Re-litigating Lillehammer

[GGFan]

Off the topic, but I anticipated G&G versus M&D thread before coming up nancy and oksana

Look at my screenname. To my eyes there was no G/G v. M/D. The judges were very wise that night :hap93:

 

[skylark]

I've read the whole thread and I join GGfan ... I've learned a few things, and I've enjoyed the more light=hearted views here as well. So now I'll say what immediately came to my sometimes off-the-wall mind.

1. Regarding Tanya. Nancy Kerrigan was asked what she thought about the boot lace incident. She shrugged and said "It's always somethin' (with Tanya)." And she was so right! It was ridiculous not to have the right back up laces. But here's the key: Tanya thrived on chaos, and if chaos wasn't present, I think she'd subconsciously somehow compel it. I don't think it was purposeful of her at all. (I don't think it's fair, but life isn't fair either.)

2. I recall Sandra Bezic, and maybe Scott, (and maybe other commentators) saying, after a crash in the warm-up or some other unnerving event ... "well, this could actually be beneficial..." as in, this shake-up could actually take the focus off all the prep, the calming or soothing that skaters do to prepare themselves to perform, the nerves and jumpiness associated with, "will I get in my own way again or will I land all my jumps beautifully" etc. And for some skaters, such a shake-up does seem to be beneficial. If I remember correctly, Jamie Sale collided in their Olympic warm-up with another skater, and that's exactly what either Scott or Sandra said. It's quite possible that for some skaters, skating after Tanya's fiasco would have taken enough edge off thinking about themselves to help them. For some people, the unexpected jolt can be a good thing.

3. Regarding Josee. It's always stuck in my mind that Scott said the officials had asked Josee if she'd skate early, and she said yes. Josee strikes me as the kind of person who would say yes. Maybe she didn't think it through, or didn't realize how rattled she would be ... thus her comments about it after the fact, that are so painful, in review mode. And I relate.

And here's the thing. Not every athlete gets to have their Olympic Moment live up to its billing. Some skaters really bomb at the Olympics, and some never get a second chance. There's all the dreaming, hard work, mental preparation, for every single participant. Disappointments are awful, but at least they can probably afford therapy! And for Josee ... she had a wonderful career with SOI. What are most memorable to me in this thread are all the posts about how enjoyable Josee was as a skater, how full of charm, personality and performance she was. Maybe her biggest legacy consists of those lovely, memorable programs that people can still visualize and enjoy in an instant!

4. This is a really crazy #4. Re-litigate G/G vs. M/D. No, really, GGfan, make a new thread. It would be fun. I once saw a u tube video where someone had compared the two free skates using IJS system. Personally, I'd rather discuss the two skates in terms of personal preference: do you prefer perfection, or do you prefer passion? Now, I am a true G/G fanatic, but I still can feel the excitement of M/D's Rach program, the energy, the passion, the building up, the power of that performance. And I love it every time I watch it. Also, M/D gave so much in that moment. I go back and forth, really.

And, how about re-litigating this: Was it fair to Isabel Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler? If it hadn't been for those two Olympic Gold medalist pairs being allowed to re-instate, B/E would have been Olympic champions.

:gaah: Why did it have to be more Canadians?

 

[lesnar001]

And, how about re-litigating this: Was it fair to Isabel Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler? If it hadn't been for those two Olympic Gold medalist pairs being allowed to re-instate, B/E would have been Olympic champions.

:gaah: Why did it have to be more Canadians?

I know --- poor Brasseur and Eisler.

The only "pros" to do well* in the Olympics and it had to be BOTH pairs teams.

*I know that Torvill & Dean got a bronze medal, but judging by the look on Christopher Dean's face it was not what he was looking for.
Did they get "dinged" because he put in a lift that was too high or something like that? I don't remember exactly.

 

[ribbit]

I know that Torvill & Dean got a bronze medal, but judging by the look on Christopher Dean's face it was not what he was looking for.
Did they get "dinged" because he put in a lift that was too high or something like that? I don't remember exactly.

Yes, the issue was Torvill's final flip over Dean's head. IIRC, at the time, in ice dance, the man was not permitted to lift the woman above his shoulders; that is, part of her body could be above his shoulder level, but the point where he provided support had to be at or below his shoulders. T/D's argument was that Torvill propelled herself over Dean's head, rather than his lifting her. If you watch the final lift, you see that while his hands are clearly above his shoulders, she does seem to jump onto his back almost piggy-back style, and then swing herself up and over his head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcxSn6gL5M

The lift starts at about 4:15, and there's a slow-mo replay from a different angle at 5:50.

