rockstaryuzu

His own self.

I'll assume that's a rhetorical question...people plumb the depths of evil every day. Folks like Yuzu exist to show us there's another way to be.

I know right? I thought it was the dumbest comment I ever read in 27 years of scrolling the internet. That's the reason why there's 10 - count 'em, 10! - judges and a tech panel. To make sure there's enough eyes on the ice that they do catch everything. and this is probably the exact thing that cost Yuzu in his scores. Why they can't just give him the benefit of the doubt, I think we know too well. Kolyada is way better since his surgery and marriage. It's his first season back after a year off, and he's been looking really good. IMO I think he has what it takes and can bring it when it counts. Shoma is more flighty, but he's not the Olympic silver medalist behind Yuzu for nothing. With Shoma, it'll definitely be about having his mind in the right focus, though. As for fed support, Mishin is not exactly chopped liver, even if Eteri seems to be RsuFed's golden girl right now. I'm sure it's possible for Kolyada to get support if he needs it. He is the best Russian man on the ice right now, anyway, so if RusFed doesn't support him it's going to look mighty strange. As for Shoma, my understanding is JSF supports him to the full extent they're willing to go. IMO JSF just isn't into the international politicking for whatever reason. well, I didn't say they'd beat him all the time, just that I think they have the capability to do it, so a narrative that Nathan is unbeatable doesn't make sense to me at all. YOU need to join us over in The Planet's BTS Fan Club thread. Okay, that quote directly contradicts what I saw the guy say on Twitter. So, are trainee judges being outright told to ignore the rulebook, or are they being told 'quick is okay but not too quick" ? Ugh. Gaslighting, gate-keeping...whatever one wants to call it, it's raining on someone's parade when they're just trying to enjoy a hobby. The only 'gatekeeping' I support is gently educating new fans about things they might not know, like when we on the Planet help explain our Planet slang (eg Nessie) to them, stuff like that. The whole 'you're not a real fan unless' BS can take a flying hike. In my experience, these types of fans tend to be cranky kinds of people who dislike change. They got comfortable in quiet arenas with no competition for tickets or parking spaces and now they're mad that someone else is in on their good thing. That...just seems crazy to me. Who in their right mind would do this...of course knowing a bit about the more toxic aspects of fandom, I'm also on some level not surprised. There are definitely people out there who just want to freeze Yuzu in amber so that he never changes from the cute little noodle he was before 3/11 occurred. Unreal. I think Brian has a lot of affection for his skaters, and Yuzu in particular. Tracy and Ghislain, too. It's what makes TCC so good for so many. Of course it's not a fit for everyone, but there's something to be said for being treated with liking and respect. If Yuzu does decide that his interests lie in remaining in Japan instead of returning to Canada, I think Brian is going to miss him an awful lot. Wow. If my understanding of things is correct, a retired JSF judge saying those things about Yuzu's scores is the JSF equivalent of picketing and rioting outside ISU headquarters. It must be pretty bad if someone of that stature is going so far as to make public comments. Did they read the same interview we did? Because I'm pretty sure Yuzu all but said flat out he doesn't give a tinker's spit about 'releveance' or the scoring circus anymore, just let him do 4A in peace. ONE MORE THING: About Yuzu's speed: sit rinkside and try to follow him with your camera and keep him in frame, I dare you. this is something easy to do with all other skaters, but with Yuzu, the only way you're going to manage is if you zoom out and take a wide angle shot that includes the whole rink at once. Even the pro photographers lose him, even Jordan of On Ice Perspectives couldn't keep up with him (watch the SCI PW practise videos, you'll see what I mean). The other TCC skaters can sometimes manage to skate as fast as Yuzu, but not for long. Although I haven't yet seen Nathan live, the impression I get from video is that speed is less of a characteristic of his. ---- Okay, NOW I'm done sorry for the Wall O' Text.

A note about speed in figure skating. I was scrolling Twitter during the WC and came across an utter 'gem' *sarcasm* amongst the replies to one of Meagan Duhamel's posts about Nathan's PCS score inflation. Someone established amongst the figure skating world (who I won't name) said that judges are taught that speed can be used to hide sloppiness in the step sequences. It was totally illuminating. It explains why so many laboured, clunky, ungainly, utterly ugly StepSeq get high scores when Yuzu's lovely, lyrical, fast-flowing footwork earns bubkus -the judges are mistaking his speed and skill for an attempt to cover up sloppiness. This tells me two things: 1. judges need to stop using visual shortcuts like a skater's speed to determine score, and really truly look at what's going on where blade meets ice 2. Yuzu's speed works against him when it comes to scoring and slowing the StepSeqs down might force the judges to give him more points 3. ISU needs to stop training judges to take shortcuts in scoring skaters I am fully confident that even though Yuzu goes fast, he is doing all his steps and footwork correctly. It's not in the man's vocabulary to be any other way. But it does explain why someone slow like Nathan can get more points.

