Key quotes from Patrick Chan press conference | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Key quotes from Patrick Chan press conference

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Seniorita, one problem I've had with that particular quote, though the headline, which I find inflammatory like many re. Chan, was all over the web during the Olympics media frenzy, is that I've never come across a video of it. I'm often skeptical of print reports which are subject to editing of all sorts. E.g. This article derived from the same press conference creates a little different impression from the earlier ones linked in this post.

Another example: Here is an Absolute Skating's write up about the GPF press conference:

In the press conference, he was asked if he knew about the voices of criticism pointing out that he is consistently over-marked in terms of the program components score despite falling on jumps, so he should not have qualified for the final. He said he'll respond to that kind of criticism by skating a great program to wonderful choreography with difficult jumps. If he can keep skating well, they'll understand.

Here's the video of the event, which is not on Youtube and hard to find.

The media wanted, looked for, extracted, and manufactured controversies during the Olympics. Not too difficult to do when the subject was a youngster who just turned 19 and under tremendous pressure. Since then, many skating fans and even some writers continue to look from their biased perspective. When a report is 180 degree from my perception and understanding of Chan, I try to verify it with an actual recording. Mostly I find negative reports very narrowly focused, exaggerated, and out of context. Or even fabricated like the AS article above.
 
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seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
Yes you re right, that I can believe and I will remember it next time i see a skater quoted. Up until today Mr Inman based on a AS article about a conference and no where else to send his mail and there is no video up to today to see the context of that whole conference in Slovakia.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
I'll look for the link fscric, but I don't remember where I read it.

SkateFiguring, I'm sorta on seniorita's side with this one. Not only Plushenko, but his comments aimed about Takahashi also bugged me. Yes, it's easy for the media to manipulate but at the same time, we shouldn't try to excuse what was said (and it was a direct quote). It's one thing to be skeptical, it's another to provide excuses.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
IPogue, What are his comments aimed at Takahashi? I find Chan pays a high respect to Takahashi, always citing him as his chief rival despite Dai's relatively poor season, just as Chan's rivals never lowered their expectation of Chan through his falls in early season. After his Nationals skate, Chan explained his mental preparation as treating the Nationals as important as Worlds, and that Daisuke was yet to skate after him.

I love this picture of Dai "looking up to" Patrick, with 3 cameras involved. Always been curious to see the one taken by the photographer in the background. :)

Evidently Dai loves to take pictures. Here he is in action at 4CC banquet.
 
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gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Chan did say something about him having a quad in his SP and Takahashi not having a quad in the SP and how having a quad in the SP was bringing it to a new level. He has said lots of stuff. I prefer him saying opinions than being a zombie even if I have seriously disagreed with what he has said and been really put off.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
^^^^Can you provide a link? To whom was he responding to and what occasion was that? And who first reported such saying from Chan?
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
"Yes, if you make a mistake on it, it is very anticlimactic and disappointing and it became a test of mental toughness," Chan told the press. "I used to say that it was not necessary, but now that I have experience from both sides, I better understand what the others have been saying before. I do not care how many points it is worth, it is just so great to do it. It's a blast! The build up to the jump, the intensity... and if you succeed you feel so great. I think Nobunari sees it this way too."

http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2010/gpf-ms.shtml

I think this is where it was from but maybe I got his statement and a statement about what he said confused. oops if that was the case.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
I'll look for the link fscric, but I don't remember where I read it.

SkateFiguring, I'm sorta on seniorita's side with this one. Not only Plushenko, but his comments aimed about Takahashi also bugged me. Yes, it's easy for the media to manipulate but at the same time, we shouldn't try to excuse what was said (and it was a direct quote). It's one thing to be skeptical, it's another to provide excuses.

Excuses seem preferable at times as opposed to trying to change the facts, or in this case the words that came right out of Patrick's mouth.

Hopefully Patrick won't ever have to go through reconstructive knee surgery as Dai did. If he does let's see his quad game then.

While we are at it, when will the CoP chosen one ever show a 3A as good as Browning and Boitano had over 20 years ago? I could include Midori Ito as well :eek::
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Excuses seem preferable at times as opposed to trying to change the facts, or in this case the words that came right out of Patrick's mouth.

I just want to be sure it was from his mouth and how he said it. I don't think or expect Chan to be perfect or even diplomatic to always say the right things but there are just too many untrue allegations out there. So show me so I can judge for myself instead of buying everything on the internet.

