Skating is looked too as a joke beside other sports? Like American football, it only involves steroided up men with no necks tackling eachother and catching a funny shaped ball? Again, I am a foreigner living in America, so I may not understand the importance of such a sport. But figure skating blends and balances artistry and athleticism. So with that being said, it is bridge between art and athleticism but that does not mean people should not take it seriously as a sport since it is one.
How come....?
- Thread starter Simone
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
Simone,
I've lived in the United States my whole life, and I don't understand the importance of football-- and I live in Ohio. :indiff:
Seriously, though, I've had people question my sanity because I don't watch the Super Bowl, and people question my husband's manhood because he doesn't like football either (he's a gearhead).
I've often had to defend my love of figure skating, but I've never heard anyone have to defend having a six-foot tall Brutus Buckeye that plays the Ohio State fight song in their front yard...
I've lived in the United States my whole life, and I don't understand the importance of football-- and I live in Ohio. :indiff:
Seriously, though, I've had people question my sanity because I don't watch the Super Bowl, and people question my husband's manhood because he doesn't like football either (he's a gearhead).
I've often had to defend my love of figure skating, but I've never heard anyone have to defend having a six-foot tall Brutus Buckeye that plays the Ohio State fight song in their front yard...
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
Football (especially college football) is popular because of the tradition (gold helmets at ND, the winged helmets at Michigan, dotting the I with a senior band member at OSU, the World's Largest Drum at Purdue, BeVo at Texas, UGa at Georgia, "Victory" at USC, playing for the Floyd of Rosedale (a pig trophy), the Brass Spitoon, Paul Bunyan's Axe, the Sweet Sioux Tamohawk, the Little Brown Jug or the Old Oaken Bucket in the Big Ten, singing your school's fight song and Alma Mater/Varsity) and a connection you feel to your team (I went there,too, this guy has the same major I had, etc).
Football is also exciting when play is going on and all eleven guys on your side of the ball have to do their job that is drawn up on the play for good things to happen play and there are some elements of the unexpected and luck to the game.
It's also great when there are Cinderella stories (Northwestern in 1995, Oregon State in 1999, Wisconsin in 1994, Illinois in 2001) or when one of the consistent winners goes down in a game they were expected to win (Oklahoma versus Texas earlier this year, Texas versus Texas Tech this past Saturday, Notre Dame versus Navy last year, Notre Dame versus Northwestern in 1995) to someone with poor history.
Everyone's played street football at the very least at some point.
Skating is not as popular because most people don't participate in it. It's seen as expensive and prissy (because of the sequins, crystals, and crying). If you've never participated, it's easy to mock.
Football is also exciting when play is going on and all eleven guys on your side of the ball have to do their job that is drawn up on the play for good things to happen play and there are some elements of the unexpected and luck to the game.
It's also great when there are Cinderella stories (Northwestern in 1995, Oregon State in 1999, Wisconsin in 1994, Illinois in 2001) or when one of the consistent winners goes down in a game they were expected to win (Oklahoma versus Texas earlier this year, Texas versus Texas Tech this past Saturday, Notre Dame versus Navy last year, Notre Dame versus Northwestern in 1995) to someone with poor history.
Everyone's played street football at the very least at some point.
Skating is not as popular because most people don't participate in it. It's seen as expensive and prissy (because of the sequins, crystals, and crying). If you've never participated, it's easy to mock.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
I think mskater93 got it right. Football, baseball... they are all more accesable to the amercian public. We all had a football team in high school, in college. Maybe we didnt play, but we knew the guys that did and we went to the games with our friends. We grew up with our dads watching ESPN in the living room and like it or not, we picked up some of the rules of the game.
People say things like "she hit a home run with that speech" not "she landed a 3 axel with that one."
I think that because skating is a individual sport that you can't just "try out for" in high school and isn't watched dad on weekend afternoons it remains under the radar. that and the very high commitment and expenses of actually trying the spirt for yourself.
People say things like "she hit a home run with that speech" not "she landed a 3 axel with that one."
I think that because skating is a individual sport that you can't just "try out for" in high school and isn't watched dad on weekend afternoons it remains under the radar. that and the very high commitment and expenses of actually trying the spirt for yourself.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
:chorus: I like that! :yes: We should start saying that. Maybe it will catch on!
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
I don't see it catching on, Larry. 
