Evan Lysacek

Tonichelle · May 12, 2009

While I'm no expert and I adore Evan - I don't think he has perfect technique. Even I cringe when he goes into his triple axel. Seriously that is one wonky take off and landing.... not pretty. (He gets great air, though)

Particle Man said:
You say he "does nothing for you" but that's not true, assuming you are in the US - he "did something for you" by winning the World championships.

Unless said poster is a male skater in the highest ranks of the senior level I must ask "how?" It's not like Evan's win is really going to bring skating to the forefront next season. Media ratings are DOWN. It's not like the average joe is going to pay icenetwork for coverage (heck *I* won't pay for their coverage! lol) so the most we're gonna get in the US is the NBCUniversal tv contract, which unfortunately isn't much.

They aren't rethinking their gameplan just because Mr. Lysacek won a gold medal. That's not diminishing Evan's win in the slightest - it's just reality.

So I don't know how his gold medal has given American's anything. Has he made the country safer? brought about world peace? fixed the ozone layer? Maybe then you could argue he's done something for everyone. But no such luck (though if he has and I didn't know then I stand corrected).

Yes I'm being a little less than fangirly. There are many posters on here who can point you do my Evan gushfests, but I guess the realist in me just can't quite put him on that high a pedestal. The more involved with skating I get, the more I realize they're all pretty natural down to earth everyday people with the special talent of skating. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don't, and not everyone is going to like the same skater. That's what makes the sport great.

I think ALL of the skaters deserve some level of respect, and it's not based on medal count. They open themselves up to a whole lot of crap just for taking center ice. The medals are just extra.

elanna · May 12, 2009

I think Evan`s made a great step forward this season, both artistically and technically ! Artistically: he`s almost stopped, at last, to flail his arms which always was a waste of his strength in addition to it was not nice at all, all his movements are so much smoother now, he has become a truly interesting out there on the ice; technically: he executes all the elements so confidently, has fine spins/footwork, skates in a good speed! What to his jumping problems, well, he has, thank God, an excellent coach and there is quite enough time till Olys to fix his jumps, I am quite sure he will! I think he may become a new Olympic champion! :clap:

merrybari · May 12, 2009

elanna said:
I think Evan`s made a great step forward this season, both artistically and technically ! Artistically: he`s almost stopped, at last, to flail his arms which always was a waste of his strength in addition to it was not nice at all, all his movements are so much smoother now, he has become a truly interesting out there on the ice; technically: he executes all the elements so confidently, has fine spins/footwork, skates in a good speed! What to his jumping problems, well, he has, thank God, an excellent coach and there is quite enough time till Olys to fix his jumps, I am quite sure he will! I think he may become a new Olympic champion!

Well said! :agree:

Particle Man · May 12, 2009

Particle Man said:
You say he "does nothing for you" but that's not true, assuming you are in the US - he "did something for you" by winning the World championships.

Tonichelle said:
I don't know how his gold medal has given American's anything. Has he made the country safer? brought about world peace? fixed the ozone layer? Maybe then you could argue he's done something for everyone. But no such luck (though if he has and I didn't know then I stand corrected).

Right, I mean who ever felt something like national pride when the guy from their country won, or city pride when the team from their city won. I've certainly never heard of people in cities celebrating when their city's team won something like the super bowl or whatever, after all none of those people personally benefitted from the win, so of course they didn't care. Thanks for setting me straight!

merrybari · May 12, 2009

Tonichelle said:
So I don't know how his gold medal has given American's anything. Has he made the country safer? brought about world peace? fixed the ozone layer? Maybe then you could argue he's done something for everyone. But no such luck (though if he has and I didn't know then I stand corrected).

I took the poster's comment to mean American skating fans. No one expects him to "fix" what's wrong in the world.

Tonichelle said:
The more involved with skating I get, the more I realize they're all pretty natural down to earth everyday people with the special talent of skating. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don't, and not everyone is going to like the same skater. That's what makes the sport great.

I think ALL of the skaters deserve some level of respect, and it's not based on medal count. They open themselves up to a whole lot of crap just for taking center ice. The medals are just extra.

I quite agree! and Evan would be the first to say the same. In fact, he has ofter expressed his respect and admiration for his fellow competitors!

goldenpleasures · May 12, 2009

Particle Man said:
Gushy vs. Bashy? If he hit 5 triples without a warmup, that sounds to me to be fact rather than opinion. Facts can't gush.

So if I don't like a skater, and dare to post my opinion here, that's bashing? I'm afraid we'll have to disagree on that. Bashing is gratuitous or unpleasant criticism. Simply stating your opinion doesn't fall into that category.

You're right, facts can't gush. But the first post in this thread consists mostly of what sounds like hero-worship.

antmanb · May 12, 2009

Particle Man said:
Right, I mean who ever felt something like national pride when the guy from their country won, or city pride when the team from their city won. I've certainly never heard of people in cities celebrating when their city's team won something like the super bowl or whatever, after all none of those people personally benefitted from the win, so of course they didn't care. Thanks for setting me straight!

Have there ever been street parades for male skaters (or any skaters for that matter) who won world championships?

Ant

Joesitz (RIP) · May 12, 2009

antmanb said:
Have there ever been street parades for male skaters (or any skaters for that matter) who won world championships?

Ant

Sara Hughes had her congradulatory city parade in Great Neck, Long Island after winning the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics.

antmanb · May 12, 2009

Joesitz said:
Sara Hughes had her congradulatory city parade in Great Neck, Long Island after winning the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics.

Hughes was one that i seemed to remember. Torvill & Dean also had a massive parade in their home town of Nottingham when they won the gold also.

Any men have street parades for them?

