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- Feb 23, 2014
900 pages 
Yuzuru Hanyu: 2014-15 Season
- Thread starter GS Forum Staff
- Start date
Good for Yuzuru and his team. I'm glad to hear that fans think he's "cold". Means he focusing on what he needs to do for the competition. The end result was two spectacular skates after inadequate training and injury. People need to back up (literally) and grow up, including the father of the flower girl. Frankly, I'm appalled at all this hounding. Let him rest and recover!
Not gonna lie, I was disappointed that Carruthers didn't complain about the butt spin
Has he been converted 
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- Feb 18, 2014
I was waiting for this thread to reach 900 pages! I was counting down the pages left (so I can comment on the 900th page, hahaha).Anyway, progressing with the discussion, I completely agree with @Newbiespectator. The Japanese media really portrays him as a some sort of saint and to a certain extent, it gets excessive and is really unreasonable. Yuzuru is human like everyone else, he should be treated as a normal guy (who just happens to be amazing at figure skating) and the border between personal/public should be respected. No one can be reasonable, great and nice 100% of the time because we're all human. I'm glad this topic eventually came up because it's interesting reading everyone's opinions.
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- Dec 25, 2012
I think I hate the but spin as much as Carruthers does. but when everything else is wonderful, one can forgive the but-spin.
Anyway, Woopie!! 900 pages. We've come a long way in our journey of watching this amazing young man skate. I've been watching from 2012, what about the rest of you? I'm sure some have been watching from earlier than that?
Anyway, Woopie!! 900 pages. We've come a long way in our journey of watching this amazing young man skate. I've been watching from 2012, what about the rest of you? I'm sure some have been watching from earlier than that?
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2014
As far as I know he doesn´t have one, maybe he should get one.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
He doesn't need it. Better to be free of it, too much commercial obligation and making money for sporting agency, sponsors, and Japanese skating federation can distract him from skating. He might as well go for a small but ambitious small sporting ageny that can devote to him. Better not be a cog in someone else's machine and have more say in what he want to do.
DO NOT SIGN WITH IMG under any circumstances! It has conflict of interests with negotiations and obligations. I read on Chinese press, Mao hardly get much from her own ice show and it is totally unfair. Why pressured to make money for others, when you should prioritise on yourself including have greater freedom. Work when you want to, rest when you want to! That is the only way to really enjoy this sport for the long haul.
I just checked my first post on this thread was page 2, #17, back in 12-01-2011 at 11:21 AM. Hehe... what an auspicious number!! Look at how far this incredible talented young man has come!
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2014
Sorry! I didn't know it was geoblocked to the US! I fixed the times and the link! Hopefully everyone can view the video and there aren't too many spelling/grammar errors!
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This is the third year we've seen Hanyu in person, and I can tell you things have not always been this way.
At Finlandia 2012 he was carefree and relaxed, and moved freely around the hotel. There were no crowds chasing after him, he was often alone. We met him a few times hanging around the lobby and in the lift, and chatted with him. (and what a charming, thoughtful and polite young man he is). He spent a lot of time at the rink greeting fans and signing autographs.
By Finlandia 2013 and TEB 2013, he was much more well known, and many fans made the trip to see him. Things were already very different. We didn't see him even once in the hotels. He could no longer move freely. There were fans waiting for him everywhere he went. At Finlandia, he still made great efforts to sign autographs etc after the medal ceremony, only stopping when forced to because he was keeping the official shuttle bus waiting too long.
Now it is 2014 and he is reigning Olympic, World, GPF and Japanese national champion. His fame and popularity are hugely increased. It is no surprise to me that he is less "approachable" now. The "circus" that follows him everywhere is really pretty scary. We saw him (from a distance) leaving the GPF arena and making the short walk back to the hotel... and I was put in mind of the giant flocks of seagulls you see following fishing boats. He had to stop to cross the road, and was immediately surrounded. (I don't mean that to be insulting to the fans - just trying to give an idea of how crowded and chaotic it gets. It looks vry intimidating to me).
Personally, I suspect he is no different - he spent time replying to his fan mail while recovering from his injuries. But he is a victim of his own popularity. At competitions, if he signs 1 autograph, he'll have to sign 1000. And there aren't enough hours in the day for that. I also imagine the Japanese federation has stepped in - for people as famous as Hanyu, personal security must be a concern. There are some pretty crazy people out there. The events of the season so far surely have not helped - I am guessing they are being extra protective, to let him get some rest, concentrate on competing, and relieve some of the fan/media pressure on him.
