Patrick Chan | Page 125 | Golden Skate

Patrick Chan

SGrand

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Come on guys. An Olympic Silver Medal is such a tragedy? It is a great accomplishment, not a failure. It is disappointment for Patrick but life goes on with all the success and honours he already has. Patrick and we have so much to be grateful for. Dark hours? Feeling so bad like you wouldn't believe? Do you know what real suffering is? What real tragedies are? What real failures are? Don't the media bring it to you every single day what so many people have to get through?

It is one thing to set the highest goal and aspiration to lead the journey, but the journey itself is reality, is life itself to be enjoyed and cherished. An Olympic Gold medal is an extremely high aspiration but one in Figure Skating is darn near impossible, because it is extremely mental and out in front of millions with every second being critical and irretrievable. It is darn near impossible to balance the determination and wanting it too much under such circumstances and on slippery ice. That is why there is always at least one surprise medalist every time, someone without all the pressure and expectation who can skate with carefree focus. Oxymoron, right? But that's what it takes, carefree focus. Where do you find that when you carry the whole nation's decades of frustration on your shoulders, making it your responsibility?

Does not owning an OGM make Kurt Browning and Michelle Kwan failures? Great failures of figure skating or in life? Like I said earlier, what is meant to be must be and will be accepted. We don't know what's next around the corner. Let's be open to and be aware of all the blessings in our lives and be grateful. For now, let's celebrate his Silver Medals, of the Olympic persuasion, two of them!

If you are deep in sorrows, it is time again to take a deep breath and, Ohmmmmmmmmmmm.

I know Patrick is hurting right now but I am not going to indulge him or myself. There have been too many good things in his life with many more to come.

I feel so silly for my last post now LOL! It's all so, so true.
So proud of him, really I am, he is amazing and I hope he is so proud and happy with himself!!!
Thanks SkateFiguring, for putting things into perspective (even though I should be able to do that myself LOL)
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Guru,
I watched on my office TV tears streaming down my face....
My family has been extra loving today.

All my sadness was for the poor boy.
For myself I have a wonderful life and a wonderful family.
I know this is small in the grand scheme of things.

Anyway we have had a wonderful ride with Patrick these last few years.
I hope he accomplishes all he wants in the rest of his life.

It is a tall order to accomplish all one wants in the rest of one's life. And we can always change our minds on what we want. Often, there may be something even better than one can expect or design. I have known people who find what they suffered as the worst thing to have happened turned out to be the best thing to have happened to them. Even Patrick's first Olympic disappointment has brought so much success and contributions to the sport as well as joy and excitement for us fans. As well, sometimes disappointments teach us about real values.

I have a very kind and compassionate friend who stays focused on all the dark and negative things in the world. I told her recently that she confuses empathy and projection for compassion and she should not insist that others feel exactly the way she imagines them to feel, as people response to same situations differently. You cannot be sad enough to help the sad, poor enough to help the poor, or sick enough to help the sick.It is better to be happy, healthy and wealthy so you can actually help or inspire. It is better to bless and to think positively for someone than to worry or stress for them. Gratitude brings more blessings so let's be grateful, for ourselves and for Patrick.

Things, including Olympic medals, cannot bring real happiness. We often seek extrinsic "things" as causes for happiness but all things can be taken away from us, including wealth, status, titles, honours, even loved ones. Real happiness has to come from within. We cannot change what happens to us but we are the only ones who can choose how we response to things and events. We need to invest our energy wisely.

One day soon, I may be able to present an Olympic Platinum Medal to Patrick. :biggrin: Until then, Patrick, enjoy your two silver ones. And be kind to your buddy Kurt and don't rub it in.
 

spikydurian

Medalist
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
I feel so silly for my last post now LOL! It's all so, so true.
So proud of him, really I am, he is amazing and I hope he is so proud and happy with himself!!!
Thanks SkateFiguring, for putting things into perspective (even though I should be able to do that myself LOL)

SGrand, no, you are not silly. I feel the same too in the first instance. That's what a true fan is, someone who cares for the well being of the object of our affection. We just need to get our disappointment off our system and we will be okay.:)

SF, thanks too for putting things in a wider perspective. We should not let that 'not getting an OGM' cloud the accomplishments Patrick had over the past years. And it is not that he didn't win any medals. He still has much to give and share with us, and he pushed the limits of the competition with both is quads and SS.

