Thanks so much, Nadine. I really hope I get to see it in its entirety at some point.
I hadn't realized there was another pair of sisters on the plane. How sad. Hearing about the Westerfeld sisters as well as the Owen girls makes me realize how much more important figure skating was in the U.S. in those days, for girls at least. You could genuinely hope to become a star at that time (and up until at least Hamill in the 1970s). Now it's a lot harder to be that prominent as a skater, probably partly because there are more sports opportunities for women these days, but also because the fan base has eroded. Michelle is an American skating star, but look how many competitions she had to win and how long she had to stay to do it! Tara and Sarah certainly aren't household words.
Surprising that there was nothing about Bradley Lord. He was the only other name besides the Owens that I knew.
It must have been quite a burden being the daughters of the greatest skater in American history up to that point. The fact that the entire Owen family was on the plane (except I think the grandmother) feels almost like destiny. When you look at photos of Maribel Vinson Owen from that time, you can tell how formidable she must have been. I had two aunts like that: you didn't get in their way, and if they wanted to teach you something, you learned it. And in those days, it was especially hard to be a woman of that degree of strength and accomplishment, because someone was always going to accuse you of being too much like a man. A lonely life in its way. She had no granddaughters, but in a way, Michelle Kwan is her granddaughter, because she's the protege of Owen's protege, Frank Carroll.
I hadn't realized there was another pair of sisters on the plane. How sad. Hearing about the Westerfeld sisters as well as the Owen girls makes me realize how much more important figure skating was in the U.S. in those days, for girls at least. You could genuinely hope to become a star at that time (and up until at least Hamill in the 1970s). Now it's a lot harder to be that prominent as a skater, probably partly because there are more sports opportunities for women these days, but also because the fan base has eroded. Michelle is an American skating star, but look how many competitions she had to win and how long she had to stay to do it! Tara and Sarah certainly aren't household words.
Surprising that there was nothing about Bradley Lord. He was the only other name besides the Owens that I knew.
It must have been quite a burden being the daughters of the greatest skater in American history up to that point. The fact that the entire Owen family was on the plane (except I think the grandmother) feels almost like destiny. When you look at photos of Maribel Vinson Owen from that time, you can tell how formidable she must have been. I had two aunts like that: you didn't get in their way, and if they wanted to teach you something, you learned it. And in those days, it was especially hard to be a woman of that degree of strength and accomplishment, because someone was always going to accuse you of being too much like a man. A lonely life in its way. She had no granddaughters, but in a way, Michelle Kwan is her granddaughter, because she's the protege of Owen's protege, Frank Carroll.
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^) Just curious, please don't take it the wrong way, as I realize a lot of people couldn't attend because of a variety of reasons ~ living outside the United States, not playing in their area, inclement weather, job, prior commitment, expenses, illness, what not. I feel sorry for them, and hope they will be able to see it either when it plays again on the 7th of March or via DVD. And most especially I hope a profit was made for the Memorial Fund in honor of the 1961 US Team. 
