rockstaryuzu

That question goes to the core of "what is the job of a figure skating commentator?" Is it really the commentator's job to tell the viewers about every little or big flaw in every single program, by every skater? Can you imagine what that would be like? "Up next is Yuri Katsuki, who hasn't been able to do a clean program to save his life for the last two years. The reason being, ( whole bunch of nitpicky negative stuff). But he keeps on landing in the top five because the judges are all biased or paid off by his coach. I sure hope he doesn't screw it up this time." Seriously, no one would watch anymore and all the skaters would feel like killing themselves! In other words, no matter what Kurt's actual opinion of the judging is, he's never going to say it on air if he disagrees with it. But pay attention to all the times he says he agrees with the judges instead.

He makes the occasional questionable statement, yes, but not as many as people think. Kurt phrases his comments about the actual skating very, very carefully indeed. Maybe because he doesn't want to hurt or offend the skaters, I don't know, but for a lot of his commentary, the stuff he doesn't say is almost as important as the stuff he does.

Well in the Live, what he said was that after Vincent tried to fix the UR issue, the UR calls by the judges went away. He never actually comes out and says that Vincent has stopped under rotating. Saying the judges stopped calling it doesn't imply that Kurt thinks Vincent has stopped doing URs.

Exactly.

No. Go back and watch the Facebook Live again, in the original English. Kurt said they ( he, Lori Nichols, and Vincent) were working together on Vincent's jumps, and every single jump Kurt asked Vincent to do, Vincent landed them all the same way, with his foot just about a quarter turn short of the full rotation. And no matter what they tried, it wouldn't go away. So on impulse, Kurt asked Vincent to do a waltz jump, and the same borderline under-rotation was still there, even in the waltz jump which is only a half rotation to begin with. Kurt didn't say what happened after that, but he did say that he hoped that realization helped Vincent make changes and fix his jumps. Kurt didn't say what realization he meant, but I'm assuming that Vincent realized he had a fundamental problem with his jump technique right from the very basics.

He also mentioned that Zhou under-rotated even on his waltz jumps. That surprised me.

Yes, also he probably doesn't have the time to get every single thing tailored...it does take time because if it's an alteration to an existing garment, the tailor has to pin it while it's on you, then take it away to do the sewing. He's already doing that process with his costumes so it might be a pain to do it all the time.

Me too!! I wonder if it'll be available online

Yeah, he doesn't do a lot of spirals...on the other hand they take up time and don't get scores so it's something that would be better in an ex

He needs a good tailor on call.

It would be wonderful if he were to create some new favourites. I personally really liked the hydroblade leap combo he brought out this year.

Now, that's one I never thought of, but I could totally see it. Although if it's anime programs, Yuzu might do Tokyo Ghoul first since he's a fan.

Now that's interesting. I did not know he'd said that. Also, welcome back, @micaelis. I saw your post about your better-than-you-were-expecting health news.

Interesting thought. I did like Beautiful Storm. And if I recall correctly, both Shae and Jeff have said in interviews that Yuzu contributes just as much to the choreo as they do. It's not a question of choreographers handing him a program to do anymore. It's a question of finding someone who can work with his vision.

The parade surplus went to charity for sure, I can't remember which one.

I'm not entirely sure Chiddy knows what tact is, but he'll probably try his best.

I find the Russians talk too much. My favorite commentators are the Japanese ones because they pretty well say nothing other than naming the elements in the program as the skater does them.

I agree somewhat with what you're saying but on the other hand, Yuzu is the guy everyone is talking about because he is the one at the top, this year's Worlds notwithstanding. It would be weird for them not to talk about him, just like 15-20 years ago, it would have been weird for them not to talk about Plushenko. And they're broadcasting for general audience, not just figure skating fans. So it would be unrealistic for them ignore all the parts of the phenomenon that Yuzu fans have become, because all of that is interesting to a broader audience. As for Kurt saying or implying that skating in front of a Japanese crowd should be encouragement for Yuzu, I'm pretty sure Yuzu himself has said exactly the same thing in interviews, so I do not see the problem. As for the rest, it's kind of speculative to say things like Kurt might be projecting himself on Nathan because their situations are similar, etc. Again, if you think of the general audience CBC is aiming at, half them will be wondering why so much time in the broadcast is devoted to a Japanese skater, so it makes sense (even if it's very annoying) that Brian and Tracy get mentioned over and over again as the Canadian connection there. The part of their commentary I find cringey is when they try to be poetic and venture into flights of fancy with their language and say things that aren't really skating-related. Those types of comments get really easily lost in translation and can be misinterpreted by non-English speakers. But again, if you look at their commentary from the perspective that it's supposed to be reaching a general Canadian audience that may or may not know all that much about figure skating, as opposed to an audience made up of say, satellites, a lot of the issues become more understandable. And frankly, I don't agree with all the dislike of media coverage of the 'Pooh rain' and other fan things. Stuff like the Pooh rain sticks out, media is going to cover it, and it's the freedom of the press to decide how they want to portray the story. If people don't want to see Pooh rain in the media, then stop making it rain Pooh's and the press will go away, it's that simple. You can't have it both ways - you can't make big splashy fan gestures that attract attention, and at the same time expect it to go unremarked, especially not at an event like figure skating that already has intense media coverage.

He should be an honorary Canadian! In my heart he's one. More to the point, Kurt and PJ both know Yuzu personally. Of course they're going to talk about his season. You'll note Nathan didn't make the poster.

Yes, Kurt is a bit that way, but his specialty is songs like these, and at this point I think Yuzu would be pretty comfortable speaking up for himself and getting his own influence in. Pop Jeff in the mix and I think the three of them could make something really unique. Also, I happen to like HILY. It's not like Yuzu can't do flirty, after all.

And now for something completely different: How about a sultry, seductive Yuzu? Are we ready for that? I could totally see him doing this as a SP, but in order for him to get the right attitude going, I think he'd need Kurt Browning on the choreo. This is the kind of song Kurt does in his sleep. Maybe a Kurt/Jeff collab?

He would be all that in the West too! His character is admirable everywhere.

Huh. Isn't that interesting. If you go north of the border to Canada, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't consider Yuzu attractive, Asian or not. In the words of my one of my senior-citizen Polish-Canadian friends, "he's adorable". And Yuzu aside, there's a lot of variety in what's considered male attractiveness here...like, I don't think you could actually find a 'standard' for male beauty here. (Except for 'athletic', which is an attribute everyone seems to like).

I hope I won't offend anyone by responding to this but, yes, I can tell that Boyang has a Chinese face and Yuzuru does not. But I work with a lot of Chinese people who have immigrated to Canada and my eyes have become used to how they look. However, there is something very interesting that I noticed when I went to ACI last year, I've been wondering about it all year, and I was afraid to mention it in case people take it the wrong way. But I must know if anyone else has experienced this: when I saw Yuzu in person, his face looked much more 'Japanese' to me, than it does in photos and videos. I don't know why that is. Is it just that I'm crazy, or is it that his Japanese-ness can shine through better when you see him in person? has this happened to anyone else?