Brian Boitano - Q&A | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Brian Boitano - Q&A

bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Bekalc - I never heard of a youth movement. It sounds like we should retire skaters at 16. Is that correct?

As for Michelle, I am a big fan of MK and many of us have never understood the dropping of Frank C just a few weeks before the Olys. There have been umpteen speculations, but nothing factual. I'm still awaiting the TRUE story. Please anyone, no specs.

As for Tara. I couldn't stand her no edges. She was not on rollers anymore and had trouble adapting to the iceblade edges. The tricks were easy. Roller Skaters do not have trouble with the tricks but do have with the edging.

All this in the far past now. I'm not sure what young skaters have to do with this. Both MK and TL were teenyboppers at the time.

Of course I don't think people should retire at 16. I was talking about fans who were complaining about the youngsters who were coming up and trying to take Michelle's medals. Tara got it, Sarah got it, Sasha got it, and on and on it went.

I personally don't care how old the skaters were but I'm just saying that the complaints about the young ones winning started after Tara won. And it wasn't fair because both were babies.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Of course I don't think people should retire at 16. I was talking about fans who were complaining about the youngsters who were coming up and trying to take Michelle's medals. Tara got it, Sarah got it, Sasha got it, and on and on it went.

I personally don't care how old the skaters were but I'm just saying that the complaints about the young ones winning started after Tara won. And it wasn't fair because both were babies.
I'm not interested in any skater less than 16 except to say there is talent there. Can you imagine a teenbopper skating to R. Strauss and interpreting Salome? She'd be banned as well as laughed at because of.her age. Nothing wrong with 14-16 age skaters but they don't really know about life yet. Why the rush? Tara won, and I think she deserved it. She had the most tricks regardless of her edges and gave a great bubblegum performance. To quote someone: She was on a sugar high.

And Michelle, Irina and Sasha never got it (the medal). So what? I don't think fans make a switch because their favorite didn't win.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I hear mainly from Michelle fans, since Tara won worlds...
Tara Lipinski? 1997 Worlds? That was 11 years ago. Isn't it time to let that pro-Kwan, anti-Kwan stuff go?

This thread has taken kind of a retro turn, if you ask me. Oh well. :eek:hwell:
Tonichelle said:
And MM - I think where Michelle fit into the equation was when I brought up that Brian is complaining about the young girls (ie youth movement) that are winning US nationals right now... considering he was head over heels for Michelle from day one I find it really hypocritical. I was not meaning for people to take that as a way to get back into the MK vs Tara debate... or a fandom debate, but it happened anyway lol.
Just when you think it's safe to go back on the Internet skating boards. :laugh:
 
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bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Tara Lipinski? 1997 Worlds? That was 11 years ago. Isn't it time to let that pro-Kwan, anti-Kwan stuff go?

This thread has taken kind of a retro turn, if you ask me. Oh well. :eek:hwell:Just when you think it's safe to go back on the Internet skating boards. :laugh:

I was rooting for Michelle back then... I didn't even like Tara...So I'm not angry. I did get annoyed though when Kwan fans attacked every single young skater that would come up, and then criticize the current young skaters. And all figure skating is for the babies etc like Botiono is doing. This sport has always been dominated by young stars.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Michelle fans are not the only ones that got/get upset with the age thing.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
well they weren't on this thread complaining... I guess that's all anyone is trying to get at. most have moved on :)

as for teen stars - Kristi Yamaguchi was in her 20s when she won her big titles, wasn't she? Maria Butyrskaya... Debi Thomas, Jill Trenary... I think? Tonya Harding (or was she making waves as a teen, too?)

all I'm sure made themselves known as teens, but I think where Boitano was going was they were all getting in and then getting right out (and if that WAS his main point then Michelle doesn't fit entirely, but he can't predict the future as to when Caroline and Mirai will leave the sport... Sasha Cohen was/is a baby ballerina and she was in her 20s before she went pro/semi pro)
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
All I'm sure made themselves known as teens, but I think where Boitano was going was they were all getting in and then getting right out (and if that WAS his main point then Michelle doesn't fit entirely, but he can't predict the future as to when Caroline and Mirai will leave the sport... Sasha Cohen was/is a baby ballerina and she was in her 20s before she went pro/semi pro)
I read Brian's comments again to see if I could get a clear understanding of where he is going with all this. The reporter says he/she finally managed to catch up with Brian as he was dashing about with a busy schedule, so his remarks might just be spur-of-the-moment stuff.

