Will media allow Kwan to be happy with any medal this time? | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Will media allow Kwan to be happy with any medal this time?

havanamesa1

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 16, 2005
slutskayafan21 said:
I hope the media treats Kwan with more gentleness than in the past two Olympics...

No. The media will be harsh on Kwan if she wins anything other than a gold medal. If she wins silver, the media will say that America's chances of getting gold would have been higher had the "oh-so-great" sister of some has-been skater been picked. If Kwan doesn't end up on the podium, she'll be ripped to pieces by the media even if she's only .01 point behind the bronze medalist.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Red Dog said:
perhaps, but I wonder what it's REALLY about. Is it that they THINK Emily is better, or is it that Kwan has already had her chance and should let someone else soak up the Oly experience? Two totally different reasons to believe the same thing.
this debate is getting tiresome. There is one good reasons for Emily to go to the Olys because of her 3rd place at Nats. There was nothing special about her until that competition and she was far from winning it, and not near Kimmie who had to come from behind.

However, there is the fact that the USFS did not choose her. They may have chosen her since Czisney and Liang did not step up to the plate. Unfortunatley for Emily, Kwan's bye put her on the Team but was held in abeyance pending a test skate by Kwan.

The bottom line Emily was never on the team and later became alternate to the team. It was never a test skate as to who could skate better in Torino. I understand the feelings of the fans who do not like Kwan.

As to having some experience in the Olys, I think it would have been nice to have Alissa and Bebe to have that experience and Katy, too. Why not?
Oly experience will go to Kimmie. That's the way it is in Skateland.

Joe
 

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Red Dog said:
perhaps, but I wonder what it's REALLY about. Is it that they THINK Emily is better, or is it that Kwan has already had her chance and should let someone else soak up the Oly experience? Two totally different reasons to believe the same thing.

Its often REALLY about some people's inexplicable irrational hatred of Michelle Kwan...come on the arguments have flown back and forth since even before Kwan's test skate....don't you get it? Are you purposefully stoking the fire so that we just rehash the same arguments?

Some people love Kwan above any other skater, some people hate her more than any other skater and then there's a whole ocean of people in between. The two extremes write the most gush worthy and shameful vilenss (respectively) and then the more sane ones give differing degrees of explanation within that scale.

You've read all the arguments....what's your opinion on it?

Ant
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I think I've already stated many times that I'm not particularly on one side or the other. I almost don't know what to think of all this. Since no rules were broken, however, I suppose Kwan got her way, and we'll see how she does. The US is most likely sending its best team, and that's what counts.
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Red Dog said:
I think I've already stated many times that I'm not particularly on one side or the other. I almost don't know what to think of all this. Since no rules were broken, however, I suppose Kwan got her way, and we'll see how she does. The US is most likely sending its best team, and that's what counts.

Exactly. The mission of the USFS for the Olympics is not to offer young skaters the chance to "soak up the experience". The opportunity to 'soak up' is earned by outstanding performance at Nationals and/or sufficient evidence of the ability to perform well internationally. Emily did not have an outstanding FS at Nationals, and her international resume is meager and not exceptional. A 4th place at Worlds 2005 trumped two below-par GPs and a bronze Junior World medal.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Apparently though, (if we can trust the sources) there was no discussion on Emily...just what to do about Kwan. Sounds like they were h***-bent on sending MK ANYWAY, no matter what any of the other skaters did. I think she would have gone unless she physically couldn't skate. But this is beating a dead horse so I'll stop here.
 

jesslily

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
I feel that USFS want sending skaters to Italy who can definitely place top five or ten. Emily Hughes performance last fall hasn't impressed the judges and officials that she has the ability and experience to do so.
 

76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Clearly, abject humiliation, bankruptcy and possible jail time are in her future if she doesn't medal at the Olympics........NOT! Michelle is one of the most decorated skaters of the last ten years and her visibility in America doesn't really depend on her medal count anymore. She is an anomaly in that her profile is just as high as Fleming or Hamill without the Olympic gold.

It would be nice to see a good performance at the Olympics --but I don't think she will flee to a deserted island in the South Seas if the injury makes that impossible.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I think outside of all the MK gushing, there is an element I agree with in those posts- and that is that MK is still very popular and people like, and in some cases, are falling in love with, her character. What the press says is one thing, what her fans think is another.
 

K-Mo

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Hey--Cary Grant never won an Oscar, but people still love him years later--he was as classy as they come, and class transcends most anything. Michelle is also a class act, so in the long run, the Olympics are just a tiny portion.
 

Jimmy Hoffa

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
euterpe said:
The mission of the USFS for the Olympics is not to offer young skaters the chance to "soak up the experience".
Didn't Hughes already "soak up the experience" in SLC when she saw her sister win the gold medal?
 

fscric

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Red Dog said:
Apparently though, (if we can trust the sources) there was no discussion on Emily...just what to do about Kwan. Sounds like they were h***-bent on sending MK ANYWAY, no matter what any of the other skaters did. I think she would have gone unless she physically couldn't skate.