Emdee, Patrick is surrounded by people who care for him too (including ourselves :) ) so I am sure whatever journey ahead, he will be fine.
 

rainbowice

Spectator
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Why would anyone go to the Olympics with a dance instructor as a coach? I just don't understand this weird form of self-sabotage pioneered by the amazing Michelle Kwan. (How much more amazing could she have been with a coach?) To me, as a casual fan, this event seems to have evolved into this giant, moving chess game. I think to win gold, you'd need a very canny, savvy coach to help you rack up the points. The jumps seem much more important than the artistry now, sadly so.
 

emdee

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Why would anyone go to the Olympics with a dance instructor as a coach? I just don't understand this weird form of self-sabotage pioneered by the amazing Michelle Kwan. (How much more amazing could she have been with a coach?) To me, as a casual fan, this event seems to have evolved into this giant, moving chess game. I think to win gold, you'd need a very canny, savvy coach to help you rack up the points. The jumps seem much more important than the artistry now, sadly so.
I always felt this but I don't even think this was the reason.
Patrick needed some good counselling and mental preparation. Maybe a strong technical coach could have helped.
 

allskatefan

Spectator
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
Feeling nothing but love and pride for Patrick - he did himself and his country proud. Congratulations to Patrick and all those around him who have supported him.
 

deedee1

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
I am visiting here to say congrats to Patrick and his fans, but my friend demarinis already says it sooner, more precisely and much better than me what I was going to say with my bad English, it seems. ;)

Congratulations to Patrick for winning the Silver Medal. Not the color he wanted but he has been the Gold standard for Men's figure skating for
these past four seasons and has the medals to prove it. :clap:

Patrick's, Dai's, Tomas' and Jeremy's skating were just mesmerizing for me (and Brian's was so exciting to watch as always ;)) at the Mens Free last night, in their own way, and despite all those mistakes. :yes:

I hope he will come to Tokyo next month, so that I can see him skate live one more time and say my personal 'thank-you' to Patrick from the arena! :)
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
Oh heavens, let's not bring up the coaching/technical help/sports psychology thing now. Nobody said a word about that after TEB. Patrick simply had one of his worst programs on the most important night of his career, for whatever combination of reasons. That is all. No need to second guess any of his decisions. It is what it is.
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
I am speechless. I hoped I would be speechless with joy, but instead I'm speechless because I'm surprised. Watching the Men's FS last night was so anti-climactic. Everybody struggled to varying degrees and that saddens me. Javi didn't skate up to his technical ability. I thought that Hanyu might win, but if so, I hoped he would do so by skating lights out. I was prepared for the fall on the 4S, but the other mistakes not so much. And then Patrick went out there and had a "2013 Worlds" kind of night and it wasn't enough. Dai was great artistically but without the jumps the program felt flat to me. And then Jason was not his usual self either. It was the most disappointing Men's FS I can remember. It's hard to believe that my favorite program of the night came from the person who finished 12th (Abbott), but so it was.

I have so many thoughts running through my mind. The worst part was not that Patrick got silver; the worst part was seeing the utter disappointment written all over his expressive face. It broke my heart. But, my heart broke for Hanyu too; he won but not with the performance that he wanted. Patrick deserved to win even less than Hanyu, but I wish at least one of them had had a better FS.

Patrick choked. I do not like that word because it sounds so negative and mean, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. I don't know "what happened" with Patrick, but here's my theory: The mistake on the second quad surprised him, so his mind started racing. His trouble jump came immediately after that and he hadn't landed it cleanly in Sochi yet. I could tell by his approach that the axel wasn't going to work out; he was so tentative. After the axel, his mind was probably racing even more, hence the double salchow and the struggles with the other jump landings. I think he missed the double axel because it's the same dreaded takeoff. It looked like he slipped off the edge on the takeoff. Sandra Bezic said that Patrick never got into the ice the way he needed to in that performance. Scott Hamilton was nearly in tears when they were doing the post-FS wrap up. It was a tough night.

