Ladies Short Program

[dorispulaski]

Someone gets it!

But it's not just Flatt; you can put any other skater's name and the statement would still be valid. I'd even argue that it works in reverse, too: those who continually wax poetic about a particular skater. People who are annoyed are going to begin to find faults in said skater and point them out...and then for some, it can get extreme.

One thing though: I do have to disagree with the "uberfan" part- for example, I don't know of anyone who became a staunch Cohenhead or Slutskaya fanatic due to the actions of Kwaniacs. However, I do think that it enables those who are ALREADY uberfans of the rival skater to take their uberfandom to a whole new level.

Speak for yourself. I became very close to an uberfan of Inoue and Baldwin just that way.

[R.D.]

Speak for yourself. I became very close to an uberfan of Inoue and Baldwin just that way.

alrighty.

[R.D.]

Actually, I'm gonna have to agree with...gasp...Janetfan (!) on this one. I honestly don't get the big deal over all this "rooting against is bad" stuff. People can have their own personal reasons for disliking someone and I won't hold it against them. It's all part of sports, no? Or is skating not a real "sporty sport" and this is all bad? So what if I choose to back only skaters from the US. Why is that so bad in some people's minds? From a "sport" point of view, that's perfectly fine, right? That's what OLYs and the World cup are all about- cheering on your home country, right?

Oh well.

[janetfan]

Actually, I'm gonna have to agree with...gasp...Janetfan (!) on this one. I honestly don't get the big deal over all this "rooting against is bad" stuff. People can have their own personal reasons for disliking someone and I won't hold it against them. It's all part of sports, no? Or is skating not a real "sporty sport" and this is all bad? So what if I choose to back only skaters from the US. Why is that so bad in some people's minds? From a "sport" point of view, that's perfectly fine, right? That's what OLYs and the World cup are all about- cheering on your home country, right?

Oh well.

We agree now and then RD

mathman has written more than once how he has rooted against Kwan's rivals - or did I just imagine that.

FTR, I do not dislike skaters because I don't know them.
Johnny has irritated me and Button told us he was a real flake during the Torino Olympics.

Plushy's poor sportsmanship disappointed me but I understand that he is a real fighter and hates losing. I am a bad loser myself when it comes to things I care about.

Some keep telling me that the CoP is great and it has made skating a "real sport."

Real sports have real fans. Real fans love their favorites and do not want their opponents to win.

I will consider changing my mind when seniorita tells us that she was not against Evan.
But even then I will believe that as much as her crazy English lessons.

[Mathman]

By a strange coincidence this exact topic -- why do we get so much pleasure from the misfortunes of others? -- is a featured topic in this month's special issue of Scientific American devoted to studies of the brain.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-pain-our-gain

Researchers have traced the exact cluster of brain cells that gets tickled when the rival of our favorite skater gets hit by a bus and ends up in the hospital, and discusses the evolutionary pressures that might account for such a response.

By the way, this phenomenon (schadenfreude) is much stronger in groups than in individuals.

[R.D.]

MM- at least for most regular sports fans, it's not about wishing the opponent or rival dies or gets injured (although if the latter does happen, sympathy may not exactly be pouring out)- it's about rooting FOR YOUR team to win. Everyone wants a victory, or even the chance to laugh at the rival's fans and say "Told ya!"- but no one wants to see blood.

[dorispulaski]

wanting to see blood is what I mean when I say rooting against.

So to some extent, I expect everyone is really agreeing, just not agreeing about the meaning of words.

For example, I think anyone who was happy when Marinin dropped Totmianina on her head is a sicko. I expect you would agree, R.D.

[janetfan]

MM- at least for most regular sports fans, it's not about wishing the opponent or rival dies or gets injured (although if the latter does happen, sympathy may not exactly be pouring out)- it's about rooting FOR YOUR team to win. Everyone wants a victory, or even the chance to laugh at the rival's fans and say "Told ya!"- but no one wants to see blood.

USA vs Mexico in soccer/footbal has become an intense rivalry. Very few of the games end without some brutal elbows or knees causing some damage. Dirty tackles are the norm and blood flows atleast once during the matches.

My feeling is that I would rather see Mexican blood than American blood flowing. I am sure Mexican fans would rather see our blood flowing.

Landon Donovan had the best idea as he urinated on the grass at the legendary Azteca stadium after a game infuriating the Mexicans worse than any dirty tackle or elbow to face could have done.

Naturally USA made Landon the team captain after that.


ETA: Estadio Azteca has hosted a variety of international sporting competitions, including:

1968 Summer Olympics
1970 FIFA World Cup
1975 Pan American Games
1983 FIFA World Youth Championship
1986 FIFA World Cup
1999 FIFA Confederations Cup

It is the only stadium in the World to have hosted two World Cup final matches.

[R.D.]

For example, I think anyone who was happy when Marinin dropped Totmianina on her head is a sicko. I expect you would agree, R.D.

Well yes, I think there is a line to be drawn between cheering for/against someone and wishing for someone to get hurt or die. It's not the same thing- or at least I don't look at it that way.

[oleada]

By the way, this phenomenon (schadenfreude) is much stronger in groups than in individuals.

Schadenfreude! Making me feel glad that I'm not you!
I didn't say it was nice! But everybody does it!
D'ja ever clap when a waitress falls and drops a tray of glasses?
Yeah...And ain't it fun to watch figure skaters falling on their asses?
And don't ya feel all warm and cozy watching people out in the rain? (you bet!)
It's Schadenfreude...people taking pleasure in your pain!

[janetfan]

Well yes, I think there is a line to be drawn between cheering for/against someone and wishing for someone to get hurt or die. It's not the same thing- or at least I don't look at it that way.

Is it true that in Russia once - maybe '05 Worlds - that Russian fans were chanting for Sasha to fall? Or is that just another urban skating legend

[janetfan]

By the way, this phenomenon (schadenfreude) is much stronger in groups than in individuals.

Let me steal steal some of seniorita's thunder by saying "schadenfreude" does not translate into English.

Although I am not surprised such a word is of European origin

[oleada]

Although I am not surprised such a word is of European origin

What is that, some kind of Nazi word?
It's German for "happiness at the misfortune of others"
Wow...that is German!

(Sorry...I am unable to talk about Schadenfreude without talking about Avenue Q)

[Mathman]

The opposite of schadenfreude is the feeling, "There but for the grace of God go I."

I just looked up the origin of this phrase and found:

The story that is widely circulated is that the phrase was first spoken by the English evangelical preacher and martyr, John Bradford (circa 1510–1555). He is said to have uttered the variant of the expression - "There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford", when seeing criminals being led to the scaffold.

He didn't enjoy that grace for long, however. He was burned at the stake in 1555.

...giving the condemned prisoners a hearty laugh, no doubt.

[Bluebonnet]

Although I am not surprised such a word is of European origin

Isn't your own language an European origin?:sheesh: