General Yuzuru Chat

[Greycat]

1 hour ago, ICeleste said:

https://twitter.com/GpfYuzu/status/1198999706245971968

 

Please spread!!

 

Fans are organizing a project to sing Happy Birthday to him after the GPF free skate 

 

!Whether his performance is terrible or excellent, nonetheless the crowd should still sing Happy birthday to him afterwards.

What matters is celebrating his life and the fact that he is still competing. That alone is already worth cheering for. 

Just popping into the thread out of my usual lurkdom - I assume fans are only planning to sing Happy Birthday after his performance if Yuzu is the last to skate?  If he's not last, singing Happy Birthday mid-competition could disturb the concentration of the next skater preparing to skate and I think Yuzu would really hate that as he is always very respectful of other skaters.

 

Perhaps singing Happy Birthday at the end of the morning practice session might be a better option?  Or, if he wins a medal, when he comes out for the victory ceremony?

[Figure_Frenzy]

I hope his team will vet the media more tightly moving forward... That question is such a **** question .

 

People who are disappointed in Yuzu are those who never appreciated him properly in the first place anyway... 

[rockstaryuzu]

Bottom line: we fans could never be disappointed in Yuzu's skating performance. He has exceeded all that anyone could reasonably expect of him in that regard, and we know it, and we love him for it.

 

Now, the judges and their scoring, on the other hand...

[Henni147]

I think, Yuzu knows very well that the "sighs" had absolutely nothing to with him. If the crowd had been disappointed by his performance, they wouldn't have clapped and screamed and cheered so enthusiastically both during the skate and after the ending pose. The temperature in the arena dropped noticeably, when the scores came out.

However, Yuzu couldn't say to the press: "Don't worry. My fans love me. They were just pissed off with Doug W. and my low score."

Footnote: I'm really curious how the press would have reacted to this answer, though... 

 

I wouldn't be too worried about this stupid interview question.

[rubyblue]

I was thinking for a while about this whole competition as it left me with mixed feelings. Yuzu's performances were more than incredible. Honestly, I'm really glad that he wasn't 100% perfect, he didn't need to, at all. Considering that he has way more important and difficult competition ahead in less than 2 weeks and he had the prospect of returning to Canada and then very shortly traveling to Europe, I was absolutely proud of him that he put his health first. So much stress and pressure at this comp + such challenging travels could affect health and condition very easily and drastically with no time to recover. About my mixed feelings - I was AGAIN so dissapointed with Japenese fed and media. They seem to have zero respect for their athletes and their health. Really, so many interviews to do with reccuring such silly questions about breaking WR at NHK - why anybody should espect him to do that at this exact competition with so challenging schedule ahead and his injuries history?! Only becouse it's domestic? Not even mentioning zero care for fair judging. It created so much additional pressure that I can't understand it at all. I have to say I'm extremely impressed by him, probably more than ever, because he did not get caught up in this narrative. When he popped the second toe, I think it was a decision, not a mistake - sacrifice to not to risk to much. So mature and wise. And he still won by a huge margin with two magnificent performances that cannot be seen as dissapointing by any person with common sense. He got second highest total score this season, short only to his own. In the past we have seen more than once that senseless expectations and narratives created by his domestic fed and media led him to really hard experiences. I'm so glad that this time he was beyond that and decided to rely on his own instincts during his free skate, even if he knew that it will be followed by some negative (although idiotic imo) evaluation. Sorry for my long and chaotic post and language mistakes

[KatjaThera]

Honestly, I think we, as fans, should always cheer for him, when scores are announced, even if they are poor/unexpected/unfair/whatever. Maybe just applaud and shout "Yuzu, gamba!" if it's a bad performance, and cheer and maybe afterwards show outrage at a particularly ridiculous score. I was honestly shocked by the silence when his score was announced, too, watching at home. I get people were expecting a better score because it was a great performance, but the quiet definitely felt off. It felt off to me, as a viewer, I can't imagine how it must have felt for him, when he was already struggling with the expectations piled up on him. I'm sure he knows that at the end of the day, fans support him no matter what, but I can imagine he might have felt like he let people down, even if only just for a moment. It's awkward for any skater/pair to not get any reaction when their score is announced. For Yuzu, who usually gets tons of screams, it's glaring.

 

We had ridiculous scoring at ACI, too, but people cheered when the score was announced, because it was still a win. And then we all noticed the PCS and the outrage started making waves - I shouted "WHAT?!" so loudly that I thought you might have heard me on the stream - but the first reaction, and towards him, at all times, was cheering, screaming, clapping.

 

I think there are other ways to show our objections to the judging, but we should think of him at competitions first and foremost and should try to make sure he always feels our love, support and appreciation (while still being respectful towards everyone else).

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, Henni147 said:

I think, Yuzu knows very well that the "sighs" had absolutely nothing to with him. If the crowd had been disappointed by his performance, they wouldn't have clapped and screamed and cheered so enthusiastically both during the skate and after the ending pose. The temperature in the arena dropped noticeably, when the scores came out.

However, Yuzu couldn't say to the press: "Don't worry. My fans love me. They were just pissed off with Doug W. and my low score."

Footnote: I'm really curious how the press would have reacted to this answer, though... 

 

I wouldn't be too worried about this stupid interview question.

I want to be there the day he decides he doesn't have to be diplomatic any more and comes right out and says this. 

[tafattsbarn]

 

 

[rubyblue]

19 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I wouldn't be too worried about this stupid interview question.

Me neither but I'm just angry that he has to spend his precious time for such a silly stuff instead of celebrating his awesome achievement and recovering before GPF.