Besides the medal color and the performance, one of the hardest things for me was that it all felt so final. With Michelle, even in 2002, I knew that there was a good chance that she'd come back because she still loved to compete. So, because there was 2003 Worlds, 2004 Nationals, etc, the sad Olympic memories faded from my mind. With Patrick, I have no idea. He seems to have always enjoyed exhibitions and shows more than competing anyway. I really don't want him to leave competitive skating this way, but it's totally up to him. He's had such a tough journey over the past two seasons that I wouldn't blame him for moving on as soon as possible. It dawned on me after the broadcast ended that when he does retire, I will miss him SO MUCH!!! I'll miss Dai a lot too. I hope Hanyu improves to the point where I can enjoy his skating more. It just won't be the same without Patrick and Dai. The possible finality of Patrick's skate made me sadder than anything else. :cry: Vancouver wasn't bad, even though the result was "worse," because in my heart I knew he was going to go on for at least four more years. This time feels very different. I know he has many other interests and life goals and he's never been one of those "hang on to competitive skating for dear life" skaters (e.g. Lysacek, Suguri, Plushenko, etc). He even considered retiring after Vancouver, so I can't even imagine what's going through his mind now. As deedee said, I hope he will at least skate at Tokyo Worlds and have a respectable (if not lights out) performance. I wouldn't even care if Hanyu took the World title this year (although it would be BEYOND AWESOME if Patrick was able to tie Kurt), as long as Patrick skates better than he did in Sochi.

In the interview that aired on NBC last night, Patrick talked about appreciating the journey of his career and his many accomplishments. As long as Patrick is satisfied with whatever he decides to do, I will be too.

WE LOVE YOU PATRICK AND ALWAYS WILL!!!!! :biggrin:
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I always felt this but I don't even think this was the reason.
Patrick needed some good counselling and mental preparation. Maybe a strong technical coach could have helped.

Patrick's only problem was he wanted it too much. He took on too much for the country. The best attitude would be "I want it but I don't need it". One has to let go and let come. Now that he's gotten the closest to what he wanted, the way for him and for us to feel should be he wanted it but he doesn't need it. He does not need an OGM or any other medal to define who he is as a person and as a skater, and he and we should not let it.

Feeling nothing but love and pride for Patrick - he did himself and his country proud. Congratulations to Patrick and all those around him who have supported him.

Ditto. Love and Pride
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
Come on guys. An Olympic Silver Medal is such a tragedy? It is a great accomplishment, not a failure. It is disappointment for Patrick but life goes on with all the success and honours he already has. Patrick and we have so much to be grateful for. Dark hours? Feeling so bad like you wouldn't believe? Do you know what real suffering is? What real tragedies are? What real failures are? Don't the media bring it to you every single day what so many people have to get through?

It is one thing to set the highest goal and aspiration to lead the journey, but the journey itself is reality, is life itself to be enjoyed and cherished. An Olympic Gold medal is an extremely high aspiration but one in Figure Skating is darn near impossible, because it is extremely mental and out in front of millions with every second being critical and irretrievable. It is darn near impossible to balance the determination and wanting it too much under such circumstances and on slippery ice. That is why there is always at least one surprise medalist every time, someone without all the pressure and expectation who can skate with carefree focus. Oxymoron, right? But that's what it takes, carefree focus. Where do you find that when you carry the whole nation's decades of frustration on your shoulders, making it your responsibility?

Does not owning an OGM make Kurt Browning and Michelle Kwan failures? Great failures of figure skating or in life? Like I said earlier, what is meant to be must be and will be accepted. We don't know what's next around the corner. Let's be open to and be aware of all the blessings in our lives and be grateful. For now, let's celebrate his Silver Medals, of the Olympic persuasion, two of them!

If you are deep in sorrows, it is time again to take a deep breath and, Ohmmmmmmmmmmm.

I know Patrick is hurting right now but I am not going to indulge him or myself. There have been too many good things in his life with many more to come.
:agree: I just finished writing a post expressing all my feelings about last night (see the last post on page 166, where I ramble a lot). Then I noticed this particular post. Congratulations, you just made me cry HAPPY TEARS, not sad ones!!! Thank you, as always! :bow:
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
(((((((Emdee))))))))). ((((((((((every sad Patrick fan)))))))))).

