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Not to sound creepy but it's completely one-sided. I lurk everywhere else without signing up for an account except for here. I only signed up for something non-discussion related--which is why my username isn't very well thought-out--but once I have an account, my opinionated nature eventually won out so...

Lol. That's fine. We all don't want to see Hanyu's reign end but if it has to happen someday, then I'm willing to see the good it represents. But only if the guy is at least as good as Hanyu had been at his very best. It's hard to begrudge someone with as much talent as that. It'd be like frowning upon Hanyu himself. I'm not saying it'll be immediate but I'll be willing to accept it before too long. Also what I'm saying about rooting for others even while rooting for Hanyu isn't as magnanimous as I'm making it sound. I'm sorry if I made it seem that way. I'm saying there's room because we know that there isn't anyone out there who can beat Hanyu, million quads, inflated scores and all, when Hanyu absolutely nails it. It becomes something we can afford to do, because Hanyu's victory ultimately depends on how well he himself does, not how much better others are than him. And that's refreshing because everyone that came before him somehow also needed their rivals to not perform as good to be able to win for certain, which leaves very little room for fans to root for anyone but their own favorites, which inevitably leads to fans becoming somewhat resentful of the other party. It's not something they can help and I find that very tiring which is why I never really got into any athlete or sport until I discovered Hanyu. I noticed across different forums that you're pretty intense in your support, and I'm not surprised you feel the way you do. I suppose we all love in our own special ways. I'm not a super intense person generally but I feel like my support for the guy is pretty intense too, which is a bit ooc for me, but well, you learn new things about yourself everyday.....

@people saying how he didn't win this or that comp because of this or that skater: All the comps that he lost, it was simply because he didn't skate well enough to win. Because a Hanyu who skated well enough to win won because he forced the judges hands' to a point where no amount of inflation to others will help. All his wins in comps where the field was insanely strong have been that way and all his losses were because he fell a lot shorter than the times he won. It wasn't about anyone standing in his way. It was never about that with Hanyu. Hanyu's fight has always been with himself. And while this is true for all skaters, this is *especially* true for Hanyu. Because he takes it a lot further, as he is the one skater with high scores who actually earns every decimal point he's given without relying on the judges' whims and fancies and generosity. That's always been his strategy. He is nobody's racehorse but his own. @people worried about Hanyu getting edged out due to others potentially becoming stronger: It's only natural for others to get stronger. Getting stronger isn't a privilege exclusive to Hanyu and Hanyu alone. And wishing that it is just seems counter productive to me. I'd hate for everyone else to be held down in order for Hanyu to stay on top. Doesn't make him a worthy GOAT if he needs that to remain where he is. It's hard for me to admire someone who needs that. Hanyu doesn't. He makes me feel more magnanimous than I really am because he is the one athlete I can cheer for while being left a lot of room to cheer for others as well. And that's one of the biggest reasons why I so proudly declare myself a wholehearted supporter, when usually I'm the sort who finds the act of stanning itself a rather embarrassing practice because it sounds like it leaves very little room in the heart to appreciate much else. Hanyu has taught me that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. While I don't necessarily hold others in the same regard as I hold him, I find myself able to sincerely root for others to do their best. And that's a very good feeling. In fact, most of his best performances in recent memory are thanks to strong performances from a strong field pushing him to the point where he had no choice but to tell his head to shut up and let his body deliver. So I see absolutely no down side to others becoming even stronger. I mean, it's not like I don't see where you're coming from. It sucks to see him lose to much emptier programs that he probably deserves to still win over despite mistakes (though I'm glad he didn't), or almost get beaten by programs where the jumps really aren't in the same league as his or anyone else who's closer to his league at all. But Hanyu has it in him to come out on top of it all still. Which he has, time and again. The whole point of CWW is for the past to connect to the present and the present to the future. Because the present very quickly becomes the past. If Hanyu weren't allowed to flourish when he was an up-and-comer so others can remain in their heyday until they retire, then we wouldn't have the Hanyu of today. If Hanyu were to stick around, it's up to Hanyu to remain on top, if that's what he wants, amidst a field that is becoming stronger and stronger, because then so too, will he become even stronger. And a Hanyu that's stronger than what we've seen of him at his strongest in the past? And coupled with the wisdom and experience that he has now? *whistles* And while I don't believe a leopard can change its spots or a tiger its stripes, I don't think winning it all is top priority for the guy in future seasons like it was before, though he'll likely still be out for blood in the really big events because once a predator, always a predator. And when he's like that, you've got absolutely nothing to be worried about. I want to say that if it comes a day that someone beats Hanyu fair and square after Hanyu has delivered a clean performance, then we should rejoice the emergence of a new and worthy successor to the throne. But this person won't be from the current crop of senior competitors because while immensely talented in their own right, none of them have the kind of all around talent Hanyu does in his pinky finger alone, from what I can tell of their past performances in the senior division. They just don't have the it factor Hanyu does, no matter how much ISU, feds and the judges want us to believe they do. Not to belittle their talent and successes, and there are so many pioneers who helped shaped Hanyu into the skater he is today, but no skater did in the past, just as no one has it right now either. Hanyu is the culmination of all the good past skaters have done for the sport and I don't see the same kind of complete culmination in anyone in the senior ranks right now, nor anything remotely resembling it. So we can only look to the future. But for now if Hanyu wants to stay on top, if health permits, he'll stay on top. Because no matter how good everyone else gets, Hanyu will be better, so long as he wants to be.* So relax. *I do hope he'll take it easier while doing that though, rather than the desperation to reign like before. He might find that it works better for him where he is right now, after proving to himself that he can achieve his his dream. So I hope whatever challenges he puts up for himself in the future, he'll approach them with less hunger to prove himself right and more wisdom (if not necessarily relaxed because I don't think that's a thing he does), so that he would be able to simply enjoy the time he has left as a competitor. Y'all don't have to agree with me, ofc. This is just how I feel.

