a big comparison.  Nathan's arm movements seem to enhance the dramatic music but the Georgian's seemed to be a lot of flailing about.  Not as bad as Plushy and Tara's back in the day, Moris' seemed to actually feel the music at least.

[CeeBeeGee]

30 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

Okay, I want Kagiyama to medal. I adore him!

 

28 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

He is the cutest. His coaches are smart to play up his charm.

He is beyond adorable. When he bounced right up to the judges? OH MY GOD. He is a little squirming puppy dog. ADORABLE.

8 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

Sinnerman is my all time favorite program. All time. No one can match his artistry. No one. 

Absolutely no one. He makes you forget you're watching figure skating, he turns the experience into something else. Something elevated and otherworldly and strange. Everything, everything is all part of a wholly integrated package.

I'm SO THRILLED for Nathan!!!! I was standing there in my living room, my hands clasped together. This is your time, Nathan!!!! I remember bursting into tears after his free skate in 2018, I was so happy for his redemption. I'm so happy for him.

[SophiaD]

They're switching to late-night coverage here.  It's a lot more fun watching Nathan skate his short after I know how he did.  :)  

[legaleagle53]

Nathan should be a lock for gold now, especially with Hanyu out of medal contention. So the real question to me is who's going to get silver and bronze.

[Good Queen Jane]

Jason only got one 10 in the component scores. Are the judges blind?

[healthnut]

I’m still in shock over Hanyu. Overall, a fantastic men’s short program. Men’s skating has been really volatile all year, I’m so glad most everyone pulled it together when it counted. I missed Vincent. He might’ve bombed the long but he usually kills his Vincent short program. At least Jason made the final group, so happy for him. Per usual, he was criminally underscored in PCS and I thought Yuma’s PCS was too high. 

[justmehere]

Nathan is a great skater. His artistry has improved significantly, and I'm never going to dispute him as technically superior due to his jumps. But he earned 47.99 on PCS to Jason's 47.29. This is part of my issue. How is Nathan's artistry score in La Boheme higher than Jason's in Sinnerman? Jason should have had well over 48 if Nathan's was 47.99. Sinnerman is simply incomparable, in a class by itself and performed impeccably. Everyone raves - yet there it is. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by justmehere

[SophiaD]

Jason is adorable.  I have to admit, I've never heard the phrase, "Put the oil to the fire," but he's way more coherent than I would have been.

So lovely to see them skating so well.  I want Nathan to win gold, but I'd be very happy to see Kagiyama win the silver.  And if Jason grabbed a surprise bronze, well, that would be awesome.  

[CeeBeeGee]

Just now, SophiaD said:

Jason is adorable.  I have to admit, I've never heard the phrase, "Put the oil to the fire," but he's way more coherent than I would have been.

So lovely to see them skating so well.  I want Nathan to win gold, but I'd be very happy to see Kagiyama win the silver.  And if Jason grabbed a surprise bronze, well, that would be awesome.  

That would be my dream podium. Unlikely but--*sighs.* I loved hearing Johnny go on about how respected Jason is. He deserves it. It's so obvious how much Jason loves this sport.

Great night. Other than Yuzuru's unfortunate pop out, very happy. Hopefully he'll hit the 4A in the long.

[kittykat]

What a great final group.  Nathan nails the short (whew) and Jason exceeds expectations.  I know there's a large gap but I wouldn't count Yuma and Shoma out.  So glad we got to see everyone.

[HartofDixie]

Jason

https://youtu.be/2OTw0xdajSw
 

Nathan

https://youtu.be/MXrOQTwX5CA

[gatopretoNYC]

12 hours ago, GeminiDancer said:

I will also add, Jason Brown and Rohene Ward are a match made in heaven. I wish Ward choreographed his long program.

Totally agree. I love Rohene's programs.

[absnow54]

What a great night for Nathan and Jason. I think the podium is out of Jason’s reach, barring disaster, but I think he could make top 5. Too bad Ilia couldn’t be used. If he’d performed as well as he did at Nationals, he’d probably be in podium position right now. 

