Max Aaron: "I'm shooting for Olympic gold" (per IN, May 21)

karne · May 21, 2013

I can't wait to see how his five quads go! Not very happy about the Carmen/Lori Nichol combination and I definitely think that's not the way he should have gone for the Olympic season. Plenty of faith in Max, very little in some of the people around him. (But my feelings for Tom Z in particular will never be good.)

I see no reason why he couldn't challenge for a medal. I'd love to see him go for it. IMO transitions don't matter a thing if you can't stay on your feet. And Max is artistic and fun in his own way. The Abbott fans can whinge and complain about his National title all they like, the Chan fans can dismiss him as barely challenging for bronze - but at the end of the day Max is a fantastic skater and loads of fun to watch. He's honest about his shortcomings (which is more than some other skaters can say) and works hard. I'd love to see him spring something unexpected in Sochi.

TontoK · May 22, 2013

Agreed on all points.

I like his spirit. And who knows... Nichol may bring something to the table that suits Max artistically. He's never going to skate like a delicate flower... and I wouldn't like that anyway. He's upfront about his weaknesses, and he's doing something to address them.

Still, he's going with his strength. Five good quads would amass a huge technical score, and would certainly make him a threat.

The more I learn about this kid, the more I like.

CanadianSkaterGuy · May 22, 2013

5 quads would make him a threat but have we seen him compete any other quad other than a 4S? I'm sure he's capable of it, just wondering.

mskater93 · May 22, 2013

No. He was seriously injured at nationals in 2011. In 2012, he was working to regain his strength after that very serious injury. In 2013, he put out the most consistent arsenal of 4S since Goebel and was working on the 4T, but it wasn't consistent in a program in practice, so he tabled using it in competition.

He's a better (stronger) skater than Li and Goebel and has better spins (Goebel's sit spin in particular was not IJS-ratifiable) than both.

He's a hard worker by all accounts and if he's focused on making this happen, you can be pretty sure he will do it or "die trying"

Jaana · May 22, 2013

I don´t see Aaron (or Reynolds) as Sochi gold medal contenders as neither of them has stood on the Worlds podium.

skatel80 · May 22, 2013

mskater93 said:
No. He was seriously injured at nationals in 2011. In 2012, he was working to regain his strength after that very serious injury. In 2013, he put out the most consistent arsenal of 4S since Goebel and was working on the 4T, but it wasn't consistent in a program in practice, so he tabled using it in competition.

He's a better (stronger) skater than Li and Goebel and has better spins (Goebel's sit spin in particular was not IJS-ratifiable) than both.

He's a hard worker by all accounts and if he's focused on making this happen, you can be pretty sure he will do it or "die trying"

Was just about to reply the same thing, ITA on all points
also for people knocking his artistry, sure he is not as artistic as abbott or takahashi but there are more types of artistry than the balletic, lyrical kind. Aarons tron short program was artistic, It created excitement and he clearly related to the music. I cant believe Im saying this but I preferred it immeasurably to Jeremy abbotts contrived spy program and "angsty" long program.
I cant wait to see Max skate next season and if he wants to do 5 quads more power to him!

jenaj · May 22, 2013

Jaana said:
I don´t see Aaron (or Reynolds) as Sochi gold medal contenders as neither of them has stood on the Worlds podium.

I think he has a shot at the podium but I agree, gold is a stretch in Sochi. Maybe in 2018?

plushyfan · May 22, 2013

I'm sure, the Sochi OG will be very exciting! Many quads, risking, excitement ... go guys!!!

BlackPack · May 22, 2013

*Artistically,* he is nowhere better than Goebbel or Li. Spins are technical content. He might get higher PCS than those guys, but I am talking about having a sense of style and movement. There is much to say about having a sense of choreography, dance, body line and alignment, which he looks to have little aptitude - regardless of whether the style is balletic or modern. He might work as a "modern" stylist, but it doesn't sound as though he's going there with Carmen. He could skate to something edgier. That might work.

I don't understand how other skaters, who say they are aiming for the Olympic Gold, are bashed incessantly, while Aaron is praised. He clearly is overrated in this thread.

Mathman · May 22, 2013

BlackPack said:
I don't understand how other skaters, who say they are aiming for the Olympic Gold, are bashed incessantly, while Aaron is praised. He clearly is overrated in this thread.

He seems like a nice fellow. He hasn't been around long enough to have acquired an entourage of Internet haterz yet.

CanadianSkaterGuy · May 22, 2013

BlackPack said:
I don't understand how other skaters, who say they are aiming for the Olympic Gold, are bashed incessantly, while Aaron is praised. He clearly is overrated in this thread.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having goals, and particularly pushing for a gold medal in a competition that comes once every 4 years. I think "going for gold" is just an expression. "Aaron aiming for the podium" doesn't seem to have the same newsworthiness to it. Though I agree that people shouldn't bash skaters for (heavens forbid) trying to win gold or get in a gold-winning mindset. Figure skaters will always be self-aggrandizing. Modesty isn't exactly the norm (unless you're from Japan :biggrin:

).

mskater93 · May 22, 2013

BlackPack;742219I don't understand how other skaters said:
I wasn't praising him for saying he was aiming for the Olympic Gold, I was more commenting on his 5 quads through 2 programs comment and completely blew off that piece of it as the typical comment you'd see in an interview - what do you want him to say? He'd be happy to be there?

