Max Aaron | Page 46 | Golden Skate

Max Aaron

More stuff from US Nats ...

Finally came across this interview conducted by John Coughlin after Max's FS (but before the final outcome of the comp was known):

U.S. Champs Interview 01/24/16 | 00:01:16
Max Aaron discusses his performance during an interview at the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
http://web.icenetwork.com/video/v540299683​

Possible scenarios ;) for how I envision karne meeting Max at Worlds:


With the Super Bowl almost upon us, throwing back to football references in St. Paul:

Jessica Marshall ‏@jess_on_ice
Favorite #USChamps16 moment: @MaxTAaron thanking audience for watching bc he knows football is on #figureskating
2:47 PM - 24 Jan 2016
https://twitter.com/jess_on_ice/status/691391784732250112​

@LynnRutherford
#USChamps16 Men's presser waits for final NFL score.
3:31 PM - 24 Jan 2016
https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/691403063324618755 (in the attached photo, Max definitely looks the most interested :) of the medalists)​

Links for posterity:

Sr. Men's FS Presser - U.S. Champs 01/24/16 | 00:12:34
Watch the press conference after the senior men's free skate from the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.f
http://web.icenetwork.com/video/topic/162534566/v540294083

(Unfortunately the video ends without including the final image from the live streaming -- of buddies Max and Adam leaving the presser with their arms around each other.)
​

@USFigureSkating
.@MaxTAaron brings the @XcelEnergyCtr crowd to its feet! 269.55 overall score....into first! #USChamps16
2:39 PM - 24 Jan 2016
https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/691389968858480640 (17-sec vid of Max's comments in the mixed zone - after his FS, but before the final outcome)​
 
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golden411icecoverage said:
Possible scenarios ;) for how I envision karne meeting Max at Worlds:

Click to expand...

:hopelessness:

The main difference is that while my facial expression would be about the same as that little girl in the second picture, I'm no little girl, it'd probably look creepy on an adult woman. :laugh:

The true test will be whether I can actually say anything - and if I do, if he can actually hear me... :o:
 
#TBT photo of our favorite hockey player:

ETA:

Unrelated Max silver-medal/Black Swan graphic from MK Blades:

Mini-vid of Max practice at Nats:

karne said:
:hopelessness:

The main difference is that while my facial expression would be about the same as that little girl in the second picture, I'm no little girl, it'd probably look creepy on an adult woman. :laugh:

The true test will be whether I can actually say anything - and if I do, if he can actually hear me... :o:
Click to expand...

I'm excited both for you and for Max. I think he will be more than pleased to meet someone who has followed his career for so long and who came all the way from Australia to cheer for him in Boston :yay:.
 
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So, it appears that the cast for Stars on Ice 2016 has been announced and once again Max is not on the list! I wonder what he has to do to be included on this tour? It doesn't seem to be restricted to gold medalists from nationals or worlds, they have all kinds of medalists. He's an amazing show skater. Really cool vibe. He's only ever been a guest performer, not a regular cast member. Oh well. Not sure I'll be going this year. Have to see what other skaters may be added.
 
Skatefan15 said:
So, it appears that the cast for Stars on Ice 2016 has been announced and once again Max is not on the list! I wonder what he has to do to be included on this tour? It doesn't seem to be restricted to gold medalists from nationals or worlds, they have all kinds of medalists. He's an amazing show skater. Really cool vibe. He's only ever been a guest performer, not a regular cast member. Oh well. Not sure I'll be going this year. Have to see what other skaters may be added.
Click to expand...

Max's exclusion is very disappointing. If he had won, I doubt they could have left him off. But even when he had those eight shows in 2014 there were still people complaining that they "only" got Max at their stop and not Jason... Sigh.

If he can do what we all know he can at 4CCs, he may yet force their hand.
 
karne said:
Max's exclusion is very disappointing. If he had won, I doubt they could have left him off. But even when he had those eight shows in 2014 there were still people complaining that they "only" got Max at their stop and not Jason... Sigh.

