Weir considering comeback

I miss Johnny's skating. Though I am sometimes disappointed in his poor judgement in what he says, at other times what he says delights and amuses me.

Concerning his political position or popularity with judges, he is right - he can't control that. But you can train so well and skate so well that most of the time, you will get your due. I think what he needs most is a well-constructed program that plays to his strengths and maximizes points, and then the mental ability to deliver it with conviction.

I do think he was dissed at the Olympics. IMO he should have been 4th. He skated well, but it was tentative and internal. Get out there and show us what you've got! Perhaps the Gaga will help. He has to train well, get a good program, and then get out there and sell it.

I am hoping.

Jaana said:

I think that the judges (national and international ones) in CoP competitions would have appreciated his skating a lot, if he just had skated to choreographies which bring points. Everything was his own choice, wasn´t it? Ridiculous to say "the judges don´t like me"..., but of course playing the role of a victim has been his style for quite some time, in my opinion.

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Alas, I agree with this whole post. I don't understand how Johnny thinks it's helpful to himself or anyone else to keep harping on the judges' supposed bias against him (which I don't believe exists). I like hearing that he won't come back unless he can be better than before. Even if it's true that the judges are woefully predisposed to underscore him, his job is to make it impossible for them to do that by skating brilliantly and consistently. His problems IMO are technical and even more having good material to skate to. I wish he would focus on those. Then I would adore to see him come back.

“I won’t come back if I can’t be better than I was.

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well that pretty much gives us an answer then. He was landing 4/3's in practice in the 2009-10 season. How good does he expect to get over a summer after no training for a year and a half?

More from the interview: Weir says book receive positive vibes:

“People love my book,” he said. “People are so behind me. I won no medal but the amount of times I’ve been congratulated for being Olympic champion, from people who don’t really watch skating and don’t know who Evan Lysacek is and who Patrick Chan is. That’s an amazing thing when they feel you’ve accomplished.”

What do you tell them?

“Thank you,” he said.

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And calling Howard Stern an authority figure?

Lol, that was an amusing interview, this is what I love about Johnny. Sometimes he gets me mad, other times I don't care, but he never fails to amuse me, be it intentionally or unintentionally. And his wit is one of the best out there, love his interviews, lol. :agree:


GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO JOHNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (be good )

Johnny Weir said:
It’s the first time since I was 12 when I’ve been able to eat and stay up late and do all these things. And it’s not that exciting. It’s not as exciting as going to the rink every day and training and running that adrenaline and feeling beautiful and feeling special. You can do something no one else in the world can. I miss that.

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What did he do on ice that "no one else in the world can"?!

Another thing Johnny's got going for him is he's good friends with Evgeni. ^) That's a huge (+) in my book. :thumbsup:

In fact, it is ZHENYA that has inspired all these comebacks! arty: Because of his unprecedented win of the Olympic Silver Medal at age 27, everybody else is staying in longer, fact. Just look at the stats for this year ~ Kevin Van Der Perren wins Belgian Nationals at age 28, Kristoffer Berntsson wins Swedish Nationals at age 28, Konstantin Menshov of Russia wins Russian Nationals at age 27, Samuel Contesti wins Italian Nationals at age 27, and Ryan Bradley wins US Nationals at age 27. Not to forget to mention Brian Joubert of France, whom just recently won his 7th National Title at age 26, as well as his 10th consecutive European Medal (Silver) at the 2011 European Championships. Not bad for the so-called "old guys". (;^)

And, Johnny, if Chris Christenson could win US Nationals at age 51, then so could you at almost half his age. Btw, you two have something else in common, just like you he didn't start skating till much later, in fact not until he was 39! So, yeah, not skating till you were 12 has helped save wear & tear on your body, make the most of it!

Nadine said:

In fact, it is ZHENYA that has inspired all these comebacks! arty: Because of his unprecedented win of the Olympic Silver Medal at age 27, everybody else is staying in longer, fact. Just look at the stats for this year ~ Kevin Van Der Perren wins Belgian Nationals at age 28, Kristoffer Berntsson wins Swedish Nationals at age 28, Konstantin Menshov of Russia wins Russian Nationals at age 27, Samuel Contesti wins Italian Nationals at age 27, and Ryan Bradley wins US Nationals at age 27. Not to forget to mention Brian Joubert of France, whom just recently won his 7th National Title at age 26, as well as his 10th consecutive European Medal (Silver) at the 2011 European Championships. Not bad for the so-called "old guys". (;^)

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While I wholly approve of the veterans doing well, I don't think the guys are staying because of Plushenko's performance in Vancouver. They're staying because they can still compete and because they like to do it. Joubert seems to enjoy competitive skating and is apparently chasing some records; Contesti missed two years when he switched nationalities and didn't get too many international assignments when he skated for France, so he's likely making up for lost time; KvdP never really had a successor in Belgium (though Hendrickx might prove to be the guy eventually) and I think Euros was his last event.

