Do most people find it difficult to be fans of both Michelle and Sasha? | Golden Skate

Do most people find it difficult to be fans of both Michelle and Sasha?

tnt2002isnt

Spectator
Joined
Mar 19, 2004
Do most people find it difficult to be fans of both Michelle and Sasha?

I have notice this phenomenom growing since its infancy stage two years ago, and it seemed to have peaked after this year's Worlds. I find it rather curious that most threads about one skater would somehow become a "battle of words" between Michelle fans and Sasha fans. And what's more interesting is the fact that most people have stated that they either Michelle or Sasha and rarely ever both.

Besides obvious different tastes for different styles of skating, I wonder if the media has any influence with this trend by promoting a supposed fierce rivalry between the two skaters. People did say that it is hard to like your favorite's rival. I do think that some people do take this polarity to the extreme though. For example, a Sasha fan who is absolutely convinced that Michelle has no talent whatsoever and vice versa.

If you are a Michelle fan, do you find it hard to be a fan of Sasha? And if you are a Sasha fan, do you find it hard to be a Michelle fan? I am curious to read your comments on this topic.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Well I think it is possible to be fans of skaters that are both direct rivals and who have very different styles of skating.
 

valuvsmk

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
gezando said:
I don't think Michelle and Sasha are rivals.

Since, in my experience in reading multiple skating boards would indicate the opposite (and not that you are wrong), why do you think that? :)
 

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
I really love both of them!!!

I've been a MK fan since she was very tiny and just starting the Sr's circuit. My heart broke when she didnt win in SLC, but I think if she never competed again she should be happy with her record. I think that she is one of if not THE most influencial, important and beloved skater of all time.

But I love sasha too! It was a little easier to root for her this season because she entered many events that MK didnt so I didnt have that as a conflict. I want Sasha to have her day too... I'm kinda conflicted, but because I love them both I'm happy with whatever the result is as long as one of them does well.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
tnt2002isnt:

It's not really that difficult to be fans of both. I used to be a fan of both Karen Magnussen and Janet Lynn and they come from different countries! So, I do not find it difficult to admire both skaters - Michelle and Sasha for their differences. Both have a different style. " Viva La difference!"
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
I actually don't think this thread has anything to do with Sasha.

One could have easly started this same thread 1 or 2 years ago with the name Sarah, or 2 to 5 years ago with the name Irina or 4 to 7 years ago with the name Tara.

Kwan has a huge fan base and a long successful career. Within that, there is the element of fanatical fans who will pitbull any attempt to look at her the wrong way, as there is the anyone-but-Kwan syndrome. That's really about fandome and web forums, not skating.

Despite thier flaws, there was something I really loved about Lulu, Nicole and Maria.

Although I could recognize what they did well, I never cared for Tara, Irina or Sasha. Just personal preference.

Sarah is somewhere in between. I follwed her career with interest, but her flaws/assests always broke even with me.

Perhaps I'm fooling myself, but I sincerly believe that if Kwan never existed on this planet, I would still love the skating of Bobeck, Chen and Buturskya and I would still not care for the skating of Lipinski, Slutskya or Cohen, and I would still feel so-so about Hughes.
 

Ogre Mage

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
What interesting for me is that I am a long time fan of Michelle (since 1996) and Sasha is probably her first big rival since Lu Chen whose skating I enjoyed immensely. Tara's skating I never could stand, ditto for Butyrskaya. I disliked Irina's skating as well from '96-'98, but when she reinvented herself in 2000 I started to like her a bit more. However, just as I was becoming a semi-fan in 2002 she dropped off the scene. Sarah's skating was too clumsy and flawed for me to appreciate.

When I first saw Sasha, I was immediately impressed with the flexibility and dance-like quality to her skating. Presentation wise I had not been so awed with a female skater since Michelle's Salome reinvention. She just possessed a unique and graceful way of moving -- her style was her own. It was this same quality that made me a fan of Lulu and Michelle in the mid 90s.

Anyway, I have become a big fan of both skaters and am glad when both finish on the podium, regardless actual placement.
 
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diamondqueen

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Do most people find it difficult to be MK's and SC fans?

I do not think it is a problem to be fans of both ladies. They are wonderful skaters and are not rivals. It is the media and formus that make them sound like rivals. MK and SC travel together with COI and they seem to be just fine.

diamond:love:
 

ouridol

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
I kinda find it a little difficult because whenever I'm trying to stick up for one or the other at a fan board, they usually take it more offensively. I really really like the both of them, I first fell in love with Michelle, but then I started really liking Sasha. Recently I've been a little less enthusiastic about MK's skating but I'm still a fan. :)
 

smallsilly

Spectator
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
I like Both of them

I find it very easy to be a fan of both. I always want MK first, and Sasha second, or if MK is not in the competition, I want Sasha to win. There are things I enjoy from both skaters. Sasha's flexability is amazing and she is a great spinner. She looks so graceful on the ice and I cannot wait for her to skate her first "skate of a lifetime" program at Nats or Worlds. Michelle...well I have been a fan since 1994 Nationals. I was amazed that she was 13 years old, winning the silver against Tonya Harding. Michelle's spins and spiral may not be as good as Sasha's, but she really draws me in when she skates, and by the end of the program I cannot help but feel like I want to hug trees. It is not jus one skill that makes me go "ooooo"... but the oveall quality of the skate. I am very proud that both of these talented ladies represent our country.

