NO WAY!!! Olympics, Day 7
Michael Cudlitz cleared up a common fandom misinterpretation of a term he used in Southland. Cooper called Sherman "boot," not "boo."
I should so be asleep, but I had to put this together before I went to bed. Image heavy! All gifs and some pics from ONTD (all free skate gifs by evett, Daisuke in short program by must_go_faster). The rest of the pics from NBCOlympics.com
While I do wish the women curlers for Team USA were doing better, I can't say I'm too put out that the men aren't. Our skip was Mr. Big Talk before the competition, saying how he loved the pressure of having the last rock, "you can put it all on me," and all that, but every single time that pressure has been on him, he's FAILED. He can talk the talk, but he can't walk the walk or strike the rock or you get the picture.
Huzzah Maria Riesch, who won gold in the super-combined. So the BFFs, Riesch & Vonn, now have a gold medal each. I predicted that Lindsey would have trouble in the slalom, but it's too bad she wasn't able to medal.
And now, men's figure skating. As I said in my last post, OH MY GOD. I'm so happy I was able to find a live stream so I didn't have to wait for NBC's West Coast feed. What a shocker. But before I get to Evan, I want to talk about some of the other skaters whose performances I really enjoyed.
Takahiko Kozuka, Florent Amodio, and Denis Ten had their issues, but I cannot wait to see how they develop over the next few years. I love their graceful skating, and all they need is more strength and seasoning.
Je t'aime, Florent!
Poor Nobunari Oda's lace! Beyond that, this wasn't his best performance of that routine. But like the others, he's still a baby and will be back. Ah, Stephane Lambiel. Your spins remain beyond compare, but those jumps. Eek. I was also really hoping that Jeremy Abbott and Patrick Chan would redeem themselves by performing clean free skates, but alas, it was not to be. Watch out next Olympics, though. I'm sure those two will be back and more determined than ever. As the commentators said, to win in your first Olympics is not the norm. It might be easier for Patrick to be across the world and without that impossible pressure of being on home soil. I do love Patrick's tidy jumps and spins. He's not the most exciting skater ever, but he's not sloppy or flaily.
~HERE'S JOHNNY!~
Johnny's performance was beautiful! I do agree with the critics (and the audience that Johnny had to gesture to settle down) that the judges underscored him. His routine was not as difficult as some of the other skaters, so I don't think he deserved to be on the podium, but he probably should have received more points for his artistry.
Anyway, HATERS TO THE LEFT. Johnny showed he could skate with the best of 'em, and I'm proud that he brought it for the Olympics.
DAISUKE! \o/ I really respect him for attempting the quad, even though he hadn't landed it all year. He was determined to do everything he could, put it all out there on the ice, and hold nothing back. Daisuke is a real pro. After falling on the quad, he rallied and skated fabulously throughout the rest of the program, so I am soooo happy that he won the bronze, giving Japan their first men's figure skating medal ever.
He has such a wonderful unique personality on the ice, and I adore him. I heard he's retiring after this, and I'll miss him lots.
I love how everyone on LJ is saying Evan looked like a Slytherin (Snape on Ice!). Well, he certainly slithered in and snatched the gold from Plushenko. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm pleased it happened!
Evan's jumps were clean, his spins were fab, and his footwork very difficult. It isn't my favorite routine of his, but it got the job done very effectively. Plushenko's performance just let me shrugging at the end. Sure, he landed his jumps and they were really difficult, but they were wobbly and not pretty. His step sequence was so blah and not at Evan's level at all, and his style (or lack thereof) still didn't impress me. The commentators said he has charisma, but I've never seen it on the ice. I was expecting the judges to give the gold to Plushenko because of his jumps, but apparently it came down to grade of execution, and Evan's execution as well as his artistry were superior.
I also wish I could find a picture of the group hug Lysacek had right after winning with his coach Frank, choreographer Laurie, and pairs gold medalists Shen & Zhao. It was very adorable to see Shen & Zhao backstage with Evan at the end.
Elvis Stojko is sore that his predictions were wrong. Cry more Elvis. That was not a gold medal performance from Plushenko, no matter what you say.
