- Joined
- Nov 10, 2011
Hyping and hating seem to be more fun than just sticking to the simple truth
Yes, and there seems to be a particular pattern with young talent: overhype them when they first arrive on the scene, then dismiss them entirely when they fail to dazzle everyone and win medals left and right. They're put on a pedestal, then come crashing down. A few bad competitions? They're a headcase who will never amount to anything in the competitive world. Lackluster presentation? They must have no capacity to give engaging, memorable performances, and never will. Body changes causing some struggling with jumps? Stick a fork in 'em; they're done.
None of which is true. Skaters have struggled for quite some time with one or more of the above and later went on to have some success. Look at Kostner and how long she struggled on the international scene before finding consistency. Look at "robotic" skaters like Shen and Zhao or Angela "Refrigerator Break" Nikodinov, and the great strides they eventually made in the presentation side of things. There's no reason to think because Gracie or anyone else is struggling with these things now, that she has no hope.
But people keep thinking in these extremes, no matter how many contradicting examples they see. Such is the way of the world, I suppose.