I think many people on message boards have more of a problem with "uber fans". I know I cannot stand uber MK and uber Sasha fans.
 

adamlondon

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 7, 2004
well

I think it's true that whenever I post in the MKForum I get buggered big time if I say anything too gushy about Sasha as a lot of the people there are very protective of MK and so her rivals do get a lot of it. Or maybe not all her rivals, but Sasha gets it the most because she's 'known' to bump MK in practices and does not exactly represent the epitomy of humility and graciousness. Hence I think a lot of MK fans are switched off by it.

I also think they find her the most dangerous threat in terms of US Nationals and rightly so. I once posted an article about Sasha's spirals and got told off rather quickly to not write things like that in MK's forum.

Hence this forum is far more neutral and I enjoy writing here more.
 

JonnyCoop

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Re: well

adamlondon said:


Hence this forum is far more neutral and I enjoy writing here more.

This is so true. There is a lot to like about Sasha and Michelle, and on this forum one can actually say that without being drawn and quartered by either the "Kwan camp" or the "Cohen camp". I stopped posting on the USFSA board LONG ago because EVERYTHING, even something like perhaps a discussion of the state of ice dancing in South Korea, would eventually degenerate into a Kwan fan vs. Cohen fan TOTAL WAR.

I just don't understand that. I cannot think of ONE skating fan who ONLY likes ONE skater in each category and dislikes all others. If one can like both (as an example) Julia Sebestyen and Susanna Poykio, why can't one like both Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan??
 

skatepixie

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 2, 2003
I always liked Tara. Then I didnt really care who won until Sasha came along. I didnt join the boards until xmas of 02 when I was recovering from an injury and needed something to do, so I looked up figure skating and join the boards. So, I guess people have always just known me as a Sasha fan, not as a Tara fan or a G&G fan, although people who know me well know that G&G were what got me involved in skating...

Usually...I either like or dislike a skater. Period. It has nothing to do with who they are rivals with. My feelings about MK would be the same is Tara and Sasha didnt exist. I just dont enjoy her skating.

When Yags was eligible, I liked him, and I disliked Plushy. I still dont like Plushy. Never will. Right now, there really arent any men that I feel drawn to, but in the future there will be someone who comes along. Brian J is starting to "get" me.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I think the media does love rivalries, and I think some just hate anyone that can come up and challenge their favorite, no matter who it is.

I just tend to ignore all of that, since I'm a fan of both skaters. I really do like both pretty much equally.

I've actually been in the position of having someone dismiss me as a fan of one or the other when I've tried posting my opinion about how the skating went in a particular competition as they assume that if I've said something negative about the performance of one and praised the performance of the other that I must be a fan of just one of them, when, in fact, I'm just talking about that particular competition as I see it.

I admit to being annoyed when confronted by super-fans of either who insist "their" skater has no flaws and refuse to acknowledge even a modicum of talent in their rival.

When I'm sitting watching the skating? No problem at all being a fan who enjoys both ladies immensely.
 

sarahmistral

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
rain said:
I think the media does love rivalries, and I think some just hate anyone that can come up and challenge their favorite, no matter who it is.

I just tend to ignore all of that, since I'm a fan of both skaters. I really do like both pretty much equally.

I've actually been in the position of having someone dismiss me as a fan of one or the other when I've tried posting my opinion about how the skating went in a particular competition as they assume that if I've said something negative about the performance of one and praised the performance of the other that I must be a fan of just one of them, when, in fact, I'm just talking about that particular competition as I see it.

I admit to being annoyed when confronted by super-fans of either who insist "their" skater has no flaws and refuse to acknowledge even a modicum of talent in their rival.

When I'm sitting watching the skating? No problem at all being a fan who enjoys both ladies immensely.

ITA Rain; well put. It seems to me that the nature of the media's job is to produce stuff that fans and audiences will eat up, and they seem to have really revved up the propensity for uberfandom in those fans who suddenly find it all-important that "their" skater defeats the "arch-rival". For me, the inability to tolerate criticism of any kind, simplifying it to the least common denominator of "bashing X and saying Y's perfect", is the true mark of an uberfan. I wonder where people will put you, then, or any of us who criticizes skating, by everyone, within the context of a particular competition--guess we're just evil people:laugh:

Sarah
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
My answer may not directly to the question of title.

I wouldn't say I'm Sasha fan, but I do like her skating. Especially when she first hit the scene back in 2000(?) I was truely wowed by her. But then I don't know any technique side of skating, couldn't tell diff of jumps, etc. I'm still enjoy SC's skating. But I'm ultimate MK fan, whenever she is in competition I'll root for MK. But this dosn't mean I'm blind of her shortcome. It just a matter of taste, I prefer MK's style and admire her competitor spirit.
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
I have never been MK's fan, though I an appreciate her immense contribution to the sport; I gues I am a Sasha fan.

I guess I an relate to how difficult it is to be the fan of both as I was both a Yags and a Plushy fan. I would want both of them to win. Gets kind of confusing ;)
 
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