All women were once girls. Like you say (Toni), I don't think Brian was complaining about skaters like Michelle and Sasha who started out as precocious kids and developed into mature artists. And on the other hand, many of the young skaters who left the sport early were forced out by injury, so it is hardly their fault.

But I agree that Brian is trying to have it both ways. Today he is complaining that the ladies who stay in competition into their twenties don't really have a chance against the next wave of jumping beans, especially under CoP judging.

However, he has been critical in the past about skaters (especially his good friend Michelle) who stayed in instead of going pro to keep the professional shows and competitions alive.

On a less contentious note, I got a kick out of Brian's reminiscing about the last few Ice Wars competitions where the old war horses, Brian and Kristi, had to pump each other up to go out there for one last hurrah. :laugh: :agree:
 

carriecmu0503

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
I think the biggest difference between Michelle winning at 15 and Tara at 15 (and several other current young teens) was that at 15, Michelle skated like a woman, like a mature artist, while Tara still skated like a child. Many skaters today who are in their late teens/ early 20s STILL don't skate with the maturity Michelle possessed at 15.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I think the biggest difference between Michelle winning at 15 and Tara at 15 (and several other current young teens) was that at 15, Michelle skated like a woman, like a mature artist, while Tara still skated like a child. Many skaters today who are in their late teens/ early 20s STILL don't skate with the maturity Michelle possessed at 15.
:bow::bow: Indeed!

And before Tara, there was Oksana, the two foot landing girl. Big smile though.

When you think of it, none of the gals before Oksana (Sjoukje, Peggy, Dorothy, Beatrix, Annette, Katrina, Kristy skated as little girls but did skate, however good or badly as Ladies).
 
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bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
I think the biggest difference between Michelle winning at 15 and Tara at 15 (and several other current young teens) was that at 15, Michelle skated like a woman, like a mature artist, while Tara still skated like a child. Many skaters today who are in their late teens/ early 20s STILL don't skate with the maturity Michelle possessed at 15.

Michelle's program though wasn't near as mature as Lu Chen's though, and I didn't think Tara's program at the Olympics was that poor either.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Michelle's program though wasn't near as mature as Lu Chen's though, and I didn't think Tara's program at the Olympics was that poor either.

A lot of people thought Lu Chen should have won Worlds instead of Michelle, do you feel that way too. Or are you just making a comment suggesting that Michelle's Salome was somewhat inferior because it was not as mature as Lu Chen's program?
 

bekalc

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
A lot of people thought Lu Chen should have won Worlds instead of Michelle, do you feel that way too. Or are you just making a comment suggesting that Michelle's Salome was somewhat inferior because it was not as mature as Lu Chen's program?

I liked Michelle's Salome I was kind of saying though just in general younger skaters aren't going to be as mature as the older skaters are. Yes, Michelle at 15 was better artistically but one could argue that Tara was doing 3/3's that Michelle wasn't at 15, although I wonder how Tara would do in today's underrotation days. I think Tara by 15 was much improved artistically and really would have improved some more.

Michelle beat Lu because she out jumped her. Tara beat Michelle because she out jumped her.. You can argue all you want whether the outjumping should have counted... But the point is Michelle benefited from being a jumping bean herself.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
The difference between a mature and immature skater is not all together the question of age. I left out Sarah Hughes from my list of mature skaters. In spite of her tender age winning the gold in SLC, she skated as a mature lady. Not as a darling little teenybopper. The following Olys show an aged Shizuka and very much a mature Lady.
 

Wrlmy

Medalist
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
I thought artistic mark reflected artistry, not physical maturity, in an ideal world at least.
 

silver.blades

Medalist
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Country
Canada
^Yes, but in general, artistry is directly related to maturaty. There are always exeptions to this, but in general for a person to be considered artistic, some level of maturaty is present in their art, so it is not so much the maturity of the artist, but the maturity of the art itself, and it stands to reason that a more mature person would have more mature art.
 

stevlin

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Brian Boitano

I once belonged to the Brian Boitano fan club and remember that he said he was great friends with Brian Orser and always wanted to be his friend for life. Now that Orser "came out" [only because of his palamony suite hitting the newspapers and tv, etc] ] Boitano now says they were just competiters. That is a shame. If Orser read this, he would feel very hurt. False people and false freindships one can do without. :scowl:
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
IIRC, Orser has made similar statements in the last couple of years saying their friendship really started AFTER the olympics, he gave the same reasoning - they were competitors first....
 
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