Michelle:Dividing line

[Kara Bear]

If you read the name Michelle Kwan, and you think, Overrated, has been around forever, does not change, same old, same old chances are you are new to skating.

I've been a fan of skating for as long as I can remember...before MK ever came on the scene...and thats a long time for a 22 year old.

And yes I know she has contributed a lot to the sport and yes I think she is boring.

Do you think that the only people who dislike MK are either
A) New to the sport and therefore don't know any better?
B) Just hate her cause she's Michelle Kwan

Well, a lot of figure skating fans I know chose their favorites because of their STYLE. So called greatness has little to do with it in my books.

[Kwanisqueen81]

Originally posted by Kara Bear
I've been a fan of skating for as long as I can remember...before MK ever came on the scene...and thats a long time for a 22 year old.

And yes I know she has contributed a lot to the sport and yes I think she is boring.

Do you think that the only people who dislike MK are either
A) New to the sport and therefore don't know any better?
B) Just hate her cause she's Michelle Kwan

Well, a lot of figure skating fans I know chose their favorites because of their STYLE. So called greatness has little to do with it in my books.

well I do think that those that are very new to the sport and haven't seen Michelle Kwan's development as a skater and person will have a different preciption of her than those who remember her as the little jumping bean during the Tonya/Nancy thing.

[BronzeisGolden]

ToniChelle,

I have to agree with Vietgirl....I love the way you choose to dislike Michelle's skating! LOL! So many use catty generalizations and smart [color=red]*[/color][color=red]*[/color][color=red]*[/color] remarks, but you always keep it cool and explain yourself. I wish everyone could express their dislike in such a positive manner.

[Tonichelle]

do I really? LOL whenever I read my posts against some of the other posts... I feel like a total hick in the way I "talk"

[SusanBeth]

I started watching figure skating back in the days of Janet Lynn.

My feelings about Michelle's programs have varied pretty dramatically over the years. However I've always respected her abilities. I wholeheartedly agree that she is a great champion.

Personally, I liked Salome. I like the in-betweens and the expression she put into it. There is a moment when she becomes very still and the dramatic tension is masterful. I loved Lyra too. There was a time, when I was amazed just by the way she moved across the ice. However, her programs for the last two years have been among my least favorite. I couldn't care less about triple/triples. I do want to see in betweens and musical expression. They aren't there.

I don't know where this puts me on the dividing line. I have a feeling I am part of a new group- ''Michelle Fans Who are Starting to Yawn.''

[eyria]

I've been a skating fan since 1991 (thirteen years ago!) and I love Michelle. I've been a fan of hers ever since she was 12 or 13, when I saw her win the U.S. Oympic Festival. To have seen Michelle grow up from that skinny little girl into a beautiful, gracious, talented young lady has been truly special. So yes, I guess I belong in the group of fans who have seen Michelle grow up and love her.

That doesn't mean I love every single program of Michelle's or everything she does. I realize she has faults, like any skater. But I still think she's amazing. And I must say, I don't understand how anyone could consider her performances at Nationals the last two years, or Worlds last year, boring.

Michelle's performances aren't always inspired. But when she's on . . . she is in a league by herself.

I'll never forget seeing her SP live at Nationals 2001 in Boston. She skated to EOE and it was truly a magical experience. From the moment she took the ice, it was as if the crowd seemed to hold its breath. Her program went by so quickly. And when it ended, the crowd stood as one and simply roared. She had brought the house down. You didn't even know why, exactly. Something in her just reached out, grabbed you, and wouldn't let go.

She is amazing.

[Tonichelle]

And I must say, I don't understand how anyone could consider her performances at Nationals the last two years, or Worlds last year, boring.

Michelle's performances aren't always inspired. But when she's on . . . she is in a league by herself.

that's just it... I didn't feel the "inspirational spark" ... you answered your own question LOL

[Mathman]

Oh, that was so well said, Eyria.

Tony, that's cool, because you do feel that inspirational spark for your favorite skaters.

This is an interesting thesis, KwanisKween81. For myself, I first started paying attention to figure skating and to Michelle in the 1998-99 season. When I saw her short program (Rachmaninov) at the Goodwill Games in spring of 1998, I couldn't believe my eyes. That was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Little did I suspect that in just a month or so she would top even that masterpeice with the East of Eden artistic program at the World Professional Championship. I saw East of Eden (white dress) several times in those pro-am TV events that year, and each time was just as emotional for me as the time before.

