Isn't taping the judges prohibited?

[Sazzy]

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABFqcfoq28"] isn't tappin the judges prohibited?

Clearly done in a surreptitious manner, can't believe they aired this on national tv!

Besides, what were they thinking going ahead with this in the first place? were they *expecting* there own national athletes to be *disadvantaged* some way? Hang on, but aren't something like ... 9 out of 11 sponsors of ISU already of their own national? What were they so afraid of? Would they have broadcast this clip if their own athletes had won medals they had *expecting*?

Gosh, things going on behind the scene are just so unbelievably petty.

[Nadia01]

1. It's difficult for me to answer this question because everyone has their own thought. Actually many people( both general people and figure skating fans) HOPED Mao to win, but I don't know how many people believed Mao's win seriously.Even casual fans know Mao struggled this season. IMO, most figure skating fans hoped Mao would skate cleanly and be satisfied with her own performances.

As for Men's, they are not popular compared with the Ladies'. Most expectations went to Daisuke. But judging from his performances before the Olys (GPs and GPF), I doubt how many people (both general people and figure skating fans) thought he could medal. Less than 20%?, sorry I can not specify it.

2. Among the Japanese male skaters, it's Daisuke. Johnny and Stéphane have really really ardent fans here in Japan. Also Brian and Jeff have. In the point of enthusiasm, Johnny may beat Daisuke.

These are MY insight. I'm a Japanese, but not a Japanese expert and don't know the everyone's opinion, so there will be some people disagree with me.

I think Mao said something about her being 80% for the gold? I've not heard her say it, so I have no idea exactly what she meant, but some of my Japanese friends seemed very convinced that there's a 80% chance that she'll win OGM because she said so. Of course, they might have misunderstood her because I can't imagine her say it so baldly like that, but regardless I think it might have set some strong expectation among her fans and casual Oly fans that she'll get OGM.

I don't think Dai was an overwhelming favorite. I got the same sense you did. I think people thought it was going to be either Dai or Oda, and I think they were pleasantly surprised at how well Dai did.

As for Johnny & Stephane -- I think they're popular in many countries. Stephane really sells his program, and Johnny is adorable.

[Bennett]

I think Mao said something about her being 80% for the gold? I've not heard her say it, so I have no idea exactly what she meant, but some of my Japanese friends seemed very convinced that there's a 80% chance that she'll win OGM because she said so. Of course, they might have misunderstood her because I can't imagine her say it so baldly like that, but regardless I think it might have set some strong expectation among her fans and casual Oly fans that she'll get OGM.

No, she didn't say that she had a 80% chance. There was a thread titled like that in the Edge forum in which you could find her quote in Japanese and several attempts by posters to translate her quote. The moderator closed the thread because the title was misleading, saying none of the translations (including the one in the original post) suggests that she said she had a 80% chance.

[Nadia01]

No, she didn't say that she had a 80% chance. There was a thread titled like that in the Edge forum in which you could find her quote in Japanese and several attempts by posters to translate her quote. The moderator closed the thread because the title was misleading, saying none of the translations (including the one in the original post) suggests that she said she had a 80% chance.

Ah, thanks for clarifying that. I thought she said it because even some of my Japanese friends seemed to think that she said it (or maybe they couldn't articulate it quite right because we were speaking in English).

[Ren]

I thought what Mao was referring to with the 80% remark was about her readiness, which I chose to interpret as 'My condition is 80% ready to compete.' I don't think she meant 'I have 80% chances of winning gold.' It's not like her to say something like that, and I think that the Asian girls in general are very PC when talking about such things, and about their co-competitors, too.

[sunny0760]

Among the Japanese male skaters, it's Daisuke. Johnny and Stéphane have really really ardent fans here in Japan. Also Brian and Jeff have. In the point of enthusiasm, Johnny may beat Daisuke.

Interesting observation. Johnny has many devoted fans in at least a few countries including Korea. I don't exactly understand why. He doesn't appeal to me except Swan a few years ago.
Among the men's medalists, my favorite was Daiske's performance. He is growing on me. I don't care his fall. Sometimes, there are very good performances that make me simply forget a few mistakes. Especially if the skater is Stéphane!

I thought what Mao was referring to with the 80% remark was about her readiness, which I chose to interpret as 'My condition is 80% ready to compete.' I don't think she meant 'I have 80% chances of winning gold.' It's not like her to say something like that, and I think that the Asian girls in general are very PC when talking about such things, and about their co-competitors, too.

