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General Yuzuru Chat


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1 hour ago, KatjaThera said:

To be honest, that's my biggest fear. Brian has pretty much said that he thinks the reason why men's FS in Sochi was such a mess was because of scheduling. SP ended late and the top 3 had media until really late at night. Then they had to wake up early for practice or so. I think it's a bit different now, because the events are in the morning? But that brings other complications (including no more practice that day). So I fear Yuzu's chances of getting his perfect performance - and breaking a WR at the Olympics - are greatly diminished by the stupid scheduling. Of course, he'd probably still have an advantage in that he has the experience of Sochi, while the younger kids don't, but... still. (I wonder if that's why it seems all GP events have SP and FP on consecutive days? Or was that the case before, too? I had only watched 4CC and Worlds live before and I think both those had a free day between)

Which is why it worries me a little that he won't have had as much comp experience of consecutive SP/FS days. It wouldn't be too bad if they could just skate and then get off but the media stuff afterwards takes ages. I hope the morning schedule means they'll at least be able to get an afternoon of recovery and a good night's sleep instead of talking to media, or at the very least for Yuzu's team to put their foot down and only do the bare minimum of media interviews after the SP at least...but knowing how polite the boy is to media, he'll probably sit there and answer all the questions. What's particularly infuriating is that there's a perfectly good day with nothing scheduled to have the mens FS on the 18th :yznotimpressed:

 

Re: Flag bearing at closing... well. He loves his country. I don't think -- if the dream does happen -- he'll mind the media attention or the flag-bearing position to be honest. The boy does have a bit of a narcissistic streak to him (all champions do) but he only enjoys it when he feels like it's deserved. We can only believe that it'll happen T___T

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2 hours ago, KatjaThera said:

Since I missed out on 2k celebrations, let me go back and post on the topics a few pages ago ^_^;

 

I'm not sure Brian was against Javi being a flag bearer in itself, but he knew the kind of pressure it brought along. And adding to that Javi's gay comments scandal, it probably combined to affect his competition (the title of the article when it came out, was like "Spain's flag bearer said (...)!")

 

But yes, in Japan seniority - and not necessarily in age as much as career length, I think, though they kind of go hand in hand - is a big deal. As for Noriaki Kasai... I remember I had a phase where I watched ski jumping and it was like 13 years ago, and even then the commentators called him a veteran. (I was shocked when I heard he's still competing... I mean when I was watching the top sensation was a 17 or so year old ski jumper... So I was given the impression that younger is better there, too. But it's awesome for him and I really wish he'd get that gold at 45!)

 

To be honest, that's my biggest fear. Brian has pretty much said that he thinks the reason why men's FS in Sochi was such a mess was because of scheduling. SP ended late and the top 3 had media until really late at night. Then they had to wake up early for practice or so. I think it's a bit different now, because the events are in the morning? But that brings other complications (including no more practice that day). So I fear Yuzu's chances of getting his perfect performance - and breaking a WR at the Olympics - are greatly diminished by the stupid scheduling. Of course, he'd probably still have an advantage in that he has the experience of Sochi, while the younger kids don't, but... still. (I wonder if that's why it seems all GP events have SP and FP on consecutive days? Or was that the case before, too? I had only watched 4CC and Worlds live before and I think both those had a free day between)

 

As for flag bearing at the closing ceremony, while it'd be cool, I think, personally, I'd rather not. If he wins his second OGM, his life will be mayhem with media pouncing on him all over again and I'd rather he gets a little break from that there at least. And probably not just Japanese media, as he'd be the first consecutive double OGM in FS since Dick Button. He also doesn't need it. Doesn't need the recognition or validation of being the flag bearer. He's already huge in Japan. He's a national treasure, even if not officially. He already carries the flag for Japan, virtually, everywhere he goes. I don't think there are many athletes out there prouder to be Japan representatives and showing it. Better let someone with less media exposure do that. (Hoping Japan gets other gold medals at the Olympics, whoever gets it/them should do it instead.) And let him get some rest and catch his breath before further facing the media storm. (A storm that, let's be real, will come, whether he wins or not. And surely every single interviewer will also ask about his plans for the future and retirement... I'm starting to hurt for him just thinking about it ^_^; ) Of course, not attending the closing ceremony might not in any way diminish the media mayhem, but... *shrugs*

I honestly do not know how he manages all that pressure. My head hurts thinking about it. And there are speed skaters who can be flag bearers. 

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