If he can do what we all know he can at 4CCs, he may yet force their hand.
Click to expand...

At this point he would probably only be added as a "guest performer" because they already have Adam, Jeremy, and Ryan. But I know that's better than nothing. It's just that the guests don't get to do the fun group numbers. Haven't seen Max in many group numbers. He'd probably steal the show!!
 
karne said:
If he can do what we all know he can at 4CCs, he may yet force their hand.
Click to expand...

Or being that 4CCs is in Taipei, could it give him a chance at other opportunities?

What about overseas tours/shows? Could Max grow his international appeal and get invited to performs in shows in Asia or Europe? I wonder if he has a good relationship with Denis Ten; I believe he has done shows every summer in Kazakhstan.

But would overseas shows be a financially viable option for Max? Or would his travel costs from the U.S. usually be covered?
 
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I just think it's a shame that U.S. audiences don't get to watch him perform in shows held in this country. I feel like he's earned an invitation at least! Especially to Stars on Ice. I think most skaters want to be part of that tour at some point during their careers. Maybe next year.
 
Guess whose face :yay: leads off today's new USFS video? Title: "A Closer Look at #USChamps16."

He shows up again throughout the video.
And we see another nice bro moment :luv17: of Max with Adam in the group selfie at the gala (at approx. 2:48).
(Plus we glimpse Maddie/Max S in the backstage shots.)

https://youtu.be/scsPtYHcXWU (3:16)​

Thoughts about Max and shows:

We can't rule out the possibility that he declined an invitation from SOI this year.

Let's not forget that a silver lining to missing the world team last season was Max's unusually early start on his new programs for this season.
So not touring with SOI could be seen as advantageous in that sense.

As the 2014 U.S. bronze medalist, Max was a guest performer for eight SOI shows, as karne mentioned.
The full SOI tour is only six shows this year. If Max was not invited, I don't view it as a slap in his face. (Although it means his fans will not see him.)
I think it's a fact of life that the new national champ will receive new opportunities in general. (It was true for Max :).)

(And a general comment not specific to Max:
It would surprise me if any professional show -- overseas or otherwise -- did not pay for the travel expenses of the skaters. YMMV.)​
 
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That's true about the early start. So I guess there's that! I also mentioned the shows Max did as a guest, but as a guest, he wasn't able to do the group numbers and those are some of the most memorable! As for the new national champ, agree with ya there also (although I don't recall the SOI show from 2013, I don't think Max was a cast member then either) but they have on their roster the current women's gold, silver and bronze medalists and only the champ represented on the men's side (yes, I'm aware that Nathan Chen is injured) alongside medalists from years past. I'm pretty sure he would have jumped at the opportunity to join the cast. It's an amazing opportunity. But who knows. Anyway, looking forward to seeing his programs again in a couple of weeks.
 
Just to give a frame of reference for this, wasn't Joshua Farris (who was a 2 time pewter medalist at Nationals at the time) on the entire 2014 SOI tour or a few shows? If it was the entire tour, that makes this more perplexing if Max wasn't asked to do SOI this year. I wonder what the difference is - I doubt it is politics.
 
musicfan80 said:
Or being that 4CCs is in Taipei, could it give him a chance at other opportunities?

What about overseas tours/shows? Could Max grow his international appeal and get invited to performs in shows in Asia or Europe? I wonder if he has a good relationship with Denis Ten; I believe he has done shows every summer in Kazakhstan.

But would overseas shows be a financially viable option for Max? Or would his travel costs from the U.S. usually be covered?
Click to expand...

Financially speaking, every skater wants to get in on the Japanese circuit. There's a lot of money to be made there. Some of the European tours can be worth it, as well. SOI is really small fry. I'd like to see Max in KOI but Plushy seems to have a set cast that he likes to pick from that varies very little.

