- Joined
- Jan 10, 2014
My two cents:
When skaters (in whichever one discipline, from whichever country) lack the talent & consistency to be considered a realistic medal favorite at the upcoming world championships, it's hard for me to care about "keeping/earning 3 spots for NEXT year..." unless we're talking about Olympics vs Worlds. For me, it's more understandable to be invested in the 3-spots talk when there is an undeniable depth of world medal contenders in one discipline from one country (i.e. Russian pairs & ladies, Japanese men & ladies, etc). So for this U.S Nationals, I just hope each competing male skater skates/performs their best, and that they build enough momentum to worlds to be considered a dark horse favorite for a medal IF Hanyu/Javi/Chan/Uno/Boyang falter/withdraw.
Regarding Max Aaron: Given his technical ability (which has been good enough for him to win a few medals/titles here & there), and with the withdrawals of Jason & Joshua, I'd definitely consider him the favorite to win this year's National title again (with Rippon a close second). Max reminds me of Elvis Stojko, who was simply incapable and/or unwilling to develop & grow "artistically" (and instead relied on being the most consistent jumper of his time). Unfortunately Max doesn't have that consistency, yet, and even if he did, it wouldn't be good enough to be considered a gold medal contender under this judging system. BUT after watching his Skate America programs this season, I have to say that he shows the promise to develop a style of his own (which may never be as "artististic" as the top skaters in the world), but at least exciting enough to continue threatening podium finishes when he hits all his jumps (like Michael Weiss, Timothy Goebel, Brian Joubert, etc). I admit that skating to Black Swan was not the best fit for him at this stage in his career, but to me it shows his willingness and desire to improve/develop/widen his "artistic" range.
Speaking of Adam Rippon, I love his skating, but I don't care for his programs this year...maybe if he skate them perfectly, with a quad lutz, I'll change my mind. =)
When skaters (in whichever one discipline, from whichever country) lack the talent & consistency to be considered a realistic medal favorite at the upcoming world championships, it's hard for me to care about "keeping/earning 3 spots for NEXT year..." unless we're talking about Olympics vs Worlds. For me, it's more understandable to be invested in the 3-spots talk when there is an undeniable depth of world medal contenders in one discipline from one country (i.e. Russian pairs & ladies, Japanese men & ladies, etc). So for this U.S Nationals, I just hope each competing male skater skates/performs their best, and that they build enough momentum to worlds to be considered a dark horse favorite for a medal IF Hanyu/Javi/Chan/Uno/Boyang falter/withdraw.
Regarding Max Aaron: Given his technical ability (which has been good enough for him to win a few medals/titles here & there), and with the withdrawals of Jason & Joshua, I'd definitely consider him the favorite to win this year's National title again (with Rippon a close second). Max reminds me of Elvis Stojko, who was simply incapable and/or unwilling to develop & grow "artistically" (and instead relied on being the most consistent jumper of his time). Unfortunately Max doesn't have that consistency, yet, and even if he did, it wouldn't be good enough to be considered a gold medal contender under this judging system. BUT after watching his Skate America programs this season, I have to say that he shows the promise to develop a style of his own (which may never be as "artististic" as the top skaters in the world), but at least exciting enough to continue threatening podium finishes when he hits all his jumps (like Michael Weiss, Timothy Goebel, Brian Joubert, etc). I admit that skating to Black Swan was not the best fit for him at this stage in his career, but to me it shows his willingness and desire to improve/develop/widen his "artistic" range.
Speaking of Adam Rippon, I love his skating, but I don't care for his programs this year...maybe if he skate them perfectly, with a quad lutz, I'll change my mind. =)
Good luck to him in the SP. :yay:
