2009 Nationals Day 1: Original Dance & Ladies Short
It was a balmy 35 degrees in Cleveland today. A tropical paradise compared to what we've had in Wisconsin. I felt I barely needed my hat and mittens.
I spent the morning at the Cleveland Art Museum -- a place I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. Luckily their permanent exhibit is Impressionism, which is exactly what I love most (other than that, not a huge art fan).
After waiting 45 minutes for the bus, I finally reached downtown Cleveland, where I proceeded to get more lost inside Tower City, the large shopping mall and bus/train depot. I needed to map out my quest to the arena but also hoped to head on over to The Christmas Story house. Yes, THE Christmas Story... where Ralphie shot his eye out. I never made it because by the time I found the RTA info booth, got directions, and ate lunch (at Hard Rock), there wasn't much time left before I had to get to the arena for the Original Dance. Ralphie and his Carbine Action Red Ryder BB Gun will have to wait until tomorrow.
While killing time at Tower City, I read through my NY Times magazine and watched the passersby, some of which were tonight's competitors. Becky Bereswill snacked on some Auntie Anne's and Jonathan Harris came down the escalator wearing a winter vest but no shirt underneath (at least not a shirt with sleeves). I guess that's how they roll in L.A. in the middle of January.
As you attend these events, you get used to seeing skaters out of the spotlight. And in some cases, you have to be careful not to step on them; they're so tiny you don't see them underneath you. Such was the case with Kristi Yamaguchi, who was roaming the hallways of the Quicken Loans arena during the Pairs Short.
Speaking of Kristi Yamaguchi, Between flights of Ladies competitors, we had a 15 minute break. I headed around the arena to stop by and say hi to Carol Cooper, whom I visited with prior to the competition. Well, sadly I never made it over to Carol before the competition resumed. I was distracted by the small crowd of people gathering around the Icenetwork.com booth, where Kristi Yamaguchi was standing in front of a camera. As I watched along, someone approached and asked if I was in line. I told him I didn't know what was going on, and so he explained that they were inviting people to sign up to interview Kristi for a chance to win free tickets to Worlds in L.A.! He asked if I'd like to give it a shot (the interview would be recorded, posted on Icenetwork.com, and the interview with the most votes wins).
Now, I'm a pretty practical person and don't really jump into things too often, but it I didn't hesitate to say, "Sure, why not?!" and headed for the line. I stood there and, for a few fleeting moments, wondered if I should back out. Then that familiar voice -- Bubba Blue's mom from Forrest Gump -- returned, "Are you crazy? Or just plain stupid?" I had nothing to lose. So I jotted down four questions (one cliche question to open the conversation, and three follow-ups that would hopefully lead somewhere). They provided us with suggested questions to ask too, but what kind of radio producer would I be if I couldn't come up with original questions on my own?!
Finally, it was my turn. I introduced myself to Kristi, spelled my name out for the camera, and began the interview. I wish I'd been more eloquent at times (I did stumble), but after all, I had a mere two minutes to prepare an interview with one of the most famous women in the world. By golly! My questions were these:
1) Who did you look up to as a young skater? [I knew the answer to this, which is why I asked it because it would lead to Question 2.]
Answer: Dorothy Hamill, Tiffany Chin, Brian Boitano, et al.
2) How long did it take before you considered Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano your peers instead of just your role models?
Answer: A long time... (there was more to this but I don't remember it.)
3) You just won "Dancing With the Stars." If you'd participated in Dancing WIth the Stars 18 years ago, how would it have changed the way you approached skating? (NOTE: I MEANT to say "how would it have changed the way you prepared for the Olympics?" but my brain was going in too many directions.)
Answer: "I would've been driven to draw my skating out from within..."
4. Finally, given that you're an internationally-known gold medalist and you've been on Dancing With the Stars, among other things, you've made a lot of connections globally. Who do you have yet to meet in this world, and what would you say to that person?
Answer: It took her a while to think of someone, but she eventually settled on President Obama and said she'd thank him for the hope he's brought to this country.
To hear her actual answers, I guess we'll have to wait for Icenetwork.com to post them. I'll definitely let you know when that happens.
Pics of the Day
Championship Pairs Short results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG023.HTML
Championship Original Dance results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG026.HTML
Championship Ladies Short results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG019.HTML
It's too bad many of the skaters I was looking forward to seeing have withdrawn from competition (Belbin/Agosto, Meissner, and Hughes). On the other hand, it'll be interesting to see who rises to the occasion now that some of the strongest competitors are out.
