Smarty Jones and Michelle Kwan | Golden Skate

Smarty Jones and Michelle Kwan

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
The commentators are saying that Racing needed a good push to regain its popularity. Smarty Jones was going to give it that push but sadly, it did not happen.

With figure skating wallowing in the doldrums, I would think that a Michelle win would give it the boost it needs to get back into the game after all that scandal business.

I doubt Shizuka, Sasha or Irina could give it that boost in the US.

Please!!! I am not gushing or bashing here. I am concerned about the Sport and in this instance I believe Popularity counts. If you think someone other than MK would give the sport the needed boost, please discuss.

Joe
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Well, I don't want this to sound like a judgement because everyone has the right to do as they wish with their life, but I think that the past 3 ladies champs didn't help the sport with their decisions. If the next ladies champ is gonna "save" the sport, then she should be committed to it and making a lasting pro career out of the aftermath.
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
As a fan of both thoroughbred horseracing and figure skating, let me say this: last year, everyone was talking about Funny Cide and how he was going to 'save' racing. This year, an even hotter candidate appeared in Smarty Jones, who was perfect right up to the last 5 seconds of the Belmont Stakes.

But the excitement over Smarty would never have jelled without first Funny Cide then the release of "Seabiscuit". The US public has seen two "blue collar" horses in a row attempt to make history, and watched the history of another "blue collar" hero.

It's too bad that Smarty just couldn't conserve himself enough in the backstretch so that he'd have a little more gas in the final furlong. But his 'almost' attempt was a valiant one, and he will not soon be forgotten. He is the little horse that almost could.

Racing will somehow go on, and who knows who the next 'hero' will be. But there always IS another hero.

No one skater is going to 'save' figureskating. The only reason why figureskating needs saving is judging scandals, and skaters have no control over that. They skate, the judges judge, and if judges perform badly or inexplicably, the skaters lose out just as the skating fans do. And somehow, they persevere, too.
 

alhuncc

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
As happens with successful Thoroughbred race horses, Smarty is already being sought as a stallion by many of the best breeding farms in Kentucky. Because of the amount of money involved, syndication is the normal route to obtaining such a stallion. Had he won the Belmont, 50 million was suggested as a conservative figure.

One of the specifications his owners set forth to the people doing the negotiations for them was that the horse was to continue to race throughout his 3 year old and 4 year old years as long as he remained at the top of his game. A second spec was that the horse would stand at stud where he could be available for the public to visit at scheduled times.

In a time when a successful Thoroughbred's value as a stallion far exceeds his potential to make money as a race horse--and makes the risks of running the animal huge--these specifications were a tremendous consideration to the public and to the entire racing industry.

If Smarty bounces back from the Belmont defeat, they still could be, but the thoughtfulness of the Chapmans for their beloved horse and sport and for the public that adored the horse was exceptional.

Parallels with Michelle? She has already stayed in the game, developed a respectful and adoring public, and become arguably skating's most known and loved figure at present. Losing the big one hasn't significantly hurt her effect on skating and its fans. Unlike Smarty, she can make her own decisions about her future!

I'd be overjoyed to see Smarty come back and prove himself to be the the excellent and professional race horse he has shown he is thus far. He can still do a lot for racing by being in the game and winning most of the time.

(Too bad Rock Hard Ten engaged Smarty so aggressively in the early part of a 1 1/2 mile race...and he still beat the socks off that horse. That's racing!)

Amanda
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
I don't know, when the Oly results don't concur with audience opinion, often we see rule changes (Schuba/Lynn and Poetzch/Fratianne, for example).

If MK "loses" a third time to a kinda darkhorse winner, who then quits the sport soon afterward, I'm not sure that the Olys will stay the same. At the very least, their "big prize" status will take some serious dents.
 

skatepixie

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 2, 2003
Well...Smarty's loss was a simple case of running too fast too soon and running out of energy. Kwan is a case of fading away slowly.

Joe~Irina cant make the push for the US because she is a Russian...not an American. Weither or not she can make the push for Russia is a diffrent matter and it remains to be seen.

