I know that you probably didn't mean it this way -- but why does there only has to be *one* skater who is the be-all, end-all as far the "future" of skating?
Also Jason's trajectory has always been a long-tail approach, namely because his strengths/weaknesses force him to be. Asking Jason to suddenly go along with other skaters like Nathan learn to jump multiple quads immediately is like asking the Shibutanis to do Papadakis/Cizeron style programs. Jason has succeed not because he's gone with the jumping trend -- he's done well in SPITE of it.
Back when Jason was a novice, people were more wowed by Joshua Farris at the time because he had all his triples (except the 3A) and could do a 3-3. Jason was far behind technical wise -- he couldn't even rotate a triple loop in his FS. But yet he still generated buzz because he could do other things -- like do a
step sequence that had a major tempo change in the middle of it..
IN contrast, Nathan's always been a bit of a wonder kid technically. He broke Josh Farris' Novice record two years later -- at the age of 11(Josh and Jason were 14 when they were in Novice). Actually, what we're seeing now feels like deja vu to me because four years ago, Nathan Chen was landing all his triples (including the 3A) like a boss at the mere age of 13 during his JGP event AND he had some awesome
swash-buckilin' choreography to boot and Joshua Farris landed
his first quad at his JGP while Jason at 18 was not only struggling to integrate the 3A, he was also having problems with his other jumps at his first JGP, which lead to a major defeat by another wonder kid in the JGP circuit -- Boyang Jin.
Back then, it look like Nathan and Joshua were going to be the "future" of figure skating and that Jason would drown as a senior. We obviously know what has happened since then.
Yes, Nathan is unique to the U.S. men that he can land multiple quads. I don't dispute with you he is the future of figure skating and that his approach, since he is willing and able to do it, will pay dividends as long as he does not injure himself. I do think he's shown improvements in the non-jumping side of things, but I wish there was way we could see a return to some of the excellent choreography he had as a junior. And I'd just like to see him improve the quality of the quads.
I think Jason has other unique qualities, such as an inherit charisma that enables him to to connect with the audience. People dismiss it as "performance ability" but anyone that has taken any sort of stage class knows that it is a skill that takes time to develop and some people never get to a high level. He's also a really good competitor -- who can take bad experiences and learn from them quickly -- he went from falling on his 3As at U.S. Nationals to hitting them all at Jr. Worlds and winning the FS with a record score that stuck for a season and a half. He's also generally well-trained and prepared for competitions. These are things that don't really directly contribute to base value and doesn't get the buzz, but when you add it up and things align --it's clear why Jason has outlasted a lot of his competitors as the years gone by.
I think MIM has pointed this out in an earlier post --that the longtail approach that Jason and his team have adopted can be extremely frustrating because there's a lot of short-term losses while you're waiting for things to come together. But those same unique qualities, as you pointed out, DOES help him while he waits for things to gel and for the technical aspect to catch up with the rest of his skating. He obviously got the triple loop and the rest of his non-Axel triples (he had them a year later in juniors). And while highly inconsistent at first he got the 3A and until this competition was actually doing pretty well with it this season -- consider that his 3A< in the FS was the first one of the entire season---he couldn't say that a year ago. So yeah, so goes the quad and the trajectory is likely to be similar. Does he need it -- YES. Is he still behind the top men technically -- yes as far as jumps.
The question seems to be whether Jason wins out in the long-run by having a firm foundation on the non-jumping side while he's working on the jumps while Nathan seems to be building a strong technical arsenal and waiting to see how much he can integrate additional transitions/choreography/etc. Most will assume Nathan would more likely to win. But really, for me, it's just simply two different strategies and I don't think it's a given which strategy wins out more.
In basketball, sometimes the finesse ball handling of Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors wins the big prize (aka 2015 NBA Championships) (and even set records in the regular season), but it's not a huge surprise when the big-man physical ball of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavilers win a year later. Jason is like Steph Curry -- his ball playing is GORGEOUS-- sounds weird I know, but his ability to move his body in crazy ways and get the impossible shots is incredible. Nathan is like LeBron James -- who is a very aggressive and strong player who can rack up the goals by just overtaking his opponents. Both are great players in their own right and have the potential to help lead their team to victory.
[And whether it was wrong for Draymond Green being suspended. which many said contributed to Golden State's loss in the NBA playoff is basketball equivalent of whether the Nathan's PCS was too high at NHK]. Nathan did a great job at NHK and deserved his medal, no doubt. However -- and you seem to be in agreement with this -- the PCS was a tad high. Likewise could LeBron James have lead his team to Cleveland's first championship in 50+ years without Green being suspended -- probably and they showed it in the the suspenseful game 7.
Wow, maybe i need to go watch some basketball now... but back to skating.. Nathan had a great result -- the best result among the U.S. men there, hands down, Jason (and Grant) skated poorly, no doubt. I look forward to seeing them battle them it out in Nationals.
Oh by the way, back to basketball, cause this is relevant -- the Golden State Warriors had gained a 3-1 lead in the playoffs by game four including handing insane double-digit defeats to the the Cleveland Cavaliers -- who looks like they were going to head home without that coveted championship. The odds of Cleveland coming back from a 3-1 series deficit seem nil. And then they won game 5. And game 6. And finally
game 7 which had multiple lead changes.
And oh by the way -- so nobody accuses me of leaving Adam out -- because clearly he's a factor this season. He's like the equivalent of Kevin Durant -- who was playing for the Seattle Supersonics, then the Oklahoma Thunder but recently started playing with the Golden Skate Warriors - just like Jason and Adam seem to be "teamed" up in the same side, at least as far as people describe their competitive profile. He's a former MVP and has a style that's different from both Curry and LeBron too.
[yeah, i had too much fun writing this]
ETA: So it probably doesn't surprise anyone that I'm a Steph Curry fan. I first took notice of him when he was at
Davidson, when he lead the team -- basically a mid-major among basketball giants in the NCAA-- to the elite eight a few years back. He was a major underdog -- despite having a basketball pedigree (his dad was Dell Curry who played in the NBA) -- he was overlooked by the major schools cause he was smaller than most elite college players. But he really proved those folks wrong and now has been a two-time MVP and a very successful player.
I was really sad that GS loss the NBA playoffs. But LeBron's leadership/influence on the sport deserves my respect and Cleveland wanted it more -- that's why they won.
Likewise, I respect Nathan's persistance through some tough times -- including through numerous injuries, including his Osgood Schlatter-- which was so ill timed -- basically came after that incredible JGP I referenced above. And he is a good competitor as well. When you want something-- it could be the fuel you need for success.
Revisionist history is well underway. Max was doing both 4T and 4S in 2013-2014 - and oh, didn't we ever hear all about it, that he wasn't doing enough choreography because he was focusing on the jumps too much...maybe Max was just a few years too early? Or just not cutesy enough.
