The moment you started liking a skater

I don't know if there's been a thread like this, but I have been thinking about this recently. Some skaters you like from the first moment you see them, for some you need to warm-up to over time and some you never pay attention to until one moment makes you start following them. There have been lots of performances, which have made me like a skater I previously a) didn't know much about or b) didn't really like for whatever reason.

Back in the day when I only followed big competitions like Euros and Worlds, I didn't know much about different skaters. But this exhibition program by Adelina Sotnikova made me instantly like her. I was younger and I loved the Burlesque movie and that dress so this was the program, which made me start supporting Adelina.

I wasn't really a huge fan of Yulia during Sochi. Something for me was just missing even though I liked her programs. But her SP at 2016 Russian nationals was the surprising moment, when I really warmed up to her. Seeing her pull through like this and be 3rd in the short after a disappointing season and changing her coach - I instantly became a fan. Granted, this may not have been the best time to get attached, but still hoping she can make it.

For Rika Hongo it was her Riverdance at CoC, which made me pay attention.

It was no love at first sight for me with Evgenia Medvedeva. I liked her costumes and her programs, but just couldn't warm up to her and was all kinds of salty, when she first broke Yuna's world record. But in the end her last seasons FS really kept haunting me and at the beginning of this season I had unexpectedly turned into a fan, who cheered every time she broke a new record.

And interestingly enough, my love for Evgeni Plushenko didn't start as a result of a competition, it started when he skated for Dima Bilan's Eurovision entry.

So I am curious, which performances or programs have made you like certain skaters and why? Did something make you change your mind about a skater or did something just make you pay more attention to someone?

Interesting topic!
I find I will typically like any skater right from "the start" (which could be their breakout season or just the first time I watch them) when one of the first performances I see from them is one I like. An example would be Zagitova (her FS at Russian Nationals). Provided they keep a similar skating and performing style, I'll pretty much be a lifelong fan and willing to forgive any shortcomings on their behalf.
Until someone "wows" me, I'll just feel "meh" about them, but once they do something I love, I'll love them forever! lol

Changing my mind - an example would be Satoko. She bored me at worlds '16, but since I read so many rave reviews of her, I started to wonder whether I was missing something and re-watched her skates. While she's still not a favourite of mine, I did find that when really focusing on her whilst baring in mind what everyone likes about her, I did notice those positive attributes - so the "what the f**k do these people see in her??" mentality is gone and I can appreciate her work.


Personality and issues the athletes have faced off-ice will factor in for me as well, I'll always have a soft spot for someone who has fought against illness etc, or who has rallied for a second Olympics after placing 4th their first time out, things like that.

Watching Misha Ge's short program @ the Sochi Olympics!

Satoko skating to the overture of "The Magic Flute!"

Re: Todd Eldredge - I starting cheering for him in the early 1990's as the next upcoming US men's skater. What really endeared me to him was during the 1992 Winter Olympics. He had just finished skating his short program, and he had had a fall on an important element. He pretended to shoot himself for the mistake. That did it for me! There was no going back after that.

I don't remember many specific moments. I would say the only one I specifically remember was Jason Brown. It was his short program at Nationals in 2013, which was also the first time we were AT Nationals. We talked about him on the way home as one who just had that quality of a performer and could go somewhere in the future.

Anni234 said:

I don't know if there's been a thread like this, but I have been thinking about this recently. Some skaters you like from the first moment you see them, for some you need to warm-up to over time and some you never pay attention to until one moment makes you start following them. There have been lots of performances, which have made me like a skater I previously a) didn't know much about or b) didn't really like for whatever reason.

Back in the day when I only followed big competitions like Euros and Worlds, I didn't know much about different skaters. But this exhibition program by Adelina Sotnikova made me instantly like her. I was younger and I loved the Burlesque movie and that dress so this was the program, which made me start supporting Adelina.

I wasn't really a huge fan of Yulia during Sochi. Something for me was just missing even though I liked her programs. But her SP at 2016 Russian nationals was the surprising moment, when I really warmed up to her. Seeing her pull through like this and be 3rd in the short after a disappointing season and changing her coach - I instantly became a fan. Granted, this may not have been the best time to get attached, but still hoping she can make it.

For Rika Hongo it was her Riverdance at CoC, which made me pay attention.