Last night, when it mattered, Evan was the best overall skater.
I should so be asleep, but I had to put this together before I went to bed. Image heavy! All gifs and some pics from ONTD (all free skate gifs by evett, Daisuke in short program by must_go_faster). The rest of the pics from NBCOlympics.com
While I do wish the women curlers for Team USA were doing better, I can't say I'm too put out that the men aren't. Our skip was Mr. Big Talk before the competition, saying how he loved the pressure of having the last rock, "you can put it all on me," and all that, but every single time that pressure has been on him, he's FAILED. He can talk the talk, but he can't walk the walk or strike the rock or you get the picture.
Huzzah Maria Riesch, who won gold in the super-combined. So the BFFs, Riesch & Vonn, now have a gold medal each. I predicted that Lindsey would have trouble in the slalom, but it's too bad she wasn't able to medal.
And now, men's figure skating. As I said in my last post, OH MY GOD. I'm so happy I was able to find a live stream so I didn't have to wait for NBC's West Coast feed. What a shocker. But before I get to Evan, I want to talk about some of the other skaters whose performances I really enjoyed.
Takahiko Kozuka, Florent Amodio, and Denis Ten had their issues, but I cannot wait to see how they develop over the next few years. I love their graceful skating, and all they need is more strength and seasoning.
Je t'aime, Florent!
Poor Nobunari Oda's lace! Beyond that, this wasn't his best performance of that routine. But like the others, he's still a baby and will be back. Ah, Stephane Lambiel. Your spins remain beyond compare, but those jumps. Eek. I was also really hoping that Jeremy Abbott and Patrick Chan would redeem themselves by performing clean free skates, but alas, it was not to be. Watch out next Olympics, though. I'm sure those two will be back and more determined than ever. As the commentators said, to win in your first Olympics is not the norm. It might be easier for Patrick to be across the world and without that impossible pressure of being on home soil. I do love Patrick's tidy jumps and spins. He's not the most exciting skater ever, but he's not sloppy or flaily.
~HERE'S JOHNNY!~
Johnny's performance was beautiful! I do agree with the critics (and the audience that Johnny had to gesture to settle down) that the judges underscored him. His routine was not as difficult as some of the other skaters, so I don't think he deserved to be on the podium, but he probably should have received more points for his artistry.
Anyway, HATERS TO THE LEFT. Johnny showed he could skate with the best of 'em, and I'm proud that he brought it for the Olympics.
DAISUKE! \o/ I really respect him for attempting the quad, even though he hadn't landed it all year. He was determined to do everything he could, put it all out there on the ice, and hold nothing back. Daisuke is a real pro. After falling on the quad, he rallied and skated fabulously throughout the rest of the program, so I am soooo happy that he won the bronze, giving Japan their first men's figure skating medal ever.
He has such a wonderful unique personality on the ice, and I adore him. I heard he's retiring after this, and I'll miss him lots.
I love how everyone on LJ is saying Evan looked like a Slytherin (Snape on Ice!). Well, he certainly slithered in and snatched the gold from Plushenko. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm pleased it happened!
Evan's jumps were clean, his spins were fab, and his footwork very difficult. It isn't my favorite routine of his, but it got the job done very effectively. Plushenko's performance just let me shrugging at the end. Sure, he landed his jumps and they were really difficult, but they were wobbly and not pretty. His step sequence was so blah and not at Evan's level at all, and his style (or lack thereof) still didn't impress me. The commentators said he has charisma, but I've never seen it on the ice. I was expecting the judges to give the gold to Plushenko because of his jumps, but apparently it came down to grade of execution, and Evan's execution as well as his artistry were superior.
I also wish I could find a picture of the group hug Lysacek had right after winning with his coach Frank, choreographer Laurie, and pairs gold medalists Shen & Zhao. It was very adorable to see Shen & Zhao backstage with Evan at the end.
Elvis Stojko is sore that his predictions were wrong. Cry more Elvis. That was not a gold medal performance from Plushenko, no matter what you say.
Last night, when it mattered, Evan was the best overall skater.