Which skater's performance at Sochi 2014 is most likely to boost the sports popularity? | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Which skater's performance at Sochi 2014 is most likely to boost the sports popularity?

RABID

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Great point about "social gravity." I'm experiencing it now, actually. I am in the land of the Seattle Seahawks, which won its first Super Bowl on Sunday. I don't even live in Seattle (I'm about two hours away), but the amount of community togetherness this whole event has generated in Seattle and throughout Washington state is amazing to me. I mean we're talking some businesses closing to let their employees watch the Super Bowl with family friends, 12th man flags all over town, everyone wearing Seahawks gear. And who wants to bet a majority of those folks cheering would be hard pressed to explain the safety that happened in the first 12 seconds of the game.

The Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl in 2006 (I hadn't moved yet to Washington at the time), but my husband says that the amount of community buzz was nowhere what it was for this go around. And part of that was driven by a ragtag group of players that are endearing. You got the down-to-earth quarterback (Russell Wilson) trying to prove you don't have to be a tall guy to win games, the fun-loving social media trash talking cornerback (Richard Sherman) and the Skittles-loving, media-hating running back (Marshawn Lynch). Then you throw in the combeback wide receiver who was injured for much of the season but came back for the Super Bowl and ran 87 yards at a kickoff for a touch down (Percy Harvin). And then you got the college football coach who many thought wouldn't amount to anything in the NFL (Pete Carroll).

Many that just made me want to watch that Super Bowl game again...Oh wait! So yeah, some sports just have the ability to bring people together IN SPITE of a lack of technical knowledge. Figure skating isn't at that point and it's unclear whether it will ever get there. We got a taste of it when J. Brown had his viral Riverdance, but as I said earlier I'm not sure that will be sustainable in the long-term.

So I agree that figure skating might have to ride with the changing culture of the U.S. and again is better served to accommodate its niche customer base during the non-Olympic years.

Yes, embrace its niche-ness. :) (And get rid of the dinosaurs)
 

Angryyew

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
When I say, I think Jason & Yulia could boost the sport, I'm talking about maybe drawing in a few casual fans, who might decide to follow the sport. I don't foresee anything boosting the sport, in the US at least, to nancy/tonya levels, though honestly, I never have understood why that event touched off several years of increased popularity to begin with.

However, I think if the US were to produce another Kwan or Dorothy Hamel or another Katerina Witt type were to emerge internationally, we might at least get back to where people at least cared once every four years. Figure skating is definitely a niche sport and outside of that post scandal era, pretty much always has been in the US.
 

millie

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Is this another thread to support Gracie Gold ?.

while I agree Meryl is distinct, her looks is almost animated, she look very disney character like in her features
no way is Wagner distinct, she looks like your typical fake blonde dyed girl and generic look
Gracie has distinct facial features and her blond ehair very much suites
imo, she would also be noticed very well as a hollywood actress

Do you think that Gracie is a natural blonde.....hello.....anyone can be a blonde. Take notice that she had her hair dyed lighter for the Olympics....Hollywood actresses with dark hair Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock that's the one that are noticed like Katlyn Osmond.....natural beauty on ice......not a fake blonde. lOL. Couldn't resist
 

elif

Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Julia Lipnitskaia of course. She is the youngest skater in the 2014 Olympics. She has very very good spins (nobody can do that) She has very very good program. Everybody can understand those things not just figure skating fans.
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
I know this is technical but the thread is about boosting the popularity. Adding, creating more fans - okay I guess if you could argue Jason might boost the talk within skating diehards but right now his style and personality really demographically does not increase the fan base. His style right now doesn't seem to be appeasing to gain a greater male population. I am not sure he is going to be the Justin Bieber type either. Hair can only take you so far and I think his is mied reviews anyways though Adam Rippon and Charlie White are often known more for their hair than skating and White is world champion and future Olympic gold medallist. I don't think Hanyu really appeals to a new market nor does Yuna, Mao, Carolyn -now if an American female won gold that might be different. Polina is a bit bland but if Wagner or Gold won gold I am sure that would boost skating's popularity in the states where the market is huge for female skating fans and if there is enough sexiness and athelitciism maybe some new fans as well both male and female.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
News, Skater Boy- there are not 3,000,000 hard core fans of skating in the U.S. Jason has already got more hits than that on his vid. Bad news is that Olympics will probably not increase his fans as much as Boston, simply because there is no way he is going to medal.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
News, Skater Boy- there are not 3,000,000 hard core fans of skating in the U.S. Jason has already got more hits than that on his vid. Bad news is that Olympics will probably not increase his fans as much as Boston, simply because there is no way he is going to medal.

Though to play devil's advocate, it could also be 500,000 fans who have seen the video six times. I for one have seen it at least 10 times!

Though even getting 500k people to watch is still pretty impressive. :)
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Do you think that Gracie is a natural blonde.....hello.....anyone can be a blonde. Take notice that she had her hair dyed lighter for the Olympics....


No, I think he's naturally blonde. The background there kind of distorts it

I have to side with Mathman. Only White's "hairdresser knows for sure" ;), but the visual evidence is quite clear.

In photos of handsome White as an adult, his dark roots often are apparent. One of many examples (this one is from Four Continents 2013):

And here is another childhood photo showing his decidedly brown hair.

I hasten to add that artificially colored hair is not inherently unattractive to me. The trick is to make it look reasonably natural. Some people are more successful in that regard than others.

I've always found it mildly amusing that Davis dyes her hair darker than its natural color, and White goes blonder than his natural color. In any case, they both are good-looking to my eyes.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I've always found it mildly amusing that Davis dyes her hair darker than its natural color, and White goes blonder than his natural color. In any case, they both are good-looking to my eyes.

I'm pretty sure that was a conscious decision by their handlers to create a striking look. I bet Charlie can hardly wait to retire from skating so he can cut off those curls. ;)

Here they are as children. One day when Charlie was nine years old he went to the skating rink and when he came back home he told his mom, "I just met the best skater I've ever seen in my whole life!" -- and the rest is history. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzE0q9MMPWg#t=0m45s

(Hmm. If the time thing doesn't work, it starts about 0:45)
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
I'm pretty sure that was a conscious decision by their handlers to create a striking look. I bet Charlie can hardly wait to retire from skating so he can cut off those curls. ;) ...

:agree: Agree on both counts. Achieving the striking look was successful, I would say.

(As long as we're talking about hair, I always wondered why some people criticized the longer curls that Max had earlier this season as distracting, etc. -- when everyone seems to have loved Charlie's curls for years.)
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
also charlie is better looking in general

No way. Max and Charlie both are easy on the eyes. :yes: :cool:

Max is not quite tall, dark, and handsome. But he is short, dark, and handsome. ;)

And if/when Charlie returns to his natural hair color, he too ...
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I think the performance that will most likely boost the sport's popularity will be Lipnitskaia's. Wherever she ends up on the podium, she will be a skate goddess in her country and will galvanize the skating program. She will symbolize Russian sports achievement to millions of her countrymen and will provide an incentive for Russia to rebuild its skating dynasty.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Well, so far this weekend Julia has beaten Kostner, Asada, Wagner, Gold, Suzuki, and Osmond. Only Kim stands athwart the tracks to derail the Lipnitskia Express. :yes:
 
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