- Joined
- Nov 19, 2010
The potential is there for many skaters to improve a lot in the next three years, including Patrick Chan.
He will just embarrass himself in Sochi especially if he can't jump anymore. He has nothing else to fall back on and he will be 31 in 2014. But his ego is so huge he thinks he can do it.
There has only been One Figure Skating Legend in my mind and that was John Curry...
I get your points, Olympia. It may be the concept of what a legend is that we differ on. In your way of thinking there is Sonia Henie who popularized figure skating to the whole world. It no longer was a European Sport but a glamorous form of entertainment enjoyed by all. Perhaps Button could be listed a legendary. He certainly raised the bar on jumping for all to go after. His spins were also first class in that era. Convoluted positions in Spinning came much later. And both these early skaters had to face climate problems, although Sonia brought her shows into Arenas on frozen pipes. Also notewrorthy for future Arena competitions. I'm not aware of Grafstrom, but Paulsen did 'invent' the Axel jump and other jump inventors contributed much to figure skating. Skippy Baxter brought the first Quad to skating. Would that be considered Legendary?Joe, I sympathize with your point of view! Curry is certainly the peak of skating, virtually the father of modern men's skating. To watch his Olympic long program from 1976 is to see a new world begin. But I think there's room in the Hall of Legends for other skaters, just as there are other legendary American presidents after George Washington. In fact, before Curry, skaters like Dick Button, Gillis Grafstrom, and Axel Paulsen were legendary. Why not some legendary skaters after Curry, too? None of this diminishes his luster.
I'm not aware of Grafstrom...['quote]
Gillis Srafstrom won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 1920s. He tried for a fourth in 1932 at age 39, but had top settle for silver in a controversial decision. (So you see there's hope for Plushenko in Sochi after all. )
Skippy Baxter brought the first Quad to skating.
I think you mean the first triple Salchow.
btw. Look up the difference between the noun Legend and the adjective Legendary. The semantics of it all.
A legend is a story of doubtful authority that grows into something glorious by retelling and embellishing over the centuries.
By the year 3000 Michelle Kwan will be a legend -- wasn't it she who defeated the Intergalactic Alien Invasion of 2503 by skating her etherial Lyra Angelica program, causing the aliens to lay down their anti-photon lasers to watch in rapt enthrallment? :yes:
By the year 3000 Michelle Kwan will be a legend -- wasn't it she who defeated the Intergalactic Alien Invasion of 2503 by skating her etherial Lyra Angelica program, causing the aliens to lay down their anti-photon lasers to watch in rapt enthrallment? :yes:
I'm not aware of Grafstrom...['quote]
By the year 3000 Michelle Kwan will be a legend -- wasn't it she who defeated the Intergalactic Alien Invasion of 2503 by skating her etherial Lyra Angelica program, causing the aliens to lay down their anti-photon lasers to watch in rapt enthrallment? :yes:
Didn't I tell you that her best years lie ahead of her? This is the obvious successor to Ping-Pong Diplomacy....Skating Diplomacy.