- Joined
- May 19, 2011
(and I wonder if you are the same kwanatic at the YNKF? )
Lol! Yes I am the same Kwanatic from YNKF and MKF. You're on YNKF too right? Howdy! Fancy seeing you here!
And different set of rules, yea? If you are referring to my posts that appear to be disparaging Michelle for her lack of 3-3's...they are a little tongue-in-cheek.
Basically I do not care that much that she did not do them frequently, but I am disliking the way that 3-3's are devalued by MANY posters in response to the criticism of the recent rule changes...They are not easy, and furthermore, to do them while skating the rest of the program clean and well appears to make them more costly when the analysis is done as a whole rather than just the riskiness of the element in itself.
Personally, I think it sucks that 3-3s are not given a higher value. Last I heard, a skater receives the same base value for doing a 3lz-3t as they are given for doing a 3lz and a 3t solo...that's horse poopey, if you get my drift. Again, this is yet another flaw in the COP system that they IJS overlooks and it's very wrong. Some kind of multiplier needs to be given to such combinations because they are more difficult to execute in a combo than they are solo. So in that regard, ITA with you...
It does still hold water that Michelle Kwan's predecessors did 3-3's and 3A's. It does still hold water that many of her rivals were doing difficult 3-3's.
During Michelle's time (the height of her dominance: 1996-2001) the emphasis wasn't on 3-3s and cramming tech content into a program as it is now; it was on artistry and the in-betweens and for that reason, Michelle didn't need a consistent 3-3 that was harder than a 3t-3t. Even when skaters tried their hand at 3-3s Michelle would come out on top because, aside from a solid and usually flawless delivery of jumps, she had the artistry, content and expression to back it up.
Case in point: 2001 Worlds. Michelle delivered a well-choreographed well-paced flawless 7 triple program (that included a 3t-3t). Irina Slutskaya delivered a sloppy, over-reaching technical program (3-3s and 3-jump combos, which were not the norm during that time) that completely lacked artistry and composition. She beat Michelle on the technical mark but lost in the presentation (ie. packaging). Michelle's completeness as a skater was always one of her her strong points.
That Michelle didn't have a 3-3 in Nagano against Tara's (UR) 3lp-3lp was based on that game plan that had worked for the previous 2 seasons: artistry and complete skating over just jumping. However, luck of the draw was on Tara's side and she won (I still believe, to this day, that had the order of their skating been reversed, Michelle would have won...but that's old news). But it wasn't Frank or Michelle's lack of preparation or content...it was just fate.
To further compound my frustration, I am rather appalled that there are MK fans who are defending Ando's LP. That LP is the antithesis of all that is Michelle, someone who was known for brilliant execution of beautiful programs. Again, I have my private suspicions as to why (YuNa-Fan-Paranoia), but it is what it is. I, too, was and is OK with Ando's win even though I would have had it another way if it were up to me. It was close and YuNa was definitely not at her best.
In terms of Miki winning over Yu-Na, like I said, I'm okay with it. I don't necessarily agree with it though; I just find it hard to argue b/c she played by the rules. This COP (Crock of Poop as we call it over at MKF) system rewards what Miki did because of the way the program is tailored and that's nobody's fault except the people who put this crap system together. Backloading = More points. Miki did that. Multiple positions on a spin, regardless of quality = More points. Miki did that. Add to that the fact that Miki has been consistently delivering clean (albeit uninspired) programs all season and she had a case to narrowly edge out a flawed Yu-Na in her first performance in over a year. No, she's not particularly to my tastes, but I thought Miki skated well and I was good with her winning...