I "get" football, but my team never wins so I'm not gungho about it... I know how it works, it's fun to watch, but I'm not setting my DVR for every game. a really good/well executed play is like really deep edges... it's just awesome to watch.
baseball and basketball are bor-ing for me, but I get how those are played too...
and it's easier for the general public to get into team sports than it is to get into individual (save for Golf) because of the subjective juding that goes on. no one is going to agree with someone else 100% of the time... (then again not every one agrees with the refs or umps either, but those don't cost you a gold, silver, or bronze 9 times out of 10)
I "get" football, but my team never wins so I'm not gungho about it... I know how it works, it's fun to watch, but I'm not setting my DVR for every game. a really good/well executed play is like really deep edges... it's just awesome to watch.
baseball and basketball are bor-ing for me, but I get how those are played too...
and it's easier for the general public to get into team sports than it is to get into individual (save for Golf) because of the subjective juding that goes on. no one is going to agree with someone else 100% of the time... (then again not every one agrees with the refs or umps either, but those don't cost you a gold, silver, or bronze 9 times out of 10)
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
To think about it, "triple axel" is a much better analogy - a speech can always be improved, as can any jump, whereas a home run in and of itself implies the ultimate perfection.
So here are my thoughts which don't have much shape or form to them:
- As some have said before, everyone can relate to football because it's such a "basic" sport in the US. It is way accessible and everyone has either played or had their brother/dad/best friend/boyfriend play football as well. It's natural that places with successful teams have more interest in the sport- for instance in Jamaica where I am from, people follow track and field year round both at the high school (our high school track championships are a HUGE deal here) and elite level (from the grand pries to the World Championships to the Olympics) since that has been our country's strongest sport on an international level since the 40s or so.
-Football is also seen as waaaaay more masculine and I think society in general has a tendency to equate sport with masculinity. Any sport in which strength and speed (masculine traits) doesn't necessarily correlate with greater success in the sport raises suspicions. Same with artistic gymnastics (although there is a wide enough divide between men's and women's to reduce this scrutiny), synchro swimming and rhythmics. These sports are seen as dancing on the ice/water/sprung floor and dancing is a "girlie" domain.
-there also exists this strange middle ground where FS because of the emphasis on artistry. This is a wide generalization and possibly inaccurate but I don't think the general American public really "gets" dance on more than a superficial level. On the other hand, people who are way into the performing arts and not so much into sports maybe cannot appreciate the athleticism of figure skating. This creates this strange middle area where only hardcore fans really follow skating past the Olympics and maybe Worlds. Whereas the everyday man follows football, true figure skating fans are rare (I've met like 3 in my 3+ years at an American college who weren't elite skaters themselves).
Anyway, sorry for my clumsy, rambling thoughts. I will now go back to paying attention in this awkward 6 person lecture I am in.
- As some have said before, everyone can relate to football because it's such a "basic" sport in the US. It is way accessible and everyone has either played or had their brother/dad/best friend/boyfriend play football as well. It's natural that places with successful teams have more interest in the sport- for instance in Jamaica where I am from, people follow track and field year round both at the high school (our high school track championships are a HUGE deal here) and elite level (from the grand pries to the World Championships to the Olympics) since that has been our country's strongest sport on an international level since the 40s or so.
-Football is also seen as waaaaay more masculine and I think society in general has a tendency to equate sport with masculinity. Any sport in which strength and speed (masculine traits) doesn't necessarily correlate with greater success in the sport raises suspicions. Same with artistic gymnastics (although there is a wide enough divide between men's and women's to reduce this scrutiny), synchro swimming and rhythmics. These sports are seen as dancing on the ice/water/sprung floor and dancing is a "girlie" domain.
-there also exists this strange middle ground where FS because of the emphasis on artistry. This is a wide generalization and possibly inaccurate but I don't think the general American public really "gets" dance on more than a superficial level. On the other hand, people who are way into the performing arts and not so much into sports maybe cannot appreciate the athleticism of figure skating. This creates this strange middle area where only hardcore fans really follow skating past the Olympics and maybe Worlds. Whereas the everyday man follows football, true figure skating fans are rare (I've met like 3 in my 3+ years at an American college who weren't elite skaters themselves).
Anyway, sorry for my clumsy, rambling thoughts. I will now go back to paying attention in this awkward 6 person lecture I am in.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
you can also look at it as - America is very media centric. And look at what that media churns out - I'm not just talking television coverage. Look at the movies. "Any Given Sunday" "Remember the Titans" "Friday Night Lights" "Invincible" - to name a few for football... they all bring a sense of action, and pride, and honor, and all of that.
