Unpopular Opinions

[silverfoxes]

I have a few more:

I don't understand why people like to beat dead horses and constantly bring up old controversies. Nothing is going to change the results now, get over it.

I cannot stand Charlie Chaplin programs (or Chaplin himself)

Watching retired skaters skate the same old programs they did 100 times already is like watching some dinosaur rock band with a residency in Vegas. It's way past the sell-by date and you can tell they are just phoning it in.

 

[Seren]

... This thread is proving how mean skating fans can be... I don't think it's intentional, but I think we should all reread what we write and think about how it comes off...

 

[hanyuufan5]

... This thread is proving how mean skating fans can be... I don't think it's intentional, but I think we should all reread what we write and think about how it comes off...

I hope nothing I wrote came off as mean. If it makes you feel any better, I took about half an hour reading and editing and rereading my first post and about 10 minutes on the one about the costumes. That might be overkill, but better overcaution than undercaution for things like this.

 

[FlyingFeather]

Ok... Here we go!

Opinions that might or might not be unpopular:
All the teams of the Michigan ice dance coaches and choreographers (Zoueva, Shpilband, Carmerlengo) have vastly superior choreography to Gadbois, even if the Gadbois teams have better skating skills. (Compare H/B's programs from last year to this year's.)
Nathan Chen's programs for his first senior year were great, and he should have continued to mature in that style.

Opinions that are probably unpopular, especially seeing as this is an Canadian-based forum:
Capellini and Lanotte were the heart of ice dance for the last quad and deserved the bronze at World's!
Tarasova/Morozov are a better team that Duhamel/Radford were.

Opinions which will get me tarred and feathered: :scard7:
Kostner's artistry is not exceptional. (I'm not saying it is bad; it is above average, just not exceptional.)


Yuzuru Hanyu bores me to death. I don't think I've ever made it through watching one of his programs.

 

[DanseMacabre]

... This thread is proving how mean skating fans can be... I don't think it's intentional, but I think we should all reread what we write and think about how it comes off...

That's why I only stanned for canned cranberry sauce. I'm a basic b and I know it but I'm trying to be nice at least.

 

[Bord]

Okay - compliment sandwich. Best thread topic ever! (thats the top of the sandwich..)
and now the unpopular middle
never understood virtue and moir - felt like it was staged and not real. russians have the feeling part nailed.
whether tara should have won on not is debatable..but my heart broke for michelle
russian feds saw a weakness in women's field 8 years ago- and have taken care of the problem. wish US would do the same.
us pairs is weak, weak, weak.
wish mariah bell success - she is such a joy to watch
adam rippon's 15 minutes of fame is ending - and he needs to be smart about his next move.
gracie gold's recent performance despite all the good wishes - was mortifying and i could hear the sighs all over the skating world.
and this forum has some really knowledgable people on it (bottom half of compliment sandwich)

 

[TontoK]

I cannot stand Charlie Chaplin programs (or Chaplin himself)

Yes, yes, yes. This needed to be said.

The first time I saw a Chaplin program, I thought it was clever and original. But like any original artistic idea in skating it keeps getting "borrowed" and now it's practically a warhorse.

The hands in the pocket, the "endearing" shrug, the spinning of the cane. Gawd, all that is about as artistic and original as the pantomime pipe-smoking that accompanies a Sherlock Holmes program.

And let's not forget the King Tut hands that we used to see all the time in Middle Eastern programs. Not so much any more, praise the Lord.

 

[TontoK]

That's why I only stanned for canned cranberry sauce. I'm a basic b and I know it but I'm trying to be nice at least.

OK, now you're just asking for a feud.

 

[yume]

Jumps are art

:thumbsup:

 

[ssminnow]

-Zagitova deserved her OMG.

-Papadakis / Cizeron were much more interesting in 2015 than now.

-The USFSA should throw their weight behind Mariah Bell, not Bradie Tennell, as Tennell does not have the on-ice charisma to be a serious medal contender against the Russians and Japanese ladies.

-I loathed Osmond's Edith Piaf SP.

 

[Ophelia]

- Alena Kostornaia is currently the most complete skater of any of the Russian ladies, Junior or Senior.

How is this an unpopular opinion? Many would agree.

 

[Ophelia]

Haha, my sister points this out whenever she sees me watching skating.
I'd say they don't have awful taste but more like limited exposure to music, at least generally, and when they try to go for something new and interesting it most often blows because of the small pool of possibilities.

This, this, this. They need to hire some musical advisors the way TV shows do.

