Davis + White will not compete in 2018 OG

[Skater Boy]

This is probably not a popular opinion (which has never stopped me before) but I wish Tessa and Scott had gone the same route. Yes there is an argument for the best team winning, but this is their 3rd Olympics and it's time to give someone else a chance. That plus the fact that I think their scores are inflated because of who they are. Time to move on to the next phase of their lives. I think Meryl and Charlie have handled themselves in such a sportsman like and professional manner. It's wise to finish your education, that's for sure. And I wonder if there will be a little White in the near future. Can you imagine how gorgeous a child of Tanith and Charlie would be? (okay, that's the grandmother in me speaking)

I might be more fascinated if Charlie teamed up in the ice with Tanith actually. But I do see your point. However, then you to be consistent would also agree that Pang and Tong, Shen and Zhou and now Aliona and her latest partner should also have given in or give in.

 

[noskates]

No......Pang and Tong and Aliona never won an OGM. Shen and Zhou never "retired" or took a year off. Apples and oranges. I think once you've achieved the highest award you can get in figure skating....... it's different.

I said it wouldn't be popular. Let's see, I've been accused of patriotism. suggesting we keep the best dance team in history (arguably...) away from the public, etc. We all have our own opinions. I stated mine and didn't expect people to agree with me.

I think if you make the decision to retire - with whatever reasons you have - stay retired!!!

 

[Skater Boy]

and i love how many people thought meryl and charlie would return due to the rivalry, and yet they one-upped them by pretty much saying "oh no we're actually very successful post olympic gold and are actually satisfied with out lives, we dont need to return for some amateur medal unlike OTHER teams who already won btw. guess they dont feel like their win was validated since it was on home ice. teehee"

love it.

Really? This is why we have wars lol. Let's not make something out of nothing. Both teams are wonderful people and skaters. Both teams have some rhetoric and pr spin. i rather doubt they talk or think about validation the way you are suggesting. But if that's your opinion fine. D and W are too smart and nice to think about one upping V and M. And really, I don't think anyone thought it was home town inflation that got V and M to win in 2010.

 

[ice coverage]

... I think if you make the decision to retire - with whatever reasons you have - stay retired!!!

Can't tell whether this sentence is referring to Virtue/Moir.

In any case, a reminder for anyone who might need it that V/M never retired. They have not come out of retirement.

---

... There are a lot of fans of various skaters so it is hard when we have that bias to accept that a lot know they can't or won't really return.

I never had any bias in favor of Evan. No bias against him, but no bias in favor of him either.

In general, was not paying much attention to skating at all during his heyday.
As a casual fan during the 2010 Olympics, I paid a lot less attention to the men compared to other disciplines. I cared far more about ice dance because of V/M and D/W; about ladies b/c of Yuna/Mao and b/c of the courage of Joannie; and about pairs b/c of Shen/Zhao.

By 2013, when Max Aaron had gotten me interested in the landscape of U.S. men, my impression was that Evan was completely sincere and serious about competing for a slot on the Sochi team. Injury prevented him from making a good run at the Sochi team.

 

[all that]

No......Pang and Tong and Aliona never won an OGM. Shen and Zhou never "retired" or took a year off. Apples and oranges. I think once you've achieved the highest award you can get in figure skating....... it's different.

I said it wouldn't be popular. Let's see, I've been accused of patriotism. suggesting we keep the best dance team in history (arguably...) away from the public, etc. We all have our own opinions. I stated mine and didn't expect people to agree with me.

I think if you make the decision to retire - with whatever reasons you have - stay retired!!!

But neither team retired. So your post makes no sense.

 

[synesthesia]

Did anyone seriously think they would be at the 2018 olympics? They haven't trained for the longest time, it would be completely unrealistic.

I don't think many people seriously expected them to come back, but not because it would have been unrealistic for them to get back to competition level. They've been appearing in MANY ice shows lately and have been taking these commitments very seriously. They're still in pretty good shape - not in competition shape, but I believe, that if they had wanted to they could've gotten back to that level in time for the Olympics. Regarding expressive range and connection with each other, they've even improved since Sochi and that seems to have a lot to do with them expanding their horizons through the many varied challenges they're taking on lately. I think they're simply happy with the way things are going now and seem to lead fullfilled lives, so there's no reason for them to give any of that up again.

 

[Tonichelle]

Honestly, this should not have been a surprise to anyone. They pretty much said it all season long that they weren't, they just didn't say those exact words. But they knew, and their actions foretold this announcement.

 

[Ares]

Honestly, this should not have been a surprise to anyone. They pretty much said it all season long that they weren't, they just didn't say those exact words. But they knew, and their actions foretold this announcement.

Meanwhile what a nice surprise was finding that performance by Davis / White from last year for me just weak ago. Off-ice ... but equally superb. Bloody amazing contemporary dance. They could really become Broadway stars if they desired. :thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBIxSMLHi80

 

[iluvtodd]

Meryl & Charlie have achieved everything they could have in Olympic eligible skating & went out on top. I'm happy for them & wish them all the best in their futures! It looks like they will always be involved with the sport in some manner. :agree: :luv17:

 

[synesthesia]

Meanwhile what a nice surprise was finding that performance from Davis / White from last year for me just weak ago. Off-ice ... but equally superb. Bloody amazing contemporary dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBIxSMLHi80

That whole show was a revelation! (After all it's where my avatar is from. )


These are Meryl's and Charlie's other parts from "Love on the Floor":
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY3MzQ0Njg3Ng==.html?&f=22038232&from=y1.2-3.4.49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRL7mlPBXlQ
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY3MTQ3MTIzMg==.html


And they will be doing it again this year!