[Lady Whistleup]

I had to go to bed right after Nathan skated, but just caught up on Jason. What a great skate for him!

The mens' field is so deep. There is no room for error among the medal contenders. Holy shit, I can't imagine the stress of the skaters knowing that the other skaters are so good that one mistake can doom their chances.

[annzeepark914]

I couldn't keep my eyes open by 10:45 PM so I've enjoyed reading your comments here re: Jason's & Nathan's performances last night. I watched them this morning via YouTube. Sinnerman has to be *the* best SP in my experience watching men's figure skating (& that covers a lot of sp's!) It's nonstop modern, jazzy, ballet-on-ice. And in this new era of drippy, whispery vocals, Sinnerman is a joy to listen to as I watch one helluva great skater. I hope Jason goes to World's so I can watch it again...live this time 😁.

[estellasmum]

I really don't watch skating, I used to LOVE it, and watch anything and everything that came on growing up (which wasn't much), and BEG to go to Stars on Ice. I don't now. IDK if it has changed or I have. I read what you all have to say. But Eteri's girls leave me cold, I've never been a pairs or dance wonk, and I don't even watch always with the Olympics.  That being said I'm so happy I watched last night. Things I loved:

The artistry of the first 2 Japanese men.

OMG, my younger self had a partially choreographed program to Never Tear Us Apart in my head, and someone actually skated to it. I'm so happy someone realized what a great song it would be to skate to!!

Nathan Chen. Wow. When someone is that good at what they do, no matter what it is that they do, when you that much are on just another level, it is always utterly captivating to watch.

I've seen Jason Brown once, and I really didn't get him. I had tears in my eyes after that program. That was just pure art on ice. I get why he isn't even going to medal, but I would watch the shit out of that. I got up and watched it again this morning, and I still feel that way.

 

[Lovecat]

27 minutes ago, estellasmum said:

OMG, my younger self had a partially choreographed program to Never Tear Us Apart in my head, and someone actually skated to it. I'm so happy someone realized what a great song it would be to skate to!!

 

10 hours ago, Chaser said:

Keegan always reminds me of Elvis Stojko.  

MAJOR Stojko vibes!  I really enjoyed his performance.

12 hours ago, OnePlusOne said:

I loved that Star Wars program so much. The costume, the step sequence...he totally committed to it.

One of my favorites of the night.

12 hours ago, twoods said:

The French skater is so freaking cute, especially his reaction. So happy for him!

He's a cutie, and for some reason, I was charmed to see a French guy named "Kevin."  Also the Russian named "Mark," and the Mexican named "Donovan."

14 hours ago, Enero said:

Looks like USA is playing the full competition. YAY!

Unfortunately I didn't see this until about 10:25, but I'm wise to them now and have set my DVR accordingly for the rest of the skating!

[AuntieDiane6]

1 hour ago, Lovecat said:

Looks like USA is playing the full competition. YAY!

They stopped at 10:45 to go to NBC but still, between the two you could see all the competitors.

[Lovecat]

Just now, AuntieDiane6 said:

They stopped at 10:45 to go to NBC but still, between the two you could see all the competitors.

I was only recording the NBC feed, but I scoured the teevee grid last night and added all of the USA blocks, too, so I think I'm set!  My BFF doesn't have cable (I do) and doesn't subscribe to any streaming services (I don't, either), so we are dependent on cable networks to get our Olympic figure skating fix!  We've planned a whole afternoon on the 19th; sure, results will be old news by then, but we're just going to sit back and enjoy the performances.  And lots of snacks :)

[jrzy]

16 hours ago, Enero said:

Looks like USA is playing the full competition. YAY!

Yes, but they cut if off for Hockey before the last 2 groups,  the NBC broadcast kept showing the same skier who came in 2nd for like 10 minutes, why they couldn't have gone to figure skating which was a live ongoing event is beyond me,   I think the Olympics coverage has been terrible for skating. 