E.g. You are accusing me of making excuses instead of refuting what I said with evidence and proving me wrong. I am not convinced you are right yet.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
I m kinda with you in that, this is the only sport i know that athletes need to have the certificate of good behavior. They need to be modest, not much of opinion, and hard working and to want world peace.
It is not like they break tables and chairs while off ice, they just talk. As we all do in our daily lives, or I suppose we all are so fair and polite and perfect 24h per day:)Even if sometimes i get upset with articles, i always have this in mind. When Chans skates so great as Nationals I dont care what he says, he is not a lawyer, he is a skater.
Have you read Comaneci´s book? I find some things she says questionable but still she is the same great athlete in my mind.
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
"Yes, if you make a mistake on it, it is very anticlimactic and disappointing and it became a test of mental toughness," Chan told the press. "I used to say that it was not necessary, but now that I have experience from both sides, I better understand what the others have been saying before. I do not care how many points it is worth, it is just so great to do it. It's a blast! The build up to the jump, the intensity... and if you succeed you feel so great. I think Nobunari sees it this way too."

http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2010/gpf-ms.shtml

I think this is where it was from but maybe I got his statement and a statement about what he said confused. oops if that was the case.

From the same linked article:

"It was great," said Chan at the press conference. "I am very happy and proud that I stayed on my feet. "For me it does not happen often, especially this season," he joked. "I worked a lot on my focus and I was able to skate well, so I am proud of myself."

That's pretty self mocking instead of arrogant. And this is verifiable with the press conference video.

I don't perceive any arrogance or disrespect for anybody in this video and I think he carried himself well there.
 
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janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
I this is the only sport i know that athletes need to have the certificate of good behavior. They need to be modest, not much of opinion, and hard working and to want world peace.
.

Yes, being nice, always saying the right thing and wishing for world peace are staples of skating and beauty pageants. ;)

Patrick is mostly a hoot. Sort of like Mirai but with a much higher opinion of himself. :)
 
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ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
This is the statement I am referring to. Unfortunately, it's not available freely on the internet (or it is, but you have to jump through hoops to view it)

Link

If the link doesn't work, it is Beverly Smith's article entitled "Chan Ready to Showcase his Quadruple Jump" from the October 28, 2010 edition of the Globe and Mail.

Now, Chan thinks 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.

1. I recognize that the only words directly attributable to Chan are "kind of wierd" and consequently, it's easy to manipulate and misread.

2. However, contextually, I have no qualms believing that Chan's comments are close enough to the reporter's spin (which is designed to make Chan look super-duper-awesome, admittedly). Chan, and this is something I've noticed since the 07/08 season, tends to speak off-the-cuff; devoid of media mannerisms. On the one hand, it provides a refreshingly honest look at a person in a field where shallow euphemisms and evasions are de rigeur. But just because I admire the honesty doesn't mean I don't fault the viewpoint.

3. When it was Joubert, I was sorta all right with it. Joubert because I was frustrated with his WC 2008 comments. With Plushenko, it demonstrated a viewpoint that rather bugged me - remember, at this point Chan had WD from CoR due to injury, so we hadn't actually seen him. What we saw at Liberty was typically disastrous (he's really bad early in the season). But all we needed Chan to do was leave it on the ice. Don't talk about it - show it. With Takahashi, that same feeling was present, only moreso. Again, this was before SC, which featured a terrible short and a mediocre long (yeah, it was scored well, but most of the jumps were ugly and the whole thing was rushed). I just wanted him to skate.

4. But moreso... as you've stated, Chan's viewed Takahashi has his main competitor. His comments at Nationals corroborate this (“But I just looked at it as if I was at worlds, and Daisuke was going to skate after me.”) and it's always seemed more than lip service, in my mind. But... given Takahashi's own stated viewpoint (that he feels he's not the skater he was post-surgery, and won't consider himself at that level until he can land the quad consistently) and his actions (going for the quad at the Olympics despite it arguably hurting his chances, trying the quad flip throughout the past season), it almost seems like passive-aggressive needling. You can argue that's part of the game and I can't really disagree, but I'd rather not see it.

5. In short, it was inferred that Patrick said "I can't believe he didn't go for the quad in the short." Then went for the quad in the short and fell. If you criticize others for something, you make damn sure you do it right.
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
I could not even remember that article and had no idea where to look so good for finding it! I just remembered the general idea of what he said. 2009 CoR was brought up and I wish Chan had been there! It could have been so good if he was well and was able to give Plushenko a run for his money. But now there clashing philosophies of the past can never be tested against each other as chan is now quad central.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I find with Chan, there is no need to interpret and extrapolate what he says. The dude is always so straight forward which is what gets him into trouble even though he is completely guileless. Most people have filters and can't help putting a personal interpretation or spin on others' utterences and they are often right. Knowing Chan to be a straight shooter, I still made a mistake once, thinking he was unconvinced at the call and complaining when he said he discovered he could under-rotate a quad though he had never done it in practice. From his later interviews, e.g. the press conference video I linked above, I realized he meant exactly what he said and has been working to not repeat the mistake.

