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Lambari

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Everything posted by Lambari

  1. Probably off topic but It always amuses me how the "X is a star only in ____" most of the times, if ever, is only said about athletes famous in non-western regions. I would say that the statement is probably true, FS isn't a very well known sport in most countries, but you hardly see this being brought up about athletes from sports that are famous mostly in the western world. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here and I'm from South America to know any athlete from american football, baseball or hockey for example. I assume these sports probably have their niche fans of course just like FS has here but I'm talking in general. Of course, my logic may be skewed because I only have access to the english speaking media and I don't follow other sports news from Asia not even from my own country to be fair . Maybe they do the same thing to western athletes and I'm just unaware. But that's something to think about. To be honest, you can count on one hard the number of sports that could be truly global, but even this "global" title is debatable, it's more like a scale. _________________________________________________ About Patrick's comments, he really came around, didn't he? Chanyu rivalry is really one of my favourites, I still laugh at the amount of debate, passive agressive comments being thrown from Patrick and skating fans, 3734987 pages of people comparing the two It was a ride. And Patrick was an important figure as a goal point in the development of Yuzuru's skating and he mentioned it several times, great that Yuzuru in the end got some recognition in return from him. I'm happy that the rivalry had a good closure with Chiddy making peace with himself about what happened in Sochi. Realizing the caliber that Yuzuru has as a skater probably took off some of the guilt that he felt, hence the comment about how "losing to him was inevitable". I think the Gold at the team event also helped. maybe the team event really is useful for something after all k
  2. I'm one of those that consider 'GOAT' a generational title. A few fans and notoriously the media prefer to define it as a static/once-and-for-all title, especially because it's more natural as a fan to extrapolate your experience in a particular skating era to all of them as it's incredibly difficult to imagine a reality apart from your own. Questions like "Now is he the greatest ever?" "Will there EVER be something better than this?" are born from this notion. Sometimes as media hype, sometimes as genuine debate. And there's also the emotional aspect of expecting that your favourite skater will forever be the definite golden standard. Of course, there's fans that have been watching skating for 50, 60, 70 years, hence they are probably able to have a broader view of skating than most but regardless we all have our favourites, that's human nature. These questions are part of sports in general, linked to the culture of comparing athletes and cherishing our heros. They also highlight the significance of particular performances/skating careers during a timeline, so they do have their purpose. But truthfully, in my opinion the answers of these questions don't matter that much. I think the biggest aspects to define GOATs are memorable performances and dominance. By dominance I don't mean only medals, hence why I don't agree with the thought that "To be considered the GOAT X skater needs to win 3 Olympics!" I believe that if for example a skater wins 1 or 2 Olympics and 1 World title in the future at an even more competitive era than today while leaving a similarly enourmous lasting impact on the sport as Yuzuru did he will be considered the GOAT during his era and deservingly so. But this could be any combination of medals, the key is having an accomplished career, performances that will withstand the test of time and being the gold standard of that era. Skating will evolve. Who knows if skaters from now on, aided by the advancement in sports medicine and technology will be able to do one 4A, three 4Lz, and one 4F on a single free skate or even new types of jumps, together with great skating skills and performance ability... Really, who would've thought in 2000 that 18 years after 4 quads programs would be the ideal for gold? Or that a few skaters could actually do them with artistic quality? Skating obviously already evolved quite a lot, mostly due to the implementation of IJS. Regardless of the hard feelings for the system, the outlining of the different aspects in skating instead of giving an arbitrary "5.8" without any explanation really made a difference in how the new crop of skaters began to develop. The fact that there was an attempt to differentiate the components, the elements and how it could influence your score was huge. It's only natural that step sequences today are overall much complex due to the requirements than they were 20 years ago in Plushenko/Yagudin's