The role of fans in shaping skaters’ careers

[gsk8]

Do passionate fanbases help skaters succeed, or do they add toxic pressure and unrealistic expectations? I think it can do both.

For instance, the support can elevate skaters by boosting their visibility, increasing sponsorships, and influencing popularity-based opportunities. The flip side is that intense fan attention can overwhelm skaters, set unrealistic expectations, and even create fan wars that directly or indirectly affect athletes’ mental health.

Positive Examples:

Yuzuru Hanyu

- His massive global fanbase helped turn him into a cultural icon.
- His fans often rent arenas, buy entire rows of seats, and shower him with Winnie-the-Pooh plushies after performances.
- This intense support has kept him at the forefront of skating discussions even after his retirement.

Nathan Chen

- His strong U.S. and international fan support contributed to major endorsements from Nike, Toyota, and Bridgestone.
- His Olympic redemption arc in Beijing 2022 became a fan-driven narrative that pushed media coverage and sponsorship opportunities.

Kamila Valieva

- Before the doping controversy, her viral 2022 Olympic programs gained millions of views thanks to passionate fans on social media, which amplified her visibility globally.

But what are the negatives (pressure and downside to fame)?

I think of Alexandra Trusova when fans hyped her as the “Quad Queen,” expecting her to land five quads in every free skate. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, when she didn’t win gold despite landing five quads, videos surfaced of her crying backstage, frustrated by the pressure and expectations.

And Hanyu - while his fans adore him, their intensity borders on invasive — following him to hotels, flooding events, and sparking online “wars” with rival skaters’ fans.

What are your thoughts? Can you share your examples?

 

[4everchan]

This is an interesting discussion. Pressure is indeed part of the deal nowadays, with social media. In some sports, athletes do take "mental breaks" because it's too much for them. There are plenty of examples in tennis (Andreescu, Osaka, Anisimova, etc) Talking about tennis, fans can indeed get out of hands... I will never forget the stabbing of Monica Seles by a Steffi Graff fan. Football (soccer) fans are also very intense and stadium incidents have been terrible, sometimes leading to injuries and even death.

Regarding figure skating, I do have my favourites but I tend to see myself as a fan of the sport first and foremost, meaning that I am following and "supporting" many skaters. Also, it means that I can acquire new admiration for skaters I didn't like before. So my appreciation is not for the human first but the skater first. In that sense, as athletes evolve, my fandom does too.

For instance, and these are two skaters who have had their share of positive and negative comments : when they first started, I didn't like Papadakis and Cizeron. By the end of the 2022 Olympics, they had achieved a few programs that will remain in my top 5 of programs for many years.... (particularly the Fauré free dance).

 

[rabidline]

Fans directly changing a skater's career always reminds me of Shoma's 2019 GP France / IDF at Grenoble. The lowest point of his career and the fans and crowd who were there cheered for him and called for his name over and over, when he sat there alone in the Kiss & Cry, as if they knew that was the nadir and did everything they could to make him stay.

I think that was the only time Shoma was brought to tears because of the reaction of the fans... he said somewhere after, that moment was one of the reasons he continued skating and competing. Because he realized that he received support from the fans not just when he brought back results. And well, we all knew how the story ended

 

[lariko]

I think of Alexandra Trusova when fans hyped her as the “Quad Queen,” expecting her to land five quads in every free skate. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, when she didn’t win gold despite landing five quads, videos surfaced of her crying backstage, frustrated by the pressure and expectations.

Judging by what Trusova said during that low point in her life (which she navigated past), it wasn't the fans she was lashing out against, but her coaches. It sounded like it was they who trained her with the mantra of five quads, and she felt betrayed/misled by them (since it didn't take 5 quads to win the Olympics). Fans stayed there for her even with silver, financed her career after the competition was over by loyally attending ice shows she headlined, and she gleefully shares every minute detail of her personal life online. Lol, she all but gave birth on the ice. I don't think she maintains as cordial a relationship with her Olympic coaching team as she does with her actual fans (vs the fans of that coaching team).

Now, in my views some fans of a specific entity often poison the lives of both athletes and other fans by attaching themselves/their worth to a team and deploying flame war/reputation tarnishing tactics (that go as far away as the first forums on the internet of the 90s). Once you observe a hive mind and digital swarm forming, better stay as far away from it as possible.

 

[noskates]

I think it takes a very special person with a very supportive team around them to be an elite figure skater. I think fame and fan obsession affects individuals differently but I will agree that pressure from parents and coaches can be really harmful. What I hate is the fan wars on this board. Some of them are so silly like anything you post is going to change someone's mind. I always hope that skaters don't read here. It's natural when you love watching a sport to develop favorites but injecting yourself into the life of a skater should be unacceptable.