[absnow54]

6 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

They stopped at 10:45 to go to NBC but still, between the two you could see all the competitors.

I think they missed 1 or 2 skaters during Hanyu's group. The break in coverage between 10:45 and around 11:30 when NBC picked coverage back up was stressful! For some reason I can't bring myself to pick up Peacock for the games. I'm one of the few who actually like the commentary. 

[GeminiDancer]

10 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I couldn't keep my eyes open by 10:45 PM so I've enjoyed reading your comments here re: Jason's & Nathan's performances last night. I watched them this morning via YouTube. Sinnerman has to be *the* best SP in my experience watching men's figure skating (& that covers a lot of sp's!) It's nonstop modern, jazzy, ballet-on-ice. And in this new era of drippy, whispery vocals, Sinnerman is a joy to listen to as I watch one helluva great skater. I hope Jason goes to World's so I can watch it again...live this time 😁.

Alas, Jason isn't on the World team.

[emmawoodhouse]

15 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

Alas, Jason isn't on the World team.

Never say never. Nathan may give up his spot if he wins gold here. 

[annzeepark914]

45 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Never say never. Nathan may give up his spot if he wins gold here. 

Especially if it's true he's having hip issues.

[absnow54]

I do wonder what Nathan Chen's ambitions are with the sport, and whether he'll stick around if he gets his gold medal this season. He'll be 26 for the next Olympics, which isn't outside the realm of possibility for topping the podium again, but at the level he's performing at, I doubt he could sustain that for another 4 years, especially with skaters like Yuma and Ilia waiting in the wings. 

[GeminiDancer]

Here's what I'm hoping for (I know barring epic meltdown or a positive test Nathan will win gold):

1. That Jason can land that 4S clean, and somehow finishes in the top 5.

2. Yuzu skates lights out (while not destroying his ankles).

3. Kevin Aymoz and Denis finishes in the top 10.

What are you all hoping for for the men's free skate?

[MaryMitch]

22 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

Here's what I'm hoping for (I know barring epic meltdown or a positive test Nathan will win gold):

1. That Jason can land that 4S clean, and somehow finishes in the top 5.

2. Yuzu skates lights out (while not destroying his ankles).

3. Kevin Aymoz and Denis finishes in the top 10.

What are you all hoping for for the men's free skate?

I love watching Jason skate, but come ON, Jason, you need that quad!

I also want to watch skates with great music, and by that I mean something that makes me sit up and say "hey, this is fun!".  I noticed a lot of the men's short programs used modern music this year.  Leave the ballet to the Russians; let's see Broadway and jazz!

[healthnut]

4 hours ago, estellasmum said:

OMG, my younger self had a partially choreographed program to Never Tear Us Apart in my head, and someone actually skated to it. I'm so happy someone realized what a great song it would be to skate to!!

A few people used it last year including Cain-Gribble & Leduc who skated their short program to the Bishop Briggs version.

[Avaleigh]

42 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

What are you all hoping for for the men's free skate?

Clean skates from everyone. 

More specifically, I want Nathan to win, I want Shoma to get second and I want Yuma in third. Yes, in a perfect world Jason would get that bronze medal but we all know that's not going to happen even if he lands the quad sal. The field is too deep. A fourth place finish though so that he can give an exhibition performance...also unlikely, but wouldn't  that be nice?

I also want Roman to have a good skate. I feel so bad for him. 

Finally, I want Yuzu to have a Mao Asada in Sochi long program. 

[absnow54]

2 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I also want Roman to have a good skate. I feel so bad for him. 

Fortunately(?) for Roman, he didn't make the LP, so he never has to touch the Olympic ice again if he (understandably) doesn't want to. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

I want Nathan to win.  

I want Jason Brown to finish top 5.

I'd like cute Denis and the star wars kid to finish top 10/12.

Don't @ me, but I'm ready for Hanyu to retire.  