Duuuuuude. His inconsistency (as in his tendency to make mistakes) is a huge part of what makes him the legend he is. They are the proof of his always rising goals and ideals. If he's GOAT, he'd be GOAT precisely because of them. Without them, he wouldn't have anything to triumph over and his victories so much less exhilarating. He'd just be a machine who hits everything on the note the first time he tries it and there would be no challenge. No challenge means no journey. He'd be so much less relatable and the emotions he'd invoke in his fans would be so much less. Which means...less fans. Because without them, what the hell else do we have to cry and moan over? We'd just be smoking cigars all the time and shrugging, "Oh well. Another day another victory." And we'd all be poorer for it. In my books, GOATs are people who show weaknesses and then show how they gloriously overcome them. It's not just about how impressive they are to others, it's also about how inspiring they are. It's about how they crawl and claw all the way from zero to hero. I only grew to like the dude because of how he can go from failing spectacularly to crushing it and owning everything and everyone like the boss he really is. All the best stories we grew up with have protagonists like that. Only in real life, failures don't always lead to the best outcome. For this guy, they do. So why are we suddenly talking as though failures should be something to be shunned? They're two sides of the same frickin' coin. Consistency is overrated. Skaters don't need to be ultra consistent. What they need is to be able to perform well enough to be better than everyone else at the right competitions. Which takes both skill and luck. That is what further substantiates and enhances their GOAT status. I'm a huge defender and advocate of his inconsistency because they are a huge part of what made me root for him so hard, and because they are the biggest reasons why his victories are as sweet as they are. Please stop writing them off because they are a part of who he is. I'm not what most would consider a sports fan and even if I were, men's fs would be the last sport I'd get into, was what I used to think. But now it's about the only thing I watch. And it's all because of this guy and his awe-inspiring hits and misses. As to where I stand on the goat debate, far as I'm concerned, Yuzuru Hanyu is so far beyond the GOAT status, it's not even worthy of him anymore. Let others argue over who deserves it and let others have it. Where he is now is beyond both our capability and capacity to quantify. So let's just sit back and enjoy the ride of having our hearts continue to be wrenched from our ribcages and our minds blown again and again.

