I don't remember any problem in Portland. Why would there be a backlash?Originally Posted by Dyan
Joe
I don't remember any problem in Portland. Why would there be a backlash?
Joe
A lot of people thought they placed too high. I don't understand enough about dance to give a true account, but I did think they did more simple steps and were rewarded for looking pretty as opposed to actually dancing. She is definitely and by far the weaker link....
I don't want to break any rules about bringing other message boards/mailing lists so please forgive me if I do.
Anyway, as Tonichelle said many people thought that Tiffany and Sergey placed too high and I got the impression that it wasn't just some of the fans watching from home or at the actual event who thought so. From some of the statements made at the time I got the feeling that some in the skating community also were displeased with S&M's final placement. It wasn't just that the programs were too simple but that it was only S&M's first season together and they ended up ahead of teams that had been together for awhile.
This will sound weird but I'll try to explain my comment that I'm kind of happy that Tonichelle stated that Tiffany is the weaker link.
Okay my explanation: I don't neccesarily agree that Tiffany is that far behind her partner but it's nice to see Sergey get some recognition for his skills as an icedancer. One thing that I didn't like was that there was so much focus on Tiffany in Portland that Sergey went unnoticed. IMO Sergey Magerovskiy is one of the best male icedancers I've seen. He reminds me of Ryan O'Meara; needing to work on his expression but the technique and technical ability is wonderful to witness.
I'm still not all that convinced that Nikolai Morosov is a great technical coach but I do think that perhaps he and Shae-Lynn can improve the emotion connection between S&M.
I think that Tiffany has improved from Portland to STL, but I still think she has a way to go, he's still doing -- imho -- the bulk of the difficult footwork, etc... and she just stretches and looks pretty... sometimes she comes off as trying too hard
I don't think she isn't a good skater, I've actually enjoyed watching this team... she just has a ways to go... whereas I think Sergey is horribly undernoticed/rated just because he's just the guy she skates with and the fans just always focus on her (why I don't know, she's always been just another US skater to me lol)
It's not unusual to spot a weak link in a team. There are so many. Despite this I will continue to enjoy Tiffany and Sergey as I did in Portland and again in St.Louis. They have, imo, more style than Matthews and Zavosin.
Joe
Well, they have a better LINE than Matthews/Zavozin. I'm not sure I would characterize that as style though.
I enjoy both teams, I'm sure they'll end up having a great rivalry....
bring on the new season, US Ice Dance is gonna be hot! (I'm gonna miss seeing it unfold at nationals)
It's part of it, don't you think? Also they have a great rapport with each other. I find the rapport lacking in M/Z, but I'm judging from LIVE in Calgary where they were not at their best.
Toni - Keep your eyes on Navarro and Bommentre in Spokane. Between them, M/Z and S/M it's going to be a fight for the bronze.
Joe
Bommentre is a beautiful skater, and I look forward the match-up between M/Z, N/B, and S/M. But unless S/M get a big bump from their coaching change, I think it's going to be between M/Z and N/B moreso than S/M, though, at least this year.
I think the reason that Sergey gets little recognition is that he's not very expressive. He has good, solid technique for sure, but he doesn't do anything to stand out. And with a partner like Tiffany, beautiful and graceful with expression and charisma to spare, a guy HAS to be able to project some emotion or he'll just be overpowered by Tiffany.
I think Matthews & Zavozin tend to have programs that are a bit too difficult for them. They therefore concetrate too much on the technical difficulty, and not enough on expression and finesse; IMHO Belbin & Agosto used to have the same problem through 2003. However, I think they have more potential than Stiegler & Magerovsky.
Oh I'm not counting N/B out at all... I won't be in Spokane, so hopefully ESPN will show a LOT of ice dance... but I think they should have gotten more attention from fans than they did last year... great team and great programs...
also love P/G so... it's going to be fun in ice dance for a while (providing they all stick with their partners lol)
Toni, if you act now -- Anchorage to Spokane, Jan., 2007, $325!
http://travel.away.com/Alaska/travel...262-Kenai.html
Navarro has GOT to learn to skate WITHOUT lipsincing. It drives me crazy & I bet it affects their scores also.
We are not going to Spokane either. Anyone else skipping it? And why? It just wasn't a good destination for us in January. Jeff balked as soon as they were anounced. We were pulling for Hershey or Boston. Local ticket sales were so high it made it next to impossible to get good seats after the first week. Guess that's how they got it. Post Olympic year is usually low attendance.
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