[liv]

To be honest, when the arena went absolutely silent when his score came out I was shocked at the audience reaction. Considering one jumping pass was missing, which on a good day would've added 20 points to the tech score, it was actually pretty good. Yuzu seemed ok with his performance... and you could see he wasn't overly happy with the score, but I think the crowd reaction caught him by surprise as well. It would not surprise me at all if he felt that he let the crowd down, even without Jmedia bringing it up. I think that just made it more concrete in his mind that he let them down.

 

And adding: in no way do I think the audience was disappointed with him, just let me make that clear! I am not being critical of them at all. We all know how well loved he is and how nothing he does would make people be disappointed in HIM! I think it was just a reaction of wanting better scores for that program.

[Vadrouille]

6 hours ago, Paskud said:

I have no words. JMedia confirms one again that they are absolutely the worst.

Yes I agree with you. JMedia considered Yuzuru and other Japanese athletes just like a machine or a racing horse. They always talk about scores, why don't you break World Record, your competitors are better than you....They never say nice things about him. They don't know that other journalists and commentators (like Rod Black of TSN in Canada, the one on the broadcast of Skate Canada recently with Tracy Wilson) talk about Yuzuru with respect, admiration, love, rock star.

I think they took him for granted, no respect, no love. They say bad things about him, they go as far as writing about fake news, alternative truths.

It is too bad Yuzuru can not change nationality. He is proud of Japan, but not with their journalists.

We Canadians will adopt him anytime.

We are so proud that Yuzuru lives in Canada most of the time for training and competitions. He spent less time in Japan, so hopefully he is not so exposed to the bad mentality of JMedia.

I am sorry to have negative comments about JMedia.

[Lily*]

I was there at the arena and what I remember clearly is not a silence or a sigh but えーっ！(Eeh!?) from some fans the moment the score was announced. I was taken aback by the reaction and immediately worried that this was going to offend the judges (it was basically a boo and not the same as complaining afterwards), embarrass Yuzu and ruin the happy mood of the general audience. I don't know about others but that was why it took me a second to start applauding. Maybe the score was a few points lower than I expected but not outrageous enough for me to induce an involuntary boo, so I was dismayed by the reaction. I chose to forget about it for the sake of happiness Yuzu's performance had given me...until the stupid interviewer asked the misguided question to him! As one of the fans who was actually there, I am royally pissed right now. There is no way he misread the audience reaction because we cheered and applauded with all our might after his performance, but it upsets me to think the question, or the audience reaction for that matter, might have made him feel even slightly bad about his performance.

[Umebachi]

1 hour ago, Vadrouille said:

Yes I agree with you. JMedia considered Yuzuru and other Japanese athletes just like a machine or a racing horse. They always talk about scores, why don't you break World Record, your competitors are better than you....They never say nice things about him. They don't know that other journalists and commentators (like Rod Black of TSN in Canada, the one on the broadcast of Skate Canada recently with Tracy Wilson) talk about Yuzuru with respect, admiration, love, rock star.

I think they took him for granted, no respect, no love. They say bad things about him, they go as far as writing about fake news, alternative truths.

It is too bad Yuzuru can not change nationality. He is proud of Japan, but not with their journalists.

We Canadians will adopt him anytime.

We are so proud that Yuzuru lives in Canada most of the time for training and competitions. He spent less time in Japan, so hopefully he is not so exposed to the bad mentality of JMedia.

I am sorry to have negative comments about JMedia.

 

I agree with you!  I am a Japanese national who recently moved to Canada and decided to activate my Canadian citizenship (I was born in Ottawa and hence was eligible for citizenship, but never acted on it until last year).  I chose Canada because I got tired of being ostracized for being "different" and for not fittng into the image of an obedient Japanese girl.  Japan has such an inferiority complex with respect to the "West", and it's a fairly common practice to put down our own nationals.  I grew up as a Japanese diplomat's daughter, and had to be reminded constantly that "we lost the war" and must put up with the American dominance and be humble, etc. blah blah blah.  So I went on to graduate from the "best" American universities, followed by 3 decades of top-level international career - and yet, I still had to put up with Japanese officials whispering behind my back "well, she's not really Japanese" (あんなの日本人じゃないよ！）instead of being proud that a Japanese "girl" (we are never "women"!) was able to make it in the tough world of international development.  So, yes, I am more than familiar with this Japanese tendency to kick their own in the face and be god-smacked by Westerners.  This interview on NHK brought back so many bitter memories from my own past that I would have rather not been reminded.  My apologies for this rant, but it helps to get this off my chest and recover from my own trauma. 

 

I am so grateful to Canada for offering a safe space to Yuzu as well as for an oddball Japanese like myself. Thank you, Canada for preserving a corner of humanity, compassion and kindness (I know you're not perfect but I am oh so so grateful).  And thank you to TCC for providing a safe-haven for our space lion (he's grown beyond a kitten stage)!

 

 

[ICeleste]

Hace 5 horas, Greycat said:

Just popping into the thread out of my usual lurkdom - I assume fans are only planning to sing Happy Birthday after his performance if Yuzu is the last to skate?  If he's not last, singing Happy Birthday mid-competition could disturb the concentration of the next skater preparing to skate and I think Yuzu would really hate that as he is always very respectful of other skaters.

Cmon, the Happy Birthday song  lasts around 15 seconds. That's more or less how long it takes him to get up and bow after he finishes performing. It should not bother anyone. 

If the Pooh rain is allowed I don't see why this would be considered too distracting. 

 

[tafattsbarn]

 

Happy birthday Yoshida!