This thread is
So of course I'm going to get into the drama!
I do feel bad for Ilia. He is a huge talent, and has grown so much. What impressed me most were his spins (and the quads lol). Ben said that Ilia read a few comments on Instagram that he should work to improve his spins, and that he listened. I think having that level of foresight and initiative to take criticism from online strangers and recognise it as valid, and then doing something about said criticism, bodes very well for him in the future.
With that being said, I think I know why the USFS sent Jason. Regardless of how you or I feel about it, I think it was the correct decision.
1. Consistency. Sadly, the US men, while great, do not have a great track record in SP recently. Of course, Nathan had two disaster skates at the Olympics in his SPs, and Vincent had his nightmare skate at the 2021 Worlds. Ilia, too, had a nightmare skate in Warsaw and finished very low there. Jason hasn't had a bad SP in forever, and even if he did, he would be helped by things like step sequence and spin GOE and his component marks. Basically, a healthy Jason will make an Olympic FS, and likely in the top 10. If worse case scenario happens, Ilia, Vincent, and Nathan could all fail to qualify. That's a big oopsie. (and yes this is HIGHLY HIGHLY unlikely, but I think fans and skaters both often think "well what if everything is perfect?". But it won't be, and it's far better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.)
2. The team event! Vincent's free skates have been on the struggle bus a bit, and it's unlikely Nathan will do two portions of the team event. So, USFS needs someone reliable, consistent, and charismatic, aka Jason. He can score in the top 3 of both segments depending on how others skate, and if he gets tired, it's ok because he's not a medal contender. If they send Vincent in and he skates like he did today in the free, he could be last. If Ilia skates like he did today, he could be first. But if he makes a few mistakes, he's not going to be able to beat Misha Kolyada or Keegan Messing or Jin Boyang because of components.
3. Reputation and world ranking. Ilia is a semi-unknown internationally. He's not the strongest PCS skater, and the judges aren't going to hold him up if he makes a mistake. Look at Mark Kondratiuk at Rostelecom, who is a great performer, a relative international unknown, and had two rough skates there. He got pretty low PCS and dropped a lot because of it. Even Evgeni Semenenko, who had two solid skates at Worlds, placed behind Jason because of components. Ilia's not going to receive the same scores at the Olympics that he did here, plain and simple. His GOE and components are both going to be far lower. Plus, he has a very low World ranking, meaning he would skate very early. That would only hurt his score.
4. Broadcasting and marketing. NBC loves a good story and a friendly face. Look at Adam Rippon, who was the funny and charismatic one in 2018. He helped create a nice story. Let's be real, Nathan and Vincent aren't the most naturally charismatic guys (nothing wrong with that, they just seem more introverted and well-thought as opposed to bubbly and outgoing). Jason can give a good interview, tell a nice story, and be the warm and outgoing face of mens' figure skating. Ilia can't fulfill that role. Plus, he's young and most people have never heard of him. If you watch skating at any point, though, you've probably heard of Jason Brown. Also, NBC has been marketing him like crazy.