I meant the airlines you've been on. Thought you might have gotten that from the nuance and saved myself the trouble of elaborating. Guess you've been really lucky then, or just super charming*, and all the officers you've met so far have decided to let you through based on their judgment. Because if that had been everyone's experience, no one would be checking in their skates. As a general rule though, they're not allowed. But what the security decides, well, that's more arbitrary. Most choose to err on the side of caution, even if that caution ends up not being much of one and they end up losing their baggage with their skates in them. *Wait. I think maybe that's it. That's how Hanyu makes sure his skates arrive with him. Because if it's charm, he certainly has more than enough of it. The security person would check the blade, cut themself on it, start to frown, but then look up and be hammered by the full force of this sweet-faced thing he does and, quickly wiping the bead of blood on their finger off on their pants, go, "Hell, this ain't sharp at all! Let him through, guys! This boy here won't hurt a fly!" ...think that's it? Have I figured it out??

They let you bring them into the cabin for long haul international flights??? Each and every time? In recent times? Across all airlines? Because I'm pretty sure I'll get fired if a passenger asks if they can bring them on board and I merrily answered, "Yeah, sure, go right ahead! ^__^" Even if I weren't fired, I'd be severely reprimanded. I'd have to say no, like I was trained to, even if that passenger were Hanyu. Tho given his status, I might have to escalate it to the higher ups to handle. Wouldn't want to piss off a 2x Oly champion now. Passengers like him are waaaaay beyond my paygrade. But even if I were to make a mistake and said yes, the passenger would just get stopped during security check and asked to remove them. Heck, even party poppers and fishing rods aren't allowed. I had to say no just a couple of days back, after careful verification, to someone asking if they could bring a fishing rod as a carry on. Fishing rods, as it turns out, are listed as a restricted blunt object, and I'm guessing it's probably because it presents a hazard that can poke someone's eyes out in the cabin. Ice skates can be used to slash out someone's throat. Or torso, as Chan can attest. Doesn't matter how sharp or not sharp. I can't imagine a situation where I'd be allowed to tell a passenger they can bring them on board. Anyway, there's a publicly published list of restricted items and ice skates (along with fishing rods) are clearly included. Again, it doesn't matter if the blades were blunt or sharp. There is no clause stating that skates that are less sharp are allowed. They're not allowed. Period.* If they were allowed, skaters--competitive and professional ones especially--would no doubt choose to bring them on board with them each and every time, instead of risk having them get lost. You must be really lucky or some super duper VIP beyond even an Oly champ...especially given that you're from the States and the country's security for both domestic and int'l travel is all the way up its wazoo, pardon my French. *If Hanyu was taking a flight where ANA had a say in things, they'll probably arrange it so that they'll arrive along with him, tho I don't know if he'd be allowed to carry them *with* him on his person since he has to go through the airport security checkpoint and, unless it's Haneda, that's something not within ANA's jurisdiction.

Skaters can only do that if they unscrew their blades from the boots because those blades need to be checked in. They are restricted as hand carry because sharp objects larger than needles (and even those require special prior authorization) cannot be brought on board into the cabin for obvious reasons. In Hanyu's case, not even his affiliation with ANA can help him with that because these are international rules set by IATA. @KatjaThera It's categorized as both sports equipment and pointed/edged weapon or object.

Sorry for going OT but @KatjaThera mentioned past issues while traveling in a different thread which got me wondering, with how frequent Hanyu travels, how often do you think does his bags, or the bags of those who travel with him, get lost? I mean, ANA can't be making special arrangements for him all the time, especially if he's flying routes that they neither have nor have a codeshare with the airlines that do (considering he's flying from Canada most of the time). So curious, lol. Unless the guy does the special parcel delivery thing for stuff like his skates and training gear which forgoes the need to entrust his Very Important stuff to the airline and the baggage transfer companies they outsource to. He'd still be checking in other stuff like change of clothes and toiletries tho, I'd gather, and there has gotta be times his stuff got lost in transit, with how frequently he travels...and given that it's something that cannot always be avoided... If I ever got to ask him questions, I'd probably ask him to share traveling tips, lol.

