Sasha on Michelle

[Lanie]

If I was Sasha I'd be ripping people's heads off if they kept asking me about other people to my face and asking what I think about a competitor instead of asking myself about, well, ME. I feel kinda bad for her, always in Michelle's shadow and that's how it's always gonna be -- now Sasha's in Kimmie's. It's gotta suck.

I do wonder what all Sasha said because it looks like they just picked and chose quotes from her from the news conference instead of providing full comments, thus the wonderful ellipses...

[demarinis5]

Nothing new for me from these quotes it's just Sasha being Sasha. I do think
she handled her self well with the press regarding the hoopla going on about
MK it must of been annoying for her. At that time to me her responses about MK always seemed to be on the cool side but it could have been annoyance at being asked the same questions over and over about MK.

[Mathman]

I do wonder what all Sasha said because it looks like they just picked and chose quotes from her from the news conference instead of providing full comments, thus the wonderful ellipses...

The full quotes are in the copyrighted magazine article. I tried to pick excepts that were representative.

[Lanie]

The full quotes are in the copyrighted magazine article. I tried to pick excepts that were representative.

Ooh, okay.

I've heard those before - and I think I saw this at Borders the other day. I don't look at magazines unless my friends drag me to look at wedding ones.

[dancindiva03]

Congrats Sasha on all you've accomplished in skating. You are the best silver medalist in history... Must be all that quality...

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!

Sasha will choke no matter what. There are some things that NJS will never be able to change.

[Eeyora]

Just Sasha being her usual self. I recall hearing the comments during the Games except for the last one. I do admit the questions about Michelle must drive her crazy but she needs to realize that the media is looking for conflict and with remarks like the final one makes it difficult for us Kwanatonians to like her even if she is being honest.

This was edited to fix a typo which was not board friendly.

[SeaniBu]

Are you trying to justify the media's snide attitude?

[Vash01]

"[i]I [i]"
(Michelle's withdrawal)[i] "
Still, Cohen made it clear she did not particularly fear Kwan as a competitor, especially under the ISU judging system.


"Is (her withdrawal) a relief? No....I placed ahead of Michelle twice at Worlds and under this new system, the emphasis is on quality. The NJS can change the orders quite a bit."

This sounds anything but admiring to me. Is she implying that Michelle's skating has poor quality? Talking of edge quality, Michelle is miles ahead of Sasha.

Vash

[antmanb]

She woulda, coulda, shoulda!! Read the sentence again and THINK!!!

Dee

Sorry Dee, i read the final sentence and try as i might i can only read it as her either saying she has quality in her skating and Michelle doesn't, or that Michelle only beats her when its not an international panel that are looking for quality.

I totally get that she'd be annoyed at having to field questions about Michelle left right and centre so i can understand why after all of that and a whole season leading up to a huge competition that you can't always give the most media savvy answer, i don't blame her but many many people can and will use it (along with many other comments she's made over her career) to assisante her character...but if people are inclined to do that they'll do it with the most feeble of evidence anyway.

Ant

[nymkfan51]

Sorry Dee, i read the final sentence and try as i might i can only read it as her either saying she has quality in her skating and Michelle doesn't, or that Michelle only beats her when its not an international panel that are looking for quality. Ant

Exactly!

Also ... a major part of her frustration about answering questions about Michelle is that on several occasions, when she had the opportunity to beat Michelle and win the competition for herself ... she didn't do it. That's the real problem here, IMO. Sasha never lived up to the hype ... which I have said over and over again, went into full swing before she had ever accomplished anything. And she could just never sustain the pressure that put on her.

[Dee4707]

"Is (her withdrawal) a relief? No....I placed ahead of Michelle twice at Worlds and under this new system, the emphasis is on quality. The NJS can change the orders quite a bit."

Ant, this is how I read this.

Is her withdrawal a relief. I think they were asking her.....do you have a better chance of winning? Her response was...........no......I placed ahead of Michelle .......all she was saying was Michelle's withdrawal had nothing to do with whether Sasha could win or not. ........the emphasis is on quality with the NJS.......and my thought is .........isn't it??? The concept had nothing to do with Michelle, Sasha, or anyone else.

