How much interest can Alysa Liu revive in figure skating in the US?

[Arigato]

It is rather ridiculous to be positioning Alysa Liu as, "not like the other girls".

But she isn't.

 

[Arigato]

New mural for Alysa Liu pops up in Oakland

Another mural in Oakland is honoring hometown hero and two-time Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu. Gia Vang reports.

www.nbcbayarea.com

 

[moonvine]

Are you sure? I mean, have you asked anyone outside of *his* boymon fan bubble?

Rrrrright, we need no OT no more so back to Alysa. And Alysa is now in the league where it is not only a question about how entertaining her skating is. It is also a question about how entertaining she is as a celebrity.

I personally find her deliciously entertaining in this genre. Oh, but I'm not a typical or regular celebrity follower. So, how can I even judge?... I'll better add a video for you to judge :



This is a Vanity Fair video about Alysa getting ready for the party (ft Maddie Chock). Normally, I do not click such content. This time, I did and I don't regret it. A share of healthy laughter, a share of youthful energy, a share of beauty - that's exactly what I needed with my coffee to start a good day!

I wish Amber had been included.

 

[moonvine]

But she isn't.

Neither is Amber.

 

[el henry]

I wish Amber had been included.

But this thread is about Alysa. This is not who deserves popularity or publicity. This is who has it. in the US. And that is Alysa, by a wide margin, over any other American skater. It's not even close.

Can that be leveraged so that her fans will watch skating as a whole, including Amber?

 

[Skating91]

That type of thinking is dead.

She controls her own skating.
She controls her own music.
She controls her own costumes.
She controls her own body.
She controls her own destiny.

She controls her own water.
Wait.

No push.

That's fine, but it's hard to grow a sport when three of the four Olympic gold medallists can't be bothered turning up to the world championships because they don't want to go in to the off season with a possible loss.

So much for skaters saying they just do it for the love of performing, or artistic expression, or bringing joy to the audience, otherwise they would go out there to perform and bring joy to those spectators that spent a lot of time and made arrangements to attend World's. What kind of sport is that? How can anyone sell something like that to the broad public.

This would be like NHL hockey players winning gold at the Olympics then telling their teams and fans I'm going to skip the rest of the season I'll see you next year. Absurd right?

What it is, they're afraid of losing. Just my theory (although skaters will never admit it). Losses seem to hurt figure skaters more than in any other sport. Plus, I don't think many of them actually enjoy the process. It's just about getting those gold medals and hoping to become immortalised.

Maybe the World Championships needs to be the championships of the entire season, and the current World's becomes the World Finals or something along those lines. Then skaters who simply live to win the Olympic gold

 

[Anna K.]

I'd guess that the people who care about the sport being popular care?

Honestly, what is it that we're discussing here? How fashionable Alysa Liu supposedly is? Unlike all the other women who're skating alongside her, who aren't skilled enough to break the norm, and that's also why nobody cares about them?

It seems only @Blades of Passion and @4everchan have understood the assignment on this.

We discuss how fashionable Alysa is if we want to. We don't discuss it if we don't want to.

I personally am not done with the Teen Vogue demographics and I personally find it relatable to the topic. If you are not interested, then I move on.

Why don't you do the same? Go on, post your version about: what makes "sport being popular care" if fashion doesn't. Discuss it with forumers who understand you. It will certainly create more meaningful read than outraged complaints because a fashion magazine had been, guess what, focusing on fashion.

I see no reason why these and many more discussions can't co-exist side-by-side within the framework of the topic

 

[Anna K.]

Teen Vogue has another Alysa piece, an op-ed

Alysa Liu Is the Unapologetic Alt Ice Skater I Always Wanted to See

In this op-ed, writer and comedian Lauren Servideo reflects on her love of ice skating and what 20-year-old Alysa Liu and her alt style mean to the sport.

www.teenvogue.com

By the way, thanks for unearthing this article! It is even more interesting read after some time.

The interesting thing is that this piece was written in January, before the Olympics.

Right, it's part of the pre-Olympic hype. You can feel the difference in tone: this is just an op-ed, not the content that is supposedly relevant for the main mass of readers...

In fact, Alysa is barely mentioned in the article. Rather, the author muses about the relation between fashion and figure skating (shall I tag in @elektra blue ) in general trying to hint gently that, contrary from popular beliefs, there actually is none.

Which is a very sober point of view. And picking Alysa (who was a random Blade Angel by the time of the publication) as someone who is potentially different - that has fully paid up in the end.

 

[Jammers]

Maybe she made a comeback purely for the love of performing in front of the audience. At least eight million or so people seem to agree with some of the above posters. Maybe she saw a realistic chance of medalling at or even winning the Olympics, so she made strategic plans (not cold-blooded calculations). Or, it could be both.

