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The only time I even remember Lysacek exists is when someone actually mentions him by name. I think that is pretty self-explanatory.
Evan Lysacek - underappreciated champion?
- Thread starter Ares
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I think Evan exhibited everything that an Olympic champion should exhibit. It's unfortunate he didn't do a quad (I like seeing technically difficult skates win) but ultimately his overall skating won the competition and he maximized the system to his ability and delivered when it counted. His 2010 OGM is a testament to a greater emphasis on complete skating and not just a particular jump, even if it isn't one of the more memorable skates. It still had an elegant quality and there was something about it that felt like classic skating of yesteryears.
Just rewatched his 2010 programs after seeing this thread. He was doing the same thing Eteri is telling her girls. A lot of random transitions, a lot of flares that amount to nothing. Looking back, the only person robbed was Daisuke. Should have been first. Even silver. Plushenko bronze. That PCS for Plushenko is ridiculous.
If you pad Evan's PCS like Medvedeva's PCS, he should be out of reached with the kind of skating climate today.
I think he's just a boring skater whose hard work paid off. You can't help being monotonous.
If you pad Evan's PCS like Medvedeva's PCS, he should be out of reached with the kind of skating climate today.
I think he's just a boring skater whose hard work paid off. You can't help being monotonous.
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Said negotiations were probably also hurt (no pun intended) by Evan's seeming refusal to allow his body to heal properly from the surgery that he had (labral tear IIRC?) and causing his injury to become worse.
IIRC, wasn't his triple Axel also really bad? Like more like a 3S than a 3A?
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I just went back and rewatched both LP's. In the distance of time, and in absence of emotion, I'm revising my opinion.
Evan Lysacek won that competition, and it should have been by a larger margin than the scores indicate.
I'll probably always love Plushenko more, but he really did not skate that well. It wasn't a splatfest, but I am astonished that he managed to land some of those jumps. The camel speed in spins at the end of the program was practically zilch. The less said about choreography, the better.
Olympic championships should not be lifetime achievement awards. It should be about the best skater on the day. On that day, it was Evan.
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I am no expert on Axel technique, but he did have a sort of weird way of sticking his leg off to the side at takeoff which was probably a pre-rotation.
As for Evan's quad, like all American skaters of that era he didn't really have a quad toe, although he did land a couple in his career. He tried one at U.S. Nationals just before the Olympics, fell, and finished third, raising the question, "OMG What if he had finished fourth and been left off the team?!
" At the Olys he and Frank thought it best to forget the quad and instead make sure that each element was clean and landed with as much flair and pizzaz as possible.He was a good skater. He was well-trained and gave it his all. That can make up for a lot of shortcomings.
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Evan did have an iconic moment though. https://youtu.be/EHHRdtNNzS8?t=6m6s his reaction to Oda's win will live forever.
Conversely, of the figure skaters who never won a world or Olympic medal, Oda may be one of the most successful and memorable. Also one of the most talented. Did you guys see the skate he did at Japan Open at the beginning of the season? Personal best after retirement and knee surgery.
Back to Evan, I watched the season DWTS he was in, and he did really well. It may be just me, but he seemed to have more charisma as a dancer on the show than as a skater. Or was it the video editing?
Conversely, of the figure skaters who never won a world or Olympic medal, Oda may be one of the most successful and memorable. Also one of the most talented. Did you guys see the skate he did at Japan Open at the beginning of the season? Personal best after retirement and knee surgery.
Back to Evan, I watched the season DWTS he was in, and he did really well. It may be just me, but he seemed to have more charisma as a dancer on the show than as a skater. Or was it the video editing?
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Was Evan confused or did he think Oda should not have won?Evan did have an iconic moment though. https://youtu.be/EHHRdtNNzS8?t=6m6s his reaction to Oda's win will live forever.
Conversely, of the figure skaters who never won a world or Olympic medal, Oda may be one of the most successful and memorable. Also one of the most talented. Did you guys see the skate he did at Japan Open at the beginning of the season? Personal best after retirement and knee surgery.
Back to Evan, I watched the season DWTS he was in, and he did really well. It may be just me, but he seemed to have more charisma as a dancer on the show than as a skater. Or was it the video editing?
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I'd go with confused. Oda was weeping like he'd just won all the Oscars.
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I totally remember that. It was so cute.
