Well, if she is overhyped, there is really nothing anyone can do about it, except wait and see. I suspect all these high expectations are going to create such pressure on her that she might not do as well as she would have. I hope her parents and team are protecting her from it as much as possible and that she has a very good head on her shoulders and doesn't put much stock in her press.
Thanks and hi prettykeys.Originally Posted by prettykeys
Hello, CanadianSkaterGuy! As they say...Welcome; post long, and post often! I have seen your posts while lurking the ISU forums.
So...do you guys think hype, even if it's excessive, ever does anyone good? Sometimes I feel that it does make judges start to pay more attention and boost the marks up a bit. Plus, it may help skaters generate support and sponsors.
I think hype can be a great thing. As you said it leads to support and sponsors, but also hopefully a skater takes hype as people believing in you and this in turn, while making you feel pressure, can also help build confidence. I think in Kaetlyn's case, she feeds off the support and hopes of people. The way she phrases herself in interviews is always with humility.
At Canadians she knew she was the one to beat, but always said that if she makes the podium she'll be happy and if she didn't she'd build towards next season. Every time somebody asks her about expectations and expects a go-getter answer, she replies with a genuinely lighthearted answer. You can tell that she loves to skate for herself and not because "it's a job".
To me, there are two types of great competitors -- those like Plushenko and Surya Bonaly who train hard, want to execute the hardest jumps, and push themselves to win and succeed because they have such drive and ambition, or competitors like Osmond and Michelle Kwan who skate with confidence in their ability and talent, shirk expectations and end up skating well because their heart is in it and they genuinely want to perform well for an audience.
I love this entire post.Thanks and hi prettykeys.
I think hype can be a great thing. As you said it leads to support and sponsors, but also hopefully a skater takes hype as people believing in you and this in turn, while making you feel pressure, can also help build confidence. I think in Kaetlyn's case, she feeds off the support and hopes of people. The way she phrases herself in interviews is always with humility.
At Canadians she knew she was the one to beat, but always said that if she makes the podium she'll be happy and if she didn't she'd build towards next season. Every time somebody asks her about expectations and expects a go-getter answer, she replies with a genuinely lighthearted answer. You can tell that she loves to skate for herself and not because "it's a job".
To me, there are two types of great competitors -- those like Plushenko and Surya Bonaly who train hard, want to execute the hardest jumps, and push themselves to win and succeed because they have such drive and ambition, or competitors like Osmond and Michelle Kwan who skate with confidence in their ability and talent, shirk expectations and end up skating well because their heart is in it and they genuinely want to perform well for an audience.
This thread is very fascinating...
I must say that I cannot personally see what people find so exciting about Osmond. Her technical abilities, frankly, aren't much to write home about. She is certainly very enthusiastic and very open about that enthusiasm, which is, I must say, a quality that seems to be particularly appealing to North American audiences. For me, her overwhelming enthusiasm translated into a performance that was tuned onto a single frequency of "hooray happy happy joy joy."
I would hesitate to classify great competitors in two categories like that. I feel that do so, would be in effect, creating a false dichotomy. Great competitors are not one or the other. Great competitors are a mixture of both to varying degrees. They train hard, want to execute the hardest elements they can, have drive, have ambition, and have the desire to win. They have confidence and their hearts are "in it."
Plushenko and Kwan are not so different in that they have within them, all these qualities.
Calling Osmond a great competitor, is premature. She is a promising competitor.
Can we create a forum specifically for bash threads? Because that's clearly what this is.
She won two Silvers at Worlds and a Silver at Olympics. Silver is pretty close to Gold.
I hope Kaetlyn is reading this thread and laughing her head off. Am I causing all this Sturm und Drang?
She seems to have a wicked sense of humor -- so I think she would react that way.
Poor Canadians had to live with the likes of Jennifer Robinson and Mira Leung for years so you can't blame them for going a bit mental when they get a skater who can not only land stuff but doesn't seem disinterested in actually being on the ice. ;D
Last edited by Ziggy; 01-25-2013 at 09:55 PM.
The overuse of the suffix "flation" to denote perceived overscoring is getting beyond annoying and somewhat insulting . It was funny the first time around, but, as a punchline, this one got stale a while ago.
Last edited by Puchi; 01-26-2013 at 12:10 AM.
It's rather weird - because it's not like Osmondflation rolls of the tongue (who puts a 'd' before an 'f' anyway) - because of how desperately the haters are trying to make it a thing. According to Mao88, Osmond's two international skates, only one of which was really labelled overscored means that she's now more overscored than Patrick Chan - who at least had several seasons of being labelled overscored. It definitely makes Golden Skate a less interesting place to be when you can count on threads like this cropping up (and it's not as if it's the first thread Mao88 started to complain about Osmond being overscored either).
Ubers definitely turn people against skaters and I don't blame people for finding the excitement about Osmond overwrought. But anyone who inspires such juvenile viciousness is almost worth rooting for, just to be contrarian.
It's important to remember that it's just skating. Life goes on. Did I think Osmond should have won Skate Canada? Nope. I said my piece on that. But I also see it's pointless to talk so much about someone whose skating you don't care for.
Again, please forgive me for talking about the boards --, but I do find it amusing when some posters here seem to only post to put down a certain skater or couple. I've seen that in several threads. How many posts does it take for you to get your point across? That's the case for those who overhype skaters as well.
In the end, much is to be gained by saying your piece once and leaving it at that. Sure you can repeat yourself to provide context in ongoing discussion, but I think most people should be able to see when something is overkill.
Osmond has hardly been receiving ridiculous scores. Well except for Canadians her scores were somewhat ridiculous but that is Nationals so doesnt count anyway (especialy Canadian Nationals which is one of the worst countries for that). In international events she has been scored reasonably so far. Her only slightly controversial win is Skate Canada, but she had less mistakes over the 2 programs together than Suzuki, and Suzuki is not really considered one of the top 3 or 4 skaters anymore, so it is hardly some outrageous result like Suzuki losing NHK to Asada in fact probably was.
The hype around her is over the top in places but anytime a new skater with talent and who is having succes emerges that happens repeatedly. Rince and repeat.
Man i know Canada is used to waiting about a decade for a top notch skater to come along usually but the hype is really getting out of hand.
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