Patrick Chan feeling unappreciated in Canada

[OS]

Some time in August, when he was vacationing in Singapore, he did say he will be willing to represent Singapore. Not in figure skating, but in alpine skiing, tennis or golf.
http://sports.zaobao.com/pages16/others110802c.shtml
It's in Chinese, but google translate works fine.

Anyway it appears that when Chan is in a particular country, he will have say something that relates to that particular country.

Chan said he would contemplate retirement after 2014 Winter Olympics, afterwards he would consider representing Singapore in alpine skiing, golf and tennis.

I bet if he comes to London, we can convince him to represent the UK . I think he is just being 'a diplomatic big kid in wonderland' kind of way and wanting to please all the reporters where ever they are from, but he just need to learn that not all smiley reporters are smiling on the inside. (I am also wondering if he might have picked up a few sponsors there.)

Singapore is ace and multicultural, but golf is very expensive and definitely a rich man's sport. It would be a great place to earn easy money for someone of his background. Other than skating, Patrick is said to have been skiing, golfing and playing tennis since age 3 (OK that confirms my theory he is bit of a jock.) And he is open to invitations to the possibility to coach kids in Singapore after retirement to show them more the beauty of skating.

Patrick mentioned after 2014 Olympics where he hope for a gold, he will retire, go back to college and live normally. Once he reach the peak of success, then that should be enough to backout gracefully and try other things. He didn't want to be too greedy to go for too many medals and only leave after failing.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Some time in August, when he was vacationing in Singapore, he did say he will be willing to represent Singapore. Not in figure skating, but in alpine skiing, tennis or golf.
http://sports.zaobao.com/pages16/others110802c.shtml
It's in Chinese, but google translate works fine.

Anyway it appears that when Chan is in a particular country, he will have say something that relates to that particular country.

I have originally brought that article here and discussed it and I didn't need Google to translate it. I had that article in mind when I wrote what you quoted:

Patrick will skate in Korea but never for Korea.

What's a shame is how when some idea has been misrepresented, it became established in so many people's minds no matter how it's been shown to be untrue.

He said in a way wistfully he missed rock star status of two 90's Canadian skaters skating during the big money days.and was rueful at the money hockey players get, and I understand that FS standouts are much better athletes and even some are true artistic people. But here in USA we see teachers/firefighters fighting for their pensions while sports stars get rediculous millions. He has real points to make re where FS is in the world. But he comes across as in a self centered bubble. Surely someone that bright/ talented knows how ungrateful it sounds. He will grow up, as Os points out. His emotional age is quite young.

As I've shown before, it was the Reuters writer who brought up the "rock star status of two 90's Canadian skaters skating during the big money days". Patrick is rueful for putting his parents through such extreme financial burden and himself needing and receiving so much support from the Chinese community in Canada because of the high training costs and low financial rewards of figure skating. All this twisted vocalization of his thoughts was exactly because of his being too grateful to the point of remorse because there is no way what he pursues will ever enable him to repay the financial and emotional debts. Really, your stream of conciousness may be taken as blaming Patrick Chan for the state of the American economy and the retirement prospects of firemen and teachers, if one cares to interpret your words the way you do his alleged utterances.

BTW, to compete at the elite level in figure skating today requires the kind of comprehensive training that entails costs very much higher than in the earlier eras. Kurt has expressed his amazement often and compared it to his much simpler preparations.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Reuters might very well have timed the release of the press to hurt Patrick but I think they miscalculated because they didn't understand Chan the champion. It is exactly because all this ridiculous controversy was created right before a major event that Patrick is able to recover much faster than otherwise.

A superb competitor, Chan has the mental strength to focus on his competition as needed. The timing of all the maliciously generated distractions is such that he put them aside as much as he could to focus on the task at hand instead of stewing and getting distressed or depressed over it. It also offered him the opportunity to appear as his real self, the athlete and the person, in front of skating fans as well as the opportunity to see that many fans understood him and still supported him despite all the malevolent brouhaha.

The damage is actually lessened with the timing and this is somewhat of a backfire Reuters did not expect. Still, they achieved their goal of getting attention at the expense of someone of character and success.

 

[skateflower]

A superb competitor, Chan has the mental strength to focus on his competition as needed. .

A superb competitor does not fall 3 to 4 times in one competition on average. Chan may be judges' pet and the COP king, but he is not a superb competitor.

 

[Violet Bliss]

A superb competitor does not fall 3 to 4 times in one competition on average. Chan may be judges' pet and the COP king, but he is not a superb competitor.