era, that different jump entries/less telegraphing are more common today in order to elevate GOE etc. I don't know which type of skater Yuzuru would grow out to be if he didn't skate the majority of his career under IJS. Definitely as brilliant as ever, but under different standards. Maybe in the future with skating rules being so volatile we will have a completely different judging system. And the development of young skaters will change once again, for the pleasure of some and the dismay of others. Also, with skating being a very 'momentum-based' sport, that places great value on the 'short' and fickle 4 year Olympic cycle, and with most singles skaters retiring when they hit late 20's, there's no guarantee that the standard won't change as the sport evolves and crowns new champions. It's also important how you leave the sport. Leaving while at the top can help to keep the public imagination going. A skater leaving after a few seasons struggling for medals isn't as flashy or interesting for some. I don't care much for this since nothing can erase their past accomplishments and competing for the love of the sport and other personal goals is commendable, but there's no doubt that this phenomenon exists. Someone said here that you can hardly find anyone that would consider Patrick Chan the GOAT but there are fans that do, certainly. His disputed Worlds titles and overall score inflation certainly didn't help with that, but the narrative became even less popular once he made his comeback at the heat of the 'quad revolution' and wasn't the top pick for gold anymore. Yuzuru mentioned once how he saw how difficult it is when you take a season off to return to the public eye as a real contender, and that's part of the reason why he didn't take any time off and continued to improve his technnical content. Yuzuru strikes me as someone that will want to undoubtely leave while at the top. People like to joke that he will compete until his body gives in completely but I don't think so. For me it's much more likely that he will leave when he won't be able to contend for the top anymore due to his injuries. With his remarks after Worlds it seems that competing without any clear shot at gold seems aimless to him. To finish, I do consider GOAT a generational title, but it doesn't mean that we as fans can't have our own "forever GOAT's". I highly doubt that there will be a men's skater that will make a more lasting impression on me than he did. Even if the technnical requirements and performance standards reach new heights in the future, Yuzuru's impact on this era is timeless and that's what will stand once he decides to say goodbye to the sport once and for all.
  3. I don't want them to eliminate the hydroblade or ina bauer per se but I do want them to change things around a bit. Move them from the choreo sequence to another point in the program as a transitional element like R&J 1.0's Ina Bauer for example. Without the extra 30 seconds at the free skate, if you include both at the choreo sequence it ends up being just it, a hydroblade and an ina bauer. I wonder if we'll see next season this Ina bauer before a 3A that he did at ACI practice, probably upgraded into a 3A sequence: At 6:25 Because it's absolutely gorgeous! (it also kind of matched the background music on this practice ) I hope that he will not stop experimenting with entries and exits even with the change of layout. At least that post Worlds interview calmed me down a bit since he did say that this is one of his prides in his skating and if he stops caring for it he will lose his identity. But I do wonder if the choreographic quality of his free skates will suffer even if just a bit as he pretends to add 4Lz/4F/4A (?) ... And who knows what more, If his ankle let him. Maybe it won't, but the absence of those 30 seconds worry me a bit. I selfishly wouldn't care if he didn't add any of these but he wouldn't be Yuzuru if he didn't want a challenge. And he's absolutely right to think that according to judges' eyes the message is that he needs at least a 4Lz. At an ideal world this wouldn't be true but it is now and he has to deal with it if he wants to keep competing and undoubtely winning. I really don't know what to expect/suggest for his programs! But I do hope that it will be a relatively unknown piece and/or less commonly used in skating. No warhorses and enough with recycling. When he revealed SEIMEI it was rather early, at an ice show, and everyone was just "What the heck is SEIMEI??" And searching for the song on youtube but no one could find the right track because SEIMEI wasn't the name of the song but just the title of the program. It was a great mess. After years of R&J and especially POTO during the excruciating POTO season that 2014-2015 was, it really was a breath of fresh air. Similar for H&L but since there was SEIMEI previously, it was more like a relief that he chose again a different and beautiful piece, at least for me. 2019-2020 could be what 2016-2017 was: different music choices, new technnical content.
