The sad part is there are various levels of bashing, and many of them happen on a daily basis. The burger flipping comment is pretty bad but it's also goofy - who would believe that? But "someone" can constantly say Sarah Hughes was a joke and that's ok? Sorry, I don't buy into that. It's just bashing more cleverly disguised.Originally Posted by gio
That's because we're smarter than most people... teehee(as she ducks the rotten tomatoes flying at her head...)
But seriously, I don't think Sarah herself would say she was in the top thirty of all time... (Tara probably would think of herself in the top two, but that's what makes her Tara...) And if she did make it that far up, she'd be stunned... Sarah has always been clear on that she needed the 3/3, she needed for Michelle and Irinia to make errors and that she had nothing to lose.
And she pulled it off. Yay for her! That's what makes the Olympics special... But there's no reason for fans to get all in a tiff because she isn't listed on the greatest of all time list...
I have to admit I'm thoroughly confused - I'm seeing posters arguing against POSITIVE comments about Tara by slutskayafan21? Thanks, slutskayafan21, for promoting Tara from a 21-30 placement (remember?) to the 11-20 placement category!!
But, I don't agree that Tara's feat of being the youngest female National, World, and Olympic Champion ever is meaningless beyond that fact. I believe that the sheer NUMBER of young girls reaching U.S. Nationals younger than 16 now compared to years prior to, say 1994, is due to both Michelle and Tara. Would we be seeing the Bebe Laings, the Caroline Zhangs, the Rachel Flatts,
etc., of today if there had been no Kwan or Lipinski? I think not. I remember hearing after Tara won her OGM in Nagano about the number of little girls signing up for skating lessons in the Houston club that she had started with, tripling in a very short time. Michelle and then Tara were 13 when they hit Senior Nationals for the first time. The fact that our two top ladies in '97 and '98 were both 14-16 was unprecedented and delightful. That will never happen again, unless the ISU's age rule is repealed.
No, the tiff is around who's better Tara or Sarah... (tara if we must make a comparsion...)
But, I don't agree that Tara's feat of being the youngest female National, World, and Olympic Champion ever is meaningless beyond that fact. I believe that the sheer NUMBER of young girls reaching U.S. Nationals younger than 16 now compared to years prior to, say 1994, is due to both Michelle and Tara. Would we be seeing the Bebe Laings, the Caroline Zhangs, the Rachel Flatts,
etc., of today if there had been no Kwan or Lipinski? I think not. I remember hearing after Tara won her OGM in Nagano about the number of little girls signing up for skating lessons in the Houston club that she had started with, tripling in a very short time. Michelle and then Tara were 13 when they hit Senior Nationals for the first time. The fact that our two top ladies in '97 and '98 were both 14-16 was unprecedented and delightful. That will never happen again, unless the ISU's age rule is repealed.
And I'm not saying that her age is insignificant... what I'm saying is that she other qualities that I think were cooler than her being 15 like her drive, ambition, guts, etc. Young is the least remarkable thing about her IMO. That's like saying oh yeah, KW is tall... yup but I'm also brilliant and that's better.
KW - Whaaaaat?
This thread is about a voting poll on the greatest lady skaters. It has covered several sub-topics. I was not addressing the Tara vs. Sarah thing.
Tara's age during her accomplishments - the LEAST remarkable thing?
Hardly. Nobody has ever commented on who the tallest Olympic Champion , World Champion, or National Champion was. It simply never mattered. It doesn't matter in any athletic feat. But the youngest ________ has always been a subject of widespread conversation - in ANY sport. Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Football, etc.
And, it inspires other very young aspiring athletes.
By the way, people - The poster who posts the last word in an argument - is NOT automatically the winner of the argument. If more people would realize that, they wouldn't feel the need to keep posting on and on and on and on and...............
KW - Whaaaaat?
This thread is about a voting poll on the greatest lady skaters. It has covered several sub-topics. I was not addressing the Tara vs. Sarah thing.
Tara's age during her accomplishments - the LEAST remarkable thing?
Hardly. Nobody has ever commented on who the tallest Olympic Champion , World Champion, or National Champion was. It simply never mattered. It doesn't matter in any athletic feat. But the youngest ________ has always been a subject of widespread conversation - in ANY sport. Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Football, etc.
And, it inspires other very young aspiring athletes.
By the way, people - The poster who posts the last word in an argument - is NOT automatically the winner of the argument. If more people would realize that, they wouldn't feel the need to keep posting on and on and on and on and...............
And since I was the last post (because I know you wouldn't post again - just in a vain attempt to win a losing arguement) I'm right. Everybody else is wrong. Michelle Kwan is the greatest of all time. So there. Close the thread.
(dagnabit... it simply doesn't work that way does it???)
Well, no one is now allowed to compete at the Olympics at the age Tara and Oksana were. So "youngest Oly champ" is a pretty flimsy title because of that fact. Tara was a shooting star just like Sarah was. She had a couple more golds and important titles among them, but still not a long track record. People seem to be playing "what if" saying if she hadn't gotten injured and quit, etc etc. Though they all seem to quit after OGM, don't they? Tara had more raw ability than Sarah, obviously. But ultimately skating (and even winning) is about more than just raw ability. They both brought it on that night and both won OGM. Many very talented skaters crumble under that kind of pressure.
As for "best of all time", which is the thread topic, I'm not sure many people here are qualified to state it with any certainty. I'm not. We could vote on "best of our time," and it would be Michelle Kwan, if she is still included in "our time." I wonder how the champions of decades ago would have done under CoP, or a more competitive environment, 3/3s etc. Who can say?
Maybe they meant Harakiri? That's about how I felt after the 2006 win...
I voted for the Kween.
It was a tough choice............nay, not really.......I voted for Michelle....42
Midori Ito
So ahead of her time. She'd still be winning if she were competing now!
If you include their pro careers, I would say that Henie, Witt, and Yamaguchi are the top three.
This could be argued until the cows come home!
In my lifetime, I would say Kwan is the best competitive skater. However, if we're talking about most artistically beautiful skater, in my opinion, she wouldn't be in the running.
Dizzy
I voted for Sasha, but then again, I'm a little biased.
I voted for other. I didn't see Sasha's name listed. It could be there I just didn't see it.
Dee
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