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By the way, what a priviledge it has been to see Hanyu's progress in person, these last three years... culminating in the sublime performances we saw last weekend at the GPF. Yes he fell, but that did not diminish the speed, the quality, the difficulty, the beauty... of the rest of his performance. Listen to the British Eurosport commentators - they say it better. He absolutely earned his points and his medal.
It would not surprise me if he sets new world records this year for SP, FS, and total score... and become the first skater to score over 200 points for FS, and over 300 points total...
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- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
Me too
900pages 
The first skate of Yuzuru which I watched was GPF 2013 SP. I just love his overall skating, that abandonment recklessness (kinda James Dean of skating) especially the speed going into every jump that left right turn he did right before jumping is cool (I don't know how to explain it well that motion). And I found this thread when it was at 100pages and looks at how it has grown which I reckoned at average 80 pages per month
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- Joined
- Feb 23, 2014
Sorry! I didn't know it was geoblocked to the US! I fixed the times and the link! Hopefully everyone can view the video and there aren't too many spelling/grammar errors!
Thank you very much
Don´t know. My other favorite athlete is Sebastian Vettel (F1) and even when he doesn´t have an agent he has a PR assistant and F1 coordinates it´s event´s so fans can meet the drivers. Maybe this will help Yuzuru, while I´m happy that people in this forum are understanding of his circunstances is obviously not always like that and he needs help with everything that´s going on in his life so he can continue to focus in skating, his college education.
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- Joined
- May 2, 2014
for me it was olympics unfortunately,i wish i knew him sooner, before that i loved figure skating but didnt have much chance to watch, i only knew evgeni and yagudin, and i loved yuna and sasha cohen, and funny enough i was so upset that evgeni has withdrawn from competition so just when hanyu was skating i was showing video of sex bomb to my brother on my phone.(what a timing right??) then i saw his score and i was like " omg what did i miss" then i started searching him and never stopped
Ok, I do feel a little bit sad for that little girl who wanted his autograph....but not so much on the rest of the gang!
From the COC fans reports, Yuzu went to a local rink (along with the Canadian team) the day before the official practice. During the off ice warm up he was very low profile and had his back facing outside. After practice when he got back to the locker room area lots of little girls rushed to him and wanted his autograph. At first he said sorry and turned them down, but after he changed clothes and confirmed with his team on his schedule, he decided to give autograph to everybody! So those little girls had much better luck. (But also bear in mind this was like 2 days before the actual competition too, so perhaps he was more relax in terms of time & mood)
As someone already pointed out in the thread, on the day of arrival to Shanghai there were some crazy fan behaviours....the infamous fans who decided to stick her face beside Yuzu and took a selfie:scowl: such behaviour was condemned by many Chinese fans on social media and I don't think this happened during the rest of the competition in COC....well, it's not like anyone had a chance to do so after what happened few days later
Other than Chinese fans there were also a large group of Japanese fans who wait for Yuzu at the hotel as well. I was not there personally so I don't know if they just waited for him to watch him walk by, or they also could not resist the temptation to get more attention. But like newbiespectator said, each fans might think well it only takes a few seconds to sign an autograph, but if everyone thinks that then I can see this situation can get out of hand quickly.
Of course one might say why are we (or people around Yuzu) sees this as such a big deal? Don't other skaters do the same and they don't seem to be bothered by it? First, I think it's very nice of those skaters who take the time and sign autographs. But then again, I do agree that they are first an athlete, autographs and pictures are really a bonus. And also, since Sochi, it's almost scary how many new fans who just treats Yuzu more like an idol and not just a figure skater. (Disclaimer: I myself had also become a fan after Sochi so I'm not trying to act all superior and talk down to new fans or anything, because I am part of that new fans population too)
And for those who still thinks he is cold and mean to his supporters.....I just wanted to remind them recently ppl are sharing on Twitter the thank you letter they got from Yuzu, along with a little skating boot key chain. Some even said they wrote to him back in 2012!! During his 10 days break back home, he (and his mom probably) had spent the time to get back to his supporters, one-by-one in his own way.