Personally, I find it too much of a coincidence that both Alysa and the Shibutani siblings somehow fell in love with skating again in 2024, right when the 2026 Olympics were around the corner, but that’s just me.

Source:
https://time.com/7341942/alex-maia-shibutani-olympics-2026-comeback-interview/
https://time.com/7362679/alysa-liu-skating-olympics-2026-interview/

Difference is Alysa made a real comeback not waiting until the Olympic year to make a desperate attempt to make the Olympic team. She put in the work.

 

[el henry]

This NY Times article about Elton John's Fundraising party for the Oscars used its first four paragraphs on, you guessed it, Alysa Liu.

Does it discuss running edges out of triple jumps? Would most "casuals" eyes glaze over if it discussed that? (You can guess the answer to each question. )

Movie stars, schmovie stars: It was the night of the Academy Awards, and all anyone wanted to do was talk to Alysa Liu.

Ms. Liu, the 20-year-old figure skater who won gold at the 2026 Olympic Games, was greeted with cheers when she arrived on Sunday at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual Oscars viewing party, held in West Hollywood Park under a series of large white tents. Reporters clamored to interview her. Fans lined up to offer their congratulations.

Gifted article:

Toasting Oscars Night With Alysa Liu and Dua Lipa Under Elton John’s Giant Tent

At his annual fund-raiser, the rock star hosted Keke Palmer, Donatella Versace and Brooklyn Beckham for a private Oscars watch party in West Hollywood.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Mathman]

I think that the whole thing boils down to this. Alysa's cool. Therefore figure skating is cool. Alysa's hot. Therefore figure skating is hot.

Will anyone buy into that meme? Dunno, but I, for one, would be over the moon if they did. And in the meantime, step right up, folks and enjoy the show.

 

[yfan1]

We discuss how fashionable Alysa is if we want to.

So not about the sport, and in no way reasonably caring about what was written in the article, or how it presents the rest of the skaters in the field who are competing against Alysa? Or how the author seems entirely disinterested in keeping track of the rest of the field?

Alright. I must be too stupid to understand how this helps skating.

I personally am not done with the Teen Vogue demographics and I personally find it relatable to the topic.

Fortunately, you were not who I was responding to, before you decided to ask me "who cares?".

I care. Others care. I wished to discuss how damaging I found that article. Is that so difficult to comprehend?

Teen Vogue magazine is a progressive magazine, that has delved quite a lot into politics over the past decade.

Its consumers have largely been politically inclined young adult women, much like Alysa herself.

Recently, it was announced that it would be folded into Vogue. I expect its target demographic to change reasonably - less political inclination, more commercialization (as was the case in the past), more sanitized. More toothless takes on pop culture.

Does that help? Or maybe it's not worth caring about.

If you are not interested, then I move on.

Astounding that, in fact, I *was* interested in discussing the article, much like I am interested in discussing what might help the sport.

As for your other inquiry - I have said what I think should happen. And for that matter, if I say I agree with a few posters, I'd guess that inherently means that's my idea, or part of it, about how I might improve the sport.

 

[Anna K.]

I think that the whole thing boils down to this. Alysa's cool. Therefore figure skating is cool. Alysa's hot. Therefore figure skating is hot.

Except for its most part, figure skating is neither. All problems, all shortfalls that turned it into a poorly watched niche sport are still present. We can dream that it might turn into the it's cool to be uncool or it's hot to be unhot mode, but realistically, I don't think it will be that simple.

I have mixed emotions when I see a photo of Alysa in a figure skating dress with half-million likes next to a photo of Alysa sitting at a counter with a bowl of Malatang that has two million likes on the Instagram. Partially, it's disheartening. But then again, I'm happy to to see that half-million. It is actually a lot
And I am happy for every like and every view that Hana Yoshida's Kill Bill program video got after Alysa's mention. There were not thousands, merely hundreds of viewers but they were not disappointed by what they looked up. And this is something that really matters.

Hey, and who said that figure skating can't change? Who said that it can't evolve into something cooler, or hotter, or healthier, or whatever people love to love?...

 

[Mathman]

... I *was* interested in discussing the (Teen Vogue) article,..

About the Teen Vogue article, I do have to admit that my eyes glazed over a bit at the diversion into the fashion impact of Mary Kate Olsen's equestrian ensembles. (On the other hand, I think that the New York Times dance critic made a good point when she praised Alysa in the other posted article by saying that her skating exudes the secure sense of, "Don't worry about a thing y'all. I'm not. I've got this.")