I wonder if the mayonnaise and the myriad dressings the company markets will ever taste the same to him again.

Haha. And yet, it appears as though he's preparing less. So more is less. And less is more. I think you and @micaelis are both essentially saying the same thing. 8D Accurate. 10/10 would agree again. I know you were there and saw it for yourself and although I can't say the same for myself, I can't help but feel that that one was a proper exhibition in its own right, too. It had a different concept and it chronicles the station's coverage of him over the years, showing us Hanyu's journey through their eyes. It's a very thoughtful and personal (for a TV station) gesture that I feel has something that's all its own, like a quiet homage from the local media to the hometown hero, who has soared beyond that to become a national-no, an international-no! An interplanetary? No, not even that. An intergalactic one! (Haha how's that for a hyperbole? Tho I'm not so sure it's one...) This one is a different, and a much bigger monster altogether. But still a very thoughtful gesture by the corporate sponsors who put this together. It really shows how much he's appreciated even by those who would usually only seek to gain from him. There's still a lot to be gained here but I get the impression it isn't overt and doesn't quite have the feel as though these sponsors are milking his name for all its worth. The opportunity they are taking seems minimal and only logical because people would want something to take home with them. And by limiting the number of goods being sold (or so I've heard) and making the event a traveling one with only a couple or so weeks for each stop (i dunno the exact date for each but maybe the one in Tokyo is longer than the others given the location?) they are not taking complete advantage of his name and oversaturating it. The tasteful way it's being done interspersed by the cuteness (wow, the toe sock gets to make an appearance too? Tho it looks more like a kappa's foot to me, if kappas were black in color, with the way the toes are made to spread) communicates sincere appreciation, affection and respect behind the organisation of these exhibitions, which is no less than what Hanyu deserves. But man, do the Japanese have a thing for queuing up or what? Like the longer, the better. Still, like what you said, this will likely taper off to more manageable levels as the days wear on. I'm also willing to bet that the sponsors who invested in him from early on in his career must feel like those who made early investments into Apple and Google. Only theirs come with a side of sincere and personal affection and pride. I imagine he'll need his Oly pretties for the Emperor's garden thingy. Since Kasai won't be around this time to show off his haul, he's going to have to step up to the plate like the good kohai he is. Has anyone ever done this for the meme involving the guy out on a date with his gf but got his head turned back to run an appreciative gaze over another girl that just walked past? Guess in his own way, he really is making it rain money. But also in his typical fashion, it's not just himself he's making it rain on. And about the name thing, the answer is most don't really know for sure until they ask. They can assume tho, and sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. ...I don't really care where we go on our honeymoon so long as i have you there right beside me making me laugh... ...and be horrified. Usually at the same time. On a more serious note, I wouldnt want to be a Hanyu anything in Japan right now. Not an anti nor a fan. You don't win either way. >_< Well, maybe being a fan would be more bearable now because of the blissful euphoria as opposed to the anguish of seeing him everywhere but the financial consequences that come later...ouch. Not that any of us would regret it.......but I dunno if that's so much better, haha.

I never knew needed this in my life. Thank you. Also, I love everyone here but @SparkleSalad holds a very special place in my heart. If being a fabulous forum member gets you fans, SparkleWakababySalad, you've got a die-hard one in me. Just sayin'.

That's it! Whether we find him convincing in his masculinity or not, or whether we find him wildly unrestrained or the opposite, it is his ability to generate polar opinions among those who appreciate him that is a huge part of what makes his skating so appealing, cos it really depends on the person and as such appeals differently depending on where they come from. You don't need to come from one kind of environment to enjoy his style. There's something in there for everybody, but only if you let yourself enjoy it. Because in all our differing opinions, the one thing I'm sure we can all agree on is that he has gravitas. In spades.

