I think Michelle did about as well as she could have, given her training schedule and the media focus on movie stars and other sports stars. Tara cashed in as much as she probably could after the 1998 Olympics. Even then, her celebrity waned pretty fast. She's had a bit of a resurgence lately, but I'll be shocked if it lasts much longer. When I tell my family that Yuna Kim is a huge star in South Korea, they look at me as if I've grown another head. They can't fathom that a figure skater has the celebrity and the endorsements comparable to (or even better than) the sports stars in the United States.
How important are wins to popularity of US skating?
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I think Michelle did about as well as she could have, given her training schedule and the media focus on movie stars and other sports stars. Tara cashed in as much as she probably could after the 1998 Olympics. Even then, her celebrity waned pretty fast. She's had a bit of a resurgence lately, but I'll be shocked if it lasts much longer. When I tell my family that Yuna Kim is a huge star in South Korea, they look at me as if I've grown another head. They can't fathom that a figure skater has the celebrity and the endorsements comparable to (or even better than) the sports stars in the United States.
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Figure skating is also just so nationalistic in how it works. In team sports like soccer, basketball, baseball, etc. players can go to countries where that sport is very popular and get paid a lot of money/become super famous even if they're not natives. I mean, most of our best hockey players are Canadian or Russian and they're making serious bank in the NHL.
Yuna is an interesting case where she really plays into the whole KPop phenomenon and she also has like a total monopoly on figure skating in S. Korea, and it's a smaller country.
Yuna is an interesting case where she really plays into the whole KPop phenomenon and she also has like a total monopoly on figure skating in S. Korea, and it's a smaller country.
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I think he has South Park to thank for that.
Well, I'd say that as a general rule, the better the skaters in a country do, the more likely people are to watch the coverage.
So luckily here in Canada we had 2 teams get to the podium this month (W&P and D&R), as well as some other top 10 finishes by M-T&M, G&P, P&I, etc. That can only bode well for increasing the visibility of skating in Canada and encouraging CBC and other networks to give it more t.v. coverage.
If our Canadian team had won no medals, and everyone had bombed, it would probably lead to a decreased interest in figure skating from the network executives. Those who have been pushing for more figure skating coverage have to be pleased with this week's results for Canada.
By contrast, this Worlds may have an unfortunate effect on U.S. coverage. American viewers were already in the disappointing position of having to wait until a week or two after Worlds to see coverage on mainstream network like NBC. A medal win by some of the US skaters might have motivated NBC to change that. But now the NBC executives probably feel justified in giving figure skating coverage the shaft - "You see! Turns out we were right in not covering this figure skating crap!"
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Very important, I think.
What stinks is that of course the viewership numbers are going to be down when you show an event like 2 weeks after it airs. Casual fans are going to flip on the TV, see it on and when they find out the event is 2 weeks old are going to turn off the TV and go to Youtube and watch the skaters they like.
Popularity of FS in US
I don’t think as a sport, figure skating will ever really be popular in the U.S. unlike Canada where ice sports like hockey reign supreme. Working for TV during skating’s heyday (because of the Harding/Kerrigan debacle in the 90’s), I had to continually fight for the network to show more than just the top skaters (except for Ladies,) and there was little-to-no interest in pairs or ice dance. Sports agencies like IMG have ice shows to promote so their agents at least make some effort, but overall successes in promoting figure skating are mediocre. Without a top competitor (world gold medal winning) in Ladies, skating TV coverage will continue to be sparse. (Example- 2014 Worlds won’t be shown until mid-April and probably only singles events.)
In all the years Davis & White have been winning international/world medals, it’s only been this past season that they got more than just a mention from the sports world. Davis & White are smart to capitalize on their OGM by doing “Dancing With the Stars” as they can reach a wider general audience for additional national visibility. They should make enough money from DWTS and the SOI tour to finance the balance of their education and together with their “Classroom Champions” endeavors, provide future opportunities for public appearances and remunerative speaking engagements.
I don’t think as a sport, figure skating will ever really be popular in the U.S. unlike Canada where ice sports like hockey reign supreme. Working for TV during skating’s heyday (because of the Harding/Kerrigan debacle in the 90’s), I had to continually fight for the network to show more than just the top skaters (except for Ladies,) and there was little-to-no interest in pairs or ice dance. Sports agencies like IMG have ice shows to promote so their agents at least make some effort, but overall successes in promoting figure skating are mediocre. Without a top competitor (world gold medal winning) in Ladies, skating TV coverage will continue to be sparse. (Example- 2014 Worlds won’t be shown until mid-April and probably only singles events.)