[emmawoodhouse]

The Fanyus are awful. I won't be sad when Hanyu retires and takes his sicko fanbase with him. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Hanyu is not on social media of any sort and rarely gives interviews because of the Fanyus. It must be hard on him too.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I do wonder what Nathan Chen's ambitions are with the sport, and whether he'll stick around if he gets his gold medal this season. He'll be 26 for the next Olympics, which isn't outside the realm of possibility for topping the podium again, but at the level he's performing at, I doubt he could sustain that for another 4 years, especially with skaters like Yuma and Ilia waiting in the wings. 

I think he's retiring after the Olympics. This has been a business trip for him gold or bust. I think the same with Papadakis/Cizeron as well, but they will most likely compete at Worlds since it is in France. 

[dankesean]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I do wonder what Nathan Chen's ambitions are with the sport, and whether he'll stick around if he gets his gold medal this season. He'll be 26 for the next Olympics, which isn't outside the realm of possibility for topping the podium again, but at the level he's performing at, I doubt he could sustain that for another 4 years, especially with skaters like Yuma and Ilia waiting in the wings. 

I kind of hope that, should Nathan win (which seems likely & I'm rooting for) he gathers up the many laurels he has and says 'screw this, I'm a full time Yalie from here on'. With an olympic gold in hand, he wouldn't have anything left to prove, and those of us who wince a little every time a new mention of his recurring hip strain comes up can find something else to sweat about.

Yeah, he definitely could keep going for a few more years, even another full olympic cycle, potentially, but diminishing returns would creep in sooner or later, and I'd personally like the NBC shoved-down-your-throat narrative in 2026 to be 'Will it be Ilia or Yuma (or insert future contender here)?' rather than 'Can Nathan do it AGAIN?'

Edited February 8, 2022 by dankesean

[dankesean]

1 hour ago, GeminiDancer said:

Here's what I'm hoping for (I know barring epic meltdown or a positive test Nathan will win gold):

1. That Jason can land that 4S clean, and somehow finishes in the top 5.

2. Yuzu skates lights out (while not destroying his ankles).

3. Kevin Aymoz and Denis finishes in the top 10.

What are you all hoping for for the men's free skate?

It might already be an implied subset of your #2, but I'd like Yuzu to land that 4A. Even if it isn't enough to put him on the podium, I would love to see his career have that little bit of history added to it as a footnote.

[absnow54]

11 minutes ago, dankesean said:

It might already be an implied subset of your #2, but I'd like Yuzu to land that 4A. Even if it isn't enough to put him on the podium, I would love to see his career have that little bit of history added to it as a footnote.

It'd be exciting, but has he ever even landed one in practice? All the clips I've seen are severely under rotated and two footed. 

[Avaleigh]

4 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Fortunately(?) for Roman, he didn't make the LP, so he never has to touch the Olympic ice again if he (understandably) doesn't want to. 

I didn't see his skate I just heard it wasn't good. I don't know if I feel better or worse that he didn't make the LP. If he goes to Worlds I hope he can have his redemptive skate there.

Has anyone seen any of the ladies practice sessions? I have to say that there was a noticeable difference between the overall approach of the Russians vs the Americans. There were a lot more jumps popping with the Americans and the Russians were doing competition ready run throughs of their programs. 

I'm as over Johnny fawning over the Russians as most people are but I think he might have had a point when he said their practice sessions were like little competitions in their own right. 

Alysa's practice looked pretty solid. Some underrotations but at least it looks like she's going to try the triple axel in the long. Not sure if it'll be fully rotated but at least she's going for it.

Mariah spent half of her run through simply marking her jumps. Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing her. Just commenting on the different approaches. It's obvious that everyone at the Olympics works ridiculously hard otherwise they wouldn't be here.

[healthnut]

7 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

It'd be exciting, but has he ever even landed one in practice? All the clips I've seen are severely under rotated and two footed. 

No, he’s not been even close to underrotating the jump, they are all full downgrades with poor execution. I’ve long since been of the opinion he should abort the 4A and focus on his quad loop, because that was a better winning strategy. And then the Fanyus all attacked me. 

