I Don't Get Caroline Zhang

SeaniBu · Dec 13, 2006

I didn't Toni, I thought you were very "fun" about the whole situation, and did an excellent job of addressing and poking me was taken as a nice thing. I really appreciated it.

And as MM said, I feel the same. It is only what I felt, and now that I have heard more about Caroline (I love that name :love:

) the more I feel my initial impression is uneducated regarding her on the basis I presented.

Caroline,
if you do read this, I hope that you understand that I feel you have all the potential in the world and I am sure you are aware that people's opinions will differ. You could be the next great thing. I am not one of those who is adverse to being proven 100% wrong (for not everything I said was negative I saw 70% of what others were saying and more now that they have educated me more regarding you) I would love for you to make me eat my words:agree: And now that I have heard more - which I should have waited AND I DO / DID get most of hype surrounding you. I have seen 2 routines on YouTube and that is all. So just throw my comments aside and excel as I TRULY believe you can.

btw, I know of a pageant mom that reprimanded Patsy Ramsey when she was getting her child ready next to her, for the way she was pressuring JonBenet. It was not meant as a bad thing toward CZ, more that she is likely under a ton of pressure. Pageant moms are not all bad, and JonBenet did not win that show, it was the mom of the girl who got on Patsy for the pessure she was putting on JonBenet, that won it - her hair still wet from having some fun in the pool one hour prior to the show. Because she wanted for the experience to be a good / fun and her child's choice. And she won:agree: , great story IMO.

sarahmistral · Dec 13, 2006

Woah Caroline!!

Jaana said:
Well, I do get Zhang and liked her exhibition performance very much. To me she looks like a mix of Kwan and Cohen. Kwan´s elegant look on the ice combined with Cohen´s flexibility and fire.

ITA, Jaana, that's exactly what I thought when I first saw that video of her. High hopes for this one, at least as far as I'm concerned. Dance sensibility and flexibility like Sasha, emotion and elegance a la Michelle...I wish her the best, and I like her chances in Vancouver, if puberty treats her and her jumps kindly. IMO, she just has that "IT" factor, that je ne sais quoi about her skating, her arm movements, and I think that's fairly evident to fans of musical skaters - it just seems that it's all connected with her, there's flow and fluidity in her movement and she is really in the music and the choreography.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but I do feel that a certain amount of vitriol against a skater is unnecessary and characteristic of certain posters who only go on and on about how much they dislike skater x or y, and never have a positive moment of gushing about the skaters that they do like. (And no, this totally isn't directed at you, Red Dog - I really enjoy your posts and find them refreshingly honest and balanced).

Just my 2 cents.

Happy holidays everyone,
Sarah M.

P.S. and thanks for the Birthday greeting

Kwanford Wife · Dec 13, 2006

Oh, how I miss the good ol' days of Michelle :bow:

vs. Irina

vs. DivaKwara :bow:

vs. Sasha - when posters would go all out to one up each other in comparing the Divas... Now that was fun... posters sending mean PMs, demanding sanctions from the admins... Now, THAT's when snarking was fun... :rock:

:yes:

Nowadays all we have are bicker sessions about pre-teens who aren't even at the senior level yet... Now, is that anyway to behave??? Give the girl a break... she might be "the one" ala Kwan or she might make a big splash & never really make an impact ala tons of skaters I can't remember right now. Heck, she might even get bored with skating & decide to play drums...

Give the girl a break.

Mathman · Dec 13, 2006

Hey, wait a minute. I thought Sasha was the Gumby Robot.

Caroline is the Power Ranger/Tickle Me Elmo.

(Rachael Flatt is Dora the Explorer/Butterscotch Pony.)

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 13, 2006

Red Dog said:
NY isn't the only city in the world, lol. I can't remember exactly which articles there were but there were a few out there. Not to mention the fan buzz simply getting out of control, almost to the point where people were calling her an Olympic contender.

How does the 'fan buzz' get out of control? Do you think the forum should determine when fan praise is too much and zap it? I could accept that if I am permitted to complain about only negative posts which are out of control.

Joe

R.D. · Dec 13, 2006

no, definitely not. Fan buzz (or hype, whatever you wish to call it) is not a bad thing at all- by itself.

I think the problem comes where differences of opinion get so polarized and this leads to board fights. Someone posts something really gushing and then someone else comes and posts something really negative (it may be bashing or it may not be). Then the person who posted the original comment gets offended, reacts accordingly and that's how the fights start. I will never forget the Kwan/Cohen fights we used to have on this board.

I think there are two ideal ways to deal with this issue. One is to be a heavy-handed moderator and begin closing threads and issuing warnings at the first sign of a "bar fight". The second way, which I happen to prefer (and this is what makes GS unique in my opinion) is just to let the "bar fight" run its course and die out. A few select posters will try to keep the fight going and only then should action be taken. But I think in general this is one board that tends to govern itself pretty well as far as posting behavior goes. I also notice moderator presence tends to be on the down low- they are around but there's no big tag or bold username to let you know they are moderators. I think that also helps in making GS a more comfortable atmosphere- like it should be. The issues come with, and only with, OPINIONS. Majority opinion rules, minority opinions are inferior. No board or community is perfect, though.

Nigel · Dec 13, 2006

Cal Girl said:
I agree that Caroline is fun to watch right now. She is young, tiny and very flexible. She shows great strength while at competition and fortitude in getting the job done.
Does she still carry her backpack full of candy? It used to make me laugh! But then I saw her running and screaming in an awful pitch around the arena and I thought, well she is young.

yup...she still carries that back pack around and it is jammed full of candy! :eek:

SeaniBu · Dec 13, 2006

Nigel said:
yup...she still carries that back pack around and it is jammed full of candy!

