Chan talks about the quad

[Medusa]

You know the honest to God truth is I feel rather sorry for Patrick. Seriously, he seems like a people-pleaser, he wants to please everybody, he tries so hard but instead it always came out with him sticking his proverbial foot in his mouth. He reminds me of a puppy dog, wanting to be accepted, it's rather endearing in fact. I mean this with all sincereity.

I actually don't think so. I think he actually doesn't care that much about tact and other useless stuff. I guess he is probably rather aware of what he said last season and the season before. Probably aware of the fact that he is contradicting himself. He never ever struck me as especially innocent or stupid.

He has guts, too. Going for the Quad in both the short and the long right away, most people try for ages in the long program before at some point deciding to try it in the short.

He is not a great skater, he is a glorious one. And I think he actually knows it. And I think that really shows, in interviews and while he is skating. And it is good that it does. I am starting to adore him.

Disclaimer: nobody here really knows Patrick, me neither. So everything here is purely hypothetical.

[Figure88]

I really don’t have an opinion, nor do I care about what Patrick’s personality is like or what he says to the press. Figure skating is a sport so it’s to be expected that huge egos are involved, since most athletes are usually self-involved. Understandable.

But I think a lot of the complaints about his scores have merit.

[janetfan]

I actually don't think so. I think he actually doesn't care that much about tact and other useless stuff. I guess he is probably rather aware of what he said last season and the season before. Probably aware of the fact that he is contradicting himself. He never ever struck me as especially innocent or stupid.

He has guts, too. Going for the Quad in both the short and the long right away, most people try for ages in the long program before at some point deciding to try it in the short.

He is not a great skater, he is a glorious one. And I think he actually knows it. And I think that really shows, in interviews and while he is skating. And it is good that it does. I am starting to adore him.

Disclaimer: nobody here really knows Patrick, me neither. So everything here is purely hypothetical.

Thanks for sharing your views on this Medusa. I think Patrick is such an impressive skater and still what - 19 years old?
I am not always a fan of everything that comes out of his mouth but find him far from the outrageous personality some here claim him to be.

[colleen o'neill]

Yeah..he hasn't learned tact , but OTOH, there are lots of people just waiting for any excuse to get their hate on. I haven't really been to the SC SP thread..made me feel a bit overwhelmed. I don't like it when skaters are held up..but it can happen for the home skaters of whatever country the event is held in..combine that with the new jump rules , which I'm a bit dubious about , and the combined result could be enough to easily explain what happened the other day.

I 've probably said this before, but when I first saw him live a couple of years ago , I was on my feet , unable to sit down for about the last minute and a half of his free skate. I simply could not believe all the things he was doing with his feet , the speed that he was doing it at and the distance he was covering .That there were jumps and spins incorporated..with hardly any break in pace..I couldn't tear my eyes away, but I was afraid to look..in case he couldn't sustain it.

Anyway, i'm going to hopr to see him lay down 2 clean skates next time out . That would go a long way to bringing the noise level down.

[Jaana]

Thanks for sharing your views on this Medusa. I think Patrick is such an impressive skater and still what - 19 years old?
I am not always a fan of everything that comes out of his mouth but find him far from the outrageous personality some here claim him to be.

Yes, he is still really young... Besides, I have the impression the article in the first posting has been changed a bit since it first appeared. I definetely remember that Chan mentioned something like that even without a quad Lysacek deserved his gold medal and the win over Plushenko in Vancouver. I see that remark no more, LOL... Is the writer a Canadian or an American?

[zoozle]

<<< it’s “kind of weird” when a skater doesn’t put a quad in his short program even though he’s known for doing them. He said he was shocked that world champion Daisuke Takahashi won the NHK Trophy event last week without a quad, and he’s been doing quads longer than Chan has been doing triple Axels.>>>

this ... coming from Chan is pretty annoying and totally unacceptable. only guys like Plushy and Joubert can say that.
BTW, i know Daisuke did have 4toe-3or2toe in SP back in 2004-05 season. but i guess not any more since he had worked with Morozov.
personally, with a quad or not, i think SP should be clean enough to get decent PCS.

[zoozle]

how about this?

<<<Chan acknowledged his role as a judges' favorite, saying he's grateful to be recognized for his skating skills.

"It's a good position to be in," he said. "I know [coach and choreographer] Lori [Nichol] speaks highly of me to judges, and I want to perform the way she says I can.

"Now that I've added the quad to my arsenal, I think I've stepped up to the Brian [Joubert] and Daisuke [Takahashi] level. It's taken a while with the quad.">>>

what he says is so unnecessary and hard to understand that he likes to bring other skaters names this way.

Hanyu is only 15 years old, and he is smart enough to know what to say when he speaks to a media.