Tomorrow: Mens Short
I spent the morning at the Cleveland Art Museum -- a place I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. Luckily their permanent exhibit is Impressionism, which is exactly what I love most (other than that, not a huge art fan).
After waiting 45 minutes for the bus, I finally reached downtown Cleveland, where I proceeded to get more lost inside Tower City, the large shopping mall and bus/train depot. I needed to map out my quest to the arena but also hoped to head on over to The Christmas Story house. Yes, THE Christmas Story... where Ralphie shot his eye out. I never made it because by the time I found the RTA info booth, got directions, and ate lunch (at Hard Rock), there wasn't much time left before I had to get to the arena for the Original Dance. Ralphie and his Carbine Action Red Ryder BB Gun will have to wait until tomorrow.
While killing time at Tower City, I read through my NY Times magazine and watched the passersby, some of which were tonight's competitors. Becky Bereswill snacked on some Auntie Anne's and Jonathan Harris came down the escalator wearing a winter vest but no shirt underneath (at least not a shirt with sleeves). I guess that's how they roll in L.A. in the middle of January.
As you attend these events, you get used to seeing skaters out of the spotlight. And in some cases, you have to be careful not to step on them; they're so tiny you don't see them underneath you. Such was the case with Kristi Yamaguchi, who was roaming the hallways of the Quicken Loans arena during the Pairs Short.
Speaking of Kristi Yamaguchi, Between flights of Ladies competitors, we had a 15 minute break. I headed around the arena to stop by and say hi to Carol Cooper, whom I visited with prior to the competition. Well, sadly I never made it over to Carol before the competition resumed. I was distracted by the small crowd of people gathering around the Icenetwork.com booth, where Kristi Yamaguchi was standing in front of a camera. As I watched along, someone approached and asked if I was in line. I told him I didn't know what was going on, and so he explained that they were inviting people to sign up to interview Kristi for a chance to win free tickets to Worlds in L.A.! He asked if I'd like to give it a shot (the interview would be recorded, posted on Icenetwork.com, and the interview with the most votes wins).
Now, I'm a pretty practical person and don't really jump into things too often, but it I didn't hesitate to say, "Sure, why not?!" and headed for the line. I stood there and, for a few fleeting moments, wondered if I should back out. Then that familiar voice -- Bubba Blue's mom from Forrest Gump -- returned, "Are you crazy? Or just plain stupid?" I had nothing to lose. So I jotted down four questions (one cliche question to open the conversation, and three follow-ups that would hopefully lead somewhere). They provided us with suggested questions to ask too, but what kind of radio producer would I be if I couldn't come up with original questions on my own?!
Finally, it was my turn. I introduced myself to Kristi, spelled my name out for the camera, and began the interview. I wish I'd been more eloquent at times (I did stumble), but after all, I had a mere two minutes to prepare an interview with one of the most famous women in the world. By golly! My questions were these:
1) Who did you look up to as a young skater? [I knew the answer to this, which is why I asked it because it would lead to Question 2.]
Answer: Dorothy Hamill, Tiffany Chin, Brian Boitano, et al.
2) How long did it take before you considered Dorothy Hamill and Brian Boitano your peers instead of just your role models?
Answer: A long time... (there was more to this but I don't remember it.)
3) You just won "Dancing With the Stars." If you'd participated in Dancing WIth the Stars 18 years ago, how would it have changed the way you approached skating? (NOTE: I MEANT to say "how would it have changed the way you prepared for the Olympics?" but my brain was going in too many directions.)
Answer: "I would've been driven to draw my skating out from within..."
4. Finally, given that you're an internationally-known gold medalist and you've been on Dancing With the Stars, among other things, you've made a lot of connections globally. Who do you have yet to meet in this world, and what would you say to that person?
Answer: It took her a while to think of someone, but she eventually settled on President Obama and said she'd thank him for the hope he's brought to this country.
To hear her actual answers, I guess we'll have to wait for Icenetwork.com to post them. I'll definitely let you know when that happens.
Pics of the Day
Championship Pairs Short results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG023.HTML
Championship Original Dance results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG026.HTML
Championship Ladies Short results:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/SEG019.HTML
It's too bad many of the skaters I was looking forward to seeing have withdrawn from competition (Belbin/Agosto, Meissner, and Hughes). On the other hand, it'll be interesting to see who rises to the occasion now that some of the strongest competitors are out.
Tomorrow: Mens Short