Danibellerika

They have been quite cozy this DOI... AND he posts with heart eyes?!

At Worlds, really you could extend that beyond the top 6! The guys definitely keep you on your toes. I haven't gotten back into the rink (I skated in college and it's been a little over 10 years now) but I'm looking to pick up activity again and while I preferred doing gymnastics of the two, I don't want to injure my body from gymnastics (I was starting to experience some neck and back pain, especially with my front tucks).

English does have its quirks here and there...and a lot of places. But it's my native language so I don't notice half the things that'd trip up an ESL person.

Or it's too early for him.

Satoko was at Lori's rink

I would take a flawed, but still solid, winning freeskate because even in Sochi he had stars in his eyes knowing he won it. But I would settle for a performance he is proud of as well no matter the outcome.

Exactly. Longevity is not in Nate's plans anyway. And that's completely fine. It's his life and career after all. And I agree with you, I can see Nate as a bigger threat than Shoma, but I would not discount either one of them. Will just come down to the scoring.

And won the free at GPF with 4 and then won 4CC overall with 5 even with shaky jumps. He's also Team USA which will go a long way with politiks.

The season could go one way and the games could be a completely different story. Most wouldn't have guessed Sot would walk away with the gold despite the momentum of the season. I mean, I watched Sarah Hughes win in 2002 so I'm just not sure what to expect. I only hope for the best for my horse in this race. He rotated 6 with faulty equipment and landed 5 twice already. He only needs to hit those 6-7 once where it matters most.

He can go for 5 and was trying for 5, so now the new safe is 4. And that's 4 of the more "easier" quads too. That checkpoint has been reached. I don't expect the usual to apply at the Olympics because we've seen historically how these things go. History isn't necessarily on his side since we haven't had a repeat champ in what would be 66 years at that time. We don't really know what will happen, but I also am not one to dismiss all possibilities just because I don't like them.

Well at the very least Yuzuru I'm sure is aware of this.

That's the thing...

I would rather not play it safe than play it safe and lose out. I'd feel more regretful.

YOLO

Nate could try up to 7 of them. So A game is needed.

I had no idea Mura had kids. It's going to be really interesting to see who gets that third spot between Mura and Tanaka.

Is that the same track Yags skated to when he won?

They mentioned the flip a while ago when he was complaining about all the quads the guys are doing. Another question is how many quads is Chan planning with this flip?

I think also since I am going to be there (as long as it isn't cancelled because of NK's bullshit), it is going to make for a very different experience so I am trying to temper expectations. Of course, I tried that with Worlds and it didn't go so well (thankfully he won). But I'm going to try to just take in the experience and atmosphere and celebrate that my fave guy already has one.

Looks like they're training the [American] Ninja Warrior obstacle course. Looks like warped walls of different heights.

Not sure I can give a clearcut answer but I can just share my general experience and feelings. So I've been watching the Olympics since the 90s, but I became super invested starting around 2002 with Plushenko...where he lost. And I was hoping for Sasha to make the podium...and she didn't. I honestly can't remember exactly what it was like in the olys seasons. But 2006 was definitely more stressful of a season because I'd been staying the course for 4 years already. Of course he won and she didn't. I think at the time her winning was more important to me than if he won (probably because I knew he'd be unchallenged). I can't pretend that I took that well. I guess real life eventually worms its way in and provides enough distractions. And then by 2010 I hadn't really followed skating as much for that quad, but I rooted for Plush. I was more disappointed a quadless skate won than that Plush lost. I guess part of me didn't feel as mad as I could because he already was a champion and had 3 olympic medals at the time which was still hella impressive. And I found the fallout with platinum medal hilarious. But again, I sort of fell out of keeping up with it until the 2013-2014 season where I discovered Yuzu. I took to Yuzu because he spoke my language (beautiful jumps and charisma to boot), but I was not as invested as I am now, so the feeling is different. And he is a unique case because even though he is Oly champ I've been invested for 4 years again. I've never been invested that long for a reigning champ. So on some level, knowing he already has an Olympic Gold brings me some level of comfort compared to if he didn't have one at all. And seeing him deliver like he did in Helsinki in person also takes a little of the edge off. Doesn't mean I don't want him to get another gold of course and with two magestic performances on back to back nights in the men's event. But yeah, this is uncharted territory for me despite all my years of watching and having favorites.

Yeah, I do think he covets his GPF victories more than his non-world golds.

That's grounds for another poll, but I do think Kurt would trade one or two of those world titles for an Olympic medal.

Interesting responses! I guess in the thick of things, down the line you're still known as a world champion. There isn't really an asterisk of if it's an Olympic season or not , but as a personal sense of accomplishment, that's one thing to consider. And medalists that aren't champs quite often show up at the Worlds. But then you have to consider if at the Olympics it's a situation where you lost the gold vs. won the silver/bronze. That could be more of a bitter moment whereas for Worlds, you still won it.

Well I got my Skate America ticket a while ago so maybe it's not that early?