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/gener...50001000c.html
「金メダルの確率は」と質問され「数字で表すのは難しい」と言いながらも「四大陸の時は今できることを出し 切れたと思って、気分が良くて“８０％”と言ってしまった。でも、それからもっと練習して、四大陸よりいい 状態でたくさん滑り込んできている」と“８０％以上”の手応えを口にした。

Even if her remarks transtlate, " I have more than 80% chance of winning gold," it's not far from what she said, I think. So what is the problem if a competitor showed her confidence, answering the media? Ren, PC means politically correct? Why it should be politically correct or not is beyond me. Just a skater's very subjective answer. Unless the media takes it so seriiously and reports it as if it's a truth or a fact, that's OK.

What bothers me most is such an emphasis on GOLD medal. As a casual figure fan, I just want to see good performances from as many skaters as possible and fair play. If my favorite(s) skated very well that night, it's icing on the cake. As I said earlier, there are really impressive performances even if it is not a gold or silver performance because of some mistakes.

[Nadia01]

What bothers me most is such an emphasis on GOLD medal.

Unless I'm totally mistaken, I think JP TV showed a clip of Mao (years ago) in which she read her written resolve to win OGM....?

I also think that the media expected or hyped up OGM -- like Japan should go for 2nd consecutive ladies FS OGM!

Regardless, it's incredible, the amount of emphasis on OGM for Mao. Even she said, in multiple interviews, leading up to OLY how she wanted OGM. She never said "I just want to skate well and win a medal". She always said she wanted OGM.

[hurrah]

Unless I'm totally mistaken, I think JP TV showed a clip of Mao (years ago) in which she read her written resolve to win OGM....?

I also think that the media expected or hyped up OGM -- like Japan should go for 2nd consecutive ladies FS OGM!

Regardless, it's incredible, the amount of emphasis on OGM for Mao. Even she said, in multiple interviews, leading up to OLY how she wanted OGM. She never said "I just want to skate well and win a medal". She always said she wanted OGM.

And she said the day after the LP that her silver was a step toward the next goal, and she said that now that she had silver, the only goal that she could aim for was gold. She's always been very honest about what she wants.

But then on the other hand, she did say in interviews that she was in an underdog position against Yuna at this Olympics.

I think if you're a top athlete, and you know/believe that you have it in you to become the best, then you voice that aspiration.

[Bennett]

True. She hasn't changed her childhood dream. Dai also often says that he sets Gold as his goal at every comp he attends.

Nobu says that he was already too satisfied with the fact that he was going to skate in the final group of the Olympics when he was going for LP (A Sport magazine, Number). I was surprised by this statement because quite a few skating fans considered him as a medal contender.

At the same time, "just do my best" also would be important. Mao said in a TV interview (NHK) that she missed her flip when an idea came into her mind that that jump (combo) would give her as many as 9 points and that this idea distracted her focus from skating. She also said that she was getting nervous in the latter half of the program. Perhaps if she was able to feel as happy as she was in SP with the fact that she landed the 3As, her performance in the latter half might have been better. But she had 3-2-2 and hard steps in the latter half and perhaps she couldn't take it easy.

I guess it's important not only to set the goal, but also to focus on just one step at a time. Easier said than done in anything though!

[hurrah]

I have to say I wasn't surprised by Dai's placement for all the reasons already stated.

But when watching the programs, I was actually more puzzled by Kozu's placement in the lp. He was placed 8th between Oda Nobunari (153.69) and Jeremy Abbot (149.56). I mean, he did do a quad, after all, but I guess it came down to a botched triple-axel in the second-half of the program and some small jump mistakes after that. But without the protocols, it felt like Kozu should have been far ahead.

[Bennett]

Among the skaters who were just off the podium (between Weir, Koz, Chan, Nob, and Lambi), it seems PCS that made the difference and also the SP lead for Nob and Lambi. But because Lambi's SP lead was also more associated with his PCS than TES, I'd say PCS mattered a lot.

I think that Koz deserved a lot better marks on skating skills and transitions. He has among the best skating skills in the field and skated very fast on that night whereas some did not (Lambi, Evan). Re interpretation and choreo, I would agree with judges. It was Weir who was underscored in these.

Besides, Koz's quad got minus GOE. Nob's 3A in the latter half with plus 1.4 GOE scored 2 points higher than that. Actually, even if Koz got neutral GOE (=0), his quad would have scored still lower than Nob's 3A in the latter half. If Nob did it in the first half, his 3A would have still been only 0.2 lower than a quad with neutral GOE.

[Ragil]

Why should she receive more GOEs? She cheated her landing by 2 footing one of her triple axel combos that the judges didn't give deductions for.

Mao's low GOEs weren't really the point of my post, but since you ask me I shall reply. They just look perfect in slo-mo, at least to me. I've heard the Korean media reported that the 3 axels looked cheated and insisted that Mao should have been scored lower. Don't know whether such reports have made an impact on how you evaluate those jumps though.
Anyway my point was more about the Japanese actually realizing that Mao made some mistakes in the latter half of the program and most skating fans should understand the placement, even the most ardent of fans.