As for Sasha. I see her pushing the sport. Artistically she is the best out there right now, IMO and she is working on the quad and a 3/3. So I see that as pushing the sport...
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I think skating has taken some dents already for so many reason but I think come the Olympics Sasha is the one they will want to win anyway. She has the looks and the artistry they are looking for although I still don’t think she is the best…yet. If she’s consistent next year then I will entertain that thought.. I don’t think she will be like Michelle with tons of adoring fans. Michelle has a ton of fans that are only around because she is around. I think some (not me) think Michelle had her chance. However I do think if she outright wins it will be a different story. It will be a Dan Jansen type of thing but even bigger.
 

bronxgirl

Medalist
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
lavender said:
I think skating has taken some dents already for so many reason but I think come the Olympics Sasha is the one they will want to win anyway. She has the looks and the artistry they are looking for although I still don’t think she is the best…yet. If she’s consistent next year then I will entertain that thought.. I don’t think she will be like Michelle with tons of adoring fans. Michelle has a ton of fans that are only around because she is around. I think some (not me) think Michelle had her chance. However I do think if she outright wins it will be a different story. It will be a Dan Jansen type of thing but even bigger.

Which "they" are you referring to? Judges? The ISU? I don't think "they" are the casual fans of figure skating. The looks and artistry? So does Irakawa, Kwan, Irina, and other top ladies. Skatepixie likes to refer to Sasha's 3/3 and quad, but until she can do these consistently in major events, they don't exist (at least not to me).

And how did this thread get from Smarty to Sasha anyway? :\
 

sk8ing_lady2001

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
lavender said:
I think skating has taken some dents already for so many reason but I think come the Olympics Sasha is the one they will want to win anyway. She has the looks and the artistry they are looking for although I still don’t think she is the best…yet. If she’s consistent next year then I will entertain that thought.. I don’t think she will be like Michelle with tons of adoring fans. Michelle has a ton of fans that are only around because she is around. I think some (not me) think Michelle had her chance. However I do think if she outright wins it will be a different story. It will be a Dan Jansen type of thing but even bigger.

It would be absolutely Kwanderful for Michelle to win the OGM in 2 years. I sure hope so anyway! :)
 

BronzeisGolden

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I am also of the opinion that the sport would be helped greatly if the next ladies Olympic Champion (who ever that may be) either stays amateur or at least begins a lengthy professional career. The amateur side of the sport is still pretty freakin popular I think. What about the professional side? Well, I think we need to give the general public (casual fans) a few years to forgive the skating world for "Too Hot to Skate", etc. Those were garbage and didn't interest me in the slightest. How could you expect casual fans to stick around with crap like that? The SLC fiasco didn't help matters at all.

If Michelle wins it will be huge, and if she doesn't it won't really matter. She has become a legend in her own time. That, more than anything, speaks volumes about what she brings to the ice everytime she skates.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
To me, it is the race, not the outcome, that is interesting and exciting and builds support for the sport. Smarty Jones going for the Triple Crown was the big story, which drew in millions of viewers and a record amount of money. I don't think the fact that he didn't win will cause interest in the sport to fall off. Just think, next year some new horse can try to achieve a feat that no horse has accomplished for twenty-seven years!

In the 2006 Olympics, the big story (at least among casual fans in the U.S.) will be Michelle going for gold on her third try. Even if Sasha, Shizuka or someone else will have overtaken her as the favorite in the minds of the cognizanti, the latest chapter in the Michelle saga will still be the draw for the big once-every-four-years television audience. I can't wait! It will be equally exiting whether she wins big (I hope), whether she squeaks out a controversial decision, whether someone else rises to the occasion with a huge performance, or whatever. The game is on!

Mathman :)

PS. Pistons 87, Lakers 75.
 

Fossi

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 23, 2003
skatepixie said:
.

As for Sasha. I see her pushing the sport. Artistically she is the best out there right now, IMO and she is working on the quad and a 3/3. So I see that as pushing the sport...