It was no love at first sight for me with Evgenia Medvedeva. I liked her costumes and her programs, but just couldn't warm up to her and was all kinds of salty, when she first broke Yuna's world record. But in the end her last seasons FS really kept haunting me and at the beginning of this season I had unexpectedly turned into a fan, who cheered every time she broke a new record.

And interestingly enough, my love for Evgeni Plushenko didn't start as a result of a competition, it started when he skated for Dima Bilan's Eurovision entry.

So I am curious, which performances or programs have made you like certain skaters and why? Did something make you change your mind about a skater or did something just make you pay more attention to someone?

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Firstly, great idea for a thread.

And, I like your choices! I have to admit, I already liked the skaters you mentioned by the time they did the routines you chose. But Adelina's Burlesque Gala and and Rika's Riverdance FS are two of my all-time favourite routines.

Incidentally, another of my all-time favourite routines is Anna Pogorilaya's "Rise Like A Phoenix" Gala. But, again, I already liked her.

As for Zhenya at Eurovision, I liked the novelty of it at the time. But re-watching it there now, I was embarrassed for him. Yes, having three grown men in that small area meant there was no space for him to do what we know he was capable of. But, all the arm waving and smiling that he had to resort to was cringeworthy.

My choice is going back a little bit further. Back to the 2003 in fact. I am in the kitchen doing my homework, and I need a break so I flick on Eurosport. And the Ladies Free Skate of the European Championships in on. And onto the ice comes this young girl in a gold dress...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28djAK9g4-0

It was the first time I had seen her. And I instantly fell in love. She was so young, yet so good. That one routine was enough to get me properly hooked on the sport.

Apart from that, I'm afraid that I can't think of any specific moments that made me like a particular skater.

CaroLiza_fan

OH GOSH!!! This is fun! Haha

Sasha Cohen: Salt Lake City Olympics, Short Program

Ashley Wagner: 2015 Nationals, Free Program

Michelle Kwan: 2001 Worlds (Not that I didn't APPRECIATE her before, but I fell in LOVE here), Free Program

Javier Fernandez: 2016 Worlds, Free Program

Carolina Kostner: 2014 Sochi Olympics, Short Program (It took me awhile!)

and lastly.....

Mao Asada: 2007 Worlds, Free Program .........and fell in love again at 2014 Sochi Olympics, Free Program

I have looked for myself in the audience of this video but, to no avail. The beginning of my looooong love affair with Maria Butyrskaya.

Her Pink and Brown skirted Disco Unitard was all I needed.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9yRZOapKc

Plushy............1999 Worlds. While stocking Maria Butyrskaya, I saw this kid with a Big Poofy Head of Blond hair. He was wild on the ice but, I just knew he'd be great. I stalked him at Worlds in 2001 and became a devoted fan after his Bolero SP....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQo4mLyGsNE



Patrick Chan....My current #1 and IMO, the perfect blend of artistry, deep edges, and musicality. Brilliant!! I fell in love with him during this program.....He looks so young.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9LSJIzuQU

mrrice said:

Patrick Chan....My current #1 and IMO, the perfect blend of artistry, deep edges, and musicality. Brilliant!! I feel in love with him during this program.....He looks so young.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnCRAZwTfOQ

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It was the next program for me mrrice for Patrick the LP ... same competition

4everchan said:

It was the next program for me mrrice for Patrick the LP ... same competition

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Fixed.........His LP was actually the program I was thinking about.......Brilliant!!!

mrrice said:

Fixed.........His LP was actually the program I was thinking about.......Brilliant!!!

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oh too bad you fixed it i liked seeing the SP again... i hadn't seen it in a long time!!!!!

i have told that story many times but I was a bit mad at patrick for beating jeff... but then worlds came, and jeff won, and i forgave Patrick and since then, well, I never looked Patrick.... it's been 10 years of unconditional skating love and admiration...

Even at 16, Kaetlyn Osmond had the SWOOSH in her jumps that is now a regular feature of her skating style and repertoire . While other components in this clip are pretty raw, please remember she was 16 at the time and competing at a time when Canadian women, were not doing 3/3's. I was gobsmacked from that moment on and have been an uber fan ever since. Here is the skate and that moment for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6He7VoOye8

In my 4 decades of following fs, I have never seen the Canadian women (usually the weakest of our field) with the same fierceness as Kaetlyn, Gabby, Alaine, Veronik, Larkyn, Sarah and Aurora. IMHO, Canadian women needed to, and have raised their bar because of one individual, ...Kaetlyn Osmond.