Whether this was truly illegal, or whether it violated the spirit but not the letter of the rules (or vice versa), I don't have the expertise to say. But the judges did give them a deduction, which I think bumped them from silver- to bronze-medal position.

 

[charlotte14]

Off the topic, but I anticipated G&G versus M&D thread before coming up nancy and oksana

On one side, I know why Nancy was so robbed. But on another side, I can not stand Nancy.

 

[skylark]

On one side, I know why Nancy was so robbed. But on another side, I can not stand Nancy.

Can you imagine the hue and cry, the absolute disdain that would greet a comment like ... "on another side, I can not stand Alina" or "on another side, I can not stand Scott and Tessa."

I think we Nancy fans do very well at controlling ourselves when comments like this are made.

 

[Tonichelle]

2. I recall Sandra Bezic, and maybe Scott, (and maybe other commentators) saying, after a crash in the warm-up or some other unnerving event ... "well, this could actually be beneficial..." as in, this shake-up could actually take the focus off all the prep, the calming or soothing that skaters do to prepare themselves to perform, the nerves and jumpiness associated with, "will I get in my own way again or will I land all my jumps beautifully" etc. And for some skaters, such a shake-up does seem to be beneficial. If I remember correctly, Jamie Sale collided in their Olympic warm-up with another skater, and that's exactly what either Scott or Sandra said. It's quite possible that for some skaters, skating after Tanya's fiasco would have taken enough edge off thinking about themselves to help them. For some people, the unexpected jolt can be a good thing.

Jamie collided with Anton Sikharudleze in the warm up before the... LP at the 2002 Olympics. She seemed to get the worst of it and Anton was shocked and right there trying to help along with David Pelletier. Both teams were skating backwards and in each others' blindspots.

Scott and Sandra were the ones with Al Trautwig that night and of course Al was trying to make it sound like a communist plot while Scott and Sandra were much more sympathetic to thte whole thing.

 

[lesnar001]

Jamie collided with Anton Sikharudleze in the warm up before the... LP at the 2002 Olympics. She seemed to get the worst of it and Anton was shocked and right there trying to help along with David Pelletier. Both teams were skating backwards and in each others' blindspots.

Scott and Sandra were the ones with Al Trautwig that night and of course Al was trying to make it sound like a communist plot while Scott and Sandra were much more sympathetic to thte whole thing.

Al Trautwig :disapp:

Don't much care for him for gymnastics either.

One reason I like Terry Gannon so much is that he is fully invested in FS even though it was never his background.
He has made a great effort in learning about the sport and the skaters.

Al Trautwig is like he came out of "Sportscaster 101" school with his cliches and jingoism. A real oaf (in my opinion).

 

[Tonichelle]

Al Trautwig :disapp:

Don't much care for him for gymnastics either.

One reason I like Terry Gannon so much is that he is fully invested in FS even though it was never his background.
He has made a great effort in learning about the sport and the skaters.

Al Trautwig is like he came out of "Sportscaster 101" school with his cliches and jingoism. A real oaf (in my opinion).

He was horrible to Simone Biles at the last Olympics and was SO offensive to EVERY family that has adopted. So glad he is no longer part of the team. Terry's moving into gymnastics now it seems.

 

[gravy]

Having Tonya's FS drama unfold in Lillehammer was the biggest gift Josee could have ever received to rack up those pity points. Josee was never going to skate clean. If you factor in the time it took for Tonya to skate around, start her program, go to the judges, attempt to get her laces fixed before getting passed over, Josee would've been going on at the same time regardless if Tonya had just skated her program as intended.

 

[4everchan]

it is not a question of time but of how it happened as mentioned in the thread in other posts.

 

[charlotte14]

Can you imagine the hue and cry, the absolute disdain that would greet a comment like ... "on another side, I can not stand Alina" or "on another side, I can not stand Scott and Tessa."

I think we Nancy fans do very well at controlling ourselves when comments like this are made.

I can not stand Nancy as a skater because she was not much interesting to watch. But I do think she should have won there. Did I make myself clear?