[EtheltoTillie]

How do you watch the skating with commentaries?  The Peacock replay has no commentaries.  Do they have live commenting on YouTube replays?

[Rootbeer]

6 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

How do you watch the skating with commentaries?  The Peacock replay has no commentaries.  Do they have live commenting on YouTube replays?

Most of the YouTube replays are the NBC feed with Johnny and Tara and Terry, so there is commentary.

Peacock's livestream doesn't have any commentary at all, except you can hear the PA announcer in the arena announce each skater and give a little bit of background on them during warmups.

[iMonrey]

Yuzuru Hanyu still looks like he's about 14 to me. I can't believe he's 28. He simply does not age.

Kagiyama's short program was my favorite. I mean, Nathan Chen was breathtaking, but Yuma's program was so much fun. I'm so tired of the overly dramatic numbers with the somber, operatic music. Change things up, people! That's why I miss skaters like Javier Fernandez, he always had such fun numbers.

Tara and Johnny were off their game on the commentary. At one point someone got a score of 10.4 and Tara said "that's almost 11!" Uh, no Tara, 10.4 is not almost 11. It's better than 10 but it's closer to 10 than 11. Also, at one point Johnny called out someone's triple axel as having a low GOE but it got exactly the same score as Nathan Chen's. 

Quote

Also -- as much as I love Shoma Uno, the judges apparently ignored him touching the ice after his combination jump. It was very plain to see, and he even looked surprised by his score, perhaps thinking it should be lower given the mistake. Did no one else see it?

Yeah I caught that too. There was so much bitching about Evan Lysacek winning without a quad they over-compensated by rewarding quad attempts that were less than successful. Putting a hand down should be a bigger penalty than that.

Quote

For some reason I can't bring myself to pick up Peacock for the games. I'm one of the few who actually like the commentary. 

And NBC wonders why viewership is down. Coverage on the broadcast network is crap and a lot of people don't want to shell out money for their streaming platform.

[honeywest]

43 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Coverage on the broadcast network is crap and a lot of people don't want to shell out money for their streaming platform.

Peacock is worth it to me to not have to hear Tara.

[HartofDixie]

2 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I think he's retiring after the Olympics. This has been a business trip for him gold or bust. I think the same with Papadakis/Cizeron as well, but they will most likely compete at Worlds since it is in France. 

Im expecting Nathan, Vincent, and Karen will return to school in the fall. Mariah and  Jason might do another season. Not sure which dance/pairs will continue.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

There were a lot more jumps popping with the Americans and the Russians were doing competition ready run throughs of their programs. 

Actually, the complaint in the past was that the RUSSIANS only did jump run-throughs and not entire programs so they got more tired than those who did the entire events.  Probably Eteri put a stop to that.  

 

Quote

And NBC wonders why viewership is down. Coverage on the broadcast network is crap and a lot of people don't want to shell out money for their streaming platform.

No, it doesn't wonder why viewership is down.  Some longtime viewers are boycotting over Chinese politics, others don't like the time difference and having to stay up until midnight to see the finals.  The Olympics also aren't the big deal they used to be when the plucky, poor Americans were the underdogs to the rich, professional Russians.  

The coverage is better than it has been.  I don't mind Johnny and Tara one bit and neither do the CASUAL VIEWERS. They at least shut up during the ice dancing performances and they don't prattle on about the costumes like Peggy Fleming did.  What I personally dislike is the American-centric coverage as if only FIVE AMERICANS are competing.  I used to love the old days of ABC and CBS when we got interviews with Swiss archers and barefoot Kenyans.  

Edited February 8, 2022 by AuntieDiane6
Update

[HartofDixie]

$4.99 for Peacock then cancel after the Olympics.

[Linderhill]

or xfinity (comcast) has peacock as a freebie with their cable package (the non premium version with commercials).  It was how I got to watch the equestrian sports during the summer game.