Figure Skating

[COESpiral]

Worlds determines Olympic spots.

[leopardprint]

I actually find Johnny to be an effective commentator, he’s good at breaking things down. 

Also, Nathan may have cursed the ice. Hanyu is lucky he went fist. 

[specialj67]

1 minute ago, nextian said:

That just sucked the life out of that room. Hanyu  was utterly amazing, completely deserving of that score, but I don't know how Nathan could follow it. Ugh. I really just wanted everyone to skate clean. And yes, the media pressure on Nathan has been unbelievable.

I had the same thought about Hanyu’s performance. I wish he was the last to skate just so we could end on that.

[Enero]

9 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Heartbreaking for Nathan. Also, NBC should stop pretending they have nothing to do with pressure he is under.

It's the nature of the beast especially in the Olympics. The U.S. media is relentless and have been hounding him the entire games due to his potential to medal at the top of the podium and due to his record quads in his program. 

The media will hound, but you have to be able to handle the pressure. Nathan is young and inexperienced with this type of pressure. If he continues on after the Olympics and has success he'll get used to handling the hype.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Enero

[displayname]

Just now, PoshSprinkles said:

You gotta admit, a scenario like that would make an amazing movie. 

Pretty much.

[GeminiDancer]

What was Kolyada's score? Did they show that?

[CherryMalotte]

Gawd I'm still cringing for Nathan.  I feel for him.  We know he's capable of better, and so does he, and it just wasn't his night. Here's hoping he doesn't beat himself up so badly over this mentally that it mars the rest of his competitive skating career.  

The Russians...they just aren't doing anything for me.  Even if I'm not the biggest fan I can still appreciate artistry and ability - but their routines are just kinda rehashed stuff I saw thirty years ago.  It's just different outfits and different faces.  

[twoods]

I feel deflated as well. Hanyu should have skated last. Blah.

[kittykat]

Did not expect Kolyada to score so low.  Shoma time!

[Irlandesa]

Well Uno seemed to handle following his countryman.

[kittykat]

2 minutes ago, GeminiDancer said:

What was Kolyada's score? Did they show that?

86.69 in 5th behind Rippon.

[Silver Raven]

It's weird watching the live stream, because they have a big window of the perfomance, and then up in the right corner the coaches, and the coaches react before the skater does something.

[Enero]

Well Uno seemed to thrive off the energy Hanyu left in the room. Great for him after what happened with the men before him. 

[SimoneS]

I liked Uno and the Vivaldi.

[COESpiral]

Nathan's got two choices:  fish or cut bait.  He may not get an individual medal this Olympics (not without some huge help, anyway) but he can take this experience and use it to grow and have the major redemption story in Beijing or he can quit.  What kind of inner strength does he possess?

Edited February 16, 2018 by COESpiral

[specialj67]

Shoma lands so low that it makes me nervous every time!

[Growsonwalls]

I feel like there's more going on with Nathan. This doesn't just look like nerves. You don't go from "5 quads in one program" to "can't land a single jump".

[Dots And Stripes]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked it until the singer started.  I'm not a music expert so I'm going to mangle this but the skating and music went well together.  The singer seemed to be singing in a style that didn't perfectly align with the beat of the music.  If I closed my eyes, which I did with the falls, the song and vocals worked together.  But I don't think it's meant to be danced to.

I don't know why they should.  He's getting pressure from everywhere. Pressure is part of the gig of being a frontrunner.  Nail this and the exposure could be very lucrative for him. 

There have been others who had the pressure and just threw down in a good way. 

 

2 minutes ago, Enero said:

It's the nature of the beast especially in the Olympics. The U.S. media is relentless and have been hounding him the entire games due to his potential to medal at the top of the podium and due to his record quads in his program. 

The media will hound, but you have to be able to handle the pressure. Nathan is young and inexperienced with this type of pressure. If he continues on after the Olympics and has success he'll get used to handling the hype.

I'm not saying NBC should avoid placing any pressure on athletes, but they should be a little more self aware. There are some athletes they hype when their event comes up. Nathan gets hyped constantly. They made him one of the faces of the games. If they want to talk about Nathan under pressure, fine, but it would be nice if their analysts realized that NBC is a big part of that pressure. 

