Hey guys, I'll be using this thread to tell you about my amazing amazing experience at TEB (It was the first time I'd ever seen figure skating live). I have a lot to say, so it may take several posts, but I'll try to get it posted in relatively regular intervals.
A highlight before I get into everything - I got a picture with Brian Joubert!!!!! Made the entire trip even more special.
I cannot wait to read all about it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience. And wow!!! Photo with Brian???!!!
Oh, well done! That's more than worth the price of admissionOriginally Posted by Macassar88
TEB was my first event, too, three years ago. The first skaters I saw where Carron/Jones, so even though they're not that good, I'll always have a soft spot for them. Anyway, lots of good memories, and I still watch some of the performances on Youtube on occasion. Speaking of which - see if you can find yourself in any videos! That's always fun to discover.
It's true! Skaters who made great memories for me at live events always hold a special place in my heart!
Skaters who made an impression on me at my first live event are my forever favs
Torvill & Dean , Blumberg & Siebert, Elaine Zayak, Denise Biellmann, Robert Wagenhoffer, Igor Bobrin, Scott Hamilton
I don't think I was in any videos because I didn't have a flag or banner. But I was the first to give many skaters standing ovations. (I may have been overexcited at times and given certain skaters such as Polina Korobeynikova a standing ovation simply because they went clean which was so surprising that I couldn't help myself.)Oh, well done! That's more than worth the price of admission
TEB was my first event, too, three years ago. The first skaters I saw where Carron/Jones, so even though they're not that good, I'll always have a soft spot for them. Anyway, lots of good memories, and I still watch some of the performances on Youtube on occasion. Speaking of which - see if you can find yourself in any videos! That's always fun to discover.
I would have fainted away being so close to Brian! I am so jealous. lol.
Looking forward to your report. It is always nice to hear from folks who were actually at the competition.
It was really hard to get a photo with Brian because he only came out of the main exit once. I was the first to ask him to get a photo and was probably not even the 10th to get a photo/autograph. Eventually I stopped being nice and just walked in front of people and put my arm around him.
A few more things - I never noticed this, but Stolbova and Soloviev both make the half heart to each other in the KC - I think it's adorable.
Also, I found it really weird that the crowd didn't clap for spins (except for uprights positions where the foot is above the head) and footwork and even some lifts were met with little to no applause. Also, during warmups, I was the only one clapping - even for quads (which really surprised me)
Also, Meagan Duhamel is even more ripped in person. During the star lifts, I could see her back muscles amazingly defined. And her arms looks great as usual.
After the pairs was the mens short - I got to move up to the fourth row and moved a bit more to the center. I met some really nice people and got to chatting with them. It was really nice to meet other figure skating fans. It was funny because there were four of us and two of us are Virtue and Moir fans and the other two are Davis and White fans. But we were able to get along well and have nice conversations which was really cool.
So first things first about the mens SP - Didn't think it was possible, but Brian Joubert is even better looking in person. Especially when he's wearing a costume with a mainly mesh shirt. I'll get back to the first group now, but it had to be said. Because that was probably my big takeaway from the mens comp. (short and long)
So I quickly realized how much cooler everything looks live - you can see so much more that you wouldn't be able to see otherwise. I loved looking at the patterns that the skaters left in the ice after spins and seeing ice fly up when they didn't execute footwork cleanly enough.
A funny thing that happened during the first part that may not have been shown on TV was that someone hit a judge with a huge stuffed animal - a fan was throwing Nan Song a huge panda bear and didn't get it far enough and ended up clocking a judge. It was quite hilarious.
Florent was quite awful, but I'm sure you guys could see that on TV. Abbott was awesome - he is even more elegant live than he is on TV. Even though he wasn't French, he got a standing ovation.
But Brian really stole the show - even though he wasn't clean, he was electrifying. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he went out on the rink. He had one of the few programs that night that really projected to the crowd. Loved the footwork as well - I checked and it got level 3, but it could have gotten level 1 and I still would have loved it. He was getting roars after every move. It was amazing!
And? ...And? ...
I'm glad you had such a great time. Looking forward to hearing more.
Thank you so much for the great report, Macassar88!
As always, it's so nice to hear 'live thoughts' from someone who actually attended competitions!
I so agree with you, doris!It's true! Skaters who made great memories for me at live events always hold a special place in my heart!
Skaters who made an impression on me at my first live event are my forever favs
Welcome to the real 'deep' figure skating world.
That's what happended to me. Nerves, joys, excitements...there is nothing like watching competitions LIVE. Once you get to go and see them, you want to get to see them more!
Last edited by deedee1; 11-20-2012 at 02:12 PM.
The first day was short programs - there was open seating meaning that I could sit really close to the action. During the pairs short program, I got to sit in the fifth row very close to the center. People weren't allowed on the judges side, but it was still great to see. The pairs short wasn't really that good, but Kavaguti and Smirnov were great and got a standing ovation. She looked stunning - whoever designed her dresses this season has great taste. It was, however, disappointing that their SP had the same music as their FS from 2010. Berton and Hotarek were undermarked, but they were pretty lackluster. She's gorgeous though. I was pretty surprised that Peng and Zhang were third after the SP. They were pretty slow overall and she emotes less than Dan Zhang did...
Funny story though - they were selling Brian Joubert T Shirts with a matrix design on them.
More to come
Congrats on being bitten by the "live skating bug" now you will never ever get enough of it!
I've been one of those that threw something and hit a judge. I had the better throwing arm in my group so it was my job to throw to everyone's fav. One of the stuffed animals were way way way too light and i couldnt get it to the ice. So embarrassing.
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