I was also stating that his skating is better than Goebel's from a power (and PCS-rewardable) perspective as by some counts Goebel was the worst *skater* of the last group.

Max Aaron has a sense of style for his skating, it's just a lot more Elvis Sotjko-ish than John Curry. LOL!

dardar1126 · May 22, 2013

Fingers crossed...Carmen has been over-done imo, but a fresh, new take could work. It's a long opera, so a lot of the music never gets used, so I'm hoping for magic! :popcorn:

I know that Max will give it everything he has; he is an exciting young skater with a lot of energy and drive. I'm going to just take a wait-and-see approach, not pre-judge, and see what Max and Lori create. They might surprise us...in a good way! :yes:

Mathman · May 22, 2013

Welcome dardar1126. Thanks for joining us!

dardar1126 · May 22, 2013

Mathman said:
Welcome dardar1126. Thanks for joining us!

Thank you very much for the nice welcome! :yay:

ForeverFish · May 22, 2013

BlackPack said:
*Artistically,* he is nowhere better than Goebbel or Li. Spins are technical content. He might get higher PCS than those guys, but I am talking about having a sense of style and movement. There is much to say about having a sense of choreography, dance, body line and alignment, which he looks to have little aptitude - regardless of whether the style is balletic or modern. He might work as a "modern" stylist, but it doesn't sound as though he's going there with Carmen. He could skate to something edgier. That might work.

I don't understand how other skaters, who say they are aiming for the Olympic Gold, are bashed incessantly, while Aaron is praised. He clearly is overrated in this thread.

Isn't this verging on Aaron-bashing? :slink:

Anyhow, he seems to have a natural charisma about him. I wish him well in the upcoming season.

karne · May 22, 2013

BlackPack said:
I don't understand how other skaters, who say they are aiming for the Olympic Gold, are bashed incessantly, while Aaron is praised. He clearly is overrated in this thread.

Sorry, so what do you call the reaction ever since he won the National title? I've seen WAY more Aaron-bashing than any other American skater. The Abbott fans really, really, really hate that Max beat their man at Nationals and they're leading the charge. Then you've got the "fs snobs" on tumblr who are mortified that the Tron fandom got hold of his SP and circulated it so it has more than 12,000 notes, because "how awful that people LIKE that program!". I swear I've done little more since Nationals than defend Max!

BlackPack · May 22, 2013

ForeverFish said:
Isn't this verging on Aaron-bashing?

Anyhow, he seems to have a natural charisma about him. I wish him well in the upcoming season.

Call it what you like. I've read threads where people were making fun of how a certain skater looks like he has down syndrome. I think that qualifies as bashing. On my end, I was commenting on his relationship with movement and his skating in general. I just don't see why he's special. His edges are hockey-esque and weak, the landings of his jumps are shaky, his choreography at times has no attempt at interpreting the music meaningfully.

I think Stojko had far more musicality and better sense of line and posture than Aaron.

karne said:
Sorry, so what do you call the reaction ever since he won the National title? I've seen WAY more Aaron-bashing than any other American skater. The Abbott fans really, really, really hate that Max beat their man at Nationals and they're leading the charge. Then you've got the "fs snobs" on tumblr who are mortified that the Tron fandom got hold of his SP and circulated it so it has more than 12,000 notes, because "how awful that people LIKE that program!". I swear I've done little more since Nationals than defend Max!

I was only commenting in the context of this thread. I haven't read every single reaction about Max Aaron out there.

Blades of Passion · May 22, 2013

mskater93 said:
Goebel's sit spin in particular was not IJS-ratifiable.

Huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVJqoq7XIRs&t=1m30s

His sit spin was excellent.

evangeline · May 23, 2013

karne said:
Sorry, so what do you call the reaction ever since he won the National title? I've seen WAY more Aaron-bashing than any other American skater. The Abbott fans really, really, really hate that Max beat their man at Nationals and they're leading the charge. Then you've got the "fs snobs" on tumblr who are mortified that the Tron fandom got hold of his SP and circulated it so it has more than 12,000 notes, because "how awful that people LIKE that program!". I swear I've done little more since Nationals than defend Max!

Well....maybe it's possible that some people choose to criticize Aaron's skating due to more principled reasons than being Abbott fans or "fs snobs on tumblr"?

(this is coming from an Abbott fan who didn't think Abbott skated well enough at Nationals to go to worlds and had no idea that there is apparently a Tron fandom on Tumblr).

Max Aaron: "I'm shooting for Olympic gold" (per IN, May 21)

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

TontoK

Hot Tonto

CanadianSkaterGuy

mskater93

Jaana

skatel80

jenaj

plushyfan

BlackPack

Mathman

CanadianSkaterGuy

mskater93

dardar1126

Mathman

dardar1126

ForeverFish

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

BlackPack

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be

evangeline

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