I guess we all have selective reading skills. I like both skaters very much. I have respect and admiration for both. I just don't understand why we want to make this a bigger deal than it was or is??

I know that I am not as articulate as some on this board but I try to state things as I understand them and not try to nitpick apart what someone should have said.

Dee

[chuckm]

Face it. Sasha is NEVER going to be a sweet little thing. She is Sasha, the same Sasha who said back in 2001 that she wanted to be #1 and would do whatever it took to get there. She never did get there, and probably never will, so don't expect her to be gracious about competitors. That is not our Sasha.

[Kwanford Wife]

Face it. Sasha is NEVER going to be a sweet little thing. She is Sasha, the same Sasha who said back in 2001 that she wanted to be #1 and would do whatever it took to get there. She never did get there, and probably never will, so don't expect her to be gracious about competitors. That is not our Sasha.

I agree with this statement. Not because I'm an uber Kwaniac (which I am...) but because Sasha's been a bit much since day one and that's fine. I'm all for that, encouraged it and loved it ~ back in '00 &'02... if you can deliver. If you can't, then you need to stop it already, imho.

The majority of the quotes were fine & true to Sasha... I only really take exception to the "quality" thing & do hope it was taken out of context, otherwise Sasha is believing her own hype & that's simply not good...espcially if her argument is the amount of attention paid to Michelle ~ a pr person's fantasy client.

Here's how I read her statement w/o nitpicking...

I love the attention I get from skating but unfortunately everyone loves my rival Michelle, who is an icon that summons her focus at will. I'm not like that, but I'm trying to stop being distracted and focus on my stuff... But its not like I never beat her ~ look at Worlds!!!! I just wish she hadn't gotten injured so I could beat her again and show she's human like everybody else... I probably would've beaten her too because the NJS is about quality not consistency ~ which is what I have over her...

Now, if I'm reading too much into those quotes because I'm an insulted Kwan fan, then so be it... but don't expect me to say "awww... Sasha has so much respect for Michelle!!! What a nice girl!!!" because she doesn't. She wants to beat her & have all that gold medal winning attention on herself. But she can't deliver and it sucks. It is what it is.

The missing component, as I see it, is that Sasha lacks humbleness & objectivity. And that can simply be annoying to see in someone who has so much talent ~ it makes you wonder if that's not her over-arching (no pun intended) issues with winning competitions...

[TangyTart]

I have to agree with those who believe this is Sasha being Sasha. I think she's always had a little grudge against Michelle. Michelle beat her at every nationals that they both competed in and that obviously made her a little angry/jealous. I pulled up this quote that I feel basically explains how Sasha feels about Michelle. Notice how she is careful not to outright say that she wants to absolutely beat Michelle and that she thinks she is a better skater.

“There is definitely a rivalry,” Cohen said. “It's hard to describe. Skaters come and go, but she has always been there. She was there when I was 6, and she's there now. I am a perfectionist — I always want to win, always want to do my best. Like I said it's hard to put into words, but it's more special when I place ahead of Michelle (Kwan).” -Sasha Cohen 2004-2005 Season

Oh and by the way I'm a fan of both skaters but I like Michelle better.

[Dee4707]

Here's how I read her statement w/o nitpicking...

I love the attention I get from skating but unfortunately everyone loves my rival Michelle, who is an icon that summons her focus at will. I'm not like that, but I'm trying to stop being distracted and focus on my stuff... But its not like I never beat her ~ look at Worlds!!!! I just wish she hadn't gotten injured so I could beat her again and show she's human like everybody else... I probably would've beaten her too because the NJS is about quality not consistency ~ which is what I have over her...

Now, if I'm reading too much into those quotes because I'm an insulted Kwan fan, then so be it... but don't expect me to say "awww... Sasha has so much respect for Michelle!!! What a nice girl!!!" because she doesn't. She wants to beat her & have all that gold medal winning attention on herself. But she can't deliver and it sucks. It is what it is.
.

KW, you have your reading skills and I have mine and ............to be honest I'm glad I have mine. Sorry you feel insulted by some of the comments made but I believe those as much as I believe there is a Santa.

Dee