Then she came out in the fall with the Fate of Carmen SP, one of Michelle's finest and most underrated programs. I don't know why, but I am just a sucker for a good Lori Nichol short program. In the LP, you have to fit in 6 or 7 triple jumps and there is not much room for anything else. But something about the structure of the short program, with the eight required elements forming the framework on which to weave your magic -- to me, Lori works that format like Shakespeare writing a sonnet. (OT -- check out Fumie's Rolling Stones SP next week, if you haven't seen it yet!)

What is so cool about Michelle is that almost every time she skates (for instance, her LP at Nationals this year) I think, that's it! That's her all-time greatest performance! How lucky I am that I got to see it!

Then she goes out next time and does it again.

I do not understand how people can say that Michelle's performances are boring because she does the same old jumps every time. Well, yes, every time she does the toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz and Axel. (?)

It's like saying, oh that Babe Ruth is such a boring baseball player. He hits a home run every time.

Mathman

[LadyM76]

I remember seeing Michelle for the first time during the 1994 Nationals. I remember being fascinated because she was so little, and she seemed to be so fearless. Artistically she wasn't very polished yet, but she could jump so well. I remember Dick saysing something along the lines of "Michelle has the jumps and Karen has the artistry, what one lacks the other has"(not an exact quote). I have absolutely adored her skating and her ever since. To watch her grow up and deal with the highs and lows of her carreer has been a privilege. It will be a very sad day for me, when she decides to stop skating.
LadyM76
PS...Mathman...Nice post. The performance of East of Eden(white dress) at the Pro-Am, makes me get chills and sometimes brings me to tears.

[SusanBeth]

I do not understand how people can say that Michelle's performances are boring because she does the same old jumps every time. Well, yes, every time she does the toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz and Axel. (?)

I don't think she is becoming boring because of her jumps. It's the lack of anything besides jumps that is getting me worried for her future. Understand I haven't bought into a skater's mystique since 1973. I want to see a performance.

What I saw at nationals was a good skater bound and determined to land those jumps. Someone who didn't let up on that determination until that last lutz was nailed. At that point, we saw her heart. At that point, we saw expression. The problem was ''that point'' didn't happen until after the 4 minute mark. I also saw an audience that loved Michelle so much, they are happy when she is happy. She was happy and they went nuts. What it all had to do with Tosca was mostly in the minds of the beholder. It certainly wasn't on the ice.

I do care about Michelle. I want her to get that OGM, if she can. I'm just hoping the new coach will make a good impact. She can't let up on both the Technical and the Presentation/Expression sides and still hope to win.

[Mathman]

Originally posted by SusanBeth
What I saw at nationals was a good skater bound and determined to land those jumps. Someone who didn't let up on that determination until that last lutz was nailed. At that point, we saw her heart.

ITA. And that was what made the performance so wonderful.

I also saw an audience that loved Michelle so much, they are happy when she is happy. She was happy and they went nuts.

ITA. That, too, is what makes Michelle what she is. No other skater can do that.

What it all had to do with Tosca was mostly in the minds of the beholder. It certainly wasn't on the ice.

I agree again. If you turn down the sound you can't tell if it's Tosca or Aranjuez. It's just Michelle.

Mathman

[SusanBeth]

If you turn down the sound you can't tell if it's Tosca or Aranjuez. It's just Michelle

Unfortunately, if you don't buy into the Michelle mystique, it's not enough. The Olympic judges haven't been buying it. If they had, she would have won at Nagano.

[yelyoh]

Salome did it for me. I guess it was that "schlock" that someone else referred to. Michelle does not have it all. But what she does have, if I may quote Woman of the Year, "...is cherce."

[2WhereUR]

I loved Michelle's skating at the beginning of that whole Tonya and Nancy mess, because she brought something to the ice--it was like a breath of fresh air. Sure, she didn't have it all yet, but I knew that someday she would. She was so in love with the sport, that fact alone made me love her immediately. I grew to love her more as she grew into the beautiful skater that she is today.

[Mathman]

Originally posted by SusanBeth
Unfortunately, if you don't buy into the Michelle mystique, it's not enough. The Olympic judges haven't been buying it. If they had, she would have won at Nagano.

Too true. Bummer.

MM