Osmond4gold said:

Even at 16, Kaetlyn Osmond had the SWOOSH in her jumps that is now a regular feature of her skating style and repertoire . While other components in this clip are pretty raw, please remember she was 16 at the time and competing at a time when Canadian woman, were not doing 3/3. I was gobsmacked from that moment on and have been an uber fan ever since. Here is the skate and that moment for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6He7VoOye8

In my 4 decades of following fs, I have never seen the Canadian women (usually the weakest of our field) with the same fierceness as Kaetlyn, Gabby, Alaine, Veronik, Larkyn, Sarah and Aurora. IMHO, Canadian women needed to, and have raised their bar because of one individual, ...Kaetlyn Osmond.

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I would add Joannie as fierce but yup our girls are more and more fierce

As much as I love Joannie, her 3/3 was never a focus, and I felt that given the level of home competition, she did not feel the need.

Osmond4gold said:

As much as I love Joannie, her 3/3 was never a focus, and I felt that given the level of home competition, she did not feel the need.

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she did have two gorgeous combos (3F-3T, 3T-1/2L-3S) when she started out.. but yeah... yuna was the only consistent skater with a great 3-3 it back then, and Mao was focusing on the 3axel. I think though, what makes Joannie part of the fierce girls is that she is really the first Canadian in a long time having the "you know what, no matter who else is on the ice, I can win too" ... that's more the attitude I was referring to, rather than the content.

I might some flack for this but......This performance by Tonya Harding is responsible for me seeing, and falling in love with Maria Butryskaya way back in 1991. I still think a performance like this would get her on a World Podium even though it was more than 25 years ago.

Tonya Harding Skate America 1991, Oakland California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOP3Dj0DraQ

a slightly different take on the subject:

I'm a relatively new recreational skater, started about 3 months ago. I live just down the street from the rink, so I'm able to skate about 5 to 6 days a week. I go to the noon session where there are only a handful of people there. After a couple of weeks, I purchased my own skates. A lot of the experienced skaters noticed this and started saying "hi" and would introduce themselves, ask me how my skates felt, and would offer a occasion word of encouragement. I thought this was pretty cool, as in a lot of sports and activities, the experienced people sometimes disdain newbies.

One of these skaters was a figures coach, who I learned skated in the 1992 Olympics! I was very impressed there was someone of this caliber at our rink. She started greeting me by name and would always wave when I came in, even if she was in the middle of giving a lesson. A couple of weeks ago, she was giving a lesson to a youngster, and waved and yelled "Hi Doug" when i entered the ice. I could see the youngster mouth the words "who's that?". I heard her say "that's my friend Doug". There's no way I can express how great that made me feel.

Watching this lady skate takes my breath away. I'm hooked.....

Slowpoke

Okay let me see:

Yuzuru Hanyu: When I saw him (watching replays from NBC cause well I wasn't in the skating fandom yet) skate his SP from the team event at the 2014 Olympics.

Jason Brown: The day after I became a fan of Yuzuru. Watched his Riverdance FP from 2014 Nationals on YouTube.

Kevin Reynolds: Two days after I became a fan of Jason. Watched the replay for Day 3 of the Team Event at the 2014 Olympics (Since I missed it live cause I was working). And then watched his FP like 3 more times.

Deniss Vasiljevs: Saw his SP on YouTube livestream at the 2015 JGP Riga. Blown away.

Alaine Chartrand: Funny story. I saw her twitter in like the spring/summer of 2014 and in her bio it said "KEVIN REYNOLDS FAN" so I was like "Oh sweet! A fellow fan of Kevin!" Then I went onto the Skate Canada website and saw that she was a member of the National Team. Then I watched videos of her skating and I started liking it.