Look at the skating movie equivilents... they're romantic dramas (that are kinda lame) or family friendly films (also lame) Ice Castles, Cutting Edge, and Ice Princess hardly gets the general public going. It's either a date movie, or families with little kids (mainly little girls with teh title of "princess")
sports in the US seem to be incredibly gender specific. so it's hard to break the barrier... the only time it was really popular by both it was a contact sport (1994, Nancy/Tonya saga)...
Look at the skating movie equivilents... they're romantic dramas (that are kinda lame) or family friendly films (also lame) Ice Castles, Cutting Edge, and Ice Princess hardly gets the general public going. It's either a date movie, or families with little kids (mainly little girls with teh title of "princess")
sports in the US seem to be incredibly gender specific. so it's hard to break the barrier... the only time it was really popular by both it was a contact sport (1994, Nancy/Tonya saga)...
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2006
I think football is easy to understand and it popular because the scoring and how you score is pretty easy to understand.
As for the COP....I can't even begin to understand them!!
As for the COP....I can't even begin to understand them!!
I disagree about football being easy to understand. Soccer yes, basketball yes, baseball maybe yes, football absolutely not.
I have tried for a very long time to understand football but beyond "Team with the more points wins" I'm completely lost and don't know whether a play is good or bad.
I've come to understand skating just by watching it on tv and listening to commentators. I suppose if you're interested in it then it comes pretty easily. COP, if explained properly, is really not that hard to understand and is even more understandable than 6.0 (but that's another discussion).
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
football is so simple...
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Not entirely universal.
In VT, our kids and their friends played hockey, baskeball, baseball, soccer and skied. There was no football at all, except in really big towns. There was no football at the University of VT either.
OTOH, we had Olympic medallists in skiing, snow boarding, and equestrian events when I lived in VT. We have had a couple of really good hockey players including John Leclair (Philadelphia) and Tim Thomas (Bruins' goalie) and UVM has made the NCAA's in basketball at the very bottom from time to time.
But no football.
We also had some fairly serious little skaters. (Although none that got past sectionals AFAIR.) They skated after son Ken had hockey practice.
In VT, our kids and their friends played hockey, baskeball, baseball, soccer and skied. There was no football at all, except in really big towns. There was no football at the University of VT either.
OTOH, we had Olympic medallists in skiing, snow boarding, and equestrian events when I lived in VT. We have had a couple of really good hockey players including John Leclair (Philadelphia) and Tim Thomas (Bruins' goalie) and UVM has made the NCAA's in basketball at the very bottom from time to time.
But no football.
We also had some fairly serious little skaters. (Although none that got past sectionals AFAIR.) They skated after son Ken had hockey practice.
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
we have football in Alaska, but it's not as serious as what's down in the lower 48... we're more into the xcountry skiing, and the rifle type of events
then there's the Iron Dog, Iditarod, and other "Alaskan" sports...
then there's the Iron Dog, Iditarod, and other "Alaskan" sports...
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
About "girly" sports, this just happened as I was sitting here in my office having "office hours" ( = Golden Skate time 
).
A very pretty, graceful girl came in for help because she had not done well on her math midterm. She said that she didn't have enough study time because she was supporting herself through school by working as a professional boxer and she had a match the day before the exam.
). A very pretty, graceful girl came in for help because she had not done well on her math midterm. She said that she didn't have enough study time because she was supporting herself through school by working as a professional boxer and she had a match the day before the exam.
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2006
About "girly" sports, this just happened as I was sitting here in my office having "office hours" ( = Golden Skate time
A very pretty, graceful girl came in for help because she had not done well on her math midterm. She said that she didn't have enough study time because she was supporting herself through school by working as a professional boxer and she had a match the day before the exam.
Office hours??? I have been having office hours all day!!!
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
Ruffles, sequins, makeup and Mozart -- not exactly the all-American idea of sport! :chorus:
If they dressed in speedos like skiers, maybe.
If they dressed in speedos like skiers, maybe.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
I often thought that if there was a skating event where the competitors wore suits like speed skaters wear and just did the elements, not to music or anything.... that would be way more popular. After all what we skaters really do is very athletic, but in trying to make it a dance we mask the "roughness of it."
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
Scott Hamilton tried the speed skater look in the 80s... he looked like a frog with a bad hairday