I see that as the exact opposite. I see that as the sport pushing Sasha. The Japanese ladies already have consistent 3/3's and one has a consistent quad. Sasha has yet to land that elusive quad and her 3/3 are far from consistent and almost non-existent when she is compared to the likes of Hughes, Shizuka, Irina, and even Michelle Kwan. Shizuka has the artistry to match her brilliant technical prowess, and Sasha knows that her artistry alone can not, and will not, match what Shizuka has got. (unless Cohen skates clean, which she did at Marshalls, but this may have been the skate of her life? Time will tell)

Sorry to take it off topic once again.
I would like for Michelle to win the Olympics. This would be huge news in the US and would bring attention back to the sport for a good reason, not a scandal.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
bronxgirl said:
Which "they" are you referring to? Judges? The ISU? I don't think "they" are the casual fans of figure skating. The looks and artistry? So does Irakawa, Kwan, Irina, and other top ladies. Skatepixie likes to refer to Sasha's 3/3 and quad, but until she can do these consistently in major events, they don't exist (at least not to me).

And how did this thread get from Smarty to Sasha anyway? :\

I was referring to judges, commentators, maybe the ISU and even journalist. I'm certainly not referring to the fans. I will always be a Michelle fan.

I also think Kwan has the look big time. Irina and Arakawa are adorable to me. I just get the vibe that they kind of wish Michelle would move on which I think they will regret. I don't feel this way. I want Michelle to win the big OGM no matter how tired they are of her. Anyway I don't pay attention to what any of the skaters say they are working on. I'll believe it when I see it.

Sasha was brought up so I responded.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
The thread is not about Michelle; it is not about Sasha; it is not about Irina.

It's about the SPORT

My fault. I'm assuming that there is a decline in interest in figure skating. Agree? If not, just say the Sport is just as fine as it was in 1998.

If yes, I am assuming that a Michelle win in 2006 will make the Sport as interesting as it was in 1998 or the possibility that some other skater can bring the Sport into the 'most watched event in TV land.

My mentioning MK was only because of her continual popularity.

(Smarty, btw, will more than likely be in the Breeders Cup as I assume Birdstone will be also.)

Joe
 

Ladskater

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

Interesting points you have made here. I enjoyed the excitement Smarty Jones brought to the race. It sort of was a Seabiscuit story - even the jocky is a Canadian.

As for figure skating - I was not aware that figure skating is going out of fashion. It's not here in Canada. Our National team is going through a transition, but skating is still as popular as ever. If there is a decline in the numbers of people attending competitions or signing up for lessons it may have more to do with the economy and rising costs than anything. I don't think figure skatings survival depends on one particular skaters participation. What if Michelle retires? I would hope people would tune in to see other skaters!

Figure skating has never depended on the popularity of any one skater. There have been many great skaters over the years. People figure skate or take an interest in it because they love it.

I assume that tradition will carry on.
 

IDLERACER

Medalist
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
The reason for the unpopularity of this sport, is that with few exceptions, figure skaters have a tendancy to behave themselves off the ice. It has now been over a decade since one of them convinced her husband to hire an assasin to whack another one on the knee with a bat. Compare that to the metronome like regularity with which various members of the NBA seem to get themselves into extraciricular trouble, year after year. Now those folks really know how to get people's attention!
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Figure skating has never depended on the popularity of any one skater. There have been many great skaters over the years. People figure skate or take an interest in it because they love it.
True, but you must realise how you've kinda missed the point. I don't know about in Canada, but in the US, interest definately dips and rises depending on the market value of the latest champ.

My older cousin once took a group of us kids to the Ice Capades because we were all in love with Peggy. Peggy, Peggy, Peggy! If there were other famous skaters in that show, we didn't know it. None of us have ever been to another Ice Capades since.

Are you really trying to sell us that BarbaraAnn Scott, Rob Paul, Toller Cranston and Karen Magnuson made absolutely no dent whatsoever in the Canadain publics mind and that interest in skating didn't change at all when these people won Oly medals?
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Trainer John Servis has said Smarty Jones IS being pointed to the Breeders Cup, and the Chapmans have said that they would like Smarty to run as a 4-year-old.

As an aside, Bobby Frankel (one of the top trainers in the business) said after the Belmont that if Smarty and Birdstone met up a few months from now, Smarty would beat Birdstone's a--, and Nick Zito (Birdstone's trainer) pitched a fit. Too bad, Nick, but I think Bobby's right!

I hope we will see Smarty win many more races--and Michelle win the Olympics on her third try. It seems almost as if Turin is Michelle's 'triple crown': a chance to have won one medal of each color.
 
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