[displayname]

Just now, COESpiral said:

Nathan's got two choices:  fish or cut bait.  He may not medal this Olympics (not without some huge help, anyway) but he can take this experience and use it to grow and have the major redemption story in Beijing or he can quit.  What kind of inner strength does he possess?

There's still the free. Honestly, I think he might make top 6.

[walnutqueen]

Dust in the Wind has to be one of my favorite songs of all time.  It gives me the feels every time I hear it, no matter how many decades have elapsed.

[anniebird]

Nathan was our only hope of a gold in figure skating so it's no surprise he got hyped. Hanyu got just as much, if not more, pressure from the Japanese media and he seemed to do okay. 

[Crs97]

Did you see how many bodyguards Hanyu has to travel with and how much media he deals with?  It is part of the gig, and Nathan couldn’t handle the pressure.  Not NBC’s fault.  Some can handle it (see Michael Phelps) and some struggle.  I feel for him; hopefully he can skate well in the free and end the Olympics on a high note.

[MostlyC]

Go Javi!

[Silver Raven]

Uno looks so young, even though he's 20.

[Paws]

Javier is a fine looking man. That is all.

[COESpiral]

Javier is my boyfriend.  Yum.

[walnutqueen]

Just now, Silver Raven said:

Uno looks so young, even though he's 20.

20 IS young!!!  ;-)

[GeminiDancer]

Just now, Paws said:

Javier is a fine looking man. That is all.

True story. I'd love for him to medal too.

[SimoneS]

Deserving score for Uno.

[dbell1]

Wonder how many people still know who Charlie Chaplin was?

Great skate from Shoma. 

And Javi brought it tonight. Nice.

[Enero]

2 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

 

I'm not saying NBC should avoid placing any pressure on athletes, but they should be a little more self aware. There are some athletes they hype when their event comes up. Nathan gets hyped constantly. They made him one of the faces of the games. If they want to talk about Nathan under pressure, fine, but it would be nice if their analysts realized that NBC is a big part of that pressure. 

They're just doing their jobs. This is not exclusive to the U.S. either. Look at the media hounding Hanyu and how Yuna Kim was under unimaginable pressure from country and media when she skated. NBC did the same thing they're doing to Nathan to Simone Biles at the 2016 Games. From the start they were going on and on about her winning (5) gold medals. The pressure was relentless. 

[anniebird]

Javier's got it all - he can do quads and still skate like he's in an ice show.

[twoods]

Yum and he’s skating beautifully. Maybe he can sneak in for a silver or bronze.

Edited February 16, 2018 by twoods

[Paws]

Javier was amazing and looked soooooooo good

[Silver Raven]

Brian Orser gets so into it.

I loved the character that Fernandez played.

[galaxygirl76]

I thoroughly enjoyed Javier's routine. It was beautiful.

[SimoneS]

Nice, Javier.

[Jeddah]

Brian Orser is having a good night!

ETA: Right as I typed that Terry Gannon said the exact same thing.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Jeddah

[SiobhanJW]

Love Javier! 

[Enero]

Good for Javier having a great skate. I still think Hanyu was head and shoulders better. 

[Irlandesa]

I still think Hanyu might have been a little bit better but Javier's program was my fave of the night.  Great music.  Great theme.  Great skating. He should be #2 at least.

[gatopretoNYC]

Missing Jason Brown right about now...

(In terms of American skaters)

Edited February 16, 2018 by gatopretoNYC

[anniebird]

I don't care about anyone else but I want Javier to win a medal - I hope he can hold it together for the long program.

[Silver Raven]

2nd place.  Wow, good for him.

[Snow Apple]

Poor Nathan. I'm still in shock. Can't even blame bad ice like in the team event.

Hope he can pull a Mirai and fight to come out stronger in the coming years.

[Thumper]

I loved Javier Fernandez's backstory on how he is encouraging figure skating in his country, and I loved his performance tonight, too.  

[specialj67]

Holy shit, Patrick Chan managed to make it to the final flight in the free. 

[Silver Raven]

Damn, Jin lands close to the wall.

[Enero]

This guy from China might challenge too. Wow. He's racking up the points. 

[Irlandesa]

Another good performance.  I did like the way he wrapped that up.