If a show invited him, they would cover his costs.

musicfan80 said:
Just to give a frame of reference for this, wasn't Joshua Farris (who was a 2 time pewter medalist at Nationals at the time) on the entire 2014 SOI tour or a few shows? If it was the entire tour, that makes this more perplexing if Max wasn't asked to do SOI this year. I wonder what the difference is - I doubt it is politics.
Click to expand...

Yes, Joshua did the full SOI tour. It turned out to be quite the growth experience for him, and I'm glad. He was actually cast by Jeff Buttle as the central skater in "The Walker" group number.

golden411icecoverage said:
Guess whose face :yay: leads off today's new USFS video? Title: "A Closer Look at #USChamps16."

He shows up again throughout the video.
And we see another nice bro moment :luv17: of Max with Adam in the group selfie at the gala (at approx. 2:48).
(Plus we glimpse Maddie/Max S in the backstage shots.)

https://youtu.be/scsPtYHcXWU (3:16)​
Click to expand...

He's such a cutie pie. Thought, though: the expressions on his face as he was moving the program backstage were considerably more expressive than on the ice. Now, I wonder - is that a function of nerves, or a function of the fact that we only see his face from further away on the ice?
 
Skatefan15 said:
That's true about the early start. So I guess there's that! I also mentioned the shows Max did as a guest, but as a guest, he wasn't able to do the group numbers and those are some of the most memorable! As for the new national champ, agree with ya there also (although I don't recall the SOI show from 2013, I don't think Max was a cast member then either) but they have on their roster the current women's gold, silver and bronze medalists and only the champ represented on the men's side (yes, I'm aware that Nathan Chen is injured) alongside medalists from years past. I'm pretty sure he would have jumped at the opportunity to join the cast. It's an amazing opportunity. But who knows. Anyway, looking forward to seeing his programs again in a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...

Don't want to get sucked into handwringing over SOI.
I think it is an exercise in futility to try to extrapolate what decisions SOI shoulda/coulda made.
(For example: Gracie and Ashley were announced as 2016 cast members before Nats. SOI was committed to them no matter what their placements would turn out to be.)

But BTW:

I meant that karne mentioned eight as the number of shows for which Max was a guest performer.
(I was and am aware that guest performers are not in the group numbers. Happy for Adam that he will be in the group numbers. If/when Max gets a chance at the group numbers down the road, I agree that he will be great.)

The 2013 SOI show had zero eligible skaters. (And I think this year's tour schedule is very different from 2013's, which started before Worlds, iirc.)
The 2013 cast: Hamill, Browning, Gordeeva, Kulik, Rochette, Bradley, the Kerrs, Sawyer, Navarro/Bommentre.
As the 2013 champ, Max did receive other (non-SOI) "perks."​

I believe Max will be very mindful that 2017 Nats will have a zillion strong contenders:
- Adam​
If we're lucky:
- healthy Nathan
- healthy Ross
- healthy Jason
- healthy Josh
- healthy Richard​
The ever-improving:
- Grant
- Timothy
- Alex
- Vincent​
And possibly:
- Jeremy​

I wish only good things for Max.
If he is not touring with SOI, the up-side is that he can be very productive with getting a jump on next season.
 
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karne said:
Financially speaking, every skater wants to get in on the Japanese circuit. There's a lot of money to be made there. Some of the European tours can be worth it, as well. SOI is really small fry. I'd like to see Max in KOI but Plushy seems to have a set cast that he likes to pick from that varies very little.

If a show invited him, they would cover his costs.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see that too! And the shows in Japan and Europe look like a lot of fun. I've seen some of the vlogs. Here's hoping!
 
karne said:
WHAT? It's the day before 4CC and Max is languishing on Page Three! Not acceptable! SnuggleBat Fans, ASSEMBLE!

Here, have our SnuggleBat in a pink Lamborghini. :love:
Click to expand...

Adding a bookmark that our discussion of :bmrk: 2016 FOUR CONTINENTS :bmrk: has started above.

Thanks to karne for rounding up Team Snugglebat.

