Joubert - I'm a boy not a man.

[janetfan]

What Joubert needs to do:

1. stop the trash talk
2. get over the quad, we're not in 6.0 anymore, it's not mathematically necessary to win (and no, there is no single element a skater 'must' do to be a worthy gold medalist, all they have to do is score more than anyone else)
3. find a sports psychologist
4. get over the quad, no, not all real men do quads, not all who do quads are 'real' men
5. learn what the words c-h-o-r-e-o-g-r-a-p-h-y and t-r-a-n-s-i-t-i-o-n-s mean.
6. get over the quad, even if you land it, it's not enough to win and if you wipe out then it usually kills the rest of your program (unless your Tomas Verner in which case you self-destruct after landing the quad).
7. stop making me want to b1tch slap him

[Mafke]

Does anyone think if he lost weight it might help him? I was noticing at the Olympics just how broad and muscular he looked compared to most of the other skaters. I mean, Evan, Plush, Dai, Lambiel, Chan, Johnny, Oda, Kozuka, etc are all either very thin or just small in general. And now that quads don't matter, Joubert's ripped physique may be doing him more harm than good (too bad because he's gorgeous )

I agree about the gorgeous part, and I do think an overly muscular physique doesn't do male skaters any favors (I seem to recall the the decline of Michael Weiss coincided with bulking up but that may have been a coincidence). Tomas Verner is another atypical body type, his shoulder hip ratio seems all wrong for a skater I'm not surprised that he crashes and burns so often I'm surprised he doesn't all the time, his center of gravity must be much higher than a more wiry skater like Plushenko or Lysacek.

[Joesitz]

It's all very sad that a potential winner bites the dust (is that the correct expression of is it - hits the dust?). I've seen several of his non competitive performances on youtube, and he has remarkable "show" talent - a star quality talent. The problem here as it is for all skaters, is to try yet a third Olympics. It takes a lot to hold on to that dream as well as putting in all the work of 4 years that winning requires.

If he could just translate his feelings he has in shows to the competitive arena, he just might nab that gold Oly. I don't see Evan going back to back, and this would be Plushenko's 4th time which he doesn't need unles the glamour of being on his country's ice gets to him. In addition to the Japanese Men, he will also be up against those emerging newcomers who already have some experience (Amodio, Brezina, Kozuka, D. Ten, Borodulin) and Rippon.

If there is a coach in France who can calm his nerves without an urgency to win but to just skate his best, that's the one he should choose. If there is no such coach, he could try Frank Carrol who can impart that feeling of skating one's best,

[janetfan]

For starters Joubert has to lose that trashy techno music.
If he wants to be a real man then he should quit skating to that annoying teeny-bopper music.

I recommend Joubert go to Tat. She can fix him up with some real gloomy Russsian music. Some truly heroic "hero at the gates of hell" stuff like we just saw Mao do last season.

But can Joubert leave his techno roots behind and skate to real man's music?
Music worthy his quad?

Besides hasn't Mao suffered enough - not to mention her fans - under the direction of Maestra Tat?

I say Joubert must go to Tat. She will dress him in furs and have him skating like a Cossack in the blink of an eye.
And imagine them together in the K&C after Jouby falls on his 2A? No need for Mafke to get involved as i can see Tat slapping him silly while showering him with Russian curses

[Medusa]

For starters Joubert has to lose that trashy techno music.
If he wants to be a real man then he should quit skating to that annoying teeny-bopper music.
(...)

Good idea. Let him skate to great classical music - oh, I meant: put on some classical masterwork that he can ignore while he skates. That's the kind of thing that makes you Olympic champ.

[seniorita]

Wow looks who is back I so much missed you Medusa!!!

[Mafke]

Besides hasn't Mao suffered enough - not to mention her fans - under the direction of Maestra Tat?

God knows I have.
Lord knows I love Tat to death but I think she should be prohibited by law from ever working with a non-Russian skater again. A Russian coming from the same Big-Emotion tradition can absorb her bombast, disregard what they don't need and make the whole package work for them, a helpless at-drift Frenchman (not to mention a charming young Asian woman) have no chance.....

Joubert should spend equal time between Mishin (the stern father who makes men out of boys) and Frank Carrol or Brian Orser (who know how to make CoP work for a skater). Or he should just say 'hell with it' and go with Robin Wagner. Let's see her try to bond as his big sister. It would be entertaining for all the rest of us even if it didn't help him at all (and I don't think it would).

*passed by whatever international body has jurisdiction .... maybe the European Court of Human Rights?

[janetfan]

Good idea. Let him skate to great classical music - oh, I meant: put on some classical masterwork that he can ignore while he skates. That's the kind of thing that makes you Olympic champ.