The thing is, Nathan was NOT consistent here at Worlds. he had a fall and a bad day in the SP, exactly as he did in PyeongChang. So even the 'Nathan is more consistent' narrative is not based on fact. Nathan has not yet beaten a fully clean Yuzu; every single time he's won, Yuzu has had problems in one of his programs. IMO the whole narrative about Nathan being the better skater is made up out of whole cloth and wishful thinking.

They weren't friends, just random people I happened to chat with while waiting in line or getting food, etc. You know how it is in those crowds.

Totally ignores the fact that Kolyada is fully capable of challenging and even beating Nathan, not to mention so could Shoma on a good day.

Talking about Toller Cranston's artistry and the Salt Lake bribery scandal usually proves my bona fides

and this kind of facial expression:

Hooo boy do they ever hate fanyus...there seems to be a general sense of offense over the presence of vocal and enthusiastic fans of any kind, though. There is absolutely a cadre of pearl-clutchers amongst long-time followers of the sport who think the whole fan experience should be more like watching golf. Had conversations with a few at various competitions and wow.

Welcome! Yuzu has proven his critics wrong so many times that I tend to consider 'experts' who prefer Nathan to Yuzu as being in denial of history, and therefore mildly delusional. I'm really not sure why they think the way they do. Nathan has lots of ability but IMO he's not better than Yuzu at anything.

Moscow 1980 was the last Olympic boycott...or maybe it was LA 1984? Either way, the IOC just completely ignores the situation and blithely carries on holding the Olympics as originally planned. The boycotting countries are simply left out of the Games. I don't know. My feeling is the pandemic will sink the Olympics long before boycotts come into play. The Tokyo Games are going ahead and goodness only knows how that will go, and once it's over I suspect everyone involved in organizing the Beijing Games will be looking closely at the outcome and make decisions based on that. It's what I'd do.

He has anything but! I don't mean to be rude, but let's just say that 'pudding butt' doesn't occur in humans until they're well into the obesity range and leave it at that

It shall be so, I decree it with my positive energy.

Actually, based on the post on the TCC Instagram site, it sounds like they aren't even going to be in the same hotel. So much for shonen shenanigans....I was envisioning them having a lot of fun challenging each other to do harder and harder things on the ice.

Oh there's a recipe for chaos. Yuzu and Shoma cooped up together for 14 days straight with nothing to do but practice? Can you just imagine what'll come out of that?

Just say 'Hanyu-sensshu' or 'Hanyu-kun' and they will understand immediately, I'm willing to wager. Pretty sure Yuzu's quest for 4A is definitely a better love story than Twilight Flying to the US and crossing the border by land would at least eliminate the mandatory 3-day hotel quarantine, if not the 14 day regular quarantine. But he'd still have to convince Customs to let him in in the first place. Even if he doesn't listen to it, Queen is so iconic that there's no way he wouldn't know at least a couple of songs. But Japan has plenty of great rockers he could use. #11. Message In A BottleTo the ISU I think it's also not out of the question for Beijing to either disinvite Canada over the Meng case, or for Canada to boycott the Games for the same reason. I could see that morphing into 'Han Yan-chan' sooooo quickly.... or just 'Han-chan'.... perhaps, once she arrives, we should give her the respect due such a grande dame and call her Duchess Axel. Or perhaps Axel-dono, 'dono' being equivalent to 'Lady

Thanks. I love "LemiEn", it sounds like 'Let me in!' which of course is what Yuzu wants the judges to do, let his skating into their hearts.

Amen to that, I want to be packed in an arena with 5,000 other screaming fans cheering for him and raining Poohs upon him once again.

Well, and it's pretty sad if he also thinks Russian folk music wouldn't be popular either. I suppose that means Tchaikovsky is out, so no more Swan Lake. There was literally a pairs couple in 2019 who re-enacyed a whole big battle from Russian history, that no one else knew, on the ice AND scored high for it.

Well, for that matter the Planet's nickname for it is Nessie. I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu ends up calling it Yon-chan, tbh.

Yon Kaiten Axel, actually. As in "回転", the kanji for 'times turn' Literally '4 times turn' . I don't know why that makes me smile, but it does

replace the flop with Lady Loop, maybe? Definitely not Lutzifer.

SkAm will be in Vegas again, right? I say if Yuzu goes there, we all go too and paint the town red after that 4A.