I'm thinking our definition of masculinity is a very different one. I have a...very...broad perspective of it and androgyny is both masculine and feminine to me, not neither. And it's precisely his sharpness and slinkiness here that I find masculine. Like it was brought out into sharper relief by the femininity/fluidity in his movements. It's a nice balance of yin and yang, with the yang being highlighted by the yin. Like for Weir, I think his style is more yin than yang. And Plushenko is the opposite. But they both helped shape Hanyu's style a lot. So, if @eagle thinks it's more restrained, based on where they're coming from, then maybe it's not so far-fetched. I do not agree with it but I would hesitate to outright deny it if we're talking about personal perspectives.

Yeah I actually found him more masculine than Prince, or rather, I found that the masculinity that he projects in his performances of LGC a sharper one than Prince's. And that part was all him, not Prince. Perspective and taste are interesting things, aren't they?

At this point, anything he does and achieves from now on is simply icing on the cake, as far as I'm concerned. I mean he can go ahead and shoot for whatever's beyond the stars he's already reached, but nothing impressive he does beyond this point will be all that new to me anymore. Not 4A, not the 3rd OGM, nothing.* Because he's reached god level to me with the way he came back at PC and snatched that gold even while everyone else was so much further ahead competition-wise last season. *okay maybe except the 4cc gold. I'd be more impressed by that than if he were to, say, get himself accepted into NASA's space program...but probably not as much as if he were to have invented a time machine. So I guess there are things he could achieve that I could still be impressed by. Yay. I was in the same boat at first. Then I saw The Light. You will too, someday. I dunno...it *is* thanks to his penchant for recycling that he got this 2nd Oly gold despite still nursing a serious injury on a part of his body that's integral to the sport. It's also thanks to it that he even got the first one in the first place. So even though I'd love to see him expand his repertoire further, I won't complain if he chooses to repeat LGC, or anything else for the matter at some point in his remaining career. Because we'll get new programs either way, so seeing an old one among them would be nostalgic. Plus, you *know* he'll bring something new to it. I guess I even hope to see them again, at some point. Especially LGC. It's the opposite for me. Sometimes, when it's too heavily accented or broken, I find them giving up and speaking to me in their native Japanese a smoother communication process. But if their grasp is decent enough, even while not perfect, then it doesn't matter which language they use. If their grasp is perfect, then hell yeah, "You can speak in English!" all the way. Yeah. Maybe he could finally turn it from I$U* into ISU. *borrowed from a commenter on YouTube That's...that's Plushenko's level of extra. He's quite wildly uninhibited on ice but I really hope he draws the line on this. >_< Don't need no glasses to spot him with that very defining feature of his sticking out. The Light. You will see it too, someday. I promise. Be patient. Lol. His ambitiousness is a highly infectious thing. I'm afraid this is a by-product after having witnessed all the seeming impossibilities he's achieved and all the dreams he's made us see which he subsequently turned into reality. I think it's okay to continue dreaming so long as we don't realistically expect them to happen, like we didn't completely expect for him to be able to win that 2nd OGM. Even if he hadn't, it wouldn't have changed the fact that he is the GOAT to us. And I'm sure if he doesn't achieve anything beyond this that we're hoping he would, it wouldn't diminish one bit all that he's achieved in the past. The guy's only 23 though and seems to run on achievements as fuel so even if they aren't exactly the things that have been listed here, I'm pretty sure he will still go on to achieve other things in his life, so long as he's alive, that won't be any less impressive, if not more. And if there's one thing safe to expect from him, it's that he'll keep going beyond whatever expectations anyone may have of him, except his own. Really? I find him so without inhibitions on ice, I sometimes get second-hand embarrassment for him. I'm not sure how you could have missed all that. Guy's the very definition of a rock star when he's got skates on. Perhaps not your definition, but it doesn't make it any less true. Even people who come from places with lots of rock stars and as such know exactly what it is and therefore can accurately identify it don't deny it. Which is what I find so unique and utterly refreshing about him given the culture he was born and raised in, and his family being more reserved than the average Japanese family what with the way they shun the limelight. I love how despite all that, they let him be who he is when he's on the ice. So even if LGC wasn't Prince through and through, he sure as hell was able to put his own spin and interpretation into it that's no less rock-starish to me and to most who are truly seeing him. Maybe he's less flamboyant and glam but to me, he exudes a sharper and more masculine coolness than the image prince had projected. But it's very glam in its own right and as someone who listens to Prince and watches his videos, I find it both Prince and Yuzuru Hanyu all at once. A very nice combination, indeed. And one of the biggest reasons why I became captivated by him, despite having a lot if misgivings about men's figure skating in general. But if the opposite of all the above is your perspective, *shrug* sure, keep it. I personally think maybe you and your grandma are so busy trying to see what's not there, that you couldn't see what *is*. Anyway, we've all got to have our own unique perspectives that we prefer stick to when we can't be convinced of otherwise, and every right to have it. Even if it's controversial and conflicting with others. But only so long as it doesn't involve murder or denial of basic human rights. So yours is still valid.

