Get your hats ready, guys!
Early in the season Guru SF said Patrick would bottom out at GPF 2012, perfectly timed to win his Worlds hat trick and rise all the way to Sochi. :yay: Don't you doubt or worry about the nay sayers. :disapp:
Oh my heavens, what a strange World Men's event...AGAIN!!! The most shocking thing is that BOTH Takahashi and Hanyu were off the podium. Who would have thought! I'm thrilled for Denis Ten for finally being able to put it together. Kevin Reynolds has had a very good season, so congrats to him. Now about Patrick...
The SP was FABULOUS and I loved every second of it! It was exactly how that program is supposed to be, smooth and calm. And, I think this is the first time Patrick has finished in sync with the music, although I couldn't really tell because the crowd was so loud The LP, however, was a different story, and with it Patrick merely gave more fuel to the haters' fire. The haters say that Patrick is arrogant and a sore loser. I don't see that at all. I mean, he was not at all happy at the end of his LP and was really disappointed in himself. He actually apologized to the crowd for not skating better. And he also said afterward that while he was skating he thought he might not win. Oh well, I guess if people really want to see someone as arrogant, they will do so no matter what. I just think there's so much controversy surrounding Patrick these days that people tend to forget how good of a skater he actually is. Sigh :disapp:
All we can hope for as fans is that the Sochi Olympics is a cleaner event for all the men so that whoever wins has an undisputed victory. That would be the perfect world scenario.
:agree:skatingfan4ever said:Oh my heavens, what a strange World Men's event...AGAIN!!! The most shocking thing is that BOTH Takahashi and Hanyu were off the podium. Who would have thought! I'm thrilled for Denis Ten for finally being able to put it together.
Go away ciocio. BTW, 'ciocio' means 'smelly' in one of the dialects I know. Not kidding.I'm not SF, I'm not!:yay:
The other thing I'm concerned about is that if Patrick wins the OGM, many people will not consider him a worthy winner (depending, of course, on how his Olympic programs go). If he wins despite mistakes, then people will say, "Well, he was gifted two of his World titles and the OGM, so he's not a real champion." They may also say, "This whole quad was terrible because of Patrick, since other men didn't get their due." Of course, people love to debate results even years after they happen, so I guess that would be nothing new. I just feel like Patrick gets accused of "taking" other people's medals a lot more than other skaters do. As I've said before, Patrick ultimately has very little control over his scores. I don't know how many times I've read something like, "The judging system sucks because Patrick Chan can win with mistakes," as if he is the only instance of people getting controversial placements. I worry about his long-term legacy in the sport due to all this controversy. Then again, this may be just a fan perception, because other skaters seem to really respect him.I get the same from him, he is by no means arrogant, I think he was genuinely embarrassed and kind of shocked by his marks and he knows there will be controversy and he will be grilled about it. And what is he supposed to say in the end? Of course he will joke and attempt to be positive and then get defensive. What else is he going to do? How many athletes actually come out and state that they should not have won something? I mean really, all this hate for him, it's really sad, I feel for him (and the sport) in so many ways. It does him and FS no favours.
The other thing I'm concerned about is that if Patrick wins the OGM, many people will not consider him a worthy winner (depending, of course, on how his Olympic programs go). If he wins despite mistakes, then people will say, "Well, he was gifted two of his World titles and the OGM, so he's not a real champion." They may also say, "This whole quad was terrible because of Patrick, since other men didn't get their due." Of course, people love to debate results even years after they happen, so I guess that would be nothing new. I just feel like Patrick gets accused of "taking" other people's medals a lot more than other skaters do. As I've said before, Patrick ultimately has very little control over his scores. I don't know how many times I've read something like, "The judging system sucks because Patrick Chan can win with mistakes," as if he is the only instance of people getting controversial placements. I worry about his long-term legacy in the sport due to all this controversy. Then again, this may be just a fan perception, because other skaters seem to really respect him.
A solution to this frustration would be to not read any comments on the internet about Patrick other than what's on this thread. I've decided to do that several other times but then found myself too curious to stay away. Maybe I'll actually do it during next season. And, if Patrick skates lights out in Sochi, a lot of this griping is likely to go away (like it did for Yu-Na Kim after last night). He'll always be number one in my heart no matter what; I just hope he becomes less hated and more appreciated by a lot of other people as well. Anyway, sorry for rambling so much.
Cannot believe another season has ended. I know Patrick's free didn't go how he wanted but take a look at his beautiful free in practice. Men's practice tue group 3 at 20min http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29925350.
Congrats to all medalists.