I don't know that I would phrase it that Sasha is in Kimmie's shadow, but I certainly believe we have seen the changing of the guard. Kimmie is the real deal, IMO. Yes, she has things to improve upon ... but she is the world champion ... and that's no small accomplishment.
If either Sasha or Michelle decide to compete again, they will be looking up at Kimmie as the one to beat.
ETA ... I don't believe we will see either one this season.
More than likely, there will be no Kwan in the coming season of competitive skating.
If Kwan was Sasha's nemesis all these years, she will not be around anymore.
Now, the questions are: Does Sasha skate her best in Tokyo? Is her best enough to win the Worlds?
Joe
Funny! My bf calls her Nancy Kwan too but I assumed he was thinking of the actress. I didn't think of Nancy K but maybe he's doubly confused.Originally Posted by Lanie
Nancy Kwan: http://findthebesthere.com/601024.htm
This picture was captioned "Nancy Kerrigan" on a Google image search: http://www.silverbladetours.com/imag...rds/kwan98.jpg
LOL, no wonder he's confused.
Dee i agree with you that i think its a total non point and i don't go in for character assasination of skaters but just wanted to explain my rationale - that while you've interpreted the "empahsis on quality" comment about the NJS as being totally stand alone - that's where i disagree - she wasn't making any analysis of the judging system in isolation it was connected to the statement before about being able to beat michelle, to then go on about the international panel, to my mind, also focuses on the only times she's managed to beat michelle (at worlds) which suggests that interntaional panels before CoP put michelle ahead, and this is my pure speculation, given the use of interntional judges and therefore not talking about US ones, that whoel thing suggests that sasha believes michelle is/was held up uinder 6.0 but that she is the better skater when the holding up of established skaters under 6.0 no longer happens.
Either way, like i said i sympathise because i'd be pretty annoyed with not being asked about me in an interview leading up to my most important competition f the season and one that i have a very good chance of winning. Just wanted to let you know how i interpreted the statement though.
Ant
Last edited by antmanb; 07-03-2006 at 07:56 AM.
What a well thought out and valuable contribution to the thread!
Ant
Oh, I'm not insulted... We all have our own interpretation & opinions ~ I was simply stating mine, which tend to be vastly different from yours on the subject of Sasha... and that's cool because its what makes GSF fun... If I only wanted to read thoughts identical to mine, I'd stick to fan based sites...
As for Santa ~ he stops coming to your house when you don't believe... he visits mine every Christmas eve!!
IMO, taking any one statement and trying to judge a person's character by it is pretty futile and utterly meaningless. Sasha has had many positive things to say about Michelle. The weight is on the the positive.
I do think it entirely possible that Sasha meant that the judges aren't comparing skaters anymore. At least, they aren't supposed to compare them and base scores on that. The focus is on the skating and the quality of the skating. That's what all the skaters have to focus on now. Give the kid a break. You can find a negative in just about any comment if that's what you are looking for, but the negativity is coming from you.
I do agree with SusanBeth that Sasha probably meant that judges are not comparing skaters anymore. But they are not taking into account injured skaters. And that is quite proper. Judges are there to judge what they see.
The MK camp was never one for announcing any body problems about Michelle, whereas the Sasha camp made such problems known.
Michelle's injuries which caused changes in programs and leaving out certain elements became noticeable in Dortmund under the 6.0 system. Yet she managed a slew of 6.0s in performance scores. The injuries became more noticeable in Moscow. There was no real surprise by the time the Marshall's Cheesefest call-in appeared. She won it on popularity not on skill.
Sasha, on the other hand, since Dortmund, grew in her presentations in Moscow and the Olys. It was obvious to me anyway, that she was now feeling the music and not just selling her Wow moves. Her 'chronic' falling is not due to lack of improvement, although more work would be useful, but for some underlining cause that has yet to be understood. Sasha at over 21 is a young lady and no longer that little cute thing on the ice. It shows and it looks gooood.
Joe
Like i said everyone reads into it what they read into it, if you look to history Sasha has a habbit of being less than polite about her opponents and trying to aggressively psyche them out in practices and warm up by nearly crashing into them and shadowing them. Someone who has that reputation has to work harder than someone starting from scratch to turn people's opinion of them back to the positive otherwise people (or perhaps just me) will always look at what they say with a slight suspicion and if in doubt i'll be less inclinced to give them any benefit.
Ant
so apparently you don't believe she could have "grown up" and "matured" over 4 years? I don't think there's been a sighting of the "Sasha monster" in about that long...
so apparently you don't believe she could have "grown up" and "matured" over 4 years? I don't think there's been a sighting of the "Sasha monster" in about that long...
ITA. Sometimes the past just follow people around. Especially when they have preconceived notions before the words even get a chance to come out. I think she has lost any kind of "bratt" about her and now she is just a little frustrated that she can't shake that image. She doesn't appear to be going fake with it either - to me she seems like a head confident woman who is ready to speak her mind, but is being very courteous about it - not becoming arrogant but trying to stand her ground because she knows she deserves (at least) that spot. I think if she wasn't FSer then she would be good as an Attorney - although the thought of her not being able to get her head above the bench is kinda funny
The past always follows the skater around, unfortunately.
No matter how clean Sarah completed her triples, there will be those who continually say 'she underrotates her jumps'.
And now, Stephane, will ALWAYS be known by some as someone who can not complete a 3A properly (even if he does).
Sasha will ALWAYS fall.
Kimmie will never mature.
How many other skaters have this impregnated stigma about never being able to improve?
Joe
The problem is that once a skater communicates a negative persona to the media and the public, it's nearly impossible to change that image. Sasha started off in 2001 as a bit of an aggressive, unpleasant brat, and she kept that image, unfortunately, for about two years. There were the off-putting interviews, the warm-up incidents, the grab for publicity at the 2002 Olympics (putting the President on her cell phone), the gum-chewing on the podium during the 2002-2003 GP, blaming her failures on external circumstances (bad ice, shingles, a spider bite, etc.)
If it were just one incident or maybe two, it would be easier to rehabilitate her image. But it's hard to wipe those two years completely out of memory.
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