This is not particularly directed at you as I've seen others expressed the same query about the discussion at the meeting. We do not know if the report about how the discussion went was true or not; even if it's true, I don't understand why would people feel annoyed. If Emily had skated a brilliant LP programme, maybe there might have been fierce discussion / debate as to whether Michelle should be given the bye; since she hadn't, it was natural their concern would be whether Michelle would be healthy and strong enough at Olympics.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
jesslily said:
I feel that USFS want sending skaters to Italy who can definitely place top five or ten. Emily Hughes performance last fall hasn't impressed the judges and officials that she has the ability and experience to do so.

Perhaps. Remember, though, that Torino doesn't count towards world spots for next year. But worlds 06 does. And Emily is going to that, not MK. MK isn't even listed as an alternate!

We do not know if the report about how the discussion went was true or not; even if it's true, I don't understand why would people feel annoyed. If Emily had skated a brilliant LP programme, maybe there might have been fierce discussion / debate as to whether Michelle should be given the bye; since she hadn't, it was natural their concern would be whether Michelle would be healthy and strong enough at Olympics.

Maybe you're right. Or maybe if it was another skater who did really well- Say Alissa- it would have been different. But we will never really know, will we? I'm still convinced that MK was going to the Olympics anyway even if she was hobbling on one knee.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I don't think the committee discussing who to send to the Olys would consider Emily as a one medal holder at the US Nats. The only skater who was rewarded for the Nats was Sasha.

It's incredible the Olys are days away and the only thing some posters have to talk about is Emily who is not going. The pros and cons of her going have been rehashed at least 50times. Yet posters who are limited in ice skating knowledge and dislike Kwan continue to harp on her. We know these posters are not Emily fans but this was the topic to get at Kwan because they do not know anything about figure skating. Can you imagine one of them saying Sasha needs a 3x3 or Irina should straighten her leg in a spiral. NO! it's Kwan they want to put down.

Am I correct?:)

Joe
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
I think the composition of the podium was an issue in deciding on whether to give Kwan the bye. If the Grand Prix Alissa (not the GPF Alissa) had shown up at Nationals and had the skate of her life, and it was Sasha, Alissa and Kimmie on the podium, Kwan might not have been named to the team. But Emily wound up 3rd with a so-so (but overmarked) FS, and Emily was the least experienced of the top 4 skaters at Nationals, and she had not had a successful GP. I think it was an easy decision for the committee.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
It's incredible the Olys are days away and the only thing some posters have to talk about is Emily who is not going. The pros and cons of her going have been rehashed at least 50times. Yet posters who are limited in ice skating knowledge and dislike Kwan continue to harp on her. We know these posters are not Emily fans but this was the topic to get at Kwan because they do not know anything about figure skating. Can you imagine one of them saying Sasha needs a 3x3 or Irina should straighten her leg in a spiral. NO! it's Kwan they want to put down.

Again, the convenient excuse "X knows nothing about figure skating". It's so easy to throw that around when there's nothing else to say, or no counter-statement to make

I don't know whether the above comment was directed at me or not. But if it is- well, excuse me for not knowing it was against the rule to not like Kwan, or to not post something favorable about her. I suppose since I don't, I "know nothing about figure skating". Maybe I don't. I'm sure Cohen fans, Irina fans, and the lot also don't know anything about FS. Yeah, that's right, only the Kwan fans do. Give me a break.

OTOH, if not, disregard everything I just said.
 

fscric

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Joe, ITA. It never ceases to amaze me how people can strive on virtually nothing to belittle Kwan.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Red Dog - what are you going to do when Kwan is no longer around? In less than a month, we may never see Kwan again. I don't think that will make you happy because you thrive on disliking her and if she is not around you will have nothing to live for.:yes:

I mean your interest in Emily doesn't seem to be all that great.

Joe
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Well, tell you what. Kwan basically hasn't competed in the last year or so. Who cares about Kwan right now.

On the other hand, you have lunatic fans who choose to rant and rave and defend Kwan to the last hilt. We know MK is the center of the universe and can do no wrong, no need to rub it in. Even many of Kwan's "regular" fans I see are now engaging in similar behavior.

In other words, it's Kwan's UBERFANS I can do without, not Kwan herself. Although I will say I'm quite tired of her. But I don't hate her. There's no reason for me to hate or dislike HER. She hasn't given me one yet.

There's a fairly decent chance that I might have cheered for her again if I never set "foot" on these forums. But the extreme fandom eventually pulled me away from her. I was never much of a Kwan fan (even though I was totally rooting for her in SLC) but I'm even more of a non-fan now that I've been basically "convinced" to disassociate myself from her as much as possible.

Once upon a time I used to really like a skater. But that day is now long over.

I wanted Hughes II to do well after Alissa messed up. Kimmie is a very "blah" skater to me and Cohen, well you know how I feel about that. But at the same time, I'm not big on the Hughes'. I wasn't big on Sarah, and I'm not big on Emily either. (I think their styles are very similar.)
 
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flowjo35

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Wow, another Kwan thread that is getting off topic. On topic, I think if Michelle skates with passion and fire hopefully it will not matter to the media where she places. That being said I hope she kicks some ice and lands on the podium:)
 
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