[Ragil]

Sorry but I don't agree. Sadly, I suspect there is a lot of negative sentiment in Japan right now and, at least, a few of TV shows are responsible for that.
It's not that I don't trust your genuine intention but that, to me, it seems that some TV commentators are misleading their audience.
For a note, I have not watched many Japanese TV coverages so I want to believe many others are much more objective, fair, constructive and entertaining. My hope is on NHK.

I don't understand what 'negative sentiment' entails but I don't think the lay FS fans out there are feeling bitter about Yuna's win. Maybe they felt sorry for Mao's disappointment since she was crying on TV, but certainly they don't deny of Yuna's perfect performances in both the SP and LP. I read all the newspapers and not even one of them denied or smeared Yuna on that part. So I don't really see the negativity in society that much over the results of the Olympics. Yes, a lot of them do mention that Asada's GOEs were low compared to Yuna's, and some even tried to clarify that point by comparing Mao and Yuna's elements side by side, but I see that as an attempt to clarify the rules of COP to the lay spectator.

[Puppylove]

I think at least some of the difference in perception comes from the quality of the source of the information, as well as the difference in interpretation and language barrier.

For example in the UK, I tend to trust what is published in the Times or Telegraph, whereas I wouldn't be seen dead buying the News of the World, let alone believe what they print. TV stations are better regulated, but there are probably lots of rubbish cable channels. It can be very difficult, I think, to get the feel of the trustworthiness of a media source unless you have spent quite some time in that country. It is even harder to get their general point when watching only a potentially controversial segment of a programme. In addition, there are tons of internet sites whose reporters can't even write properly and get their information from Youtube! Unfortunately, the mainstream media in another country picks it up and broadcasts it, and their public feel outraged... There are already reports in Korea, quoted from (probably some awful) Japanese websites, that Japan feels that Mao wuzrobbed and wants to contest Yuna's gold medal based on her earrings (...don't ask), but I don't believe at all that is how the majority of Japanese people feel.

On the same note, can I suggest that you take everthing from the Korean TV station SBS with a pinch of salt - TAKE IT FROM A KOREAN! Although it is one of the main broadcasters, they do come up with a lot of c**p and they get loads of complaints from the Korean public. They are the ones who started the "Yuna complained about being impeded by Japanese skaters during practice" non-sense and even showed some badly-mosaic-ed out clip obviously showing the Japanese girls. The next day, the uber-Yuna nutters start posting all sorts of rubbish on Youtube and a war begins. She actually never said anything like that and eventually voiced her protest. SBS ended up officially apologising to Yuna, but what is the point; the damage's been done and they should have apologised to the Japanese skaters, if anything.

[Bennett]

I think at least some of the difference in perception comes from the quality of the source of the information, as well as the difference in interpretation and language barrier.

For example in the UK, I tend to trust what is published in the Times or Telegraph, whereas I wouldn't be seen dead buying the News of the World, let alone believe what they print. TV stations are better regulated, but there are probably lots of rubbish cable channels. It can be very difficult, I think, to get the feel of the trustworthiness of a media source unless you have spent quite some time in that country. It is even harder to get their general point when watching only a potentially controversial segment of a programme. In addition, there are tons of internet sites whose reporters can't even write properly and get their information from Youtube! Unfortunately, the mainstream media in another country picks it up and broadcasts it, and their public feel outraged... There are already reports in Korea, quoted from (probably some awful) Japanese websites, that Japan feels that Mao wuzrobbed and wants to contest Yuna's gold medal based on her earrings (...don't ask), but I don't believe at all that is how the majority of Japanese people feel.

On the same note, can I suggest that you take everthing from the Korean TV station SBS with a pinch of salt - TAKE IT FROM A KOREAN! Although it is one of the main broadcasters, they do come up with a lot of c**p and they get loads of complaints from the Korean public. They are the ones who started the "Yuna complained about being impeded by Japanese skaters during practice" non-sense and even showed some badly-mosaic-ed out clip obviously showing the Japanese girls. The next day, the uber-Yuna nutters start posting all sorts of rubbish on Youtube and a war begins. She actually never said anything like that and eventually voiced her protest. SBS ended up officially apologising to Yuna, but what is the point; the damage's been done and they should have apologised to the Japanese skaters, if anything.

Good points. I do see a lot of crappy news in sports newspapers. There are also a lot of crappy TV programs out there. There are also a lot of magazines that are disgusting to see the adds in the trains that list titles of articles.
Among the mainstream papers, there are also differences. Paper A is more sentimental, Paper B is right wing, Paper C is good at economic analysis, Paper D has more global point of view, etc etc. The readers must be aware of the differences in sources.
Back to the sports newspapers, they are the ones that often specialize in sensationalism and pictures of half-naked women, and female figure skaters are often subject to their attention.