Patrick is just too good to be true
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure-ska...tml?cid=rssctv
I just love this part:
His name is whispered fearfully in Europe, in Japan - everywhere there is figure skating in fact.
Patrick is just too good to be true
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure-ska...tml?cid=rssctv
I just love this part:
His name is whispered fearfully in Europe, in Japan - everywhere there is figure skating in fact.
Last edited by Kunstrijdster; 03-21-2009 at 08:44 AM.
Bedankt voor de link, kunstrijdster / Thanks for the link, figure skater.
He prob is. But who is Beverley Smith? Have never heard of her before.Originally Posted by Kunstrijdster
Patrick is just too good to be true
Um, yeah. Right. Ain't it great?But Chan has been on a roll ever since, even improving his triple Axel to the extent that a judge gave him a bonus mark of plus 3 in the short program at Four Continents.
Not sure Oda (or Joubert) would be flattered by this comparisonNobunari Oda, Japan
More of a Joubert type
Is there anything wrong with Oda's skating skills and edge quality that needs to be camouflaged? Have we been watching the same Oda?His new, frenetic, fast-paced choreography camouflages his skating skills and edge quality.
I've come to like Jeremy Abbott this season. That is why I hope he isn't going to play the illness card too often, i.e. every time he under performs. I wouldn’t want that to ruin my tender liking of him.Jeremy Abbott, U.S........ He was clearly ill.
I believe this link was already posted on the Worlds forum, so the threads probably should be merged. The article itself wasn't that good; we've seen this sort of gushing over Patrick before, and frankly at this point I think he is a lot more realistic about his prospects, and those of the other skaters, than Smith is. Same goes for Jeffrey Buttle - "I think his skating skills and quality of skating are head and shoulders above everyone". Head and shoulders? Really? Give me a break.Patrick is just too good to be true
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure-ska...tml?cid=rssctv
I just love this part:His name is whispered fearfully in Europe, in Japan - everywhere there is figure skating in fact.
Smith's assessment of the other skaters is mostly useless: Brian Joubert's footwork and spins, she writes, have deteriorated (he got mostly levels 3 and 4 at Euros on spins) and there is "an appearance of unhappiness and unease about him". I guess Brian has not been forgiven for his reaction after Worlds last year. Jeremy Abbott is "more like Chan than any of the others" (because everything must apparently be measured in relation to Patrick?), while for Ponsero, Verner and Lycasek it's mostly an overview of their results rather than any analysis. She's right that Kozuka can do more to relate to the audience.
Patrick Chan is a talented skater who probably has a very bright future in the sport, but this cult of Patrick in the Canadian media and among some fans is just annoying and makes him the very last skater I would want to cheer for. And it's not even his fault. Can't they just let Patrick's career develop without putting this ridiculous amount of pressure on him?
Who is Beverly Smith?
Who was Beverly Smith?
Who does Beverly hope to be?
When I came across this line I was like "because it has ever been good?"
Does that means that Patrick is so much better than Jeff?Level four footwork is worth more in points toward the final mark than level three. Required are immediate changes of direction, with complex turns and quick steps following each other. When the quick-footed Buttle won the world championship a year ago, he got level threes for footwork sequences.
I just can't be convinced by this quote because for me the way footwork sequences are scored in COP is one of the major flaws of the system
Beverly Smith is a figure skating journalist here in Canada. She writes books on the sport and articles for the paper. She's one of the only sports journalists who actually knows something about the sport, so anything she usually writes is ten times better than the crap about the sport we get from other sports writers.
Thank you sb. When I left The Edge this morning I did see it in the Worlds folder. I also enjoyed reading the article, and was surprised she could give those excellent capsule review of the top contenders. Let's have more of her when possible.
I agree about CoP scoring of step sequences. I wish it wasn't so limiting about what is needed for high levels, because most of what we see is very cookie cutter. I actually agree that Chan is very strong on footwork, though probably not better than Buttle. But that is one area in which I don't mind seeing Patrick get rave reviews. On the other hand, I was amused by the suggestion that Chan has been good at maximizing points, considering his base value at 4CC was very low for an elite skater.
As for Brian, let's agree to disagree. For one thing, his spins have shown a marked improvement compared to earlier in his career. And I actually think he's had level 2s for much of the season because he's not playing the CoP game when it comes to upper body movement, and since said upper body movement is usually, IMO, the ugliest aspect of high-scoring step sequences, I find his approach refreshing.
Kunstrijdster, welcome! I meant to write that in my first post, but got distracted by some chocolate fudge cake and didn't notice the omission. I hope I did not create the impression that I was criticizng you - it was all in reaction to Smith's column, which annoyed me.
Last edited by Buttercup; 03-21-2009 at 12:46 PM.
I think Canadian journalists and commentators are always filled with hyperbole the minute we have a decent skater or team. They get built up to be "the best ever!", so that anything they do feels like a letdown. Competitors of these skaters are always nitpicked or outright put down. I really wish this would change. It helps no one.
Actually I think every major skating country has at least a couple of outside sources that hype them up (ie not the federation's press team, but national media) and make them better than the rest. The US certainly has it, as do Russia and Canada... so I don't think this article is any worse or more surprising.
As a Canadian myself I agree. I'm still rolling my eyes at all the Torvill/Dean comparisons heaped on Virtue/Moir. And of course who can forget all the fawning over Sale/Pelletier and the *evil* Russians.
A comment like that could have been taken completely out of context though. For instance, Jeff could have been commenting on Patrick in relation to other Canadian skaters. If that were the case, the comment would be true.
And honestly, Canada is not the only country whose media produces articles that hype their skaters a bit too much. That's what the media does no matter what the subject is. Remember all the drama surrounding Y2K? A lot of hype for absolutely nothing at all.
I think that Patrick Chan deserves some hype and a lot of positive comments because he is a great skater. No doubt about that.
Last edited by skatingbc; 03-21-2009 at 07:21 PM.
So, so true.
All of the arguments regarding Patrick Chan at this stage of his skating life, will not make one whit of difference when he steps on world's ice in Los Angeles this coming week. The proof is ultimately in the results--not pro or anti hyperbole!
Let the skating begin!!!!!
I think she sounds a little too much like a gushing fan than a writer...Chan does have great skating skills and interpretation, but Oda also has excellent skating skills along with Kozuka. Abbott is pretty good in that area himself.
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