Maxim Kovtun: It was March of 2014. The first week of March 2014 to be exact. I was looking at Plushy's wikipedia page to see how many medals he had won and saw he only got silver at 2014 Nationals (Keep in mind, I had only been in the skating fandom for like about a month at the time) and so I decided to click that event and see who won. And I saw Maxim won. So I clicked his name to see more about him. And when I read what his birthdate was, I started laughing cause he has the EXACT SAME birthday as me: June 18, 1995. So then the next season I started paying attention to his skating more. And I liked the programs he did. Yes I actually did like the blue Spiderman costume.

Lorraine McNamara/Quinn Carpenter and Rachel Parsons/Michael Parsons: Kinda around the same time I discovered them and then later actually watched their skating. First during the 2014-2015 JGP, I saw their names and looked their ISU bios up. I learned that both teams were from and trained in the DC metropolitan area. Which made me excited cause I live in the DC metropolitan area as well (Though they live in the Maryland side and I live in the Virginia side). Then the next season I started watching their skating (I think I kinda saw their skating on livestream in the 2014-2015 season but didn't exactly pay too much attention) and I was wowed. SUPER WOWED. So yeah that's how I started really liking their skating. Side note, after the Parsons won the 2015 JGP Bratislava and when Ted Barton mentioned to Michael, "I know your a Washington Capitals fan" I was like "YES!!!!!" Cause I'm a Caps fan as well. Rock the Red! Unleash the fury!!!!

Chelsea Liu/Brian Johnson: Like I said, I wasn't paying attention too hard during the 2014-2015 JGP. So when I saw the list of qualifiers for the 2014-2015 JGPF, I saw there was only 1 US entry: Liu/Johnson, so I decided to pay attention to their skating more and start to really root for them. Next season I paid attention even more and yes while I admit, I hold my breath before they do solo and/or throw jumps, their lifts are BEAUTIFUL. Once they polish up the jumps, they can hopefully be contenders in the future.

Daniel Samohin: As someone who's Jewish, I definitely get excited for Israel. So I found myself rooting for Daniel. I was SO HAPPY when he won the 2016 JWC! HUGE comeback!

Alexei Bychenko: I first saw him skate when I saw the livestream for the men's event for the 2014 Olympics (I had two snow days conveniently on the day of the SP and FP). And just like with Samohin, I got excited when I saw he was competing for Israel. And over the next few seasons, I saw his skills improved a lot. And I was SO happy when he won silver at 2016 Euros. PS: I've seen him, Jason Brown, and Denis Ten skate 3 times each. The most overall tied. And this is counting competitions and ice shows (SP and FP for the same competition counts as one time since it's the same competition/event).

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier: This SORT of goes back to 2010. I remember seeing bits of ice dancing from the 2010 Olympics and saw a bit of Paul Poirier when he was partners with Vanessa Crone at the time. And I thought Paul was kinda cute lol. Then years later I looked him up again and saw he had a new partner: Piper Gilles. I watched 1-2 programs they did in the 2013-2014 season. Then during the 2014-2015 season I started watching them skate on livestream and I LOVED it! They were so different and it made me happy.

It's the moment I learn about their off ice personality and backgrounds. Several important factors must exist: their religious faith, humility, discipline, approach to family and traditional social order. This is why I tend to like Eastern European and Russian skaters more and try to stay away from the US camp.

Yu-Na Kim: She caught me with her first appearence. Tango de Roxanne in 2007.

Carolina Kostner: Bolero 2012/2013.

Pang/Tong: Lady Caliph 2013/2014.

Virtue/Moir: Hiphip Chin Chin. 2011

Stolbova/Klimov: Tiger of Dragon 2014/2015.

Mao Asada: Triple Axel at worlds 2007.

Aljona Savchenko: I cannot remember if she had been born before I fell in love with her.

The moment I decided to be figure skating fan forever: Olympics 2006. Shizuka Arakawa.

Manitou said:

It's the moment I learn about their off ice personality and backgrounds. Several important factors must exist: their religious faith, humility, discipline, approach to family and traditional social order. This is why I tend to like Eastern European and Russian skaters more and try to stay away from the US camp.

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You sound like a lot of fun. I also prefer Russian skaters to US skaters, but I haven't heard many of them talk about their religion. Plenty of US skaters do that, though. Not that it has anything to do with figure skating either way.

As for the topic, I guess the most memorable "love at first sight" moment was Deniss Vasiljevs at 2014 Junior Worlds. He was just a little ball of sunshine with amazing spins...and he still is.