Roz Sumners is Happy With Her Life

SOI may be a business , but they have to take responsibilty if they want to sign these teenagers. As far as I am concerned, they profit off of her , therefore they can take a few pains to tend to some of her needs. Even television shows have a maximum amount of hours a minor can work . I personally think that Tara signed on with SOI b/c of the dollar signs they flashed to her and not b/c she didn't want to skate head to head with MK.

I also think that it's hypocritical the way people rip on Tara for retiring so soon. Sarah Hughes didn't bother to go to Worlds and just because she returned to Nationals a year later people make her out to be so much better than Tara. Sarah wound up quitting shortly thereafter. Sarah was not ripped a big one b/c she beat MK . Nor did people constantly belittle her win either. Tara had a great skate at the Olympics and she was vilified b/c the judges liked her skate better than MK's.

As for showing up to Nationals, newsflash to Roz and others, there is a whole life outside of skating and if Tara wants to act and Sara wants to go to school, more power to them. It's probably better for thm to get the skating out of the way while they are young so that way they won't be some pathetic hanger on like Roz at age 40.

Sorry, I didn't make it clear that they could've appeared as audiences. Sarah may only ineligible for one year only time will tell. But we never saw Tara at any Nats or even last worlds which was held in US. Like Roz said no one suppose to tell them what should do. It's all their willingness to show your supporting to your sports, which had given them so much. Yes they earned their OGM, but without OGM Tara wouldn't be able to make it to Holywood, Sarah might not be able to go to Yale. (couple of kids in my community got SAT 1600 were not able to get into it.).

As for showing up to Nationals, newsflash to Roz and others, there is a whole life outside of skating and if Tara wants to act and Sara wants to go to school, more power to them. It's probably better for thm to get the skating out of the way while they are young so that way they won't be some pathetic hanger on like Roz at age 40.

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All I got from Roz's interview, she was talking about the WILLINGNESS to give back to the sport. Sure no body can force them to do so. They have every right to do what they want. And Figure Skating fans have the rights to talk about it. They leave the sports, but true fans are still watching and care about the figure skating. On a side notes just don't feed public what 'I love skating' if your acts dosn't support the claim.

Soogar, ITA with everything you've said.

Re the interview, I have two words for Roz: Shut up.

Rgirl

Sumners has a way of putting her foot in her mouth when she mentions other skaters. It's interesting that she targets OGM winners, a category she is not part of.

She completely ignored the fact that Tara is not skating because she is physically unable to do so. Also, Tara DID skate in COI her Olympic year (she never appeared in COI after that, though); I saw her at MSG in NYC in 1998. It had to have irked Tara that Kwan got a MUCH bigger hand than Tara did (Kwan had just won back her World title).

Sumners criticized Sarah and Tara for not continuing to skate, but at the same time she freely criticized Kwan every time she did commentary on a FS event, whether or not Kwan was appearing in said event. I think a lot of her catty comments are due to just plain jealousy.

I also find it amusing that she is getting married at the age of 40 and says she is not ready to have a baby 'yet'. Yes, it is possible to have a baby in the mid '40s, but it is not easy, and it is not a sure thing.

Re the interview, I have two words for Roz: Shut up.

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OMG! We should morf this thread with the one where posters criticise MK for being too nice or scripted in her PR. One only need to look at poor Roz to see how skaters who 'tell it like they see it" are ripped a new one.

When you're in the public eye like Roz and you're going to talk smack about a few teenagers blaming them for the demise of pro skating , you're going to be ripped a new one. She was in line to collect her check at all the fluff events just like everyone else and she needs to put the blame on herself for skating watered down routines at as many events as she could. Tara and Sarah did not kill pro skating; the pros need only to look into the mirror to see who the real culprits are.

I felt that before 1994, the pros had a really good thing going on and then they got greedy and their greed backfired on them. Now there are hardly any events for professional skaters b/c the public grew wary of them.

soogar, I don't disagree with you. I just think that skater greed and bad programs was only one of the multiple reasons that pro skating is in trouble.

I also agree with Roz, that stars failing to turn pro is going to hurt pro skating (as it already has).