That is cute IMO. I wonder what her favorites are? Gummy Bears - a 1lb bag doesn't stand a chance around me. Gone in 30 minutes. EEsh.

Board fights, Some seem to perpetuate by doing something and then saying that it shouldn't be done. Example is needed. JMO.

anything_for_skating · Dec 14, 2006

Mafke said:
- flutz flutz bo flutz banana fana fo flutz...

:chorus:

Penny · Dec 14, 2006

Caroline has the great misfortune of starting her amateur career under Code of Points. Michelle Kwan's best, greatest, most musical programs came under 6.0.

SeaniBu · Dec 14, 2006

Penny said:
Caroline has the great misfortune of starting her amateur career under Code of Points. Michelle Kwan's best, greatest, most musical programs came under 6.0.

And oddly enough she only received one 6.0 across the board. ??? Should have been more??? IMO yes.:agree:

Am I misinformed?

ETA, the "African" celebration of Christmas is KWANzaa.

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 15, 2006

My last word on this is:

HYPE by definitiion is a slang term used by publicity agents for the purpose of promoting a product.

The publicity shoves the product down your throat so that you buy the product or you refuse to buy it because you resent being taken in.

Hollywood movies are super hyped even before they hit the theatres. All sorts of phrases come out to get your to buy a ticket. Examples: Compelling, Rivoting, Hilarious, Shocking, etc. George Clooney will get Oscar nominated for this, etc.

The publicity agent makes a good salary for this. He is a very powerful man in the showbiz industry.

Now figure skating fans when expressing praise for a skater one must acknowledge that they do not get any money, are not working for an agency, and are not united in a conspiracy to push some little girl to glory. However, they do have their own individual feelings for a skater. Those feelings could be pro or con. That's called discussion.

The use of the publicity term for HYPE does not apply to figure skating fans for the above reasons. I can understand the reasons for some to think this showbiz term does apply because they believe there is a conspiracy to push a skater to higher esteem, and they don't like that. OK. so be it, good luck and good night.

Joe

antmanb · Dec 15, 2006

Joesitz said:
The use of the publicity term for HYPE does not apply to figure skating fans for the above reasons. I can understand the reasons for some to think this showbiz term does apply because they believe there is a conspiracy to push a skater to higher esteem, and they don't like that. OK. so be it, good luck and good night.

Joe

Nope we'll have to agree to disagree because i couldn't disagree with you more. Just because one believes the term hype can apply to figure skating fans it doesn't mean that one believes that there is a conspiracy theory to push a skater.

You try to paint a black and white picture and nothing ever is.

Ant

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 15, 2006

Ant - I appreciate your agreeing our right to differ. As I said before if you agree that the showbiz term applies to figure skating, so be it. I don't. :indiff:

BTW - Am I hyping Rachel Flatt now? :rofl:

and not discussing her? Some posters like her others don't. That is black and white: not hype. just discussion.

Joe

jsteam4501s · Dec 16, 2006

In the midst of the Flatt-hype and the Zhang-hype could I bring up a little Grinkova-hype. Daria may never see the podium at Nationals, but when she skates I see something truly lovely. That's my two cents for the daughter of Ekaterina Gordeeva! :clap:

krenseby · Dec 16, 2006

Joesitz said:
Ant - I appreciate your agreeing our right to differ. As I said before if you agree that the showbiz term applies to figure skating, so be it. I don't. :indiff:

BTW - Am I hyping Rachel Flatt now? and not discussing her? Some posters like her others don't. That is black and white: not hype. just discussion.

Joe

Keep in mind, Joe, that it's quite possible that some figure skating publicity agent is posing here under a stealth nick to promote a certain skater ;-) :clap:

We're all being had by marketing ploys! I am pretty sure of it. In fact, I am going to soon start outing the hidden publicists. :biggrin:

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 16, 2006

krenseby said:
Keep in mind, Joe, that it's quite possible that some figure skating publicity agent is posing here under a stealth nick to promote a certain skater ;-)

We're all being had by marketing ploys! I am pretty sure of it. In fact, I am going to soon start outing the hidden publicists.

I luv it. Publicity Agents infiltrating a forum. :rofl:

Joe

Tonichelle · Dec 16, 2006

works in teh music industry

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 16, 2006

but in a figure skating forum of just so many fans?

I can see Mao's PA sneaking in GS to see what's going on. :rofl:

dancindiva03 · Dec 16, 2006

jsteam4501s said:
In the midst of the Flatt-hype and the Zhang-hype could I bring up a little Grinkova-hype. Daria may never see the podium at Nationals, but when she skates I see something truly lovely. That's my two cents for the daughter of Ekaterina Gordeeva!

Despite not being a high-level skater, Daria is a complete joy to watch. She has excellent basic skills and more personality than Flatt and Zhang put together. She might never be a national champoin but I'd rather watch Daria than just about any of the current crop of up-and-coming skaters.

I Don't Get Caroline Zhang

SeaniBu

sarahmistral

Kwanford Wife

Mathman

Joesitz (RIP)

R.D.

Nigel

SeaniBu

anything_for_skating

Penny

SeaniBu

Joesitz (RIP)

antmanb

Joesitz (RIP)

jsteam4501s

krenseby

Joesitz (RIP)

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

Joesitz (RIP)

dancindiva03

Match Penalty

Similar threads

Connect with us