Skaters who are not "your cup of tea"?

WeakAnkles · Mar 8, 2014

hyperinflation said:
like, during the 1998 olympics? i'd never seen an ice dance performance before and they were replaying it on tv and my reaction was, '...that's it?'

i rewatched it like five seconds ago though, and i'm even more unimpressed. their pro careers were far more innovative and interesting.

If you're unimpressed with Bolero, then I suggest you never watch any of their contemporaries (with the exception of Blumberg & Siebert). There was a total formula to ice dancing pre-Bolero: three musical cuts, very traditional ballroom dance movements, not much in the way of theme ("mood" predominated), tacky costumes. It was all very Lawrence Welk on ice. Bolero was like an earthquake, shaking everything up, showing that ice dancing didn't have to be merely ballroom on blades.

Oh, and the reason for the long intro passage on their knees? They couldn't get a cut of Bolero that fit within the time restraints. But the clock didn't start until the first blade touches the ice. So in order to fit their music cut into the time restraints, they added the introductory section on their knees. Rather clever I thought.

borzaya · Mar 9, 2014

Patrick Chan and Carolina Kostner.
And Bobrova/Soloviev, too... though I liked them this year a bit more, than before...

surimi · Mar 9, 2014

I don't really have a 'not my cup of tea' skater when it comes to the way of skating, and I try to take their interviews/off-rink comments with a grain of salt so no opinion there either. I usually only have issues with a particular program, and then there are some skaters who are not my cup of tea for watching (personal issues with their appearance):
In ice dance, I'm fine with all.

In pairs, Savchenko-Szolkowy (their scores as well), Duhamel-Radford, and Stolbova-Klimov.
In ladies, Pogorilaya and Edmunds, sometimes I avert my eyes at Leonova's very vivid mimics.
In men, Chan (his scores as well).

shellbell757 · Mar 9, 2014

Although I admired their technical ability and accomplishments, I never cared much for Plushy or Slutskaya. As far as current competitors go, I don't care much for Adelina or Ashley's skating.

MsLiinaLii · Mar 9, 2014

Carolina Kostner - defenetly not my cup of tea, don't get everyone's buzz around her and don't see that magical artistry...
Gracie Gold - well, i feel nothing watching her skate+ her smile seems a little fake to me

Matilda · Mar 9, 2014

Chan--can't deny his skating skills, but to me there is nothing organic about his performance--every move comes across as calculated and rehearsed instead of truly feeling and interpreting the music.

Lysacek--I hate hate hate windmill arms! Can't stand frenetic step sequences with no connection to the music either, nor the awful, cheated 3A technique.

Bobrova--her posture

Jamie Sale--do I even have to explain?

Scott Moir--I find him fake on the ice and his off-ice persona is simply off-putting.

Alissa Cizny--beautiful spins, but she is so, so bland.

Jaana · Mar 9, 2014

Men
Stojko
Goebel
Aaron
Plushenko - lots of charisma but very little content in his CoP programmes (except the jumps, of course)
Yagudin

Ladies
Schuba
Bonaly
Meite
Helgesson (both)

pointyourtoe · Mar 9, 2014

Sarah Hughes
Patrick Chan
Gracie Mold
Johnny Weir

MoonlightSkater · Mar 9, 2014

Matilda said:
Chan--can't deny his skating skills, but to me there is nothing organic about his performance--every move comes across as calculated and rehearsed instead of truly feeling and interpreting the music.

This!

I told my husband during the Olympics that Chan was an amazing skater, but even though he is technically very good and moves artistically, I found his artistry to be robotic. I never thought, before Chan, that you could have robotic artistry.

It looks like he's thinking "Okay, this is where my arm goes, now look soft. Check." I wish he would learn to extend beyond his movements. They all seem to have a very finite stopping point. I really want to like his skating, and sometimes I do, but often I just can't quite get there because it's just a tad short of where it could be.

ks777 · Mar 9, 2014

Jason Brown, Carolina Kostner, Akiko Suzuki, Kanako Murakami, Tonya Harding, Lysacek, Shawn Sawyer, Kevin Reynolds, Caroline Zhang, Rachael Flatt, Surya Bonaly.

Sam-Skwantch · Mar 9, 2014

Laetitia Hubert was discussed the other day and I'm not sure if she's my cup of tea or not. Partially no and yet there is such intrigue in her weird arm movements! You should watch this video for the commentary laughs alone.

http://youtu.be/sfdeco_kA_E

MoonlightSkater · Mar 9, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
Laetitia Hubert was discussed the other day and I'm not sure if she's my cup of tea or not. Partially no and yet there is such intrigue in her weird arm movements! You should watch this video for the commentary laughs alone.

http://youtu.be/sfdeco_kA_E

Well, that certainly was different. Who choreographed that? If it had been edited (perhaps a lot) it could have been okay.