Issues are rarely singular, and I don't see how one excludes the other. Just because Roz skated boring programs doesn't mean that Sarah's going to school didn't hurt ticket sales.

Also, in regard to pro skating's failure to capitolize on the boom years, I'd place more responsibility with the greedy and unorigional promoters than with the skaters themselves.

In any event, they are just Roz's opinions and telling her to "shut up" just because you don't like what she says is unfair. I just don't see why Rgirl thinks Roz should shut up, but misses Sasha's refreshing candor. The only reason I can come up with is: Rgirl agrees with Sasha and not Roz, hardly a solid rational judgement.

In reality, Tara DID turn pro (as quickly as possible), joined SOI and stuck it out as long as she physically could. Roz was very wrong to blame Tara for NOT staying in the pro ranks. Arthritis is a debilitating disorder, and spending long hours in an evironment as cold and damp as an ice rink can do nothing but make it worse.

Sarah clearly did not enjoy touring, and to chastise her for choosing another path in life is selfish indeed. I do think Roz has limited options now: almost none as a skater, and with the dearth of pro-ams and made-for-TV competitions, almost none as a commentator. Her remarks about Sarah and Tara seem more based on how their absence affects HER ability to earn $$ to support her four homes.

I suspect her snide remarks about Michelle Kwan are also rooted in resentment that Kwan hasn't turned pro and "saved" pro skating.

Hmmm. Just noticed the article says "twenty-five years following her silver-medal win in Sarajevo"....

Not quite. 1984 + 25 = 2009.

many gold medalists don't have four homes yet someone with a silver medal is complaining that certain skaters don't want to turn pro to save her great lifestyle,very funny.

This is to Yazmeen's post , which was pretty great btw.

So much has been made of Michelle's grace in the face of her loss, but I think that was really overplayed by the media b/c quite frankly, I don't think the skating world truly warmed up to Tara. It probably was because her management was so aggressive in getting her opportunities before she had even won anything and there is a lot of jealousy. I don't think that Michelle was particularly great after winning the silver medal. I mean, she skated well and Tara skated better... nuff said. What could she have said and done to complain about the situation? Yet the media has turned Michelle into a saint and had portrayed Tara as a spoiled brat.
Tara might be spoiled and cocky , but not any more than Sarah Hughes who is extremely competitive (esp when you read about how she trained for the Olympics) and also very arrogant when it comes to her intelligence. I have a lot of respect for Tara because she was not the underdog going into the Olympics and despite the pressure , she delivered the goods when it mattered and she achieved her gold medal. I definitely think that alone was worth more respect than she got from the media and in light of what has happened with previous gold medalists, she had every expectation of being heralded and treated with respect. If you look at Kristi Yamaguchi, she only competed in senior events for 3 years winning 2 world titles, 1 National title and 1 OGM and she got more respect than Tara even though Tara is only 1 world title short of what Kristi attained and Tara might have won Worlds had she competed in the Olympic year (1989 Worlds was Kristi's debut). I'm talking about respect right after winning b/c Kristi definitely had a great track record in the pros which probably solidified her standing. Tara doesn't even get a fraction of that acknowledgement that she had done a pretty great thing. Even Sarah was heralded more than Tara and Sarah really wasn't as polished a skater as Tara was. Of course Sarah got a lot of respect for attending an Ivy League school which a lot of people can't scoff at.
I would even go and say that it really hurt pro skating that Tara was portrayed so negatively by the media and that even if Sarah had turned pro, it wouldn't have made much of a difference because of how Michelle is elevated by the media. Of course this plays right into the monopoly that the ISU and USFSA have over skating in that their star MK is marketed heavier and this creates more interest in their events (and don't think that ABC who had paid all that money for these broadcasting rights and whatever media they are invested in aren't in the loop).

Plus I don't believe that Tara had a clue how bad her hip was injured.

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the doctors were more than willing to explain it to her... and if she didn't get it her parents should have gotten the clue... but they all had $$ signs in their eyes...

I've never really heard all that many "bad" things said about Tara by Scott... granted he was rooting for MK... but I don't think he blames Tara (or now Sarah) for the problems in professional skating/Stars On Ice... SOI is rebuilding... and doing great... haven't heard in complaints outta him for a while... unless it's the ISU LOL

soogar said:

Tara and Sarah did not kill pro skating; the pros need only to look into the mirror to see who the real culprits are.