Ant

Mathman · May 12, 2009

merrybari said:
(Sorry, I don't know how to get the little "quote" box to separate my responses. Maybe someone can clue me in.)

All you have to do is correct the spelling of "quote" at the beginning of your quote, and you've got it!

Joesitz (RIP) · May 12, 2009

antmanb said:
Hughes was one that i seemed to remember. Torvill & Dean also had a massive parade in their home town of Nottingham when they won the gold also.

Any men have street parades for them?

Ant

The New York Rangers had a ticker tape parade down Broadway - all male hockey team.

evangeline · May 12, 2009

Particle Man said:
You say he "does nothing for you" but that's not true, assuming you are in the US - he "did something for you" by winning the World championships. And even if you aren't in the US, and don't like his style of skating, he deserves respect for that.

I can't speak for everyone, but I assume what people mean when they say "does nothing for me" is that skater X's style of skating is not personally appealing to that particular person--in other words, a subjective opinion that has little to do with what the skater has actually achieved. For example, multiple world champion and Olympic medalist Elvis Stojko does nothing for me, but I love Shawn Sawyer's skating, even if he's unlikely to bring Canada glory via winning Worlds, etc.

And because it's a subjective opinion, just because a person disagrees with you doesn't mean that he or she is incorrect.

merrybari · May 12, 2009

Mathman said:
All you have to do is correct the spelling of "quote" at the beginning of your quote, and you've got it!

Well, duh??!! :rofl:

Thanks for noticing - I skipped right over that.

Particle Man · May 12, 2009

So... did any men get "street parades"? I'd like to know about any gender inequity in fan-response. :laugh:

Well, be careful about this comparison though - Sarah Hughes won the OLYMPICS. How about Kimmie after '06 Worlds, did she get much fanfare, and how did Evan's fanfare (if any) compare?

merrybari · May 12, 2009

goldenpleasures said:
But the first post in this thread consists mostly of what sounds like hero-worship.

Why does that matter? The poster was expressing an opinion about an experience he/she really enjoyed and was sharing that here. If it "sounds like hero-worship" that's your opinion, but doesn't diminish the feelings expressed in the first place. Some of it was indeed fact. Besides, what's wrong with a little old-fashioned hero worship?

JMO

Particle Man · May 12, 2009

merrybari said:
what's wrong with a little old-fashioned hero worship?

What's wrong is that when any top skater gets a fan post or any kind of praise, someone immediately goes out of their way to respond with how much they dislike that skater. But if you criticize their criticism, you're the one in the wrong. :disagree:

Mathman · May 12, 2009

Particle Man said:
But if you criticize their criticism, you're the one in the wrong. :disagree:

Off topic, but this is an issue that the moderators have a heck of a tme with, when it gets out of hand. There is such a fine line between criticizing the criticism and criticizing the criticizer.

Poster A: Lysacek is great!
Poster B: Lysacek stinks.
Poster A: You are an idiot.

Poster B's post is unhelpful and contributes nothing of value to the discussion. But at least it is on topic, the topic being Lysacek.

But Poster A's retort is at fault, too, becuse the subject of his sentence is "you," not Lysacek.

But it is often hard to split hairs this way. For some reason, I think it is 100% better to say. "What you just said about Lysacek is stupid," than to say, "You are stupid for saying that about Lysacek."

Buttercup · May 12, 2009

My two cents on the criticism issue: I think it's great to have positive posts and reports about specific skaters. But this does not mean that there's no room for opposing views. If people want to have a discussion about any skater that's 100% positive, they should go to a fan site dedicated to that skater/ice dance team/pair. On a general figure skating forum like GS, we can't all be expected to like/dislike the same skaters. And GS is generally nowhere near as snarky as other forums, so I don't see what the big deal is.

Full disclosure: I'm lukewarm regarding Lysacek. I seriously doubt he has better technique than everyone skating right now, let alone over the past 20-something years. But he deserved to win Worlds and I'm sure he's fun to see at shows - he is a very good performer.

katiedear · May 12, 2009

skating

I'm for the guy who works hard. Winning is a combination of being the best at the time. You may skate great in the short and not in the long. You could win because you placed the best not winning either because the better skaters flubbed the short and/or the long. Being the World Champion (you must admit) is a pretty great achievement. Being the 2009 World Champion for the U.S. is something that makes me proud and excited about figure skating. It is a good thing to be excited about anything these days. My daughter and our family has been involved in skating now for 26 years. Up and down I still think it has been all worth it. I appreciate a good jump and great flow. I like artistry and meaning choreography. It takes us away from all the other things in life; good and bad. Good shows remind us of why we love skating. Flow and lift are good things; rotation is inspiring. Evan Lysacek is one of those champions who I like. He was generous to the local skaters with the little time we had with him in Rockford.

Tonichelle · May 13, 2009

antmanb said:
Any men have street parades for them?

Ant

Scott Hamilton. - I assume Brian Boitano had a similar reception after his Olympic Gold.

And I ask again - what has Evan done for American Skating fans? His win has not made NBC rethink their schedule for next year or beyond.

I'm American - die hard patriotic - but I didn't swell with more pride because an American won. I was excited for my FAVORITE to win. Country doesn't matter (nor should it, IMHO, a COUNTRY does not make one great.)

Evan Lysacek

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

elanna

merrybari

Particle Man

Match Penalty

merrybari

goldenpleasures

antmanb

Joesitz (RIP)

antmanb

Mathman

Joesitz (RIP)

evangeline

merrybari

Particle Man

Match Penalty

merrybari

Particle Man

Match Penalty

Mathman

Buttercup

katiedear

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Similar threads

Connect with us