Whats going on with Nicole Bobek? | Golden Skate

Whats going on with Nicole Bobek?

badknees

Medalist
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Well, I was actually being serious. I would like to see her rehabilitated rather than get the 10 years I read about.
 

princess9

On the Ice
Joined
May 1, 2010
Nicole was a gorgeous skater. Beautiful spirals, costumes, so pretty. I guess she had no where to go after her skating days. I don't now much about the story or charges but Weir's idea is dreadful . Tonya is 40, in poor shape and no one wants to see her skate. Sadly the same for Bobek. Both were natural athletes with big talents. It takes huge support to make and maintain a career in skating. Being an ice princess is more about work, luck and support sometimes than talent. I hope Nicole gets a break. 10 years would destroy her.:cry:
 

yelyoh

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
JW is getting very pretentious. I live in NYC - Manhattan. One can get just about anywhere anytime with public transportation. He really is a twit and will say/do anything just to get attention. I liked him as a skater and actually enjoyed his Oly commentary with Tara but his act is getting tiresome.
 

PolymerBob

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Reading the message boards, news reports, and watching the sport itself, I have slowly come to the realization the very few skating careers end on a totally happy note. But Nicole's seems to have ended sadder than most.
 

rtureck

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Reading the message boards, news reports, and watching the sport itself, I have slowly come to the realization the very few skating careers end on a totally happy note. But Nicole's seems to have ended sadder than most.

Agree that Nicole's career ended sadly. On a happier note, I think Kristi's career has been almost perfect
 

princess9

On the Ice
Joined
May 1, 2010
Kristi's life was perfect because of the great support sacrifice from her devoted parents and the closenit extended Asian family. When you read how the Kwans sacrificed all and what they did it makes me wish I had Asian parents. It takes a ton of people to make a career like Kristi's. She is the luckiest skater too besides being hardworking due to the ethic. Tonya and Nicole had it so much tougher and they made poor choices. We can never now another person's shoes. I think the sentence of 10 years is so excessive. People need rehab not prison. This country is failing many, many people. FS is truly an elite sport and a small lucky priveleged group keep a career. I agree with Polymer Bob. There are far more unhappy endings than sucess stories. Johnny may be looking desperate now to stay in the limelight. Fame, I have heard, is a very addictive substance. I have compassion for these skaters even though all 3 in this thread have made bad choices.

When IcetheatreNY honored Kerrigan I was touched with her humility and she cried as she told the audience how she never got anywhere by herself and thanked the many, many people who made her dreams come true. And she repeated it. This is true of most success stories but esp true of figureskaters as its so difficult.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Kristi's life was perfect because of the great support sacrifice from her devoted parents and the closenit extended Asian family. When you read how the Kwans sacrificed all and what they did it makes me wish I had Asian parents. It takes a ton of people to make a career like Kristi's. She is the luckiest skater too besides being hardworking due to the ethic. Tonya and Nicole had it so much tougher and they made poor choices. We can never now another person's shoes. I think the sentence of 10 years is so excessive. People need rehab not prison. This country is failing many, many people. FS is truly an elite sport and a small lucky priveleged group keep a career. I agree with Polymer Bob. There are far more unhappy endings than sucess stories. Johnny may be looking desperate now to stay in the limelight. Fame, I have heard, is a very addictive substance. I have compassion for these skaters even though all 3 in this thread have made bad choices.

When IcetheatreNY honored Kerrigan I was touched with her humility and she cried as she told the audience how she never got anywhere by herself and thanked the many, many people who made her dreams come true. And she repeated it. This is true of most success stories but esp true of figureskaters as its so difficult.

It's so true that skating takes a lot of sacrifice by not just the skater but by his/her family. One lovely story along those lines was Todd Eldredge, whose small town sponsored his skate fees. He was always grateful to them for the chance they gave him. It is a tough sport to flourish in for many reasons, not just financial. One is that there's not much room at the top. Baseball and football and so on has teams, so a lot of people benefit from a victory. Skating has individuals or at most pairs (leaving out the synchronized teams, of course!), and very few chances for victory, also--pretty much just the Worlds and the Olympics. Unless you are the best of your time, or unless you're lucky enough to skate during a time when there are profitable touring groups and/or TV skating shows in your country (currently that's true in parts of Asia), you can't get rich on skating. Add to that an erratic training regimen and a chaotic home life, plus substance abuse in the case of at least Nicole, and it isn't going to end well for the skater in question.