 

[Minz]

Judging by what Trusova said during that low point in her life (which she navigated past), it wasn't the fans she was lashing out against, but her coaches. It sounded like it was they who trained her with the mantra of five quads, and she felt betrayed/misled by them (since it didn't take 5 quads to win the Olympics). Fans stayed there for her even with silver, financed her career after the competition was over by loyally attending ice shows she headlined, and she gleefully shares every minute detail of her personal life online. Lol, she all but gave birth on the ice. I don't think she maintains as cordial a relationship with her Olympic coaching team as she does with her actual fans (vs the fans of that coaching team).

I agree I don't think the fans had anything to do with Sasha's state at that Olympics. She's also said over and over that her goal was to be an Olympic Champion and that anything short of gold is losing. So I think that might be more internal pressure vs fan pressure. And then of course there is the whole situation with the coaching team which I won't get into now.

OTOH, Hanyu is a different situation. His popularity is crazy and with that kind of fame comes both good and bad.

Overall, I think that fan support is definitely a positive thing, but there are certainly negative aspects that can arise from it.

 

[alina123]

Would say that fans may do harm and that can hurt a lot, but seldom would they have anything concrete positive for the skaters.

Yes, fans can make noise in the rink but overall the effect is near ignorable in comparison with, say, tennis.

Yes, there’s social media but the support there means so little while the attack may hurt.

And this is a sport with a judging system that is so closed and in small circle that even some coaches or skaters themselves may not have access to the “strictly insider” information shared within a tiny group. And that is what matters to the skaters.

Overall it can be toxic but more within fan circle - one group attacking the other, one extremely toxic person trying to be influential, etc.

 

[surimi]

Minz above summed it up very succinctly, and that is also what I believe: for the most part, fan support is a good thing to have, and some skaters really appreciate it. Some are even quite vocal (and visual) about their appreciation - think all the skaters waving at the audience and showing them heart signs, while some, like Jimmy Ma, interact with fans during competitions and obviously enjoy it (where was it that he shouted 'love ya' at someone in the audience?).
One might argue that the skaters possibly have their friends and family members among the spectators, but that is not always the case - some (like Donovan) always get a lot of cheering even outside their home countries with few to no other team members attending the event. Some fans directly support their favorite skaters through gifting platforms, and there are skaters who openly say how much the gifting and the online chatting means to them. Skaters' personalities may differ, but I think the majority appreciate their fans.

Then there's the dark side of fandom and the internet, and I don't just mean sharp-tongued exchanges on social media and the forums. I think comments on skaters' bodies, and comments on who should just retire / is hopeless / is always a disappointment etc, are among the worst things one can post online IMO. Talk like that can really affect a skater's mindset, I think. When I saw the thread title, my mind immediately went to the unpleasant body comments that Kaitlyn Hawayek was subjected to that she even called out; to horrible anti-wishes I saw on Twitter about Daniel Grassl when he went to Eteri; to multiple comments about how Camden Pulkinen can never get his act together (I recall those because that was shortly before the WC where he scored very high)... the list goes on.

I know skaters sometimes search for content about them online. Which is why I personally try to abstain from comments I think would be harmful if read by the person I'm talking about. (I can't swear I have it mastered, but I definitely try)
We've got to consider cultural differences also - what one considers honest but polite can come off quite rude to another community.

I'd love to read the skaters' POV on this topic. Cultural and personal quirks/specifics aside, there will probably be enough 'skater pet peeves' to make a correct conduct list for fans. What to never post online, autograph/photo etiquette... I know I for one would love to read it!

 

[gsk8]

I know skaters sometimes search for content about them online. Which is why I personally try to abstain from comments I think would be harmful if read by the person I'm talking about.

Indeed!

 

[Mathman]

Overall it can be toxic but more within fan circle - one group attacking the other,,.

I can remember back in the early days of the internet when that used to be kind of fun, like the "wars" between the Michelle Kwan Forum and TaraWorld (aka TerrorWorld). The Tara kids were always thinking up sinister plots, like, "Let's kidnap Michelle and lock her in a closet so she'll have to forfeit when they can't find her when her name is called." Or, "Let's run over her wth a bus and then when she has her leg in a cast she won't be able to land her triple toe."

 

[Mathman]

I know skaters sometimes search for content about them online. Which is why I personally try to abstain from comments I think would be harmful if read by the person I'm talking about. (I can't swear I have it mastered, but I definitely try.)

I try, too. Don't say anything on the internet that you wouldn't say to a person's face, especially a child (however athletically talented).

If you just MUST criticize, follow the rule of saying three good things about the skater's performances first before mentioning one area where they could improve.

 

[saine]

For me, having passionate fanbases depends on whether the fans uplift their favourite at the expense of others. It ends up changing how I view their favourite in the way they probably aren't intending.