  4. I've been laughing at this for 2min. The way they almost bumped into each other is sending me.
  5. Yes, I debated whether to include this photo or not. I think the Romeo one indeed is a better example.
  6. I agree that great posture in men sometimes comes off as stiff particularly if they're also not flexible. Men was usually my least favourite discipline probably because of this apparent stiffness. But I think Yuzuru's skating did benefit from his improved posture quite a lot. Here's some photos. I don't know if it will be of much help since it translates better in movement. Look at young Romeo and Etude, his shoulders are down and his torso is more paralel to he ice: Compared to Kolyada's and Javier's torso theirs are straighter and more perpendicular to the ice, shoulders are also firmly to the back: Yuzuru has a bad habit of slouching when he's tired, his posture usually fluctuates during the program. But this issue is much less present in his skating today. Yuzuru also has gorgeous posture on his landing positions so he's perfectly capable of those, here's an example: Hopefully it helped!
  7. Some skating enthusiasts do love to make it seem as if Yuzuru's torso is flat out paralel to the ice, don't they? I guess he could kiss the ice like Haru Yo Koi for every program even without a hydroblade, he just doesn't out of spite! Yuzuru will probably never have the perfect posture. But some skating fans feel the need to almost turn this affirmative into a hyperbole. Yuzuru also improved quite a lot in this department since his early days, but there's a certain resistance to acknowledge that from these fans. Almost like a desperate cry "Don't you see it? I absolutely hate his weakness so don't you dare be a fan of his qualities!" I understand if posture is something that a person priorize when choosing the skaters that they would rewatch because this would be a personal preference. However demanding for others to use this as a sole feature to categorize artistry, or rather trying to negate the artistry that others see in a skater only because of it just feels so limiting. Yuzuru excels in so many facets of artistry. For me he's a very emotionally charged skater and proficient in his commitment to his programs, also inherently musical. Interestingly enough his performances are almost theatrical, it already starts from the moment he's introduced. Some love to call these qualities as "flare", sometimes as a backhanded compliment, as if it was a lesser artistry, almost 'accidental artistry'. As if something that comes naturally can't have the same value as the rehearsed qualities because it isn't studied artistry therefore it doesn't come from a deeper understanding. Which I find even funnier when it comes to Yuzuru because even though he has this performance quality that comes naturally to him, he does seem very commited to study the artistry of his programs by actively choosing his music, sometimes even cutting the song by himself and by the way he describes them at interviews they almost feel like personal journeys. I think this perception comes from such a pretentious place coupled with ignorance of Yuzuru's thought process. I believe the most well versed are the ones that can acknowledge the existence of different types of art and their merits. What would be the point of categorizing modern ballet, jazz, folk dance etc within the limits of traditional ballet? It does a disservice to all of them. For example, Patrick Chan was/is a skater with great posture and basic positions. Patrick was very commited to his vision of artistry, worked with a dance coach for a considerable time, loved to study the expressiveness of Ice Dancers... Despite all of this, his artistry was always fervently debated. Some would say that he's incredibly artistic, mostly those who priorize the features where he excels, others would just say that there's much to be desired in his interpretation and that he leaves them completely cold. Why? Was Patrick musical? I think yes. But I never felt that he inherently was. The thought process behind it was apparent to me during his performances as a rehearsed quality. Or maybe he just... lacked the "flare"? I always appreciated Patrick's skating though. I saw some time ago someone saying how maybe the rejection towards Yuzuru from the more traditionally inclined FS fans is because he is such an outlier compared to the past men's champions and I agree with this. If you try to categorize him as a showy performer, a lyrical skater or a dramatic "masculine" type you just can't. He doesn't fit perfectly in neither of those. He's rather unique. But of course I'm biased. I believe I'm in a safe place though. TL,DR I wish people would just admit that they prefer a particular style and let it go.
  8. I noticed that too! And this one is in the middle of Mato Grosso state which isn't a superpopulated one and I think it isn't even at the capital of this state which is even more interesting. The other dark dot in Brazil is exactly at a big metropolitan city so it was expected. There's a lot of dots in Brazil actually. I'm in one of the lighter ones near the litoral.