I have no idea exactly what and how he said as reported by B. Smith, which is

Now, Chan thinks 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.

but if it were exactly as she wrote, I can see Patrick saying it without meaning anything more. As he explained in the video, doing a quad is such a thrill that those who do it will understand, and that, while he still believes it's possible to win without a quad, it's advantageous to put it in a program if you can do it. So he didn't understand why Takahashi didn't do it. I don't take it as a criticism and if, as you wrote, he said it and then couldn't deliver, then he learned from his own experience the difficulty of doing it in a competition. To his credit, he never gave up and consulted the right person for the mental solution. Boitano's wisdom has evidently been invaluable as Chan acknowledges frequently but I am glad that for once he is keeping something, i.e. Boitano's advice, to himself, though I've guessed at a couple of the tips from his interviews. ;) Pretending his biggest rival was still to skate was a mental game to prepare himself for the debut of the very ambitious upgraded program and it worked. The Nationals was his practice for Worlds, the only one with the new program, so it's natural to mentally treat it as Worlds.

Chan speaks with little filter and is incapable of passive agressiveness. If you need to exercise your brain to arrive at his being sarcastic, then forget it. He is quick to credit his mentors and name his idols, including Plushenko (at least pre-Olympic and always for his quads), and his criticism of Joubert was pretty straight forward. Note his issue with Joubert in 2009 was on Buttle's behalf. He didn't whine about subsequent underscoring of his own SP which might have cost him the World Champion title. Patrick Chan is my favorite subject for mind study because of his complete forthrightness.

One thing I admire about him is that he doesn't whine, complain, and offer excuses. His response to criticism is to up his ante and bring it. He was right you didn't need a quad to win. The quad camp then lobbied to raise the quad values, reduce penalties for falls, and to cut Chan's specialty, the step sequence, down so it's worth measly 2 points. So Chan became the best quad jumper while keeping his footwork. Meanwhile the old quadsters falter. So now all the rage is about falls needing to be severely punished. I say on Patrick's behalf, "Bring it on!" We will see who will suffer from such change if instituted. I will bet you it wouldn't be Mr. Chan.
 
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fscric

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
One thing I admire about him is that he doesn't whine, complain, and offer excuses. His response to criticism is to up his ante and bring it. He was right you didn't need a quad to win. The quad camp then lobbied to raise the quad values, reduce penalties for falls, and to cut Chan's specialty, the step sequence, down so it's worth measly 2 points. So Chan became the best quad jumper while keeping his footwork. Meanwhile the old quadsters falter. So now all the rage is about falls needing to be severely punished. I say on Patrick's behalf, "Bring it on!" We will see who will suffer from such change if instituted. I will bet you it wouldn't be Mr. Chan.

Is that so? It's quite hilarious considering the current situation. At least the skaters generally didn't cry foul when Patrick benefited from the changes.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Is that so? It's quite hilarious considering the current situation. At least the skaters generally didn't cry foul when Patrick benefited from the changes.

He was not supposed to benefit from the changes. Quite the opposite. But a winner adapts and brings it under any stipulated conditions. Change the rules of the game, Chan will still find a way to win, instead of complaining and needing his federation to lobby for more favorable rules.

From the beginning of the season, Chan and his team had the larger vision and plan. After the Olympics, at early season minor events, it was the best time to practise new quads in competitions, even if old penalties applied. The new rules, with his complete set of skills, made the results better than, I believe, they were willing to risk.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Oh, lets be clear - I'm quite annoyed at the changes made to the second step sequence and think the benefits outweight the demerits. I definitely saw that as a move against skaters like Chan/Lysacek, who did level four footwork without the quad (along with all the changes). That stated, I think that falls should be punished more. That isn't against Chan (who's one of my faves), but because of what I want competitive figure skating to be.

ETA: Your second comment strikes a chord. Who do you think is needling their federation for more favourable rule changes?
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
ETA: Your second comment strikes a chord. Who do you think is needling their federation for more favourable rule changes?

Joubert fans were very very loud about quads being under valued and there was a petition for specific changes with a great number of signatures, which I also saw in Japanese though essentially by Joubert fans. It was quite a campaign. Last summer saw a lot of lobbying and politicking in the ISU. The Japanese Federation also got the so called "Asada rule" re 3A instituted without discussion.

Then both Joubert and Asada bombed this season.
 
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