figure skating: nationals!
My weekends are so boring now that Lark Rise to Candleford and Downton Abbey have wrapped up their seasons! And I missed most of the last episode of Lark Rise because of the National Figure Skating Championships. *cries* But it was totally worth it, because Nationals were great, and judging from what we saw there, the World Championships are going to be great too. I love the happy feeling you get after watching the exhibtions at Nationals. Everybody's so happy! And no one skated to a disco song wearing shiny short shorts! Praise the lord, it's a miracle! (Well, there was one disco number, but at least Richard Dornbush wore long pants!)
The competiton itself was great though. Ladies was a highlight, there was a real fight at the top, but it turned out the way I hoped. Alissa Czisny has really come into her own as a skater, and she blew everyone away. She's just perfect. That's not a word you throw around lightly, but there's no other way to describe her. Her skating is everything you want in a ladies champion, graceful, soft, perfectly centered spins, beautiful posture, amazing flexibility, and she makes it all look so effortless, like a sylph just gliding across the ice. Both her programs made me cry at Nationals this year. That's the kind of beauty that you watch skating for. Rachael Flatt is another one of those skaters you watch skating for, her short program made me cry too! (And my standards are pretty high when it comes to skating, I don't cry over just anything!) She brings so much passion and joy to her skating, and she's so solid that you don't sit there worrying about if she's going to land the jump, you just let the experience wash over you, and it's spectacular. I really love both Rachael and Alissa, and I hope they do well at Worlds, because honestly I think they are the two best ladies in the field right now. (Who knows if I'll even see Worlds though, since I don't think they're airing it on TV this year either. What idiot TV executive doesn't think the World Figure Skating Championships are worth airing? Like there isn't an enormous audience who would care to see that? US skaters are poised to win Ladies and Ice Dance this year; if ever there was a time for American audiences to care about the World Championships, this is it!)
The mens' competition was crazy, but so exciting, and I'm so happy for Ryan Bradley, how could you not be? He's always been the guy that put the performance first, and making the audience happy his top priority, and he always does, and it's great that he's been rewarded for it at last. I was so disappointed for Jeremy Abbott though, I love his freeskate this year, and I really desperately wanted to see him pull it together and make it sing. But he's so talented, he and Patrick Chan are the best guys in the field right now, and I really believe in his ability to pull it all together soon. Maybe he'll keep this program for next year now he's not going to Worlds, and maybe that'll be the time he needs.
And what do you say about Ice Dance? Davis & White are so amazing, they own this title now. They are indisputably the best in the World, and I think I'll keel over if they win their first World title at last and I don't see it! (But on a sad note, I miss Novarro & Bommentre at Nationals! They were always such a bright spot, bringing such warmth and personality to all their performances. They had a magic ability to make ice dance seem fun and accessable to a wide audience, and I really think they've been a big part of the blossoming of American ice dance over the last few years. I wish they'd have hung in a little longer, I'm sure they could have made the podium this year!)
The competiton itself was great though. Ladies was a highlight, there was a real fight at the top, but it turned out the way I hoped. Alissa Czisny has really come into her own as a skater, and she blew everyone away. She's just perfect. That's not a word you throw around lightly, but there's no other way to describe her. Her skating is everything you want in a ladies champion, graceful, soft, perfectly centered spins, beautiful posture, amazing flexibility, and she makes it all look so effortless, like a sylph just gliding across the ice. Both her programs made me cry at Nationals this year. That's the kind of beauty that you watch skating for. Rachael Flatt is another one of those skaters you watch skating for, her short program made me cry too! (And my standards are pretty high when it comes to skating, I don't cry over just anything!) She brings so much passion and joy to her skating, and she's so solid that you don't sit there worrying about if she's going to land the jump, you just let the experience wash over you, and it's spectacular. I really love both Rachael and Alissa, and I hope they do well at Worlds, because honestly I think they are the two best ladies in the field right now. (Who knows if I'll even see Worlds though, since I don't think they're airing it on TV this year either. What idiot TV executive doesn't think the World Figure Skating Championships are worth airing? Like there isn't an enormous audience who would care to see that? US skaters are poised to win Ladies and Ice Dance this year; if ever there was a time for American audiences to care about the World Championships, this is it!)
The mens' competition was crazy, but so exciting, and I'm so happy for Ryan Bradley, how could you not be? He's always been the guy that put the performance first, and making the audience happy his top priority, and he always does, and it's great that he's been rewarded for it at last. I was so disappointed for Jeremy Abbott though, I love his freeskate this year, and I really desperately wanted to see him pull it together and make it sing. But he's so talented, he and Patrick Chan are the best guys in the field right now, and I really believe in his ability to pull it all together soon. Maybe he'll keep this program for next year now he's not going to Worlds, and maybe that'll be the time he needs.
And what do you say about Ice Dance? Davis & White are so amazing, they own this title now. They are indisputably the best in the World, and I think I'll keel over if they win their first World title at last and I don't see it! (But on a sad note, I miss Novarro & Bommentre at Nationals! They were always such a bright spot, bringing such warmth and personality to all their performances. They had a magic ability to make ice dance seem fun and accessable to a wide audience, and I really think they've been a big part of the blossoming of American ice dance over the last few years. I wish they'd have hung in a little longer, I'm sure they could have made the podium this year!)