Virtue Moir a kiss creates waves

[jennylovskt]

Don't give up hope yet. Pang/Tong have been skating since little kids, and it took them until their 30's to figure out that they are really meant for each other. So V/M still have time yet.

I've believed it for a couple of years that Scott loved Tessa, and Tessa was the one who held the card. Who knows? You are right. Things could turn either way. Sorry for Jessica for all the fuzz around these things. It was a little strange relationship to me.

[chuckm]

Bobrova/Soloviev have been skating as seniors for a very long time, and their improvement this year will not be enough to vault them to Russia #1. For 2011, no one will be the clear Russia #1 (unless Khokski miraculously return), but watch for I/K to breathe down K/N's and B/S's necks. In 2012, I/K will not only be Russia #1, but they will be a World medal contender. In 2013, I/K will be a WC contender, and then will go into the Sochi Olympics as the favorite for the OGM.

[wallylutz]

Bobrova/Soloviev have been skating as seniors for a very long time, and their improvement this year will not be enough to vault them to Russia #1. For 2011, no one will be the clear Russia #1 (unless Khokski miraculously return), but watch for I/K to breathe down K/N's and B/S's necks. In 2012, I/K will not only be Russia #1, but they will be a World medal contender. In 2013, I/K will be a WC contender, and then will go into the Sochi Olympics as the favorite for the OGM.

Maybe this is the wrong thread for this but your basis for your prediction is what exactly? Winning Junior Worlds is hardly a predictor of success in the senior rank. Most Junior World Champs in Ice Dance don't end up having much success in the Senior rank. V/M is one of the few exceptions. It almost seems to me the basis of your speculation requires quite a bit of far fetch assumptions at this time.

[bekalc]

Maybe this is the wrong thread for this but your basis for your prediction is what exactly? Winning Junior Worlds is hardly a predictor of success in the senior rank. Most Junior World Champs in Ice Dance don't end up having much success in the Senior rank. V/M is one of the few exceptions. It almost seems to me the basis of your speculation requires quite a bit of far fetch assumptions at this time.

It has nothing to do with I/K's Junior World win. And everything to do with their talent and skating ability. Many were calling them the future of Ice Dance before they won Junior Worlds. A lot of people think this is the most talented Russian dance team to come up since K/O.

They still have improving to do but Elena is only 15, and he's very young too. (And the maturity has is unreal at 15.) She just commands the ice, already. There's no reason to think these kids won't be in the hunt for a Sochi, baring something horrible like an injury or stupidity from the Russian federation.

There's no Russian team that is currently a strong no 1, so the field is wide open for them to make a rise quickly.

[herios]

Now back to the subject, who knows where their destiny will go, in the mean time, they have plenty of fans around the world, bringing them tributes as this one, enjoying their journey and the fact that we are contemporary of such a great team. I hope theyw ill keep skating for a long time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYseHLo6j8Y

[feraina]

I've believed it for a couple of years that Scott loved Tessa, and Tessa was the one who held the card. Who knows? You are right. Things could turn either way. Sorry for Jessica for all the fuzz around these things. It was a little strange relationship to me.

I used to think that it was the other way around, that Tessa looks at Scott with eyes full of love, and Scott acts brotherly. But now that I've gone back and watched just about all their performances and interviews online , I tend to agree with you that it's Tessa who's holding the card. I think it's not only that they've grown up together and while close have never thought of each other romantically and so the conversion isn't easy, but also that when you are a young girl, you have this fantasy that some exotic, fantastic prince is going to sweep you off your feet and take you on his horseback riding into the sunset... Fedor Andreev sure fits that bill! The idea of spending the rest of your life with your best friend, whom you've known all your life and so there's very little sense of exotic-ness or novelty, probably just doesn't feel as romantic. I think in Pang and Tong's relationship, it was also Pang who more insisted that they stay as just partners and friends for a long time. It may not be true for every girl, but I think it can take a long time, in the case of becoming finally involved with a long-term best friend, that the allure of that exotic-ness/novelty is seriously losing its allure in thinking about life-long commitment.

