more olympic figure skating! (woohoo! Ice Dance!)
OMG how happy am I about the figure skating? The ice dance final is tonight, and I'm so excited, I've been looking forward to the ice dance most of all because of Davis & White and Virtue & Moir. (The gorgeous sylph-like creatures you see in my icon are in fact Davis & White!) Ice Dance is enjoying the most wonderful Renaissance at the moment, teams are pushing the envelope technically and becoming so innovative artisically, it's just the best thing ever, and North American teams are leading the way. It's the new world order, and it's beautiful! If you've never watched Ice Dance before, now is the time to start. You're gonna see some amazing stuff!
I'm actually a little conflicted though, because even though Davis & White are my favorite team, I'm kind of worried that if they win the gold they'd retire from eligible competition and I'd never see them again! I'd miss them at Nationals so much! I might settle for silver to get four more years of their grace and beauty! But the only team who could beat them is Virtue & Moir, who I also love. (But since they're Canadian, I never see their nationals anyway!) And quite honestly, if Virtue & Moir skate like they did in the compulsories and the OD, they'll win. My only criticism of them was always that they seemed a little reserved, that they didn't have the spark and the fire that Davis & White always bring to competition, but that is no longer true at the Olympics. I've never seen Virtue & Moir so agressive, and with such fire in their eyes, and they've just gone to a whole other level, it's so amazing to see. I love them both, they're the best two teams in the world, and if either one wins the gold (which they totally deserve) I would be thrilled and happy beyond description.
And I can only say of Domnina & Shabalin's offensively awful original dance that it was beneath them, and totally demeaning to their talent, Aboriginal culture, and the Olympic games in general. I honestly think they should have been disqualified for such a shameful display, or prevented entirely from performing a routine that embarasses both the sport of figure skating and the Olympic spirit. Which really pains me to say, because they're a good team that I've always liked, but they shouldn't even get on the podium with a performance like that.
And the men's competition! I'm SO proud of Evan Lysacek! I cried more than he did when he won! He was totally stoic, didn't even shed a tear, but I was sobbing on the sofa, man. (And I'm very glad they showed the medal ceremony this time! Frank Carroll actually smiled! I don't think I've witnessed that in fifteen years of watching figure skating!) I remember when Evan was a 14 year old kid at his first nationals, and to see how far he's come is just fantastic. He beat Evgeny Plushenko, for heaven's sake! I never would have foreseen it then, but he worked hard and he deserved it. And quite frankly I've never seen Evgeny skate that poorly, ever. I think he's such a big star now that he thinks he doesn't have to try anymore, and they'll just hand him gold medals, but it doesn't work that way! I love the new scoring system for that reason, because it allows the skaters who are good all around to win over guys who just do quads. It's not a jumping contest, it's a skating contest. You want just jumps, go be a pole-vaulter. End of story. I'm also so proud of Johnny Weir. This was the first time in years where he's put together those two clean programs, and he didn't look miserable and terrified before he even got on the ice! And he responded to the low marks with such zen, I've never seem him so calm and mature in my life. I remember when he was a 14 year old kid at his first nationals too, and I'm so proud to see him mature into the gracious champion I always knew he could be, even if he didn't make the podium.
Yay skating! Everybody go watch! (Go Davis & White! And Virtue & Moir!)
I'm actually a little conflicted though, because even though Davis & White are my favorite team, I'm kind of worried that if they win the gold they'd retire from eligible competition and I'd never see them again! I'd miss them at Nationals so much! I might settle for silver to get four more years of their grace and beauty! But the only team who could beat them is Virtue & Moir, who I also love. (But since they're Canadian, I never see their nationals anyway!) And quite honestly, if Virtue & Moir skate like they did in the compulsories and the OD, they'll win. My only criticism of them was always that they seemed a little reserved, that they didn't have the spark and the fire that Davis & White always bring to competition, but that is no longer true at the Olympics. I've never seen Virtue & Moir so agressive, and with such fire in their eyes, and they've just gone to a whole other level, it's so amazing to see. I love them both, they're the best two teams in the world, and if either one wins the gold (which they totally deserve) I would be thrilled and happy beyond description.
And I can only say of Domnina & Shabalin's offensively awful original dance that it was beneath them, and totally demeaning to their talent, Aboriginal culture, and the Olympic games in general. I honestly think they should have been disqualified for such a shameful display, or prevented entirely from performing a routine that embarasses both the sport of figure skating and the Olympic spirit. Which really pains me to say, because they're a good team that I've always liked, but they shouldn't even get on the podium with a performance like that.
And the men's competition! I'm SO proud of Evan Lysacek! I cried more than he did when he won! He was totally stoic, didn't even shed a tear, but I was sobbing on the sofa, man. (And I'm very glad they showed the medal ceremony this time! Frank Carroll actually smiled! I don't think I've witnessed that in fifteen years of watching figure skating!) I remember when Evan was a 14 year old kid at his first nationals, and to see how far he's come is just fantastic. He beat Evgeny Plushenko, for heaven's sake! I never would have foreseen it then, but he worked hard and he deserved it. And quite frankly I've never seen Evgeny skate that poorly, ever. I think he's such a big star now that he thinks he doesn't have to try anymore, and they'll just hand him gold medals, but it doesn't work that way! I love the new scoring system for that reason, because it allows the skaters who are good all around to win over guys who just do quads. It's not a jumping contest, it's a skating contest. You want just jumps, go be a pole-vaulter. End of story. I'm also so proud of Johnny Weir. This was the first time in years where he's put together those two clean programs, and he didn't look miserable and terrified before he even got on the ice! And he responded to the low marks with such zen, I've never seem him so calm and mature in my life. I remember when he was a 14 year old kid at his first nationals too, and I'm so proud to see him mature into the gracious champion I always knew he could be, even if he didn't make the podium.
Yay skating! Everybody go watch! (Go Davis & White! And Virtue & Moir!)