  9. LOL This reminds me of Yuna's All That Skate last year where she also did only steps and spins. I'm not sure if she was injured, probably just out of competitive form since retirement. It's interesting how we could make paralels between their level of stardom. I'm probably biased but for me Yuna and Mao were the last ladies champions with this kind of mass appeal. Brian Orser did say on this interview at 7:55 that with Yuzuru it's on a stratospheric level, even compared to when he was experiencing Yuna's heyday. And maybe the rise of social media these past years also contributed to that. Even in their skating, although there's fundamental differences between their approach, both for me are technnically the "ideal" IJS skater in their respective disciplines. Also phenomenal competitors. And there's funny coincidences like how both of them had 12 world records going into their 2nd Olympics. Yuna was the first to surprass the 200 barrier, and Yuzuru the 300 barrier. Edit: I forgot to mention how Yuzuru actually mentioned Yuna as one of his favourite skaters on that 2010 interview. He said that what he liked about her was that her jumps were timed with the music, always intertwined within the program. And it's exactly what Yuzuru ended up being known for in his career, (H&L's 3F anyone?) It's sad that we didn't get to see him comment anything more about Yuna probably because of Japan x Korea rivalry. Actually more because of the Mao x Yuna rivarly and Yuna/Brian Orser fall out. Also, both were crucified for not pointing their toes. LOL
  10. Does anyone know if there's anything interesting at the korean commentary for Origin? Before SBS take this down of course.
  11. I agree with the scoring debate and excessive PCS scoring and GOE. I just made a reminder that we need to find a good medium in order to not dismiss the skaters themselves on the way. Most of the discussion about scoring here is useful and If a fan feels so then by all means bring it to ISU. In my opinion, Nathan is a worthy contender for Yuzuru. They aren't equal, but Nathan isn't only a jumping bean either. And I feel that the accolade of Nathan's scoring that we are seeing now isn't an isolated phenomenon. There were similar discussions of PCS increase during the Chan era. With fans outraged that Chan's "flat" Four Seasons could even receive 9s at interpretation when Lambiel's Poeta and Takahashi's whole being exists. However, these performances happened in different time periods, and especially different Olympic cycles, even though Takahashi and Chan overlapped a bit. One could also arguee that pre-Chan era there really wasn't any men stacking up transitions at all, and Yuzuru after brought this concept to a whole new level. But it still doesn't explain the newfound willingness now to give 9s in interpretation and performance. I remember that some people also did have issues on Yuzuru receiving high marks at the time for his R&J 2.0 going into Sochi. (look, I'm not saying the situations are equal but , these kind of debates have been going on forever, just change the name of the skater "underscored" and the one "overscored" and you're set) Several years ago judges could rarely ever give 9, 10, in Chan's and Yuzuru's era they were more willing to give, now they continue to give it like candies. Hence why Yuzuru couldn't reach these type of scores when he was 20, it was a different Olympic cycle. The judging issue isn't a complete diregard and attack especifically for Yuzuru, it's just a chronic issue within the sport, permanent across different scoring systems. Each Olympic cycle judges try to make a new narrative with the new skater that stands out, Nathan was the one this time and we'll see how it goes until Beijing. Hopefully, with Yuzuru's popularity and the legions of fans, the reaction could bring some positive changes, but for that to happen there needs to be respect for Yuzuru's competitors from the fans and that's why I made my post. Thank you for the response! From @Flutterby
  12. I hate to play devil's advocate here but it isn't fair at all to dismiss Nathan's skating completely. I'm sure that Yuzuru considers him a worthy contender. He reached near the top for a reason, it wasn't just completely due to atrocious judging, he has qualities despite that. His running edge on his landings improved a bit since the last time I saw him, they still aren't ideal but they don't end on a complete stop anymore. His FS aren't the most complete ones out there but his SPs are usually much better choreographically in my opinion. He isn't completely devoid of skating skills, has good posture, consistency. I think he actually improved a lot these past few seasons. Just compare his Michael Jackson program in US Nationals 2016 (and ignore the commentary, thanks lol) to his 2019 Worlds SP, and the improvement in evident is terms of commitment to the program and engagement. His Michael Jackson program was devoid of personality in my opinion, it felt like he was going through the motions to complete the choreography with no sense of purpose at all and a blank face. And he doesn't come across as the guy that will completely rest while seeing his scores, he seems driven to improve and it shows. And he's also pretty young, at 19 a male skater isn't at the top of their game artistically, Yuzuru wasn't either. Despite the success of PW, Yuzuru improved quite a bit in this aspect, in my opinion LGC was a much better performed program by the GPF 2016 even if the scores didn't reflect that. Although I think that Yuzuru did have at a younger age better musicality and commitment to his programs, not to mention charisma. My problem with Nathan has always been the lack of emotional conection that he has with his programs, even if maybe he has it deep down, it usually doesn't come across to me. Or maybe his skating just isn't my cup of tea after all, since his skating does ressonate to his fans. To each their own, I guess.