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You can call them windmill arms all you want but when the man is 6 foot 5 inches on figure skates and his arms are extremely long it's kind of hard not to have them look like that in comparison to men who are lucky if they are 5'9 on skates. Lori Nichol's choreography didn't help.
The event at Chelsea Piers was honoring him in October by the Ice Theatre of NY. Jeremy Abbott was the special guest at the same show.
Evan is not living with Vera Wang but he does work as a creative consultant for her company.
It was a hernia surgery he had done and he was released by his surgeon to resume training. His labral tear came when he fell on a quad attempt at Champs Camp on 21 Aug 2013, which is what took him out of his run for the Sochi games. It took him a full year to heal from that injury.
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When Scott Hamilton won his olympic gold medal in 1984, he did not attempt or do a triple axel in his program, however, Brian Orser did and won the long program. I don't recall much discussion that Scott should have not won the gold because he didn't do a triple axel. Of course, perhaps, that is because Brian did poorly in the CF's.
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Well, that was before the Internet.
Actually, IIRC Scott himself was his own biggest critic of his Olympic performance. He did not think that he skated his best and I think that he was always a little embarrassed or disappointed in his free skating. He was outstanding at figures, though.- Joined
- Nov 20, 2013
As answer to title question: Yea, he is. It is huge achievement managing to win that gold with that mediocre skate. Severely underrated champion.
I also really liked him and also enjoyed feeling safe while watching him
I don't mention it much because most people don't/didn't like him; and I'd rather just keep watching and not argue about it.
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I'll also put my cards on the table as being a fan and thinking he was underrated. I don't like that people will use a lack of charisma with the media as an excuse to hate on a skater, if they think he had lack of charisma on ice, that's a perfectly valid opinion. Not everyone is cut out to be media savvy and just a couple of mistakes or bad performances off ice (as well as on, I guess!) will mark someone out as boring or mean, probably unfairly - look at how Nancy was savaged based on a comment before the medal ceremony and an out of context comment in Disneyland. I was very happy when he won the OGM, both because I like his skating but also because I'm not a fan of Evgeni's style at all...
I agree with the general sentiment that Evan had a jack of all trades quality. There was nothing that he did that was superior to the rest. We had others to cover us on the spins, skating skills, step sequences, jumps, etc.
I also think there might be something to the personality point as well. Not just the media image, but note how close that generation of skaters was and still is. I'm not saying Evan needed to be chummy, but he may just have a difficult time connecting with groups and audiences.
Finally, and without meaning to be shady, Evan underscores that we perhaps overvalue the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. For example, in skiing they seem to realize that anything can happen given course conditions, etc. so they value their overall season trophies more (which you have to win by racking up points across disciplines, etc.). I think it's a great accomplishment to pull off a great performance with the entire world watching at the Olympics, but there is little else that was special about Evan's actual program that day. You can learn every step and jump in figure skating and still not put it together into a memorable package.
I also think there might be something to the personality point as well. Not just the media image, but note how close that generation of skaters was and still is. I'm not saying Evan needed to be chummy, but he may just have a difficult time connecting with groups and audiences.
Finally, and without meaning to be shady, Evan underscores that we perhaps overvalue the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. For example, in skiing they seem to realize that anything can happen given course conditions, etc. so they value their overall season trophies more (which you have to win by racking up points across disciplines, etc.). I think it's a great accomplishment to pull off a great performance with the entire world watching at the Olympics, but there is little else that was special about Evan's actual program that day. You can learn every step and jump in figure skating and still not put it together into a memorable package.
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Honestly, I do remember talk along those lines. But it was still the height of the "wait your turn" mentality (for all disciplines, not just ice dance). So the "next generation" of skaters, in this case not just Orser but also Boitano and others, would be upping the tech content for a while before their artistic marks would be brought up, too -- strangely enough, about the time the previous "generation" retired from competition.
Kristi Yamaguchi began her senior years known as the "athletic" one!! But by the time Tonya and her triple axel came along, Kristi had morphed and/or been assigned the artistic role, and suddenly it was artistry vs. athleticism again, iteration 1001.
PS: Back to Evan, there certainly were media reports/speculation that Evan was living with Vera Wang in addition to endorsements/business ties. Also media reports/suggestions that they were dating, but I personally didn't find those rumors compelling at all.
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