You need to substantiate your statements instead of just making them. Demonstrate with facts that

1. Chan falls 3 to 4 times in one competition on average, and

2. Chan is a "judges' pet", and what you mean by the derogatory insult.

 

[dorispulaski]

I wouldn't deny that the judges like Patrick Chan...the proof of the pudding is in the eating. They like him and his skating. I doubt that they give out his marks saying to themselves, "I hate that Patrick Chan. I hate that Patrick Chan." "pet" is a mildly nasty way of conveying the fact that the judges have a preference for Patrick, but it's true.

The question is whether their preference is justified, and good arguments can be made that it is.

 

[prettykeys]

The question is whether their preference is justified, and good arguments can be made that it is.

Yes.

I'm not a "Patrick Chan fan" nor an expert in figure skating...but his skating abilities stood out to me a few years ago. Today they are extraordinarily beautiful at the right moments. I may not agree with every single placement he's had with every single program, and I understand some of the criticisms pointed at him, but I do think that some of the vitriol he receives does not fit his "crimes" (on or off the ice) and the thought of him being hurt reading online comments makes me feel bad, too.

I do agree that he should receive media training though, at the least so he doesn't keep feeling the backlash from volatile skating fans.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Life is funny and one never knows what each action or event will lead to. The saga of Patrick's Olympic tattoo against his mother's wishes was comedic. Today, he can tell his mom he was right for once. It is a very convincing statement about his loyalty when he says "I am branded for life" with a maple leaf permanently inked on his calf.

 

[jettasian]

No need to be so melodramatic about it. Patrick is one person - the media are many and are everywhere. Whatever he says will be repeated, magnified, distorted, etc. to get attention. Therefore it's in his own best interest to improve his PR skills or speak through an agent, for his own self-protection. Lying is one way, but there are also more diplomatic ways to make his points if he gives it some thought instead of shooting from the hip. That casualness works in a private conversation - not in the public eye.

As for your remark on politicians... duh... but irrelevant.

Not being melodramtic or anything...it's the fact here and in the media. People just like to hear what they want to hear, if not...scandalous! If you read through the whole thing, politic was the main "focus" of this discussion. That's why I brought that up.

 

[jettasian]

For what it is worth, at the 2012 Worlds, there won't be a Canadian judge at the Men's panel but there will be, not one but two Chinese judges, one from CHN and one from TPE. And if Chan really is that popular in Korea, well that would help him as well because Korea will also be on the Men's panel. So if Plushenko is really coming back and you believe in judges favoring certain skaters for nationality reason, Chan's recent comments could endear him with some of the judges that will actually matter at this year's Worlds - not that he is going to need much help if he skate clean, you just never know.

I think the Russian judge may give him all 10s so Chan can skate for Russia for Sochi. Meanwhile, the Chinese judges, the French, the Mexican, all want him to skate for their country, also give him 10s as well. At the end, all win for that calculated son of a gun

 

[skateluvr]

For anybody to feel sorry for person(s) or people who knowingly entered their kid in an elite sport, knowing the costs is really rediculous. This was all CHOICES made. And true tragedy this is not, as some posters seem to think. No one told them to do this and HE IS THE NUMBER 1 RATED IN THE WORLD IS HE NOT? It paid off, and could pay off more. He is a winner. People who make it to this level of skating succeed in most everything they do. That is my point.

 

[derplutz]

Chan is right in saying that skating has lost its lustre from the Stojko days, but the underappreciated comments are almost hypocritical. Sure, Chan is a thrill to all figure skating fans, but he's not bringing in new fans to skating, as opposed to someone like Stojko, who captivated casual skating fans and even brought in new fans to the sport. Chan is not this type. His character is too unassuming to be a huge draw outside the rink, that's why he's "underappreciated". The more "out there" characters like Sandhu, Stojko, Plushenko, Yagudin, J. Weir, are the reasons why men's skating was at higher popularity in the past.

Even though Skate Canada is publicly behind Chan, I'm sure they sat him down in private and really scolded him for the comments. They'd be stupid not to.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Chan is right in saying that skating has lost its lustre from the Stojko days, but the underappreciated comments are almost hypocritical. Sure, Chan is a thrill to all figure skating fans, but he's not bringing in new fans to skating, as opposed to someone like Stojko, who captivated casual skating fans and even brought in new fans to the sport. Chan is not this type. His character is too unassuming to be a huge draw outside the rink, that's why he's "underappreciated". The more "out there" characters like Sandhu, Stojko, Plushenko, Yagudin, J. Weir, are the reasons why men's skating was at higher popularity in the past.