[jennylovskt]

I used to think that it was the other way around, that Tessa looks at Scott with eyes full of love, and Scott acts brotherly. But now that I've gone back and watched just about all their performances and interviews online , I tend to agree with you that it's Tessa who's holding the card. I think it's not only that they've grown up together and while close have never thought of each other romantically and so the conversion isn't easy, but also that when you are a young girl, you have this fantasy that some exotic, fantastic prince is going to sweep you off your feet and take you on his horseback riding into the sunset... Fedor Andreev sure fits that bill! The idea of spending the rest of your life with your best friend, whom you've known all your life and so there's very little sense of exotic-ness or novelty, probably just doesn't feel as romantic. I think in Pang and Tong's relationship, it was also Pang who more insisted that they stay as just partners and friends for a long time. It may not be true for every girl, but I think it can take a long time, in the case of becoming finally involved with a long-term best friend, that the allure of that exotic-ness/novelty is seriously losing its allure in thinking about life-long commitment.

Yea. Sometimes, it'll take a few experiences to make one realize that the gem is just beside you. It does look like a match made in heaven. But we, outsiders, don't really know the exact.

[chuckm]

There's no sense comparing Pang/Tong with V/M. In China, relationships between the members of a team is strongly discouraged, because it takes focus away from training. Shen/Zhao couldn't make their relationship public until after the 2006 Olympics when they began skating in shows and then finally married. When they went back to training for the 2010 Olympics, Shen/Zhao had to live in separate dormitories, just like the other skaters!

[feraina]

Well, it's one thing not to make the relationship public, like S/Z, it's another to have not dated at all. Pang and Tong just never even tried it until *after* Tong told the press at the Olymipcs he wants to be more than partners/friends. And they had plenty of opportunities touring abroad in the summers. As for dating taking the focus away from training, that attitude exists in plenty other countries too, not just China! And for good reasons, too.

[feraina]

This is one of my favorite fan videos of Tessa & Scott:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOA3cCsejHI

Gorgeous!

[scs]

Wow! Awesome video. Thanks for sharing!

[jennylovskt]

Well, it's one thing not to make the relationship public, like S/Z, it's another to have not dated at all. Pang and Tong just never even tried it until *after* Tong told the press at the Olymipcs he wants to be more than partners/friends. And they had plenty of opportunities touring abroad in the summers. As for dating taking the focus away from training, that attitude exists in plenty other countries too, not just China! And for good reasons, too.

I agree. I remember there was an interview back then where Pang said that she didn't care whether or not Tong was dating other girls.

[feraina]

I agree. I remember there was an interview back then where Pang said that she didn't care whether or not Tong was dating other girls.

Yeah, exactly. Plus, nothing has changed for P/T in regard to the Chinese federation. They are still competing as part of the national team. Tong also said in several interviews that he finally found the courage to propose it to Pang because he was given advice by a senior Chinese federation official: He was told that Pang would make the best life-time partner for him, because when he gets old and wants to reminisce about the best memories of his life, only Pang will be able to understand what he means by throw triple loop and lateral twist, level 4 spins, etc. And she said in interviews that they always hanged out together a lot throughout their long career, and sometimes held hands when going for walks/strolls, and it felt very natural. But after they started dating after the Olympics, and tried holding hands the first time when they walked on the streets, it felt so weird that she burst out laughing and they had to let go of each other's hands.

There are lots more cute excerpts. I summarized/translated some of the interviews in the Pang/Tong thread.

So anyway, there was no hint anywhere that they wanted to date but were held back by the federation or coaches. Maybe rather to the contrary. To me it seems like a situation much like the one between Virtue & Moir, only they are 10 years farther down the line!

Wouldn't it be phenomenal if V&M were to keep on dazzling audiences with 10 more years of incredible skating and then declare themselves lovers at the end?

[feraina]

Their SOI version of Mahler's 5th.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ7zCYMfl8

Gorgeous!