FS proselytism

I actually have a whole strategy planned that usually goes really well

If the person likes funny/carefree things (memes, etc) I'll show them SuperJavi. That ROCKS. It's dorky and light-hearted, has plenty of surprise moments and it shows people that skating can be FUN. Then also his program from Pirates of the Caribbean (pity he didn't get to skate it clean, it's a real guilty pleasure of mine) and Boyang's Spiderman. Lambiel and Weir can make their presences known here.

If they like drama and movies I'll go with Lipnitskaya's European 2014 Schlinder's list. It's super powerful and impressive in such a young girl. This program is really good for people that are into gymnastics (that position!). It's dramatic, powerful and looks and feels difficult.
Another alternative to this kind of profile is, if they prefer pop-ish music (if I feel like they're going to be bored watching a competitive program), Yuna Kim's Imagine EX. Also dramatic and beautiful and overall really nice to watch.
If they like this kind of programs I'll continue with Yuzuru's Swan EX and then onto his programs.

For classical music lovers I usually put Tatsuki Machida Satie's program (I warn them beforehand about the extra-ness) and they usually love it. The Bolero here is also a hit. If they like this kind of program, then comes East of Eden (Machida's, sorry Kwan lovers), etc.

Anime lovers Medvedeva's Sailor Moon (I don't really like that ex, though, so it's usually for their own enjoyment).

For eye-candy, Javi's Malagueña. Hands down, no discussion, not anything. If they like it then they're welcome to just gaze his eyelashes longingly in every program he's done (hey, I never claimed to be partial), because I just love him so much. Lambiel also makes good eye-candy.



Overall when I try (I usually succeed, btw) to drag people into figure skating I try to use what they like and also getting them just to hang around at the rink first. I think that watching real people attempting spins and jumps, and just improving your balance in the ice really makes you aware of just how difficult it is.

(May edit later for links)

I got my bf kind of interested when I started giving people nicknames. Some of them weren't nice ("No-Quad Todd"), but some were ("Muscle Girl = Meaghan Duhamel).

LongTimeLurker said:

I got my bf kind of interested when I started giving people nicknames. Some of them weren't nice ("No-Quad Todd"), but some were ("Muscle Girl = Meaghan Duhamel).

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That's funny about the nicknames. A couple years ago, a friend & I couldn't keep the Russian ladies straight. So we came up with "Mermaid Girl" for Anna, "Bun-Head" for Elena, "Liz Taylor" for Elizaveta and "new Irina" for Leonova.

Right now, Alina is "Floofy Skirt" and Maria S. is "Boring One."

It's a hard job. I have been desperately trying to bring my husband into skating and it's not working. It's s shame because he is fun to watch skating with! He watched Skate Canada with me and has the best commentary!
I am hoping Wakaba's James Bond program will help me out.

One of my friends attended the Liberty Summer Competition (in Aston, PA) with us a few years ago. She's a casual fan, but was really taken with Keegan Messing, to the point where she asks us how he's doing each season. I update her with Youtube videos.

Longtimelurker, please don't call "my" Todd "No-Quad Todd" in my cyber presence (hopefully you've stopped using that one by now ) - I will throw cyber-tomatoes @ you for that!

lappo said:

Today a small miracle happened. My boyfriend doesn't care AT ALL about FS and he usually doesn't show a lot of appreciation when I try to make him watch programs (to understand the kind of person, last week he commented that V/M programs "were boring"...he is a good guy overall, though!). Today I had him watch S/H short program and he declared that it was by far the best program I ever forced him to watch and that he actually enjoyed it a lot! Now, of course, I'm lighting candles for S/H olympic gold (I was already a huge fan of them since their junior years) and in the meantime I wonder: have you ever tried to get somebody interested in figure skating and which programs did you use? Did you succeed or not?

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Quick comment: I'm a FS fanatic, but I also find V/M programs boring. I recognize their technique; I believe what they say about why they skate, etc. but they don't engage me emotionally. Sui and Han's programs, on the other hand, fully express the emotions the music and choreography suggest. So their incredible technique is visible, but is subordinate to emotion, musicality, and expression. Their Turandot yesterday was magnificent.

skylark said:

Quick comment: I'm a FS fanatic, but I also find V/M programs boring. I recognize their technique; I believe what they say about why they skate, etc. but they don't engage me emotionally. Sui and Han's programs, on the other hand, fully express the emotions the music and choreography suggest. So their incredible technique is visible, but is subordinate to emotion, musicality, and expression. Their Turandot yesterday was magnificent.

