- Joined
- Nov 24, 2012
A tiny arena, not even 7,000 seats in all, unable to be filled to capacity for any single event until more than halfway through the competition. In ice-crazy Canada. Eleven months before the Winter Olympics.
A sport adrift, its president not even bothering to cross the Atlantic to attend what is not only the most important competition the International Skating Union annually holds, but also once was one of the most revered and most-watched of any world championships in any Olympic sport, winter or summer.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ting-is-dying-judges-cant-prop-it-up/1995027/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/17/us-figure-skating-worlds-idUSBRE92G0I220130317
Glitzy Gala cannot hide figure skating warts
With a scoring system that is harder to understand than the theory of relativity and offers about as much transparency as a Papal conclave, figure skating still struggles to connect with the average fan, particularly in North America where their numbers are on the decline.
That confusing system allowed Canada's Patrick Chan to claim a third consecutive world championship title on Friday despite hitting the ice more times than a toddler learning to skate.
The routine was so dreadful that Chan spent the next two days apologizing profusely to fans for his performance but he certainly did not apologize for the win.
"I deserved it," declared Chan. "It's totally understandable that people have their doubts.