Wow. Now Chan is responsible for the lower popularity of figure skating? Skate Canada is so grateful they have him, and V/M, right now and for the next few years to keep Canadian interested in the sports. Imagine Canadian figure skating without Chan! Ha, got you happy there for a second, huh?

Even though Skate Canada is publicly behind Chan, I'm sure they sat him down in private and really scolded him for the comments. They'd be stupid not to.

And Chan immediately went out and told the journalists that he would not change but would keep his personality and stay honest, other than trying to be more precise so his words might not be as easily taken out of context and twisted.

 

[derplutz]

Chan isn't responsible for the lower popularity of figure skating, it's the absence of captivating characters and storylines that is the cause
Right now is an amazing time for figure skating purist fans which I suspect most people on this board are... I understand that you want to defend your top dog

 

[Tonichelle]

I wouldn't deny that the judges like Patrick Chan...the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Ew. Pudding is gross.

 

[derplutz]

look, and don't get me wrong, Patrick is an incredible skater who I feel deserves the appreciation. its just really unfortunate that a lot of the public cares only about his initial comments and not his sincere apology... if you look on a lot of the "comment boards" of various news outlets reporting chan's lou marsh award win, it's 90% bashing him and figure skating in general.

basically i want skating to regain its lustre. the vancouver olympics were incredible. we need more of that.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Much of the public reaction is due to ignorance and politics. The public thinks he is coddled with loads of money from the Canadian government and commercial sponsors, mostly because of his high profile during the Olympics. They have no idea at all at the financial struggles and sacrifices the athletes' families need to make. So instead of being grateful for the glory the successful athletes bring to the country they think the athletes are spoiled and ungrateful.

There have been many Canadian skaters actually skating, very successfully, for other countries, with no backlash at all. Canadians are just as proud of them. In Chan's case, it's because China was the country involved in the report and just dreaming about the ideal of possibly representing both countries is a huge scandal, a treason as some actually call it. It's just hypocritical crap.

Patrick Chan on Canada Am video. The lad is still having a month old cold. Hard to shake it when under constant pressure and stress.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

basically i want skating to regain its lustre. the vancouver olympics were incredible. we need more of that.

Of course, that kind of confluence of events seems highly unlikely to repeat itself. But I agree - that was magical.

 

[derplutz]

Much of the public reaction is due to ignorance and politics.

yeah this for sure, it irks me how ignorant people can be about skating... they don't understand the sacrifices families make and they also don't understand how difficult figure skating really is

 

[Violet Bliss]

Chan earns the respect of this American journalist:

Patrick Chan Talks the Talk, Skates the Skate

You know, when I was growing up, one thing I never really understood was the big deal they made out of Muhammed Ali. Maybe just because I caught him toward the end of his career when he was old and out-of-shape and always seemed to be fighting tomato cans like Chuck Wepner. Plus I was always turned off by the way he ran his mouth and didn’t get why they made him out to be this towering figure who transformed the world and all that.

Of course with age comes perspective and I understand better now what the fuss was. It takes uncommon courage for a man to say what’s in his heart when his beliefs are unpopular. The easy thing to do would be to take the path of least resistance. Go along to get along. Especially in the world of sports that rewards conformity and a polished image is the path to weatlh and fame. But Ali spoke his mind, popularity be damned. He didn’t back down. And when much of the public turned on him and openly rooted against him, he rose to the challenge. He fought like a champion in every sense of the word and earned back the world’s respect.

And that’s exactly why I admire Patrick Chan. He could’ve taken the easy route. Said what Canada and the Figure Skating world wanted to hear. But his soul wouldn’t let him. He spoke from his heart. I mean, is there really a difference between his “unnappreciated in Canada” remark and Ali saying “No Viet Cong ever called me nigger”? I say no. And caught in the eye of the storm that followed, Chan stood tall. He took the pressure he’d put on himself and he used it. He rode it like a skeleton horse through the gates of Hell. Even after he slammed into the boards while trying to turn a successful quad into a quad-triple combo and it looked like the stress was getting to him, he bounced back. In front of his critics and the world and all the speedskaters, shotputters and show jumpers who wished the worst for him, Chan won the Grand Prix, the Lou Marsh and most important, their respect. I was too young and naive to understand the last world-changing athlete. I thank God I’ve got the age and maturity to understand this one.