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Thanks for your comment, first of all. Ok, I should have specified that my boyfriend thinks that every ice dance program is super boring because there are no throws and other exciting stuff, he is not that subtle. He doesn't think it should be an olympic sport at all (also he thinks that every judged sport should not being at the Olympics). Apart from that, I really like V/M long program this year (more than last year) and, as much as I love S/H I cannot help but think of Shen and Zhao when they skate and I wish they could have been given a program that could be entirely theirs, as was last year LP (sorry, don't know how to express this better). Anyway, I will root for them for the Olympic as they really bring something else on the ice.

And what about kids? it is easier, right? I remember I started to like figure skating because my mom convinced me to watch it in tv with her when I was like 7 yo. And my dad turned me into a fan of racing cars when I was a kid (unfortunately that stage ended, I would not be here, ranting about judging :curse: ) .

lappo said:

Thanks for your comment, first of all. Ok, I should have specified that my boyfriend thinks that every ice dance program is super boring because there are no throws and other exciting stuff, he is not that subtle. He doesn't think it should be an olympic sport at all (also he thinks that every judged sport should not being at the Olympics). Apart from that, I really like V/M long program this year (more than last year) and, as much as I love S/H I cannot help but think of Shen and Zhao when they skate and I wish they could have been given a program that could be entirely theirs, as was last year LP (sorry, don't know how to express this better). Anyway, I will root for them for the Olympic as they really bring something else on the ice.

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:agree: I was hurrying away when I wrote my earlier post. But my larger point is that the only figure skaters who mean anything to me are the ones that make me feel something. So emotion is the most important value, and it's only when the technique serves the emotion that I care about figure skating at all. That goes for ladies singles, men's singles, pairs and dance. Maybe without realizing it, that's part of what your boyfriend is recognizing. Beautiful, quality jumps carry a lot of emotional power too. Dance is actually the hardest sell for me, because I couldn't care less about the technique. My favorite dance program this week-end was Chock/ Bates FD, because of their gorgeous smooth lines and skating, their spectacular lifts (yes, some emotion there!), and because of the uplifting theme.

I never managed to make anyone a fan. But every now and then someone watches a group or two with me. My mum only likes the ladies, my dad likes pairs, my best friend ice dance. But the funniest are my sister and her friends, who gladly watch with me when I catch up on recorded events if I promise many people fell... they are extremely fascinated by skaters falling and needless to say Pogorilaya and Stolbova/Klimov are their favourites

sarama said:

I never managed to make anyone a fan. But every now and then someone watches a group or two with me. My mum only likes the ladies, my dad likes pairs, my best friend ice dance. But the funniest are my sister and her friends, who gladly watch with me when I catch up on recorded events if I promise many people fell... they are extremely fascinated by skaters falling and needless to say Pogorilaya and Stolbova/Klimov are their favourites:drama:

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omg , I never tried it but it makes sense.

chapis said:

omg , I never tried it but it makes sense.

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The funny thing is that it happened by chance and then they really enjoyed it. They are amazed by how tough the skaters are, and well, they are teenagers so they love drama

OH MY GOD yes. The Draaaammmma. My mom enjoys figure skating but hasn't watched for awhile. I put on some of Skate Canada recently on Youtube and she was sucked in. Then Anna P came on and my mom REALLY enjoyed that one. "I've never seen anything like that in my life! To be LAYING there on the ice OMG!"
Side note: Anyone notice how youtube thumbnails seem to have the most awful images? Like Anna Pogorilaya is always laying on the ice. Elena Radionova's butt cheeks are always hanging out during a spin. Like are we really that desperate for viewers in Figure Skating???

chapis said:

And what about kids? it is easier, right? I remember I started to like figure skating because my mom convinced me to watch it in tv with her when I was like 7 yo. And my dad turned me into a fan of racing cars when I was a kid (unfortunately that stage ended, I would not be here, ranting about judging :curse: ) .

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In my experience, it works very well! I started watching FS with my grandmother when I was little, stopped it after Sochi, then my grandmother passed away and after some time I came back watching it. BTW my dad turned me in a fan of racing cars too, even though it ended for me too!

Ylyzybyth said:

OH MY GOD yes. The Draaaammmma. My mom enjoys figure skating but hasn't watched for awhile. I put on some of Skate Canada recently on Youtube and she was sucked in. Then Anna P came on and my mom REALLY enjoyed that one. "I've never seen anything like that in my life! To be LAYING there on the ice OMG!"
Side note: Anyone notice how youtube thumbnails seem to have the most awful images? Like Anna Pogorilaya is always laying on the ice. Elena Radionova's butt cheeks are always hanging out during a spin. Like are we really that desperate for viewers in Figure Skating???

