The most overrated skaters/programs/comps | Golden Skate

The most overrated skaters/programs/comps

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
This isn't meant to be a bash thread. But what do you think are some of the most overrated skaters, programs and comps in skating?

S&P's "Love Story" I actually LIKE this program, although IMO it is not even close to be in the same league as Medi. But it is way overrated. It does have nice jumps, but the reason why (many) people seem to like it is the expresions of Jamie and David's face and the "acting" i.e.-the snowball fight. I have no problem with theatrics on the ice, but when the possing and handmotions overtake the actual skating-then there is a problem. The choreography is too simple.

Yags footwork: I know I know, I have sinned. I just don't see the big deal about his footwork. (Currently being exhiled to skating purgatory). It just seems to "Lord of the Dance" for me. Although sometimes I do enjoy it. I guess I just see it as being overhyped.
Also his exhibition where he did the pushups. I had no problem with it-up to the push ups.

Sarah Hughes: Seems like a Very nice person, has a lot of great skating qualities, but she just seems akward on the ice at times.

S&Z's: They went from being underrated to overrated. They are a very nice team, and have great jumps and I'm glad they won. But I can't really see them as being the "greatest pair team" or Turnadot as being the greatest Pairs LP ever-although it was nice.


Candeloro: Is he good looking? Sure. He is entertaining-Yes. He just panders way too much to the audience for me. He is more about charisma and showmanship than artistry, musicality.

I'll think of more:D

EDITED OUT P/T. :)
 
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dfj

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
lulu said:
Also his exhibition where he did the pushups. I had no problem with it-up to the push ups.

Push-ups? Wow, is that what those were?!
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
I don't think Petrova & Tikhonov are overrated because I have not met anyone who does NOT think them boring.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Ptichka,

That's absolutely correct. In fact I was thinking of taking them off my "overrated" list after I posted it...
I do feel bad saying this, because (They seem) like very nice people. Of course that has nothing to do with how they skate. But they do bore me.
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
lulu said:

S&P's "Love Story" I actually LIKE this program, although IMO it is not even close to be in the same league as Medi. But it is way overrated. It does have nice jumps, but the reason why (many) people seem to like it is the expresions of Jamie and David's face and the "acting" i.e.-the snowball fight. I have no problem with theatrics on the ice, but when the possing and handmotions overtake the actual skating-then there is a problem. The choreography is too simple.

Yags footwork: I know I know, I have sinned. I just don't see the big deal about his footwork. (Currently being exhiled to skating purgatory). It just seems to "Lord of the Dance" for me. Although sometimes I do enjoy it. I guess I just see it as being overhyped.
Also his exhibition where he did the pushups. I had no problem with it-up to the push ups.

Sarah Hughes: Seems like a Very nice person, has a lot of great skating qualities, but she just seems akward on the ice at times.

S&Z's: They went from being underrated to overrated. They are a very nice team, and have great jumps and I'm glad they won. But I can't really see them as being the "greatest pair team" or Turnadot as being the greatest Pairs LP ever-although it was nice.

Candeloro: Is he good looking? Sure. He is entertaining-Yes. He just panders way too much to the audience for me. He is more about charisma and showmanship than artistry, musicality.

I'll think of more:D

Basically I agree all above. But some thought on:

Yags footwork, may be not the most technique difficulty, but certainly executed with geniun passion and high performance level no other eligible single skater has done. (may be except Michelle's 2003).

S&Z: while they are greate at 2003's LP. but I feel they are still a little rough at those transaction/connection steps.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I think the thing with S&Z's performance is that I expected too much. I didn't see it until several weeks after the worlds, but I kept on reading posts about how it was the greatest LP ever-etc. So, while it was a great skate-it wasn't what I was expecting.
 

shine

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
While I was never too crazy about Yagudin's footwork prior to the past season despite being a big fan, I was really impressed by the footwork in his "Racing" SP. The idea is so refreshingly novel and there's a light, dancy feeling to it not seen previously which I think is what footwork is all about (and which makes Kurt Browning the king!). That said, I think MITIM was a way overrated program. I was first and foremost disappointed that Alexei chose yet another movie soundtrack to skate to, and the choreography just wasn't all that interesting throughout.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
lulu:

This isn't meant to be a bash thread. But what do you think are some of the most overrated skaters, programs and comps in skating?

Then what would you call it?

I think every skater deserves our respect and no matter what the outcome - remember they all worked extremely hard on the material they were given. It takes a lot of hard work and integrity on the part of a skater to make it to the top. Even the "simplest" program is not necessarily the easiest to perform - that's where the skaters skills come in - making it look easy. Sometimes the understated is also the most complicated.

Show some respect for the skaters, please!
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Compared to all of the other pairs on the ice, Shen & Zhao had the breakout performance in DC. They had speed and an intangible energy that was lacking in every other pair, although Pang and Tong were lovely, and Langlois and Archetto were pretty fast and very dramatic and musical. Perhaps there was a certain sense of desperation, because Shen had such a bad injury and had to land all of the jumps and throws, but they were very much in the moment.

In the past, S&Z's transitions to the slow parts were not very good, but I think Worlds was the best I've seen them perform them, and I thought they were quite fine. (Except possibly when he grabbed her boot during the pairs spin. Flinch with pain.) When I got home, I checked the tape, and I think the improvement came across on TV; I wasn't disappointed upon second viewing or closer scrutiny. I don't think it was one of the greatest pairs performances of all time, but the program is one they grew into, and they gave an extremely gutsy performance under tremendous pressure. Ironically, if they had been placed fourth after the SP, which nearly everyone I met in DC thought they deserved, they may have withdrawn before the LP.