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hmmmmm lets see

Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano... yeah they certainly drop the ball everytime they compete...

pro skating it's just about the jumps... but Kurt, Brian, Kristi, and many of the other pro skaters that are just plain "old"(SARCASM) certainly should be blamed for the pro skating demise

never mind the fact that for the last 10+ years the ISU has done a lot to merge the two... Pro-Ams... paying skaters huge sums of money to compete...

what is really the culprite, anymore, is that most average skating fans want jumps... not actual entertainment from the pros... which is so stupid because I'd rather watch Kurt's Nyah(a program without jumps) over anything Plushenko can come up with.

Hey soogar - I'm a big Kwaniac and I would love to know how Michelle get's so much media attention. I have not seen very much from the 'mysterious one' since she changed coaches. there are occasional posts on GS from other posters but nothing at all in the media. After DC Worlds there was no news until Artunian came on the scene and nothing since. So, please, let me know more about the media blitz on Michelle. I mean, she's not on magazine covers, not writing articles, not driving under the influence, nothing on Biography. So anything you read or hear about MK, I would love to read or hear about it. thank you.

As for Tara. On Sunday morning, after the Olys, her picture appeared in color on page 1 of tne NY Times Sports Page. Extremely coveted position! After the entire media worked her gold medal for a week, Tara then began to get the usual endorsements which go to recent athletes. She also got many gigs on TV dramas, a part in a skating movie, guest appearances on many TV shows and game shows, a TV Special, and she wrote her book,etc., etc. I would say Tara did quite well. Maybe even more than Kristi, and definitely more than Sarah. Tara's backstage life in SOI is not known to me nor is it important. I'm hoping for a happier life for her.

What she didn't get, and she mentioned this in her retirement speech, was the devotion that MK still got in spite of MK winning only a silver medal. I believe that the MK fans didn't budge and the Tara fans switched to Irina.

Sarah, on the other hand, enjoyed what she got after winning the Olys and moved on to her other talents. Her skating is not over and she continues to be mentioned in the media at Yale. Let's hope we hear more about her. She reigns until 2006, and who knows, maybe she willl defend her title.

Joe

I'm not disrespecting the skaters who compete in pro skating at all. I don't think that jumps are that big a deal either. Yet during the skating craze, the pros kept skating the same programs over and over again and in some cases, performed them as though they were mere exercises. The pros want to have a bigger say in skating, however they blew their opportunity to show that they can control the sport when they let professional skating get so disorganized. One of the biggest gripes that WSf (IMG in disguise) has with the ISU is that speedskaters control the ISU. However the WSF has shown that they cannot be relied on to control the sport (just look at the demise of pro skating).

As for the media loving Michelle, there is no real criticism when Michelle skates even though she plays it safe with her jumps and has not changed her choreography since 1998. Right now they're trying to build up Sasha Cohen but Sasha isn't as consistent as Michelle (though she tries the triple triple combinations and has more ambitious programs on the whole than Michelle) so they rely on Michelle to the exclusion of other skaters. Peggy even went out of her way to say really disparaging things about Sokolova's artistry at the worlds last year even though Sokolova skated a better program than Michelle and had better jumps. I think that there's room for all different kinds of artistry and not every skater has to look like some so called ideal.

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. I think that there's room for all different kinds of artistry and not every skater has to look like some so called ideal.
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ITA Soogar - While so many fans were ooohing and aaahing B&S' 19 Century Ballet Style and S&P's more modern ballet style, I was gazing at Shen and Zhao and finding yet another style which I thought when developed would be great. I believe it has now.

When skaters give me some original style they get on my Special List. Ilia Klimkin is a case in point - for me.

Joe

soogar said:

As for the media loving Michelle, there is no real criticism when Michelle skates even though she plays it safe with her jumps and has not changed her choreography since 1998.

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First that's your opinion that MK has not changed choreography since 1998. I've seen her choreography changed quite a bit since then.