In all the years Davis & White have been winning international/world medals, it’s only been this past season that they got more than just a mention from the sports world. Davis & White are smart to capitalize on their OGM by doing “Dancing With the Stars” as they can reach a wider general audience for additional national visibility. They should make enough money from DWTS and the SOI tour to finance the balance of their education and together with their “Classroom Champions” endeavors, provide future opportunities for public appearances and remunerative speaking engagements.
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Thanks, KK.
I've seen the money they'll make for DWTS, and when I saw it, I thought it unlikely they could match that just doing ice shows.
The show isn't my cup of tea (I do youtube some performances) but it certainly IS loved by a big chunk of the country.
I've seen the money they'll make for DWTS, and when I saw it, I thought it unlikely they could match that just doing ice shows.
The show isn't my cup of tea (I do youtube some performances) but it certainly IS loved by a big chunk of the country.
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Lyacek is boring even with an OGM
there is something called IT factor
which Hollywood will like and generate media attention
that is why Gracie is generating such huge interest in USFS and FS world
if Gracie fulfills all her potential ( Multiple World titles and an OGM )
then she will be a bigger star than even Kwan achieved
blonde, Hollywood beauty All-american sweetheart subconsciously is still America's image of the perfect figure skater
there is something called IT factor
which Hollywood will like and generate media attention
that is why Gracie is generating such huge interest in USFS and FS world
if Gracie fulfills all her potential ( Multiple World titles and an OGM )
then she will be a bigger star than even Kwan achieved
blonde, Hollywood beauty All-american sweetheart subconsciously is still America's image of the perfect figure skater
I do not know if there will ever be another Johnny Weir type that comes along as he basically lived and breathed skating....its his identity and he is good at that along with connecting. Maybe when some skaters cycle out someone with an edge will pop out. What keeps me interested is the skater. Im an interpersonal type person so I have the need to feel connected and its hard to explain. And, yes I think winning helps because you can market that to the public, but I feel like if it draws people the skater has to help keep that attention aside from just winning. Anyone can do jumps. I am though looking forward to lyrics in the music, so maybe that will help with popularity.
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Gracie already got overshadowed in the media by Julia during the Olympics here, even though Julia isn't American. I kind of agree that the US media really wants a white girl to be the face of the sport but Gracie definitely doesn't have enough star quality to make audiences stick around, no matter how much the media wants to push her. Julia, despite being a Russian and looking like an unemotional assassin most of the time, did bring an audience along into her hype.
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Julia is popular in her home country and more recently has garnered many fans in Japan
its normal to be a geographical star, no skater can proclaim to be a world star only regional,
Gracie has the build up to be the crown of US lady for 2018 Pyeonchang
an impressive 4th place at the Olympics and the first American to break the 200+ mark
she made history, a 200+ score even Kwan has never achieved
Gracie is getting well known in the Hollywood circuit and has good PR Team
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Uh, no. I'm American and during the Olympics, it was Julia being talked about and in the media. She didn't even have a PR machine in America and she still got all the attention. That's an it factor if there ever was one.
Hollywood doesn't care about Gracie, trust me. They have enough generically attractive blonde girls to last a lifetime and there's even little to no interest from the rags either.
FS is just not popular enough for anyone to be a real star in the US. Stars are people like Beyoncé, Jennifer Lawrence, LeBron James, Tom Brady, etc.
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You say this all the time. What do you mean? Are there movie directors sending her letters or something? I couldn't be more proud of Yulia for saying her first Russian "Hollywood type" party was extremely uncomfortable for her and likely her last ever. She is not trying to be a movie star or embrace that lifestyle. She's a cute little figure skater and she might just tell any one of us to **** off at any moment. It's kinda funny if you think about it. Again what do you mean by getting well known in the Hollywood circuit and how does that help?
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- May 7, 2008
Well that's it, she's made it. Being photographed next to a famous person is obviously enough.
By that standard, Julia is the new Meryl Streep since she got a personal letter from Spielberg?
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she had a private sushi dinner with Taylor Swift, that must have meant something
and had many red carpet attendance post Sochi
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Taylor Swift has had pictures with like 90% of Hollywood. She's everywhere. And a song she wrote was used for Beijing. It's nice to see she supports our Olympic athletes. Probably nothing more.
On another note, Gracie's probably going to skate to something by TSwift sooner or later. I'd like to see her do something outside the box for her - Better Than Revenge would be a cool exhibition piece for her when she gets more artistry.
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Yet somehow Ashley Wagner got invited to the oscars instead.
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Realistically, even if gracie wins multiple world titles and an OGM, her popularity will be limited due to the fact that she didn't compete during the US' post-whack golden age. That is to say, Americans don't really care anymore, and we live in a totally different, post-internet world so that even if skating were to achieve a resurgence it wouldn't be comparable.
Personally, I think Gracie will go the way of Mirai/Ashley/Alissa/Kimmie.
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