I don't think that Love Story was overrated, because it was a very open, exposed program skated brilliantly. The highlights were well-distributed, not front-loaded. The transitions were very well done. And the openness spotlighted each element, playing to S&P's strengths, including their phenomenal throws. I've given up watching anyone's facial expressions, because I hate over-emoting; watching just the body language, I found S&P's dramatic expression moving. I'm not even a fan of theirs.

And, BTW, I may be the only person on Earth who doesn't think Petrova and Tikhonov are any more boring than anyone else, meaning they have good programs and not-so-good programs, like just about everyone else. I loved their 02 SP to Nutcracker, their 03 Rachmaninov LP that they jettisoned in favor of Chess, and if they had performed the 03 version of Chess well, it wouldn't have been such a painful performance to watch. (It is not often that the bronze medalist pairs team falls out of two lifts at nearly a dead stop, once at center ice.) Okay, he's a bit of a stiff, but I really like her soft knees and edges. They are adagio skaters. I heard a wonderful recording of Bizet's Symphony in C this morning, and I was thinking that the only pairs team that could do the second movement justice was Petrova and Tikhonov.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I actually have respect for all people who can skate, I tried it myself-it is harder than it looks. Overrated doesn't neccesarily mean bad-it is just that it doesn't impress me as much as it might other people.

Of course I'm no Dick Button, just because something is overrated in my opinion-doesn't mean it is.

Sorry if I offended anyone. But what do I know about skating-I love ice dance costumes.:D
 
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berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
I'd say the most overrated comp is the GPF.

It's conceptually like the love child of pro and eligable skating.

The 2 LP format is stooopid. The fans hate it, the skaters hate it and I wouldn't be surprised if the judges hate it as well.

And as we've learned time and again, it's no indication of who's going to win worlds/Olys. Didn't B&K win just a month or so before being left off the Oly podium?
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I like the grand prix-in a way it is sort of like a pre-cursor to the worlds. Of course the worlds are more prestigious, more exciting etc. But I agree about those 2 LPs-I do think that it causes skaters to get tired.
 

Germanice

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Ladskater said:
Then what would you call it?

I think every skater deserves our respect and no matter what the outcome - remember they all worked extremely hard on the material they were given. It takes a lot of hard work and integrity on the part of a skater to make it to the top. Even the "simplest" program is not necessarily the easiest to perform - that's where the skaters skills come in - making it look easy. Sometimes the understated is also the most complicated.

Show some respect for the skaters, please!
Sorry, but if we can't discuss openly about our true opinions, likes and dislikes any more, skating message boards like this would be totally unneccessary in the future. Naturally I do not agree with every single point Lulu made ;), but neither her post nor this thread in general is disrespectful. If you want to know what lack of respect really is, read my posts :eek: or listen to Dick Button- and/or Peggy-Flemming-TV-commentaries about the Russian Ladies ... :D

Anke
 
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lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Re: Re: The most overrated skaters/programs/comps

Germanice said:
Sorry, but if we can't discuss openly about our true opinions, likes and dislikes any more, skating message boards like this would be totally unneccessary in the future. Naturally I do not agree with every single point Lulu made ;), but neither her post nor this thread in general is disrespectful. If you want to know what lack of respect really is, read my posts :eek: or listen to Dick Button- and/or Peggy-Flemming-TV-commentaries about the Russian Ladies ... :D

Anke

Can't believe it but I agree.
 

katherine2001

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
I agree with you about Peggy's and Dick's comments about the Russian ladies, but I'd rather listen to them than to Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezik. They egged each other on in their bias towards North American skaters, and I thought it was a total embarrasment. I felt like we were back in the days of the Cold War.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Re: Overrated skaters!

Germanice said:
Overrated skaters! (Edited because I've changed my mind!) -- Anke
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: How to say everything without saying anything! I wonder who you were going to say, LOL.
Yags footwork: I know I know, I have sinned. I just don't see the big deal about his footwork. (Currently being exhiled to skating purgatory). -- Lulu
I think it's a question of, "what have you done for us lately?" When Alexei first came out with the Morosov footwork in Winter, I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it was the best men's short program ever. But then, we started seeing the same steps over and over, and then everyone else started doing the same thing, including Michelle and Sasha -- so it didn't seem so special after a while.

Mathman
 

windspirit

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Re: Re: Overrated skaters!

Mathman said:
I think it's a question of, "what have you done for us lately?" When Alexei first came out with the Morosov footwork in Winter, I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it was the best men's short program ever. But then, we started seeing the same steps over and over, and then everyone else started doing the same thing, including Michelle and Sasha -- so it didn't seem so special after a while.
Winter is a really nice program, and very clever (I mean, catchy). But personally I don't see anything as special as many other people do in it. One of the best footwork Yags has ever done was in Revolution Etude. His new (from last year) SP also has better footwork. As well as few more of his programs. So, in my opinion Winter is overrated.

As for skaters themselves, my definitions of overrated would be when people treats them as goddesses and gods instead of hard-working, very talented, special in their own way, but still only human beings. I've seen quite a few skaters being overrated like that: Kwan, Yagudin, Cohen, etc. The more popular some skater is the more likely is it to happen, I think.
 
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