FWIW, it's hardly unprecedented for singles skaters to win an Olympic medal in their mid to late twenties: Brian Orser was 26 in 1988, Paul Wylie was 27 in 1992, Phillipe Candeloro was 26 in 1998, and Irina Slutskaya was 27 in 2006.

I'll be shocked if Johnny comes back. But I don't mind his interviews, he's generally entertaining.

^ yeap I agree. I think they stay because they can. Regarding Kristofer I never want him to retire! And as far as I recall people had freaked out Evgeni would compete at 27 like he was A first.

B didnt Joubert broke the Euros medals records now, or tied them with..i dont remember who, someone 100 years ago?

Buttercup said:

I'll be shocked if Johnny comes back. But I don't mind his interviews, he's generally entertaining.

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I know, maybe I should buy me the book for my birthday because I forgot to at Christmas?

Men were often older than ladies until recently, though now with the advent of quads, the guys might wear out sooner than they once did. One of my favorite Olympic champs was John Curry. He was 26 at the time, and he wasn't even a contender in his early twenties. His main rival, Toller Cranston, was about the same age and won a bronze at those Games, Innsbruck 1976.

As for whether Johnny will be one of those late-blooming skaters, who knows? First he has to put in the time. As Zhenya could tell him, that isn't as easy as it looks from the sidelines. Though I'm always glad when someone gives it a try! I'm a great believer in second acts, and Plushenko certainly gave us an impressive one.

Olympia said:

Men were often older than ladies until recently, though now with the advent of quads, the guys might wear out sooner than they once did. One of my favorite Olympic champs was John Curry. He was 26 at the time, and he wasn't even a contender in his early twenties. His main rival, Toller Cranston, was about the same age and won a bronze at those Games, Innsbruck 1976.

As for whether Johnny will be one of those late-blooming skaters, who knows? First he has to put in the time. As Zhenya could tell him, that isn't as easy as it looks from the sidelines. Though I'm always glad when someone gives it a try! I'm a great believer in second acts, and Plushenko certainly gave us an impressive one.

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Good points on age but there is Health to consider as well.

I think Johnny has been living on the fast tract. He even gets hype in the NYC newspapers. I believe he got a bit nostalgic watching the 2011 Nats and it flashed through his mind for a comeback? That would be his decision, and I am never against skater's decisions except I might question them. In Johnny's case, does is mean giving up the glitz he enjoys as a noncompetitive skater? I can't answer that but he can't do both at the same time, imo.

I suspect he will have second thoughts on coming back unless he needs it for more glitz. JMO.

antmanb said:

Good luck to him if he does want to come back, but it seems pretty low to take pot shots at Chan's flawed wins on the GP when Chan's just put out a blinder at Canadian Nationals.

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Ehh, it does seem like he's more involved in his own self-mythologization as opposed to a real comeback, to be honest. His further comments ("They don't know who Evan Lysacek is. They don't know who Patrick Chan is.") sorta implies that ("BUT THEY KNOW WHO I AM!!!!").

ImaginaryPogue said:

Ehh, it does seem like he's more involved in his own self-mythologization as opposed to a real comeback, to be honest. His further comments ("They don't know who Evan Lysacek is. They don't know who Patrick Chan is.") sorta implies that ("BUT THEY KNOW WHO I AM!!!!").

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......THE Olympic Champion! Thank you!

His book is aptly named. His subjective reality is so subjective that it's a different world. You would fit right in if you believe he is the Olympic Champion.

BTW, ant, very astute post except for one little error - there should be no "s" after "flawed win" because that happened just once.

Hi. This may be only the 2nd or 3rd time that I have posted on GS, but I have to agree with almost everyone here who thinks that Johnny Weir's proclamation at last weekends U.S. Nationals that he would return to competitive skating is either wishful thinking or just more talk that would put his name in print. Or it could have just been the emotion of the moment, getting the Michelle Kwan Skater of the Year award from the magazine's readers. Or perhaps watching the men's competition which was nothing like anyone expected it to be (Abbott and Rippon not qualifying for the World Team, Ryan Bradley not just placing, but winning it all, and a couple of talented up and comers, though mostly untested in Senior comps) and thinks that he would be a cinch to win or even place on the U.S. podium).