I didn't really feel that the thrust of theTeen Vogue piece was to put down other skaters. It is possible to welcome a newcomer as a breath of fresh air without insulting anyone else. As for the old-timey ice princess stereotype, in terms of U.S. skating I think that this is a better description of the classical era -- Peggy Fleming to Michelle Kwan -- than it is of more recent (if less popular with the general public) versions.

And in fact the Ice princess idea has been roundly mocked by social critics and skating cognoscenti for decades. Which, however did not prevent Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan from becoming millionaires, nor did it have a negative impact on the popularity of skating in general.

 

[Arigato]

That's fine, but it's hard to grow a sport when three of the four Olympic gold medallists can't be bothered turning up to the world championships because they don't want to go in to the off season with a possible loss.

Is that really the best you can do? Be creative.

 

[Arigato]

We could have 1,000 Alysa Lius and it still won't erase the elephant in the U.S. living room: To make a sport more popular in this country, it requires access. That access dramatically decreased after the 2022 Olympics with the music rights lawsuit filed against NBC Universal, Peacock, Comcast, and USFS.

Imagine if I told someone how great the sport of figure skating is, then threw a blanket over their TV or computer after 24-48 hours. Imagine if the same person tried to watch the sport on the ISU YouTube channel but was blocked from viewing the competitions because they were a U.S. citizen.

That elephant isn't going anywhere. Alysa knows that. A skater can only do so much for a sport in this country if the sport itself is being hamstrung by forces far more powerful than themselves.

 

[gkelly]

I didn't really feel that the thrust of theTeen Vogue piece was to put down other skaters. It is possible to welcome a newcomer as a breath of fresh air without insulting anyone else. As for the old-timey ice princess stereotype, in terms of U.S. skating I think that this is a better description of the classical era -- Peggy Fleming to Michelle Kwan -- that it is of more recent (if less popular with the general public) versions.

And in fact the Ice princess idea has been roundly mocked by social critics and skating cognoscenti for decades. Which, however did not prevent Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan from becoming millionaires, nor did it have a negative impact on the popularity of skating in general.

I don't think you can increase the popularity of the sport if the narrative is "Figure skating has always been about putting little girls into pretty boxes and that continues to be the case. The sport always was and continues to be very conservative, anti-feminist, and uncool. So isn't it great that someone who refuses to fit in that box managed to succeed despite all the forces working against her within the structure of the sport?"

(And maybe mention similar limiting stereotypes about the other disciplines.)

If the goal is to increase interest in the sport as a whole, what could work better would be something more along the lines of "Figure skating has traditionally been a very socially conservative sport emphasizing beauty and femininity in its female athletes. But there has always been a tension between image and athleticism. Skating's preferred images for female athletes may have been slow to change with the times, but nevertheless they have evolved, with ice princesses and mold-breakers often trading titles across the years. (Examples of world champions/Olympic non-gold medalists like Debi Thomas and Midori Ito, through Kaori Sakamoto.) In the current judging system, building up points on technical skills can be undeniable regardless of the skater's chosen image. So the sport now offers more room for than ever for skaters to find their own style, their own brand of artistry, while delivery the technical content needed to win. No one personifies that freedom of expression more than Alysa Liu..."
(And then show a variety of successful/moderately successful recent competitors with a variety of images not all of which fit the traditional molds.)

 

[Mathman]

A skater can only do so much for a sport in this country if the sport itself is being hamstrung by forces far more powerful than themselves.

That is what makes me hold back in terms of my natural giddy optimism. I think that the "powerful forces" are mainly the irresistible tide of cultural drift, a thousand-headed monster with a will of its own. Activities and entertainment get more popular over time, or less, for many reasons, or for none.

I am not enthusiastic about proposed one-dimensional fixes. Would figure skating become more popular if fans knew more about the workings of the scoring system? I doubt it. I, for one, have never been able to distinguish in real time between a Salchow and a flip despite years -- decades -- of trying. But I like the sport even so.

Is the popularity of skating in the U.S. dependent on individual stars? The decline began somewhere around the year 2000. Michelle Kwan was riding high, on her way to five world championships. Sasha Cohen was "I got next." In ensuing years we had Olympic gold medalists Sarah Hughes, Evan Lysacek, Davis and White, Nathan Chen -- the needle didn't move. In fact, interest in figure skating as a spectator sport continued slowly to decline. Why? In my opinion, no reason, every reason.

Can the ISU or the USFSA do anything about it? I think that's where the "forces far more powerful than themselves" come in.
--------------
Nevertheless, hope springs eternal. Go Alysa!

 

[Anna K.]

Meanwhile the 8M Insta followers of Alysa Liu: googling "a death drop into a twist"

 

[moonvine]

I guess we will see how Nationals ticket sales go.