Besides, as you say, fame can be addictive. Even a great skater has to retire at some point, usually at a young age. (Except for lifelong skaters like Kurt and Scott--thank goodness for those guys!) That must be so hard for people who have reached the top of their sport. Michelle could have lost heart, thinking that the best part of her life was behind her. Tim Goebel, his career ended by injury, could have coasted or drifted. Instead, they moved on, and they're both having a swell time educating themselves for exciting new careers. And look at Sarah Hughes, as well. I'm sure that a good grounding by the parents has a lot to do with choices like that--another way in which Tonya and Nicole lost out. (I gather that Johnny has a great mother, so this statement doesn't apply to him.)
 
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heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
JW is getting very pretentious. I live in NYC - Manhattan. One can get just about anywhere anytime with public transportation. He really is a twit and will say/do anything just to get attention. I liked him as a skater and actually enjoyed his Oly commentary with Tara but his act is getting tiresome.

Johnny better start learning to walk around Manhatten like a lot of other New Yorker's - it helps keep the weight off, especially if he's not skating as much. LOL.

Unfortunately, today's media awards outrageousness.

Johnny also better watch his finances if he's shopping only at designer boutiques and hasn't picked a post competitive skating career to pursue. He doesn't have to go to college, but he does have to pick something to do.

Both Nicole, Tonya and Chris Bowman had loads of talent. However, they expected talent to be enough to make them successful and fell hard when fame escaped them.

For me, Johnny is a wait and see. He is a very talented skater, but I don't feel he reached his potential because there were a couple of years where he admittedly did not train as hard as he was capable of. Yes, he was injured for part of that time, but IMO lack of good training habits can result in injury when trying to rush back in as opposed to a steady ramp up into competitions.

Hopefully his parents or a good friend gives him some good advice about not relying on celebrity to be happy.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Both Nicole, Tonya and Chris Bowman had loads of talent. However, they expected talent to be enough to make them successful and fell hard when fame escaped them.

For me, Johnny is a wait and see. He is a very talented skater, but I don't feel he reached his potential because there were a couple of years where he admittedly did not train as hard as he was capable of. Yes, he was injured for part of that time, but IMO lack of good training habits can result in injury when trying to rush back in as opposed to a steady ramp up into competitions..

Johnny's expected potential to carry him through. He's been on the plateau for so long. He is critical of those, like Evan, who 'aren't as good' and blames their winning on judges not liking his flamboyant style - no, that's not what they don't like. They want to support the hard worker who is starting to see results of his efforts. Potential should only carry so far. In some ways Johnny fits right in with your list - maybe not the falling from grace by drugs, alchohol, etc - but certainly where if they'd just worked hard and quit playing around they'd have been unstoppable.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Kristi's life was perfect because of the great support sacrifice from her devoted parents and the closenit extended Asian family. When you read how the Kwans sacrificed all and what they did it makes me wish I had Asian parents. It takes a ton of people to make a career like Kristi's. She is the luckiest skater too besides being hardworking due to the ethic. Tonya and Nicole had it so much tougher and they made poor choices. We can never now another person's shoes. I think the sentence of 10 years is so excessive. People need rehab not prison. This country is failing many, many people. FS is truly an elite sport and a small lucky priveleged group keep a career. I agree with Polymer Bob. There are far more unhappy endings than sucess stories. Johnny may be looking desperate now to stay in the limelight. Fame, I have heard, is a very addictive substance. I have compassion for these skaters even though all 3 in this thread have made bad choices.

When IcetheatreNY honored Kerrigan I was touched with her humility and she cried as she told the audience how she never got anywhere by herself and thanked the many, many people who made her dreams come true. And she repeated it. This is true of most success stories but esp true of figureskaters as its so difficult.

Beautiful, truthful post! Thank you! :)
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
When sentenced Aug. 5, the onetime ice queen faces anywhere from probation to five years in prison.

Under the original charge, she could have faced up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors are expected to recommend to state Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan, sitting in Jersey City, that Bobek spend 364 days in the Hudson County jail in Kearny.

And jail is a lot better than prison.

Also, Nicole has been keeping busy in the Hudson County jail:

After her arrest last year, Bobek organized a workout class for fellow female inmates during her July 4-6 stay at Hudson County jail in Kearny. She described the accommodations there as "four-star" compared to the Florida jail where she was first held after her arrest, fellow inmates told The Jersey Journal.

During a jailhouse interview, one of the inmates said Bobek told her she enjoyed skating, but her life went in a different direction and she regretted it. Even so, Bobek told the prisoner "she was hopeful." Bobek even made tube tops for the inmates out of T-shirts before being released on bail.
 
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