I really don't know what people expect from him....did they travel all the way to Barcelona to see him skate and compete? Or do they think he flew all the way there to autograph and take pictures with them? Because I support you so you must fan service me? :think:
From the COC fans reports, Yuzu went to a local rink (along with the Canadian team) the day before the official practice. During the off ice warm up he was very low profile and had his back facing outside. After practice when he got back to the locker room area lots of little girls rushed to him and wanted his autograph. At first he said sorry and turned them down, but after he changed clothes and confirmed with his team on his schedule, he decided to give autograph to everybody! So those little girls had much better luck. (But also bear in mind this was like 2 days before the actual competition too, so perhaps he was more relax in terms of time & mood)
As someone already pointed out in the thread, on the day of arrival to Shanghai there were some crazy fan behaviours....the infamous fans who decided to stick her face beside Yuzu and took a selfie:scowl: such behaviour was condemned by many Chinese fans on social media and I don't think this happened during the rest of the competition in COC....well, it's not like anyone had a chance to do so after what happened few days later
Other than Chinese fans there were also a large group of Japanese fans who wait for Yuzu at the hotel as well. I was not there personally so I don't know if they just waited for him to watch him walk by, or they also could not resist the temptation to get more attention. But like newbiespectator said, each fans might think well it only takes a few seconds to sign an autograph, but if everyone thinks that then I can see this situation can get out of hand quickly.
Of course one might say why are we (or people around Yuzu) sees this as such a big deal? Don't other skaters do the same and they don't seem to be bothered by it? First, I think it's very nice of those skaters who take the time and sign autographs. But then again, I do agree that they are first an athlete, autographs and pictures are really a bonus. And also, since Sochi, it's almost scary how many new fans who just treats Yuzu more like an idol and not just a figure skater. (Disclaimer: I myself had also become a fan after Sochi
so I'm not trying to act all superior and talk down to new fans or anything, because I am part of that new fans population too)And for those who still thinks he is cold and mean to his supporters.....I just wanted to remind them recently ppl are sharing on Twitter the thank you letter they got from Yuzu, along with a little skating boot key chain. Some even said they wrote to him back in 2012!! During his 10 days break back home, he (and his mom probably
) had spent the time to get back to his supporters, one-by-one in his own way. I really don't know what people expect from him....did they travel all the way to Barcelona to see him skate and compete? Or do they think he flew all the way there to autograph and take pictures with them? Because I support you so you must fan service me? :think:
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Thanks for sharing your personal experience from the GPF. I see we're both talking about the fan letter he responded during his recovery period, except I am a much slower typer
How wonderful that you can see his amazing performance at GPF in person! I'm especially envy how you can witness his growth over the 3 years by watching him live year after year as well!
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
This is great to hear. Thank you for your first-hand account.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
I could not imagine the pressure on his 20-year old shoulders to satisfy JSF, fans, media, advertisers, the country....everyone wants a piece of him.
I came across this quote "There comes a point when you have to realize that you'll never be good enough for some people. The question is, is that your problem or theirs?"
Look after 14hour of flight with backpack still on his back deeply he bowed to the fans that greeted his arrival in Japan
I came across this quote "There comes a point when you have to realize that you'll never be good enough for some people. The question is, is that your problem or theirs?"
Look after 14hour of flight with backpack still on his back deeply he bowed to the fans that greeted his arrival in Japan
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This is exactly one of the reasons why I don't like talking to famous people. Aside from the fact that it makes me feel incredibly nervous, I feel worse about the idea that I'm intruding in private space and time of that person. And I cannot stand it when people think they have a right to *anything* from someone famous.
No way was I gonna ask all those Russian gals or Sergey Voronov at the airport for an autograph, or Javier Fernandez and Brian Orser when they were walking from the hotel to the CCIB the other day (I just happened to come from the metro station and pass their hotel the moment they left the lobby).
If they are doing impromptu unofficialy signing and photo 'sessions' like Orser did after the FS outside the athlete's door, fine, then that's their decision, but otherwise I feel you should leave them alone.
No way was I gonna ask all those Russian gals or Sergey Voronov at the airport for an autograph, or Javier Fernandez and Brian Orser when they were walking from the hotel to the CCIB the other day (I just happened to come from the metro station and pass their hotel the moment they left the lobby).
If they are doing impromptu unofficialy signing and photo 'sessions' like Orser did after the FS outside the athlete's door, fine, then that's their decision, but otherwise I feel you should leave them alone.