Second, there were plenty of media critisizing MK's skating. One example was Roz called MK mail in performance in last season's SA. The other example was Phil Hersh writen an article critisizing MK winning her 2003 worlds with only 6 triples right after last worlds. However Phil Hersh seems now jump back to MK bandwagon after he interviewed MK for several times and seems more understand the FS was not all aobut jumps. It's about whole package and athelitism. Jumps are not the only athelitic factor to measure a whole progra. Non stop skating and landing jumps in last min of your LP as perfect/quickness as the first also considered as big factor of athelistics.

Originally posted by Joesiz
I'm a big Kwaniac and I would love to know how Michelle get's so much media attention. I have not seen very much from the 'mysterious one' since she changed coaches. there are occasional posts on GS from other posters but nothing at all in the media. After DC Worlds there was no news until Artunian came on the scene and nothing since. So, please, let me know more about the media blitz on Michelle. I mean, she's not on magazine covers, not writing articles, not driving under the influence, nothing on Biography. So anything you read or hear about MK, I would love to read or hear about it. thank you.

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You go Joesiz!

berthes ghost said:

In any event, they are just Roz's opinions and telling her to "shut up" just because you don't like what she says is unfair. I just don't see why Rgirl thinks Roz should shut up, but misses Sasha's refreshing candor. The only reason I can come up with is: Rgirl agrees with Sasha and not Roz, hardly a solid rational judgement.

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Oh, don't get your knickers in a knot, Berthe. Sasha was talking about her own personality, how she was a naturally aggressive person and wanted to win (this was in the spring of '02). Roz isn't just expressing her opinion; she's stating opinion as if it were fact. There's a difference. She's blaming a couple of teenage skaters for the problems of a whole section of the sport and leaving out important information while she's doing it, ie, Tara's long misdiagnosed hip injury. Roz is resuming to know what certain people knew and when they knew it as well as what they thought in general (so is Roz a mindreader?. And basically, Roz has been talking trash about other skaters, including Michelle, for many years. You're trying to make a comparison between what Roz is saying about others and what Cohen said about herself two years ago; you're getting your categories mixed up.

I'm tired of Roz trashing other skaters and doing it in a "shoot-from-the hip" manner--no facts to back up what she's saying, just "I feel like saying such-and-such about so-and-so and with my experience in skating, I can." I wouldn't like that kind of thing on a regular and longtime basis no matter who was saying it.

But rather than say all that, I chose to express my opinion as, "Soogar, ITA with everything you've said," in other words, read Soogar's posts, at least up to that point, if you want a well-reasoned and articulate expression regarding how I feel about what Roz said,, and "Roz, shut up." I felt it sufficed. You're quick to make snide remarks about posts and/or posters you disagree with. I would think you of all people would have appreciated what I said.
Rgirl

As for the media loving Michelle, there is no real criticism when Michelle skates even though she plays it safe with her jumps and has not changed her choreography since 1998

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Soogar, do you read any articles during the skating season (particularly during the beginning of the season)? There are generally a number of journalists that feel the same way you do about Michelle's choreography and her attitude towards 3/3s. It is the same almost every season, with the exception of perhaps this year (post Nationals) and maybe last. Michelle starts out a bit rusty, she gets nailed by various critics for tenativeness and lack of spark....and she generally comes out in prime fighting shape (with 6-7 "safe" triples to boot) at the end of the season to win yet more titles. So, your contention that Michelle receives biased positive media coverage doesn't seem to be rooted in much fact. Review articles from the 99-00 and 00-01 seasons, you'll find plenty of negative remarks and opinions about Michelle's skating.

because of how Michelle is elevated by the media. Of course this plays right into the monopoly that the ISU and USFSA have over skating in that their star MK is marketed heavier and this creates more interest in their events (and don't think that ABC who had paid all that money for these broadcasting rights and whatever media they are invested in aren't in the loop).

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I almost expected a dissertation on the evils of capitalism! Michelle isn't perfect, but she seems pleasant enough and never whines, or complains or bitches or moans...she falls...she gets back up...and it didn't take an ABC fluff piece to show me that! It is a business and Michelle has proven that she sticks around and doesn't embarrass them, I can't see how the media companies can be faulted for making beneficial decisions concerning their marketing strategies.