Exception being Shae Lynn Bourne and the Papadakis/Cizeron team.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Ok... Here we go!

Opinions that might or might not be unpopular:
All the teams of the Michigan ice dance coaches and choreographers (Zoueva, Shpilband, Carmerlengo) have vastly superior choreography to Gadbois, even if the Gadbois teams have better skating skills. (Compare H/B's programs from last year to this year's.)
Nathan Chen's programs for his first senior year were great, and he should have continued to mature in that style.

Opinions that are probably unpopular, especially seeing as this is an Canadian-based forum:
Capellini and Lanotte were the heart of ice dance for the last quad and deserved the bronze at World's!
Tarasova/Morozov are a better team that Duhamel/Radford were.

Opinions which will get me tarred and feathered: :scard7:
Kostner's artistry is not exceptional. (I'm not saying it is bad; it is above average, just not exceptional.)


Yuzuru Hanyu bores me to death. I don't think I've ever made it through watching one of his programs.

While I agree with a few of your points, I hate to burst the bubble in thinking this is a Canadian based forum, when it's far from it actually.

 

[atsumiri]

5 out of 5

 

[Dr. Jenn]

Kaetlyn Osmond is a superior skater to Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva.

Most of Hanyu's programs are boring, and he still looks like a wet noodle at times.

Plushenko is cocky and his programs are empty.

 

[zanadude]

Medvedeva is nothing without Eteri.

 

[schizoanalyst]

Maybe more later.

Almost all figure skating programs are trash. Not so much their fault - figure skating choreographers are third-rate talents when it comes to relating motion to music. Just the most basic constructions/gestures/motifs etc they compose wouldn’t pass at the most mediocre of dance companies. I doubt *any* of them could even tell me what a turn is, how it’s used in say Piazzolla’s Oblivion and how they should construct a program to gain momentum for the scalar passage that follows in it - just as an example off the top of my head - but yet we've seen countless programs to this piece.

Virtue/Moir were fantastic athletes, perhaps the 2nd or 3rd best ice dance team of all time, but have little conceptual understanding of music nor subtly in their carriage and bodily placement and it was most visible in that awful Moulin Rouge program (maybe the worst FD of their career).

Hanyu when he tries to emote is laughably cartoonish.

Daisuke should’ve won Gold in Vancouver and Goebel should’ve won Silver in Salt Lake.

More skaters need to retire and I have little affection for the 27 year old who is out there “trying.”

 

[oly2018]

This thread is interesting. I have realized more people share my opinion than I thought.

I became a figure skating fan after watching the Shibs and I think of all the dance teams of the last quad, they left the most impact. I think they are way more interesting than H/D.

As much as I have tried, I don't get the hype around P/C or Hanyu. Are they good, yes. I just don't feel anything watching them.

Nathan Chen made me interested in Men's singles.

I don't love the soft, lyrical artistry that is all the rage right now.

I hate the new +5 -5 GOE system. It's the worst in dance, but overall, I think it gives judges greater ability to prop up their favorites.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Medvedeva is nothing without Eteri.

Yeah, I almost feel like she's just getting by on reputation at the moment. On the bright side, her 2A looks a lot stronger.

 

[rachno2]

Maybe more later.

Almost all figure skating programs are trash. Not so much their fault - figure skating choreographers are third-rate talents when it comes to relating motion to music. Just the most basic constructions/gestures/motifs etc they compose wouldn’t pass at the most mediocre of dance companies. I doubt *any* of them could even tell me what a turn is, how it’s used in say Piazzolla’s Oblivion and how they should construct a program to gain momentum for the scalar passage that follows in it - just as an example off the top of my head - but yet we've seen countless programs to this piece.

Virtue/Moir were fantastic athletes, perhaps the 2nd or 3rd best ice dance team of all time, but have little conceptual understanding of music nor subtly in their carriage and bodily placement and it was most visible in that awful Moulin Rouge program (maybe the worst FD of their career).

Hanyu when he tries to emote is laughably cartoonish.

Daisuke should’ve won Gold in Vancouver and Goebel should’ve won Silver in Salt Lake.

More skaters need to retire and I have little affection for the 27 year old who is out there “trying.”

I don't understand this point of view. :think: Could you elaborate? If they come from a bigger federation and are taking spots from younger, talented skaters on the basis of reputation alone, I can see the reasoning. But if they come from smaller federations with little to no competition and are just skating for the joy of it, then what is the problem? Or is this specifically about Kostner haha