The example of this is when I saw a fan account posting about their favourite, X. X had a bad skate and the fan then blamed it on the coach paying more attention to Y and calling Y a nepobaby. I started disliking X until I ignored their fans, in which case I realized it wasn't X I had a negative opinion about. It was that fan, and it was over skaters who weren't at the top of the field and don't even compete for the same country.

If the fans bring others down to show that their favourite is the best, then I end up tuning them out so I don't let them affect what I think of the skaters. The skaters don't have control over the fans and it shouldn't affect how I view them.

 

[Skating91]

With regards to Valieva, I think it is one of the things that got her through these past 3.5 years especially the past 20 months. The support has made it very clear to her she has a lot to offer the sport for many seasons to come.

That 3-3 she did in the exhibition was something so much height on the second jump too. I think she restores the 4T for sure next season.

 

[Arigato]

If the fans bring others down to show that their favourite is the best, then I end up tuning them out so I don't let them affect what I think of the skaters. The skaters don't have control over the fans and it shouldn't affect how I view them.

I saw a pack of wild dogs making filthy comments after Alysa skated today. i was waiting for one of the animals to slip up and say the skater's name I was thinking they were fans of. Turned out I was right. So out of all the skater's how did I know who they were fans of? He who has something huge to lose reacts the strangest. Does it affect my opinion of the skater? Let me tell you about a musician who did not like her fans' behavior. Would you like to know what she did?

She told them.

 

[saine]

I saw a pack of wild dogs making filthy comments after Alysa skated today. i was waiting for one of the animals to slip up and say the skater's name I was thinking they were fans of. Turned out I was right. So out of all the skater's how did I know who they were fans of? He who has something huge to lose reacts the strangest. Does it affect my opinion of the skater? Let me tell you about a musician who did not like her fans' behavior. Would you like to know what she did?

She told them.

Or I'll just use Ignore and realize I'm letting the behaviour of others affect my thought patterns. That's easier for me to control than expecting skaters to tell their fans they don't like their fannish behaviour while expecting them to not search for what people are saying about them online.

 

[Arigato]

Or I'll just use Ignore and realize I'm letting the behaviour of others affect my thought patterns. That's easier for me to control than expecting skaters to tell their fans they don't like their fannish behaviour while expecting them to not search for what people are saying about them online.

I don't know anyone who searches for comments online. They deserve what they get.

 

[Mathman]

I don't know anyone who searches for comments online. They deserve what they get.

Wait, what?

I just Googled, "Is it common for teenagers to search on line to see what people are saying about them?" (I kind of wish I hadn't, but oh well, it is what it is.)

 

[4everchan]

Wait, what?

I just Googled, "Is it common for teenagers to search on line to see what people are saying about them?" (I kind of wish I hadn't, but oh well, it is what it is.)

Googling oneself is not the same as looking for "comments online".
I have done the first, I would not do the latter. I have looked what internet has about me... but I would not read what people put in comments of recordings some people may have posted of me online like on youtube etc.

These are two different things.

 

[Arigato]

Wait, what?

I just Googled, "Is it common for teenagers to search on line to see what people are saying about them?" (I kind of wish I hadn't, but oh well, it is what it is.)

You misunderstood what we were talking about. My post was not referring to people who search out comments about themselves. In this case, we were talking about "fan" behavior. I'm not big on that word in general. It's one thing to be watching a skater in a replay of an event on YouTube and notice some rather obnoxious comments being made about the skater underneath the video, versus heading out to the internet on your own to find comments about that skater. The two situations are quite different.

 

[surimi]

For me, having passionate fanbases depends on whether the fans uplift their favourite at the expense of others. It ends up changing how I view their favourite in the way they probably aren't intending.

The example of this is when I saw a fan account posting about their favourite, X. X had a bad skate and the fan then blamed it on the coach paying more attention to Y and calling Y a nepobaby. I started disliking X until I ignored their fans, in which case I realized it wasn't X I had a negative opinion about. It was that fan, and it was over skaters who weren't at the top of the field and don't even compete for the same country.

If the fans bring others down to show that their favourite is the best, then I end up tuning them out so I don't let them affect what I think of the skaters. The skaters don't have control over the fans and it shouldn't affect how I view them.

There's a blurry and subjective line between simply comparing, and bringing down other skaters to make one's favorite look better.
To paraphrase one of my favorite mottos ever: Of course I think my skater is better than your skater, that's why they're my favorite skater.
As long as one stays polite (which again can be subjective), I personally see no issues in comparing skater's scores, supposed treatment etc.

After all, even skaters themselves sometimes hint they are/were not happy with the attention they got compared to others - correct me if I misremember, or if the media got it wrong, but wasn't there some tension regarding Zueva's training center with Virtue/Moir vs Davis/White themselves? And then some dissatisfaction when both Papadakis/Cizeron and Virtue/Moir belonged to the same coaching team?
Kudos to those who are positive toward all skaters, but most fans online don't fit into that category, and unless they're really vicious, I think that's fine and only human.