USFS posted a photo of Max speaking to the media after practice in Taipei:

Guess Max prob. is visiting Taipei for the first time? (His previous trip to Four Continents was to Osaka in 2013.)
Hope he enjoys his new adventure .. with Ross, Madi/Zach, and other friends.

Happy to see Mirai :luv17: alongside Max in the Lamborghini :cool:.

[Off topic, but reminds me of a interview long after Vancouver in which (I'm paraphrasing) Scott Moir laughed over the assumption by some people that an Olympic gold medalist would be living large and driving a Lamborghini. At the time, Scott's car in reality was a Chevy Impala.
 
golden411icecoverage said:
Guess Max prob. is visiting Taipei for the first time? (His previous trip to Four Continents was to Osaka in 2013.)
Hope he enjoys his new adventure .. with Ross, Madi/Zach, and other friends.
Click to expand...

Wait - (and I should know this but I can't look it up right now), wasn't Max selected for 4CCs in 2014 when it was also in Taipei?

I'm trying to remember the three U.S. guys that were at 4CCs instead of going to Sochi. I wonder (depending of who we are talking about) if they saw it as a good international opportunity or the most bummer competition ever.
 
musicfan80 said:
Wait - (and I should know this but I can't look it up right now), wasn't Max selected for 4CCs in 2014 when it was also in Taipei?

I'm trying to remember the three U.S. guys that were at 4CCs instead of going to Sochi. I wonder (depending of who we are talking about) if they saw it as a good international opportunity or the most bummer competition ever.
Click to expand...

Max was assigned to 2014 Worlds :), and not to 2014 Four Continents.

2014 U.S. Four Continents Men's Figure Skating Team
Richard Dornbush
Joshua Farris
Adam Rippon
Alternate No. 1 - Douglas Razzano
Alternate No. 2 - Ross Miner
Alternate No. 3 - Brandon Mroz
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=49829&type=media (Jan 12, 2014)​

Placements in Taipei in 2014
 
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golden411icecoverage said:
Max was assigned to 2014 Worlds :), and not to 2014 Four Continents.

2014 U.S. Four Continents Men's Figure Skating Team
Richard Dornbush
Joshua Farris
Adam Rippon
Alternate No. 1 - Douglas Razzano
Alternate No. 2 - Ross Miner
Alternate No. 3 - Brandon Mroz
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=49829&type=media (Jan 12, 2014)​

Placements in Taipei in 2014
Click to expand...

Thanks golden! For some reason, I thought last year was Josh's first year at 4CCs.

But between Ricky, Adam, and Josh, were any of those guys really happy to be there? Especially with the Nationals disappointments that Ricky and Adam had? But then again, I can't imagine that Max would have wanted to go, either.
---------------------

Back to Max - I really hope that he has two great programs and therefore a great placement here. It would be a fantastic tune up for him for Worlds!
 
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musicfan80 said:
But between Ricky, Adam, and Josh, were any of those guys really happy to be there? Especially with the Nationals disappointments that Ricky and Adam had?
Click to expand...

I think Josh was. He had had a slightly disappointing season until that point. He'd been fifth at Skate Canada on GP debut (good, he was also the lead US man there), and had hung his hopes on getting to skate on the same ice as his idol Plushenko at COR, but Plushenko had to withdraw and then Josh sprained his ankle at practice. :cry: By the time he got to Nationals he knew his chances of making the Olympic team were slim and even less, so he was just happy to get the pewter again and go on to Four Continents.

I would have liked to see Max at Four Continents that year too - I like to think that he would have been fired up and ready to go. But he was first alternate for the Olympics, and IIRC Jeremy had back and hip problems, and maybe they thought it better to just keep Max in tip-top shape just in case. And then the fluff pieces this year...maybe he wouldn't mentally have been in the right place, anyway. I wonder how many of the people who wailed that only Mirai had the right to be upset after that Nationals changed their tune when Max admitted on national television that he had nightmares! :cry:

I definitely think our SnuggleBat can medal here!
 
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