  13. That's such a blasphemy! I can't believe people are capable of such travesty! Jk. Origin may be my favourite Yuzuru costume of all time, certainly my favourite LP costume. It's just absolutely regal, so fitting for a season post his second Olympic gold. He looks like a phoenix, or an Emperor, or both. And i've always wanted him to wear a dark costume but thought that my wish was never going to be granted so I was over the moon when the costume was revealed. _____ Thanks for the Etude appreciation here! I am absolutely in love with Etude and will be forever bitter that it never receives the attention it deserves. It feels like the counterpart of Hope & Legacy. Etude is the sea before and during a storm Hope & Legacy is the calmness after the storm and the hope for a new beginning. They also represent two diffferent points in Yuzuru's career, one as the up and coming and the other as the goal point. I'm terrible at waxing lyrically but you get the point. I remember Yuzuru once referred to etude as symbolizing waves so I guess I'm not that far off. And I think that he really did a connection between the two, hence the similar costumes but with different color variations. There's an old video out there of him describing Etude but I can't find it now. I can't rank accurately my favourite programs, especially since they're so different. What i can say is that the only Yuzuru programs that I really dislike are Notre Dame and POTO. Notre Dame really had no clear picture, it just exists. David Wilson completely missed the point in that one and Yuzuru just couldn't connect and bring this program into life, especially since he was adding for the first time the 4S and it was his first season after his coaching change. It also didn't help that he had fabulous programs the previous season. POTO tried to have a clearer picture but I never bought it. It just didn't feel like a full program for me, especially after he watered down due to the injuries. But even if it was the original version I don't think it would go down as one of my favourite Yuzuru programs. i appreciate R&J 2.0 but wasn't a fan of the boobskirt so maybe my judgement is going to be clouded by it. But I think that R&J 2.0 IMO was much better than NDP and POTO and I can rewatch it with no problem. GPF 2013 is my favourite rendition of it because i love his fingers. H&L is an absolute masterpiece for me.
  14. This discussion of femininity/masculinity in regards to Yuzuru's skating reminded me of this episode about costumes from a FS podcast. I think they were spot on in this issue. They start talking about Yuzuru specifically at 37:00, but they actually mention him more times during the episode. I think all of it it worth listening. There's english transcription if you click on the subtitles button. Sorry it was already shared but the debate made me remember this.
  15. Sorry Yuzuru, Jason has already done it! Maybe next time! Or he can borrow Jason's costume for his EX next season LOL
  16. I think my biggest pet peeve about this whole issue, isn't even exactly the media hype around Nathan and the rivalry created this particular season. It always happens at the sport, it creates narratives and tries to build excitement towards a new Olympic cycle. That's why there's score inflation in all disciplines leading to the Olympics. It happens every 4 years, it's nothing new. My guess is that Yuzuru antecipated that it would happen anyway when a younger contender would come along, you can't stay at the top forever during this highly competitive men's era without making your own moves, that's why Yuzuru constantly improved during all of these past seasons, keeping himself at the top even when the generation before him retired. And now we're entering a new chapter and even though he absolutely doesn't have to, he could just rest on his laurels, he still aims to do to the same. . My issue is the american media deliberately erasing the quad revolution history. Let's go back to COC 2015 when Boyang landed the first ratified 4Lz-3T. Actually, let's go back even further, to the end of 2014-2015 season. Even though there was footage of Yuzuru praticing the 4Loop since the 2014 off season and I believe his first clean one caught on video was on an ice show in 2014, Yuzuru unveiled a 4Loop for the first time on international ice at the gala finale of World Team Trophy on a explosive fashion, he actually did a 4Lo-3A. It was after a season riddled with injuries (COC collision, surgery after japanese nationals...), it kind of felt like a statement that he will be back in full force. During the off season of 2014-2015 the thought of Yuzuru coming up with the 4Lo was looming. What would happen if he actually introduce the 4Loop during the 2015-2016 season? Yuzuru lost Worlds 2015 but given his status as the current Olympic champion, the fact that he had setbacks out of his control this season and since Javier wasn't looking to change his layout anytime soon, if Yuzuru were to introduce the 4Loop it could created a wider gap between the field and it was unclear how other skaters would respond. Now we enter the 2015-2016 season that changed the FS landscape. At COC 2015, during his senior debut Boyang Jin lands the first ratified 4Lz-3T. We could make a case that it was Yuzuru who actually pushed the whole field to a ceiling that the only way out for skaters in PCS disavantage would be different types of quads, especially given that Yuzuru himself was looking to introduce different types of quads. Let's remember that Boyang expressed his admiration for Yuzuru the first time after Worlds 2012 when he said that Yuzuru's R&J inspired him and as a young skater that he saw himself in Yuzuru (I'm paraphrasing, can't find the interview where he said that for my dear life, If someone can help me with that I'm thankful) However, Since Boyang was the first one who actually brought it into fruition in competition ice and despite the off season speculation Yuzuru actually decided to not introduce the 4Loop in 2015-2016, then I think it's fair for us to start with him. Boyang also had a 4 quad planned free skate which was unheard of at the time. Boyang was partially responsible for the incredible drive Yuzuru had during the 2015-2016 season most skating fans just blatantly like to erase that. Yuzuru himself said that knowing that Boyang landed his 4Lz in NHK Trophy SP was what ignited him to enter the competitive mindset in order to make his historic skates in NHK 2015. As a matter of fact, 2015-2016 IS the starting point of the quad revolution, but since no american was in the frontline of that, american media tends to delay the start of this phenomenon in order to accentuate the contribution of their own country athletes. I don't always agree with CBC, but I remember during Boyang LP at GPF 2015 at least at the beginning of their commentary they acknowledged the movement that Boyang started and after 6:32 they also mentioned what happened at the NHK trophy. At this point, Nathan was winning the JGP 2015 in this same season, at the same venue that Yuzuru took the figure skating world by storm with his GPF 2015. The junior competition there, which was rather catastrophic in comparison to the senior men's which remains a historic event, sparked a mild debate whether the incessant quest for quads will just destroy the sport altogether (you know.. the usual stuff... that comes up every 2 days, I guess?) But since the goal point of the sport was still Yuzuru, in addition with Javier and Shoma at the top together, skaters which were able to combine both aspects, the debate didn't move on. Nathan won the JGP 2015 doing 4S and 4T with a 3 quad planned free skate. Fast foward to the US nationals a month later, Nathan was the first man to land a clean 4 quad long program since Boyang never managed to land all 4 clean during the season, and was the first US skater to land 2 on a short program. This was his first contributiton to the quad revolution started at the beginning of this season when Boyang landed his at the time infamous 4Lz. Maybe he was inspired by all of this buzz at the senior ranks after the GPF 2015, maybe the 4 quad playout was already his first plan even before? I don't know. I can't remember if the junior rules allowed 4 quad layouts. Nathan then injuried his hip on the Nationals Gala and couldn't compete at Junior Worlds 2016. Even though he had these accolades, this was a difficult season for Nathan due to his injury. Then right after the end of 2015-2016, Shoma lands the first ratified 4F at minor event in April 2016. It was his response to all that happened during this past season. Once we enter the 2016-2017 Nathan