Is OK. His 2nd OGM can stand in for his missing 4CC gold. Remember when Chan tried to console himself back in Sochi, saying how his 2 silvers there are as good as a gold to him? Hanyu can psych himself up the same way. It works out, mathematically. More or less. I mean it's the only big event gold medal he has one more extra of when compared to the rest on the list. So he could just haphazardly slap "4CC" over the 5 Olympic rings on his pC gold (it'd work too since 4CC 17 was in PC, how convenient, it's gotta be a sign) and demand entry into the 4CC gold member's club. If the bouncers don't scrutinize too much, he may be able to get in. If they start asking questions like saying how they remembered that the champion for that 4CC was an Asian-looking dude with bigger hair, he could just claim they must have been stoned then or that he got a new hairdo because hey, Asian-looking dude! The multiple OGm club has a lot less people and they're all so much older than him. It'd be like one of them high society clubs. As such, a lot less lively than the 4CC one. Hanyu would rot there. And so many of his friends are in the other one, like even Nobu is there. And Boyang! Yup. 4CC gold member's club is where it's at.

Dreaming of the day his English is good enough for him to give a TED talk of his own. That'd be better than any on-screen representation of his life. I realize I may have to dream forever but it's a nice one and I'm going to keep it.

.....! Man...way to get my hopes up Yesplz! I'd pay good money to see this happen, in that exact order. 8D (At least this way, I'd get to see the podium I never got to see. I don't even care which color medal Hanyu gets anymore, as long as it's this podium, since he's already won the one thing he wants to win. And him ironically winning bronze here in a smaller competition losing out the gold and silver to his two non-Japanese senpais, would be a nice universal balance--not to mention hella funny while going full circle--instead of any disheartening injuries or whatever deep dark mental hole he manages dig himself into trying to find his way to China where his buddy Boyang resides.)

There have been a bunch of ladies who used 007 as a theme but I haven't been into this sport long enough or deep enough to know, were there ever any men who used it?

Alritey. Thanks! I'll post it in the first one once I think of something. I'm going to need help with the submission though. Is anyone here collecting submissions? Also is this show and those talk shows they were talking about that was slated to have public viewings at selected cinemas one and the same?

I rather wager if the other two were to have kept at it a bit longer, we'd have gotten a three-man groovin sync party right there. If I've got a question I'd like to add to the selection for #CiONTU, do I ask it here or at the thread dedicated to the event in the Other Events subforum? I was about to post it there when I saw that it had 0 posts as of now which made me think if that one's meant for a viewing party of the event itself.

...okay. Thank you.

What's Fred and why is it Fred?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. Without the frills it'd look exactly like what it is: one of those onesies that babies are made to wear. This tutti-frutti one at least doesn't make him look infantile...it only makes him look like...a Hawaiian fruit bowl.

If he goes and if he ends up with yet another silver, you've really gotta admit that's pretty legendary in itself. Two Oly golds out of the only two Olys he's in (so far) and four 4CC silvers out of all four 4CCs he's ever been to. Like, he'd literally have one for every continent. That's gotta be a world record for irony. May even be more impressive than finally winning a gold. >_< *shrug* Might be more achievable than a 4cc gold.