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Planet Hanyu Staff

By Planet Hanyu Staff
in Yuzuru Hanyu

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WinForPooh StSq4

WinForPooh

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Cerunias said:

 

Interesting how his search score is about double of the average, and about 2/3 of the Ronaldo "baseline" of 100. By search score, he ranks 19th.

I'm surprised they couldn't estimate his endorsements, given that after Sochi, Forbes was able to come up with a "worth" of $2m, which undoubtedly would be in part influenced by the value of endorsements.

Forbes's credibility for these net worth figures took a big hit a few weeks ago. :biggrin: Wouldn't trust their estimate for Yuzu, either. Or anybody else.

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Victoria Baby Swan

Victoria

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, sun1985 said:

Lol When was that? So adorable... I'm wondering whether there's any video. 

 

Also I literally registered to ask this. There's a pic showing yuzu sitting on Jeremy's lap. I think it was during a gala practice. Was there video about it? 

I don't know if there is any video but it was during Skate America Gala practice 2012

 

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tumblr_n5bxjarZpf1rp3ki0o1_500.gif

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Katt Ballade No. 1

Katt

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Danibellerika said:

 I sat next to journalists in PC for the men's short who didn't even know who he was until he skated (or rather until they saw me with my pooh ears and banner and wanted an explanation), so I guess my expectations are pretty low too.  But hey, they certainly learned that day.  

The fact that they go to an event without knowing the defending champion :facepalm: But yeah, its good to have low expectation, so at least we won't get disappoint for these kind of article. I dont think this one is bad, but certainly it could be much better. 

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TallyT 4T1Lo3S

TallyT

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Katt said:

. Its such a waste of time and money when  you can get 90% info with 5 mins of googling.

Mind you, had she googled, her breathless description of his beauty (which, as I mentioned before, I don't disagree with) might have been shaded by Memeface and Murderface...

 

Don't mind me.:slinkaway:

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TallyT 4T1Lo3S

TallyT

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, kiches said:

 

I think this was a photoshopped image from Worlds in Shanghai 2015. The blue flowered top is for Final Time Traveler.

That doesn't surprise me (but at least I don't have to worry what my subconscous is thinking this time!!) 

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micaelis 4Lo

micaelis

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Cerunias said:

The ESPN article is a real shame though. I honestly do believe you could've written that by just sitting in front of a computer and googling for info...the whole article just seemed superficial. For other athletes, they linked to webpages about that athlete's stats for the last season (or more) and so on eg Ronaldo, LeBron. I can understand they don't link to eg an ISU page of Hanyu's stats (particularly given he was out for much of the 2017/18 season), but it strikes me that a fair comparison with the other athletes would be if the article mentioned not only back to back OGM but how he has broken world records not just once, but multiple times, often beating his own records. I can't remember where it was, but there was another media outlet that tried to draw comparison with how he has broken his own world record by scaling the scores to be equivalent to a Bolt's 100m record and what the new 'scaled record' Bolt would need in the 100m. And then emphasised that Hanyu hasn't just done it in the "100m equivalent" but also the "200m equivalent" as well. I think for newcomers to the sport, this helps give a sense of Hanyu's sporting achievement.

I have to agree there.  The trouble with lists like this is that they are very much apples and oranges type comparisons.  The situation here is that there's no real way to factor in the status of an athlete in his/her sport.  Yuzu, for all practical purposes, owns figure-skating right now.  His stature within the sport is not challenged by any of those in ladies, pairs or dance.  I know there are some here who would say I'm exaggerating but really when you compare his stature with any others skating today there's little outside of wins and losses to challenge him.  Yuzu owns the men's record book.  In terms of the major competitions (Worlds, Olympics, GPF) he is clearly the leader over the last several seasons combined (Medvedeva might rival him here).  He has one of the most passionate fanbases of any athlete in any sport.  He has a stature within Japan that is on a level that few athletes possess in their sport (the only athletes who might rival Yuzu in terms of prominence within their countries are almost certainly found in soccer/football), particularly in the way that Yuzu has become for many in Japan a symbol for overcoming adversity after the earthquake.  In terms of what might be called 'iconicity' Yuzu in Japan rivals the reputations within Canada of Wayne Gretzky and within the US of Michael Jordan.  All of these are factors that cannot be incorporated into a survey like ESPN's here.

 

In looking at Yuzu's reputation in Japan the link he has with the earthquake, I am discovering as I explore his past, is quite crucial to understanding his position there.  We have to remember that he battled his way to the top in the years immediately after the earthquake but particularly important here is the symbolism of his Sochi gold medal.  Within Japan it's safe to assume that virtually everybody knew how he was skating on the ice when the earthquake occurred and how he almost quit skating but was finally able to find a temporary training venue and also was able to find skating time by skating with ice shows.  That was a narrative that most Japanese knew.  Then comes 2013/2014, his breakout season, when he possesses simultaneously the GPF, Olympic gold medal and World Championship gold, the first man to do that in over a decade.  His Olympic gold is most important here, not only because it is a competition that occurs only once in four years but also, for Japan I'm sure this was very important, Yuzu was the only Japanese in Sochi to win a gold medal in any sport.  He was Japan's sole gold medal that year.  That focused the Japanese on his achievement and I really think, coming after the earthquake, that is what made Yuzu not only a skating hero, but a Japanese hero, a position he continues to occupy.  It is Yuzu's connection with the earthquake that makes his particular reputation so unique in Japan and in terms of an athlete's relationship to his home country unique world-wide.  Add to that his physical beauty and his engaging personality you find in Yuzu then a Japanese version of the 'boy next door' (an American folk-icon, the boy you'd like your sons to be best-friends with or your daughters to marry).

 

So getting back to ESPN's survey, there is no way that ESPN could have come up with a set of criteria that could have done justice to Yuzu (or actually almost any athlete), since the factors that would be necessary to create a truly meaningful result are too multifarious.  In fact it's more than an apples/oranges comparison, it's an entire fruit-basket.  Yuzu, however, remains the most delicious and nutritious fruit to be found in that basket.

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