Figure skating.
I am a wayward fan of figure skating. Every now and then, I get really, really into it, like during the Vancouver Olympics. Then I resolve to keep following it, and never do. I never even watched the 2010 World Championships after making my dad tape it.
One afternoon, I saw a commercial for tickets to the national championships, which were in San Jose, and I noted that it was basically the week I was on vacation, but I would be back for the last day. I vaguely considered going. Then I forgot about it.
Then we got back from vacation, and James told me there was figure skating on TV. And there it was, the men's free skate. And I kind of wished again that I had gotten it together and managed to go. Mainly because I assume it's not often that a large competition is nearby enough for me to easily attend. Though this is probably one of those things where I should wait until something really awesome is here, like the Olympics or Worlds.
I don't really have much national spirit when it comes to figure skating. When I first became a fan in my own right -- versus watching and enjoying it with my mom -- I was enamoured of Russian skaters, starting with Ilia Kulik. But in general it's just whomever I find exciting or cute or intriguing in a particular season. There are American skaters I like, such as Johnny Weir. Watching this year's nationals, though, was kind of like, "Who are all these white boys?"
I guess Jeremy Abbott was pretty good. But I was kind of disappointed in how no one really had a clean program, and I think Abbott may have been the only guy who landed his quad. I liked Keegan Messing's energy, but I don't think he did well enough to make it to Worlds, meaning I won't see him again until next season at the earliest, by which time I'll probably have forgotten who he is.
But I know Worlds is March 25 to April 1 (spanning my birthday!) so I will do my best not to miss it.
Watching figure skating did remind me of Ginban Kaleidoscope and the totally awesome final volume. Someday I might get to translating it. Just like someday I might be a more constant fan...
One afternoon, I saw a commercial for tickets to the national championships, which were in San Jose, and I noted that it was basically the week I was on vacation, but I would be back for the last day. I vaguely considered going. Then I forgot about it.
Then we got back from vacation, and James told me there was figure skating on TV. And there it was, the men's free skate. And I kind of wished again that I had gotten it together and managed to go. Mainly because I assume it's not often that a large competition is nearby enough for me to easily attend. Though this is probably one of those things where I should wait until something really awesome is here, like the Olympics or Worlds.
I don't really have much national spirit when it comes to figure skating. When I first became a fan in my own right -- versus watching and enjoying it with my mom -- I was enamoured of Russian skaters, starting with Ilia Kulik. But in general it's just whomever I find exciting or cute or intriguing in a particular season. There are American skaters I like, such as Johnny Weir. Watching this year's nationals, though, was kind of like, "Who are all these white boys?"
I guess Jeremy Abbott was pretty good. But I was kind of disappointed in how no one really had a clean program, and I think Abbott may have been the only guy who landed his quad. I liked Keegan Messing's energy, but I don't think he did well enough to make it to Worlds, meaning I won't see him again until next season at the earliest, by which time I'll probably have forgotten who he is.
But I know Worlds is March 25 to April 1 (spanning my birthday!) so I will do my best not to miss it.
Watching figure skating did remind me of Ginban Kaleidoscope and the totally awesome final volume. Someday I might get to translating it. Just like someday I might be a more constant fan...