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A pity I cannot give you more than one thumb up! I agree and I could go on with examples of totally inappropriate images (especially of ladies, other disciplines seem less of a target) but it's better to refrain. And I really do not like that.

None of my girlfriends or boyfriends or non-skating friends (and even many skating friends who are "over it" after they've retired) have ever been especially interested in skating, just the Olympics pretty much. Although in the last Olympics, the interest was almost completely dead. When even the gays of the world are no longer interested in figure skating at the biggest event, there's a very serious problem.

skylark said:

My favorite dance program this week-end was Chock/ Bates FD, because of their gorgeous smooth lines and skating, their spectacular lifts (yes, some emotion there!), and because of the uplifting theme.

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Quoting myself :laugh15: to say that obviously, it was the emotion of Madison and Evan's FD that really thrilled me.

sarama said:

I never managed to make anyone a fan. But every now and then someone watches a group or two with me. My mum only likes the ladies, my dad likes pairs, my best friend ice dance. But the funniest are my sister and her friends, who gladly watch with me when I catch up on recorded events if I promise many people fell... they are extremely fascinated by skaters falling and needless to say Pogorilaya and Stolbova/Klimov are their favourites

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sarama said:

The funny thing is that it happened by chance and then they really enjoyed it. They are amazed by how tough the skaters are, and well, they are teenagers so they love drama

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This amazes me too. And well, the drama.

Ylyzybyth said:

OH MY GOD yes. The Draaaammmma. My mom enjoys figure skating but hasn't watched for awhile. I put on some of Skate Canada recently on Youtube and she was sucked in. Then Anna P came on and my mom REALLY enjoyed that one. "I've never seen anything like that in my life! To be LAYING there on the ice OMG!"
Side note: Anyone notice how youtube thumbnails seem to have the most awful images? Like Anna Pogorilaya is always laying on the ice. Elena Radionova's butt cheeks are always hanging out during a spin. Like are we really that desperate for viewers in Figure Skating???

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You know, I don't like slapstick, but I love pratfalls in comedy, especially when they're elegant, like Dick Van Dyke. And sometimes fans get upset, because it's "not nice to make fun" of people when they're down, but Anna's falls are so outrageous, while being elegant, that they're funny. I can't help laughing either, and I'm a fan of Anna.

I've never converted anyone to become a fs fan, but I do succeed in making someone watch with me now and then. I want to share my passion for FS, and I want someone to see it the way I do! Like everyone else here has said, I tailor my pitch to the person. My son will watch sometimes if he loves the music or there's a Spanish connection. With Mr. Skylark, I make a case that a particular skate is outstanding for one reason or another.

I do this mission continously . All my friends know I'm a crazy Fs fan. My pupils also know it in school. I'm a teacher ( PE teacher). If a colleague is missing and I have to go in his class, I often show them FS videos. Plushenko 's Nijinsky, Yulia's Schindler's list are my main attraction, Yuzuru's SEIMEI, Boyang's Spiderman, Baiul's Swan Ex, Volosozar/Trankov, Nathan, Shoma's program and at the end of the list is Plushy's Sex Bomb. But I'm sure I will show Zagitova's SP, too.I don't care if they like it or not.. they must to watch!

Interesting thread ...

Years ago, when Plushenko and Joubert were battling it out, my partner happened to watch because he was in the room and he really got into their skating. Since then, I've never forced him to watch, he just does if he's around when it's on, and he even came with me to Ondrej Nepela and the Worlds in Helsinki.

He has many favourites, for example, Hanyu, Jason Brown, and is a little 'in love' with Maia Shubitani: Also likes Aliona Savchenko and Vanessa James. Their skating as well as their looks!

(Tulipstar) What works best though, is to give them programs about things they like. So I sent Wakaba's Skyfall to an Adele fan, Polina's SP to Game of Thrones fans, Boyang's Spiderman to Comic Book fans etc. Has a lot of success!

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On a similar note, my in-laws came with me to my local rink in Vienna where there was one of the Challenger competitions on last year (free entry!). I was not expecting them to stay for the whole thing but they did! Mainly because they were really enjoying the music choices and watching lovely skating to it! They were amazed it hadn't been more publicized so that more people would have come. Kolyada was there and he won!