I am not a Johnny hater or fanatic. In fact, I had the pleasure of watching him perform live in Philadelphia on the 2002 Champions On Ice tour and the audience loved him (Michelle though was the only one who got a partial standing O, as far as I remember) the same year he won the Junior World Title, I believe. He is still a good skater, though in my opinion, Daiskate deserved the bronze medal more for his really fun entertaining programs. But he loves publicity and the celebrity merry-go-round so much, that it may be very hard for him to commit fully to training and have to learn new ways to get points to beat Patrick Chan, whom he can't stand even more than Michael Weiss or Evan Lysacek, it seems.

I think that for another year or so, he'll still be in the public eye and get offers for various things that A listers would not do, but it cannot last forever, and the media circus will latch onto another personality. Perhaps Johnny is thinking that the publicity well will run dry, and with nothing else left, he will try for another Olympics. If he does go for it, it will be interesting to see; however, I think there are some even more talented and hungry male skaters in the U.S. will probably skate ahead of him (I am not giving up on Jeremy Abbott or Adam Rippon yet). Who knows, maybe Johnny will win a medal at the Olympics, and he loves Russia.

I believe Evan Lysacek far more than Johnny Weir, though, when Evan states that he may compete again.

Thanks for posting, stage. Five posts in six years!

ImaginaryPogue said:

Ehh, it does seem like he's more involved in his own self-mythologization as opposed to a real comeback, to be honest. His further comments ("They don't know who Evan Lysacek is. They don't know who Patrick Chan is.") sorta implies that ("BUT THEY KNOW WHO I AM!!!!").

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Well, as much as I agree with your point about Johnny engaging in increasingly self-aggrandizing posturing to remain "relevant" in the media, I think Johnny does have somewhat of a point regarding the "They don't know who Evan Lysacek is. They don't know who Patrick Chan is." comment. My college-aged, completely-oblivious-about-figure skating friends (some of whom actually asked me, in complete sincerity, if I thought Michelle Kwan was going to "finally" win the Olympics in Vancouver last year) all know and remember who Johnny is, but cannot remember at all who Evan Lysacek, Evgeni Plushenko, Patrick Chan, etc., etc are.

However, I suspect that's mostly because of Johnny's apparent quest to become the next RuPaul or something, rather than what Johnny seems to be implying--that people recognize and remember him for the quality of his skating and programs.

evangeline said:

Well, as much as I agree with your point about Johnny engaging in increasingly self-aggrandizing posturing to remain "relevant" in the media, I think Johnny does have somewhat of a point regarding the "They don't know who Evan Lysacek is. They don't know who Patrick Chan is." comment. My college-aged, completely-oblivious-about-figure skating friends (some of whom actually asked me, in complete sincerity, if I thought Michelle Kwan was going to "finally" win the Olympics in Vancouver last year) all know and remember who Johnny is, but cannot remember at all who Evan Lysacek, Evgeni Plushenko, Patrick Chan, etc., etc are.

However, I suspect that's mostly because of Johnny's apparent quest to become the next RuPaul or something, rather than what Johnny seems to be implying--that people recognize and remember him for the quality of his skating and programs.

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I'll agree with that - but I'm not sure why Wier thinks that's mostly a good thing.

^^^
I think it is a reflection of his immaturity. There is a star inside him trying to get out sort of thing

Has anyone read the book? Any good? I've been wondering if I should buy it- or library it- there are just so many books I need to catch up on right now. Is there good gossip? I've heard he calls Michael Weiss 'classless', but doesn't say why. I like Johnny and his skating- but I always felt like his harping on the judges and federation not liking him was a bit of a cop out- and the least of his problems. I hope he does try to come back if it's what he wants, and he seriously commits. I always wondered if his 'one meal and 800 coffee drinks' diet was a factor in his uneven performances. I know other elite athletes who have to remain very lean, and while their diets are hardcore spartan, they are a bit healthier than what Johnny has described. On his show- I find him to be a strange combination of Diva, which I'm not that fond of- and really smart, caring person. I thought he was amazing with the kids in the clinic he taught. I also think his family is amazingly supportive.

Joesitz said:

^^^
I think it is a reflection of his immaturity. There is a star inside him trying to get out sort of thing

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That's always been his problem, his immaturity...