Sam-Skwantch · Mar 9, 2014

MoonlightSkater said:
Well, that certainly was different. Who choreographed that? If it had been edited (perhaps a lot) it could have been okay.

I really can't tell if I like it or not. It's so bizarre yet....there is something about it. I must admit I've watched it at least 5 times if that says anything.

PlaysInTheDirt · Mar 9, 2014

Not my cup of anything:

Oksana Baiul
Debi Thomas
Paul Wylie
Nancy Kerrigan
Tonya Harding!
Kristi Yamaguchi (liked her much more on DWtS)
Kevin Reynolds
Ashley Wagner
the Shibutani's

I don't know why, but Lloyd Eisler used to bug me.
And I know I'll be shot, but Julia Lipnitskaia. She's great - but because there's no joy on her face, it loses a lot for me.

Gracie Gold is young and stupid. She thinks she can behave in the world the way she probably acts with her friends. There's no excuse for that.

fleeting · Mar 9, 2014

I don't care much for Gold but that's probably because her personality seems a bit domineering and rude. Her jumps are great though.
Never cared much for Flatt, but that wasn't ever an unpopular opinion. I liked her personality, but her skating left something to be desired. I was sad for her after the disaster at Nationals though.
On the edge about Wagner - I like her fire, but I always feel like there's something missing in her programs.
Even though Kerrigan was before my time, even today I don't feel all the hype that was about her.
Didn't like Samuelson/Bates as a partnership. I'm happy they split and he went with Chock, I much prefer her style though I dislike the heart stickers on her skates.
Bobrova/Soloviev bore me. Just dislike them altogether - I thought they weren't fifth-place worthy. I even prefered Cappellini/Lanotte or Weaver/Poje over them and I'm not a huge fan of either team.

louisa05 · Mar 9, 2014

MoonlightSkater said:
This!

I told my husband during the Olympics that Chan was an amazing skater, but even though he is technically very good and moves artistically, I found his artistry to be robotic. I never thought, before Chan, that you could have robotic artistry.

It looks like he's thinking "Okay, this is where my arm goes, now look soft. Check." I wish he would learn to extend beyond his movements. They all seem to have a very finite stopping point. I really want to like his skating, and sometimes I do, but often I just can't quite get there because it's just a tad short of where it could be.

Exactly what I've been saying about him for years!

bramweld · Mar 9, 2014

1. Kustarova had a clue concerning B/S she just needed a stylist. Look at their work in 2010 and 2011 as well as their russian sailors dance.

2. Very few skaters bug me. I just don't watch. Sometimes S/S do that for me then I remember their worlds 2011 programs and their great World Juniors 2009 FD and go how can Marina not know what to do with them

chuckm · Mar 9, 2014

Sarah Hughes - intrinsically boring skater, except for her Olympic FS
When she returned after her OGM, she was a slow, clunky, boring skater

Irina Slutskaya - I admired her guts and spirit, but oh, her horrid fake 'Bielmanns'

Emily Hughes - loathed her "ta da"s and her attitude of entitlement.

Cynthia Phaneuf - couldn't understand what all the buzz was about. Stalked and popped jumps, clumsy falls, bizarre costumes.

Alexander Majorov - not an ounce of artistry in this guy. Ugly jumps, and he doesn't land them all, either

Sergei Voronov - yawn inducing.

Patrick Chan - brilliant technician but his skating has no soul.

louisa05 · Mar 9, 2014

chuckm said:
Emily Hughes - loathed her "ta da"s and her attitude of entitlement.

I hated her spiral with her chin nearly scraping the ice which was inevitably accompanied by Peggy gushing about the extension of her free leg. Get her back up and she would have had no extension. If you have to pitch that far forward to get it, you're doing it wrong!

wootie · Mar 9, 2014

Sotnikova- She has impressive height to her jumps, but the rest of her skating and demeanor are clunky, inelegant and, at times, plain ugly.

Tuktamysheva- unreliable, ugly positions, always looks like she has a bad attitude

Tara Lipinski- impressive technically, but she looks like a chipmunk on ice...was never graceful but had some "fire" which compensated for her unappealing aesthetic

Evan Lysacek- one of the most boring Olympic champions to watch EVER, impressive technically but has no real connection with the music (arm flailing and high kicks don't count)

Kanako Murakami- big jumps but there is something very workmanlike about her skating...unpolished

Skaters who are not "your cup of tea"?

WeakAnkles

borzaya

surimi

Congrats to Sota, #10 in World Standings!

shellbell757

MsLiinaLii

Matilda

Jaana

pointyourtoe

MoonlightSkater

ks777

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

MoonlightSkater

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

PlaysInTheDirt

fleeting

Queen Anissina

louisa05

bramweld

chuckm

louisa05

wootie

Match Penalty

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