[evangeline]

how about this?

<<<Chan acknowledged his role as a judges' favorite, saying he's grateful to be recognized for his skating skills.

"It's a good position to be in," he said. "I know [coach and choreographer] Lori [Nichol] speaks highly of me to judges, and I want to perform the way she says I can.

So....is he basically openly admitting that Lori Nichol is politicking hard for him? I know there's more politicking in this sport than are sequins, but isn't this whole politicking business supposed to be hush-hush? Well, at least he's honest about it.....

Well, I guess it's nice for Lori to see the fruits of her labour successfully harvested.

[Mathman]

When Lori puts on seminars for ISU judges, to teach them what to look for in judging Performance/Execution, Choreography and Interpretation, she can mention the "happy feet" criterion.

[Nadine]

Hats off to "La Chan" for bringing the quad! *clapping* He now joins an elite select few, which is becoming bigger by the moment, lol.

Still, he & others will have to consistently land 10 per year in order to catch up to the true Quad Kings (ala Plushenko, Lambiel, Joubert). Kevin Reynolds is the one that is slowly but surely getting there. (:^)

[Ellen]

All his talk about Plushenko doesn't look healthy to me.
Please Chan NO MORE Just go and skate with quad or NO quad!

His next competition in Russia and next Olympics in Russia as well. He probably is wondering how people in Russia will accept him next four years. That damage he did last year by talking not respectfully towards Plushenko’s programs with quads now needs to be fixed. He knows he will get respect from antiplushenko fans in Russia but he more cares about media and main public opinion. It is all about PR now, and I don’t see people will buy his “new” opinion about Plushenko’s quads. inho
At least I don't buy it, anyone else?!

Why does Chan need a respect from Russian audience when he gets it from judges..
Well, after SP at Scate Canada Chan must had been on the last place but he was placed 4th... The refereeing at SC was really strange. Chan's PCs scores were too big. It was very unpleasant to see such favouritism towards one skater. I will go to Moscow Gran Pri Cup where Chan will skate and will see him live. Maybe when watching him on TV I miss something, but I never understood why the judges had always put Chan 5 places higher than he actually deserved...

[Hikaru]

Especially when Takahashi is really not one to shy away from doing the quad. He was back doing it in his comeback season from after what could've been a career-ending injury. Hello, he even tried the 4F. And when it comes to musicality, interpretation, and audience involvement, Patrick could learn a thing or two from Daisuke.

And that's an understatement. When it comes to musicality, interpretation, performance, Dai can write a whole book, and Pchan is just doing a paragraph.

Also, Dai went for the quad at the Olys, which Chan didn't do... who's the risk-taker there?

Geez, this guy really irks me.

[sunny0760]

He seems to be confident with his quads. Good for him!

I always have an impression that he is the type of person who says what he thinks right away.

Unlike some posters in this thread, I don't find his comments on other skaters rude or unappropriate. He did not even criticize someone else.

(Feel for him because he seems to have so many critics in GS...)

Anyway, I hope he can do his programs without any wonky jumps and falls, highlighting the showcase of his wonderful footworks. Seeing his FS this season made me want to see him better!

[figureskatingfan22]

He's one of the reasons I sometimes think figure skating is like a soap opera. But I have to cut him some slack. He's so often told how great he is, no surprise it got to his head. One example:

Watch the first video "Backstage Pass: Patrick Chan" (not "Chan-tastic") at Skatebuzz! He was interviewed by Debbie Wilkes (Skate Canada’s Director of Marketing and Sponsorship, IIRC) after his short program:

Quotes:

Debbie Wilkes: "I know you where very disappointed, but the program is breathtaking and although the program wasn't delivered the way you wanted to do it tonight, it was still magnificent."
[...]
Patrick: "I hope you don't lose faith in me."
Debbie Wilkes: "Oh, for heaven's sake no, it won't happen. One disappointing skate doesn't make a failure."

I don't like the way she talkes to him here (after this program). It doesn't do him any good to be treated like that most of the time. At the beginning of his career, he was a bit self-confident, but still humble. Now he's just self-confident and IMO part of the reason is the constant praise (and these scores).

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You can find more interesting quotes from Patrick Chan in Lynn Rutherford's articles about the Men's short and long at Icenetwork. He's quite aware that the judges like him no matter what.

[wallylutz]

My hunch is that Chan is endearing to a lot of judges b/c the vast majority of them are women and Chan, a talented & good looking 19 year old teen who floats across the ice will impress them more than another man who can jump but otherwise boring to watch.

However, Chan got the scores he got b/c he deserved them and any positive impression is merely icing on the cake. Now that he can land Quad in competition, it will make him very difficult to beat.