Diva Wagner has fire in her soul. Only a medal will do for her. | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Diva Wagner has fire in her soul. Only a medal will do for her.

GF2445

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
What will help are new fresh faces with new creative ideas. Something uas to change as the current format of competition is not working as effectively as it should be.
 

SoundtracksOnIce

On the Ice
Joined
May 16, 2013
I know the new scoring format has been a turnoff for me. I hate it. I understand the reasons behind it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
In the US, paltry coverage of GP events by NBC (including very little/almost no pairs/dance coverage). How can we create "buzz" if the skaters aren't given proper/sufficient exposure on TV?
 

flying camel

Medalist
Joined
Nov 16, 2005
What will help are new fresh faces with new creative ideas. Something uas to change as the current format of competition is not working as effectively as it should be.

I agree fresh faces would help, but we need a couple of competitive girls. Most of the USA girls are too scared. They don't have that fire in the belly, they may want the medal and titles, but don't have the drive to get them.
 

Johar

Medalist
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
In the US, paltry coverage of GP events by NBC (including very little/almost no pairs/dance coverage). How can we create "buzz" if the skaters aren't given proper/sufficient exposure on TV?


Hmmm....maybe they need a sad background story so NBC has material for a low light montage......"and then Meryl's house was blown away by the tornado, leaving her injured and homeless"
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I know the new scoring format has been a turnoff for me. I hate it. I understand the reasons behind it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

It has also made the programs less enjoyable to watch for me. I'd rather see a good spiral that accents a moment in the music than a 40 second footwork sequence.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Until this season, I thought Ashley had a small outside shot at a medal. After her results this season, I consider her a strong candidate for bronze along with Julia.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
What are the various reasons there is a decline in popularity of skating?

In the US, paltry coverage of GP events by NBC (including very little/almost no pairs/dance coverage). How can we create "buzz" if the skaters aren't given proper/sufficient exposure on TV?

I give NBC a little credit for including no fewer than three bits of Davis/White footage in the Today show pre-Sochi promo that has been airing in recent weeks. (The rest of the promo shows athletes from other sports, with the exception of one shot of Lysacek.)

Regarding "buzz:"

I have long been wondering how/why Lindsey Vonn seems to have transcended her own niche sport and seems to be deemed worthy of ongoing mainstream attention.
NBC (which has a self-interest in promoting the Olympics, of course) is a prime example of excessive (IMHO) Vonn coverage, but I do not think that NBC is alone.

I understand why Vonn is a longtime superstar to those who follow skiing. But I do not understand why the media treat her as if she has captured the imagination of the public at large. (She has not captured mine.)

(The media already were fascinated with Vonn back in 2010, so I don't think that her more recent romance with Tiger Woods is to blame. And in a roomful of attractive Olympians, Vonn's looks would not jump out at me as unusually pleasing.)​
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Because Vonn is champion and has been dominating her sport for over 5 years now.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Because Vonn is champion and has been dominating her sport for over 5 years now.

By your logic, Davis/White should be well on their way to becoming household names among Americans who have zero interest in skating. But that is not the reality, through no fault of D/W's.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
I think skiers also have a edgier, x-games type vibe about them (like Bode Miller, etc) so if you're good at a cool sport you get media attention.

And a part in the Sports Illustrated bikini edition. Just sayin'.

And she doesn't compete in a "team."
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
D/W don't have the appeal of Vonn. Even Vonn post Olympics is nobody.

Let's get real. There is a pecking order and skating is like that ******** glee club now. Nobody likes it anymore except the few fans who were converted in the golden days.
 

fadeevfan

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
D/W don't have the appeal of Vonn. Even Vonn post Olympics is nobody.

Let's get real. There is a pecking order and skating is like that ******** glee club now. Nobody likes it anymore except the few fans who were converted in the golden days.

You have to remember that ice dance is still fairly new for Americans. And, candidly, for most of the time it's been around, it was very tough to take seriously as a sport, it seemed so subjectively judged, and mired (vastly more than the other disciplines) in politics. I think D/W will be considered real pioneers in the U.S. years from now, but until then, they won't get the respect they fully deserve.

I like Ashley, and I actually think her consistency the past few years *nearly* puts her on a par with Carolina for odds for the bronze in Sochi. But it's ludicrous to say that the sport needs vast U.S. interest. Tell that to the large, rapacious fans and athletes in Japan, or in China, where the sport continues to boom. The U.S. losing interest in figure skating hurts the USFSA, and its own athletes. But it's naive to think that its of the global importance the way it used to be.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I don't know what came first, the decline in interest in the sport in the US or the decline in television coverage! Throw in the fact that there used to be 2 touring show groups every year and now there is 1 and it doesn't cover much of the country. How are people going to be interested when they can only see it in dribs and drabs.

I dont' see Ashley as a contender for the bronze unless she has the skate of her life. I was very disappointed in her performance at he GPF even though she tried to put some positive spin on it.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Maybe part of it is that she isn't a dainty ice princess, so brands that would be a natural fit for figure skating might be a bit turned off that she is opinionated and less artistic that some of the beloved past champions.
 
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