 

[nolangoh]

Replace Johnny and Tara with them. PLEASE.

 

[SimplyLex]

I love them & would've loved to see them compete again, but this decision is both expected and makes a lot of sense.
They went out with a bang. They retired in full glory, as Olympic Champions, after a perfect undefeated season. They don't have anything else to win or prove. They surpassed their biggest rivals and achieved perfection.

You really shouldn't mess with this kind of epic legacy.

There is a song in Polish, whose lyrics are: "you need to know when to get off the stage undefeated". It perfectly sums up Meryl & Charlie's situation. Best of luck to them.

 

[andromache]

I don't think V and M have dominated - at the start they looked rather shakey remember. Besides there is p and c and Didier I mean p/c lol.

Winning everything in your first season back + defeating reigning World Champions not once but twice (and possibly a third time, at Worlds) = dominated

 

[ozmodiar]

Tessa wrote a lovely note to Meryl and Charlie on twitter:
https://twitter.com/tessavirtue/status/834543159162044420

 

[Skater Boy]

Replace Johnny and Tara with them. PLEASE.

or anyone

 

[Mrs. P]

Tessa wrote a lovely note to Meryl and Charlie on twitter:
https://twitter.com/tessavirtue/status/834543159162044420

I thought it was really sweet! And I think it's sincere, too. Some of those comments tho. :no: #fansbeclassylikeyourfavesplease

 

[SnowWhite]

As someone who admires both V/M and D/W, I think Charlie would find that theory to be lame and non-funny.
He is far too mature to have such immature thoughts.

If it wasn't clear, I was being sarcastic. I totally agree.

I thought it was really sweet! And I think it's sincere, too. Some of those comments tho. :no: #fansbeclassylikeyourfavesplease

I thought it was sweet too. A little classier than IceNetwork's take: https://twitter.com/icenetwork/status/834417886445916160 . And there were some great comments from Meryl and Charlie about Tessa and Scott in their interview with IceNetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/02/23/216836406 Like this one from Meryl:

We've been competing against them since we were 12 or 13, so seeing them return made me take a step back and think how I feel about it. You can see they are 100 percent dedicated and loving where they are in life, and the beauty of it is Charlie and I are too, on the other side of things.

The right decision for each team wasn't the same thing, which is perfectly fine.

And they said in another interview that Tessa and Scott were ribbing them about coming back, trying to convince them while they were at the same shows this summer, which I thought was cute.

 

[maddiesparks]

If it wasn't clear, I was being sarcastic. I totally agree.



I thought it was sweet too. A little classier than IceNetwork's take: https://twitter.com/icenetwork/status/834417886445916160 . And there were some great comments from Meryl and Charlie about Tessa and Scott in their interview with IceNetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/02/23/216836406 Like this one from Meryl:



The right decision for each team wasn't the same thing, which is perfectly fine.

And they said in another interview that Tessa and Scott were ribbing them about coming back, trying to convince them while they were at the same shows this summer, which I thought was cute.

I'm probably one of the few VM fans that were hoping to see DW return. However, I do like the idea of VM extending their legacy beyond their rivalry with DW - a back and forth that largely defined both teams competitive careers up until this point.

Wish the best for all of Meryl and Charlie's future endeavours. I actually really enjoy Charlie's commenting and hope he continues down that path.

 

[SnowWhite]

I'm probably one of the few VM fans that were hoping to see DW return. However, I do like the idea of VM extending their legacy beyond their rivalry with DW - a back and forth that largely defined both teams competitive careers up until this point.

Wish the best for all of Meryl and Charlie's future endeavours. I actually really enjoy Charlie's commenting and hope he continues down that path.

I think it would have been fun for them to comeback, but this seems like the right decision for them. I like Charlie's commentary a lot too. I'd love to hear him commentating for Tessa and Scott at the Olympics.

 

[rain]

I never thought they would, but I admire them for saying it clearly a year in advance.
I hate it when skaters pretend they are considering to come back when obviously they have zero intention of doing so.

When they didn't come back this year the writing was on the wall. I wouldn't think any team would want to go into the Olympic season cold, no matter how accomplished they were. Especially with the significant changes in the dance landscape.

This is probably not a popular opinion (which has never stopped me before) but I wish Tessa and Scott had gone the same route. Yes there is an argument for the best team winning, but this is their 3rd Olympics and it's time to give someone else a chance. That plus the fact that I think their scores are inflated because of who they are. Time to move on to the next phase of their lives.

I really don't think anyone is required to give anyone else a chance. They do that by skating for it, no? It's kind of like saying Michael Phelps should have just bowed out, or Usain Bolt should have just given the other runners a chance. Tessa and Scott were the youngest Olympic ice dance champions in history when they won in 2010. Why should they have to retire just because they did well early? Everyone should be able to do what they love as long as they want to continue.