Emdee, Patrick will stay involved with figure skating. He has had many interests and sometimes reminisced about doing other sports (including hockey! :)) but in recent interviews he acknowledges he was born and built to figure skate. I am not sure about his decision about competitions but we will see him skate and contribute even more to the sport. Sometime in the future he will build a figure skating centre for holistic training of new talented skaters to come.

Patrick has been and will continue to be a major force in figure skating.

For now I wish for him to get another Worlds title and rest up before any major decision. I hope he will study part time to add another focus to his life while competing for another season in a more relaxed way so he would know how he would really feel. I'd like for him to have no regret about his education which will also be important in building and managing of the skating training centre.

Regardless of all the criticisms against Patrick, I am sure skaters will flock to him if he would teach even right now.
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
I actually cannot believe how sad I am for him. He's probably fine and dealing with it, and here I am getting all teary eyed every time the news comes on. :no:
:laugh: Oh, I know what you mean. I'm in the same boat. I wasn't even this sad about Michelle because I was a lot younger in 1998 and 2002 and didn't understand as well as I do now how hard the Olympics really is. Also, the internet didn't exist, so I couldn't read/watch practically every interview she gave or read what other people thought of her. There was no YouTube to rewatch her old programs on (it was the era of VHS tapes :laugh:). There was no Fan Fest thread where I commiserated with other Michelle fans about how I was feeling. It was a totally different time back then.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I shut off Olympic skating news and comment after the Men's event. No need to subject myself to negative vibe, like the images of Japanese tsunami being played over and over for days while it took 15 minutes. (The aftermath and its scope are a different story, which is still being experienced.)
 

rainbowice

Spectator
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
May be, because this is sport, not ballet?

Exactly! That's why it's so strange not to have a coach for the "sport" side of this event. Patrick Chan's got awesome musicality & grace and of course, he won two silver Olympic medals which is amazing. (Best wishes to him and his future.) Maybe the next Olympic gold medalist hopeful will be wise enough to get a more complete coaching team.
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
Surely Patrick has gotten his individual medal already? For whatever reason, I can't find any pictures of him wearing it. Very strange.

In an effort to lighten the mood, here's a playlist I made for a friend (pre-Sochi) with my favorite Patrick programs - his best moments. Maybe there will be more to add in the future. I sure hope so! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9LSJIzuQU&list=PL3wah9w1tJ58-oOKwvDalToX2Xtv6_GAr
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Country
United-States
Exactly! That's why it's so strange not to have a coach for the "sport" side of this event. Patrick Chan's got awesome musicality & grace and of course, he won two silver Olympic medals which is amazing. (Best wishes to him and his future.) Maybe the next Olympic gold medalist hopeful will be wise enough to get a more complete coaching team.
Other skaters will do what they feel is best for them. I doubt any of them will be thinking specifically about what Patrick Chan did or did not do in his career.
 

figuristka

Medalist
Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Patrick was in the studio on cbc and said he found it hard to sleep and thought alot about "what if" things had been different. He woke up and realized life goes on and he has 2 olympic silver medals. They talked about how lonely it is to be on the ice by yourself. When asked about World Championships he said its too early to think about worlds and he is going to enjoy the rest of the olympics as he regretted rushing the olympics abd not enjoying it so much in Vancouver. I cannot imagine him not continuing but understand if he doesn't go to Japan after Olympics.
 

Becki

Medalist
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Patrick was in the studio on cbc and said he found it hard to sleep and thought alot about "what if" things had been different. He woke up and realized life goes on and he has 2 olympic silver medals. They talked about how lonely it is to be on the ice by yourself. When asked about World Championships he said its too early to think about worlds and he is going to enjoy the rest of the olympics as he regretted rushing the olympics abd not enjoying it so much in Vancouver. I cannot imagine him not continuing but understand if he doesn't go to Japan after Olympics.

Yeah, I can sympathize with him even tho I am not a world class athlete. It's going to take a bit of time to digest, but life does go on and some people will kill to be in his position.

I don't think he's going to make a run for it at the World Championships, Yuzu has all the momentum and it's in Japan.

I hope Patrick takes some time off and re-evaluate his options. Heard he got into UT - great time to go back to school :)
 
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