makes his senior debut now aimed with a 4F and a 4lz. Yuzuru finally introduces his 4Loop. It was the new era starting. There's a whole timeline in that, 2015-2016 was the season that changed men's figure skating forever and the frontrunners in that were Boyang as the new challenger and Yuzuru as the man at the top. This season was absolutely incredible to watch, I still miss it sometimes. When Boyang landed that 4Lz it sent shivers down my spine, it was a turning point in skating history. But no one knew what it would lead to. It would depend on how the ones at the top would move and Yuzuru eventually did. Both Boyang and Yuzuru had similar visions on how the sport was going to move forward, even though Boyang didn't have the finesse on his skating to bring similar PCS. However, if you read american articles going to Pyeongchang until now, you get the impression that Nathan singlehandly took the skating world by storm with his unprecedent 5 quad layout, making all of his competitors shiver on his presence and scramble to up their game in fear of losing their place at the top ... I'm sorry, but what..? He made an incredible contribution to this phenomenon. But he isn't the pioneer, he's a consequence of it all. He was the junior skater looking up at all of this happening at the senior ranks and trying to find his own answer. He found it, that's a full arsenal of quads and consistency and now he's achieving success with it. American media doesn't need to erase history in order to elevate their own skater, Nathan has his own merits. I guess I need to resign that Boyang (and Yuzuru!) will never receive full credit for what he did, but it saddens me that people that also were seeing everything first hand back then like I did deliberately choose to have a selective memory, only because now there's a north american skater that entered the quad revolution who ALSO fits their ideal style of skating, even though Boyang improved leaps and bounds on PCS. Boyang never fit the bill from the start. PS. Sorry for the essay, but I had to this out there.
  17. Does anyone know if there is an english translation for the chinese broadcast of Origin? It seems that it was the same person that made that poetic comment about a warrior and a storm for his Olympic win. And she seems pretty excited in this. Here's the full program: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av47127320
  18. Here's a nice interview with Meryl done at Saitama. She starts talking about Yuzuru from 10:48 until 13:44, about what is his motivation and what she think his legacy will be once he retires. https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/original-series/detail/olympic-channel-podcast/olympic-channel-podcast-season-season-2/episodes/podcast-meryl-davis-on-world-championships-hanyu-and-medvedeva/ The last part of the interview is also interesting because she talks about how she felt when her and Charlie decided to retire after winning Olympics. I imagine that Yuzuru's perspective must be completely different in this regard in order for him to continue competing.
  19. The greatest crime of this Worlds is the lack of Origin fancams cries Does anyone know if someone was able to sneak in some camera? In audience perspective I only saw ending of it that Yagudin posted.
  20. Does anyone remember if there was any homage/tribute Yuzuru programs throught the season? By that I mean other skaters using similar music cuts or costume. I saw Hongyi's SP to Notte Stelatta but that's about it. Tomoki Hiwatashi's costume on his FS is kind of a half Origin one, but since he came up with it on Ljubljana GP like 10 days after ACI maybe it was just a coincidence.
  21. Thank you so much for sharing your story! --------------- Since I live in South America, here it's pretty much uncommon to like figure skating. All of my friends know that I like skating but they couldn't care less. However, I've shown videos to both my parents and they seem to like it a lot. Out of the videos I've shown my father he prefers Pairs, but I sent him Notte Stelatta, Seimei etc. Every time I send him a video he always says that if he could we would go see some skating competition in another country, since I've never seen it live. Unfortunately we don't have money at the moment and he also is under hemodialysis for more than 10 years so he could only travel maybe for 2 days at maximum (it could work if it was only an event and to a close country maybe but it would be very exhausting for him) and return to do it, since it takes 3 days of the week. I don't know if it's possible to do it in another country and if it's for free like it is here. He also said it before Pyeonchang but his condition aggravated in 2017 and I'm still studying so it was impossible to go; now he is much better. But some years after I graduate this will change hopefully. That's why I hope that Yuzuru can continue skating for a few more seasons, so I can resolve my financial situation by myself and even though it's very unlikely, if my father is fine by then we can go see him for the first time. It's a very far and improbable dream so I try to not hold onto it to not be dissappointed. I've shown videos of other skaters to my mother too, but once I showed Haru Yo Koi she thought it was gorgeous and said that "People that can create something like that are very special". Although she also likes ladies, she prefers Ice Dance though... They are covering all my deficiencies in skating since I'm mostly a fan of singles although I watch some of the other disciplines Lol
  22. LOL I found the thread but I think it was edited by moderators (GS is notorious for that ) because I remember it having much more pages, or maybe it was another thread from an earlier season. This one is even more entertaining lmfao All old threads are pure gold.