Maybe Plushy would lend Martons to Joubert.

I can see it now - after 30 seconds of that bad Tango music Tat would be smashing the CD and stomping it into a thousand pieces while screaming, "Вы нет лягушки, вас собака"

[zandor]

Brian said a few times that he doesn't like to skate to classical musics.

Jou Jou working with TAT fur will be a nightmare...Take a look on Mao programs.

[seniorita]

Maybe Plushy would lend Martons to Joubert.

hey janet why dont you write plush's music next time?

[silverlake22]

I agree about the gorgeous part, and I do think an overly muscular physique doesn't do male skaters any favors (I seem to recall the the decline of Michael Weiss coincided with bulking up but that may have been a coincidence). Tomas Verner is another atypical body type, his shoulder hip ratio seems all wrong for a skater I'm not surprised that he crashes and burns so often I'm surprised he doesn't all the time, his center of gravity must be much higher than a more wiry skater like Plushenko or Lysacek.

I've noticed that too. Tomas is pretty tall with long, thin legs but quite broad shoulders. Joubert also has the broad shoulders, so they both likely have higher centers of gravity than Plush and Evan - who are around the same height as those two but with a more slight and straight build, and obviously Oda, Daisuke, and Chan who are significantly shorter and lighter than Joubert or Verner. I feel like it's the type of thing where being really muscular might not hurt a skater per se, but
definitely doesn't make it easier for them.

Joubert: http://www.lifeskate.com/.a/6a00e54f...04de970b-800wi

Verner: http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/...cor_men_lp.jpg

Plushenko: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...elecom_Cup.JPG

Lysacek: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/20...26/amd_ice.jpg

Yeah, Joubert and Verner definitely have much bigger shoulders, so maybe broad shoulders are bad news for a male ice skater? With the exception of quads. haha

[antmanb]

Yeah ok you make some very good points. I guess it just depends on the skater and if he/she is affected by pressure and nerves or not. I think there's a difference between being "inconsistent" and having a complete meltdown though. For example, while Mirai was not the most consistent last year, she never had a meltdown of the proportions we've seen from Kostner, Verner, Meissner, Czisny, Abbott and now Joubert.

Huth definitely needs to look at adding some psychologist (and if he has one, changing them immediately!) to his team because he has had some of the skaters with the most raw talent and they are (even at the lower levels) mostly complete headcases. I'm not sure i'd add Meissner to the headcase list - i can't remember her having a programme full of falls or popped jumps (maybe a nationals though because i don't ever see US nationals??). I'd also be reluctant to add Joubert to the list of "headcases" just yetsince he's not been great this season and the Olympics is probably the first proper meltdown I've seen from him. If he can pick himself back up for worlds, one blip shouldn't count. In reality i think I agree with the poster that said they think Brian is just petrified of Pluschenko. Clearly in the past Joubert and Plush would get into pissing contests on practice ice and try to outdo each other and psyche each other out....except that Plush was never affraid of Joubert in the way Joubert was of Plush so it only ever worked against Joubert. I think if Brian continues past worlds (which he says he will) if Plush retires again then we might see brian performing well again.

Ant

[antmanb]

It's all very sad that a potential winner bites the dust (is that the correct expression of is it - hits the dust?). I've seen several of his non competitive performances on youtube, and he has remarkable "show" talent - a star quality talent. The problem here as it is for all skaters, is to try yet a third Olympics. It takes a lot to hold on to that dream as well as putting in all the work of 4 years that winning requires.

This was Brian's third Olympics if he carried on to Sochi it would be his fourth! He was a young whiper snapper at SLC in 2002 coming in behind team mate Dambier despite having snatched teh bronze medal at the Europeans a month before. Torino was a bust due to pressure and now Vancouver...

Brian said a few times that he doesn't like to skate to classical musics.

Jou Jou working with TAT fur will be a nightmare...Take a look on Mao programs.

i wonder if she'd try to dress Joubert in a, how was it another poster put it, french bordello outfit too

Ant

[seniorita]

Ant

Are you supporting the villain theory? come on Joubert is not petrified by Plush He is not that scary. Maybe it was a case at europeans, but then again Jouby went out in sp and nailed it!
After the outcome of Olys maybe they will be friends now. They share same ideas

[janetfan]

Are you supporting the villain theory? come on Joubert is not petrified by Plush He is not that scary. Maybe it was a case at europeans, but then again Jouby went out in sp and nailed it!
After the outcome of Olys maybe they will be friends now. They share same ideas

So if they are friends why is Joubert not invited to tour with KOI?
I suspect they are not friends and report from their Euro press conference sounded like Joubert strongly dislikes Plushy.