  23. I only saw this thread now because I was away after the Olympics but I just wanted to say that Chanyu is still my favourite rivalry in Yuzuru's career! The Javier/Yuzuru dynamics are great but nothing as entertaining as the endless passive agressive discussions on boards about Yuzuru vs Patrick Lol I remember that 'Chan vs Hanyu' thread on GS back when we were almost exclusively there, before this Yuzuru forum was made, that reached more than 200 pages. I think I'll try to find again to read for the giggles. And I always had a spot for Patrick because, as some already stated here, his comments for me were clearly his defensive mechanism to try to deal with everything. But I understand if some fans are caught up on the first impression he gave. The debate around his World titles didn't put him in a good light for the fans that tend to wrongly hold scores against the skater, although others fans may dislike him for his foot-in-mouth syndrome. Probably the "Chanflation" hate comments hurt him deeply or at least was one of biggest motivators for him to as a defense try to elevate his strongest points and downplay his weakness. It's a human reaction and rooted in his type of personality and of course most fans didn't take this quite well. At least I lived to see a select group of skating fans hyping the 'Hanyuflation' during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 season that in retrospect seem quite comical given the common opinion now that Yuzuru is underscored. For anyone wanting to check his skating I recommend his POTO LP during 2010/2011 I believe (for me still the best POTO sorry Shae and Yuzuru k) and his Adagio LP during 2011/2012 but his Canadian National performances because he usually peaked there. I've always wanted to see him skating live for his sublime skating skills but, oh well, it's difficult when you live at the other (tropical) side of the world. I remember when Yuzuru said that when he turned seniors in 2010 and competed with Patrick for the first time he was so mesmerized by Patrick's blade work that he couldn't focus and failed his performance LOL Even though Javier probably had a more lasting impact in Yuzuru, especially since they were in contact during training, I believe Patrick was his main motivator during the beginning of his senior career based on his comments back them. About R&J 2.0 I agree that it's frustrating how this program never reached full potential. I used to scream internally whenever Yuzuru dropped the choreography when he became too tired and replay his LP practices more than his competition outings (Finlandia Trophy was always one of my favourites!). The fact that Yuzuru now is capable to replicate closely his practices most of the times is a dream. A program like H&L would never reach the level that World 2017 was back in 2013. And that's a testament about his growth in stamina.
  24. I think having crazy fans is really inevitable, it depends on the size of the fandom more than anything. And it's not only with people that are exclusively Yuzuru fans, there's general skating fans out there that can have their crazy on par with them. Maybe after Yuzuru retires ISU will have a bit of crisis when it comes to sponsors. I remember watching some Worlds press conference and how at the board on the background there were almost only japanese sponsors. The importance of japanese fans for the sport is tremendous. But Japan has a long history of great skaters, maybe it will less a bit the impact if new great talents come. Also, not only financially, but when a star at the level of Yuzuru retires they leave kind of a void since they are the one propelling the sport in all levels. Yuzuru is one the athletes that transcends their sport, so It's inevitable that some fans will leave when he retires. Of course a new star will eventually come and similarly make their mark, but there's a few skaters that leave a profound impact on the sport. At least for me I don't think I will follow very closely the men's discipline. Although I love the sport in general, I'm much more interested in ladies skating so of course I will be watching in the future (Kostornaia!) I check all disciplines here and there but most of the programs I rewatch are from Ladies. Sometimes I think that it's the feminine/masculine combo in Yuzuru's skating that attracts me more than anything. I don't care much for most of the 'traditional' men's skaters. So unless a skater with similar characteristics arrive (and maybe they will because of Yuzuru's influence) Mens will be at the back of my mind.
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