Biggest fanbases in figure skating?

silverfoxes · Sep 18, 2018

The bigger the fanbase, the more crazies in the mix. I don't really know that bigger equals better when it comes to fandom. Anyone who medals at the Olympics, and has decent PR, is obviously going to attract more fans than those who don't. And not all of them are exactly skating fans. Does it really matter, at the end of the day? Would you rather have a hundred thousand fans with a bunch of toxic obsessive nuts mixed in, or a relatively smaller group of fans who know how to respect boundaries and don't get involved in stan wars?

Baron Vladimir · Sep 18, 2018

Mathman said:
In the United States at least, I think that figure skating is the one sport where historically (since the 1930s) the ladies have ruled. Maybe this is why people ask, "Is figure skating really a sport? How much of a sport can it be if girls can do it, and in frilly outfits to boot?

The only other sport I can think of where there is more interest in the ladies than in the men is gymnastics. I would say that tennis is the only major sport where men and women have a more or less equal chance at fame and fortune.

From what i can remember ladies run the sport only because the 'female beauty' and scandals they made. But this is all another topic... Edit: and tennis is the same, the difference is just in the fact that some countries (Russia and USA) have much better female represents in the current field in that exact sport, so they are popular just because they are number one in that particular sport while men are not. If USA had a male winner in tennis and gymnastic they will be much more popular i guess, comparing to their ladies colleagues.

ankifeather · Sep 18, 2018

TallyT said:
To be fair, Yuzuru and Yuna have huge popularity bonuses in the awards and high-level recognition they've received, such as the People's Award in Japan - it takes their popularity a step up from skating fans and moves it into general iconic-for-their-nation status (it will be interesting to see who the next one - if there is a next one at that level any time soon - will be)

Oh, and we have to also remember, there are a lot of skating fans in China and their online presence tends to get overlooked because it's so separate, so don't discount the Chinese stars like Boyang just because our media does...

Even in China its Yuzu >>>> other skaters judging from weibo activities ranking for athletes and forum sizes. One of the largest pooh rain was in Shanghai WC and probably the initiator of this phenom.

sun110 · Sep 19, 2018

Shayuki said:
Yuzuru Hanyu has the biggest fan base by a massive margin. For ladies, Medvedeva followed by Zagitova, really. But nowhere near Hanyu's.

This. And there're lots of lots of Yuzuru fans in China. Due to language barrier and firewall, people here usually can't really feel Chinese fans existence. Also many people who aren't FS fans know about him.

leoleo · Sep 19, 2018

lichi said:
^ Yeah, I agree, Yuzuru has the largest dedicated fanbase.

I would say V/M and Yuna have more casual supporters (tune in during Worlds/Olympics) though. Yuna especially (aka. 50 million population of South Korea).

Nathan and ShibSibs also have a sizable Asian-American fanbase.

Yuna fans definitely are or were never casual supporters. I mean she has by far the most obsessive fandom even to this day 4years after retiring. Just look at how many of her fans all over social media are still mad about sochi's results. Or fans who follow newer figure skaters because they remind them of her. And it's not only korean fans because speaking of korea only, she's still the most famous celebrity over there but even worldwide, when i went to see her compete here in France back in the day for example, the crowd even non-korean would go completely crazy for her. Her fandom was & still is very invested.

And yeah, we all know Hanyu is the most popular by far in the sport, his following is just surreal. For females nowadays it's definitely Zhenya even tho part of her following is kpop and anime fans who sometimes don't even follow the sport. I think a part also started casually following the sport because of her.

Mathman · Sep 19, 2018

silverfoxes said:
Would you rather have a hundred thousand fans with a bunch of toxic obsessive nuts mixed in, or a relatively smaller group of fans who know how to respect boundaries and don't get involved in stan wars?

I think most athletes, movie stars, popular singers, etc., would rather have the hundred thousand obsessive nuts. Especially if the nuts are willing to spend a bundle to watch their idol perform.

laiyamanika · Sep 19, 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu has the biggest fandom right now mostly thanks to YOI and especially because of SOCIAL MEDIA. But who wouldn’t acknowledge someone who has indeed accomplished so much in figure skating in recent years

But I also think that if Yuna, Mao, Yagudin or Plushenko had the same impact of internet or social media back then, they would have comparable huge fandom as well.

I agree that most V/M fans are just casual supporters. The fandom only became bigger because of their viral fairytale success in Pyeongchang. And most their fans are just shippers.

sydney · Sep 19, 2018

laiyamanika said:
Yuzuru Hanyu has the biggest fandom right now mostly thanks to YOI and especially because of SOCIAL MEDIA.

are you serious ? YOI exist THANKS to Hanyu’s popularity in Japan lol
he’s recognized in Japan way beyond fs fandom . he’s an athlete but not only anymore , he’s also a public figure that children look up to , love by different generation , his name is used in school books , he’s always bringing up in tv shows , newspapers , and way more stuff .
Hanyu’s recognization and fame in Japan is way beyond social media and some anime fandom .

Wynter · Sep 19, 2018

silverfoxes said:
The bigger the fanbase, the more crazies in the mix. I don't really know that bigger equals better when it comes to fandom. Anyone who medals at the Olympics, and has decent PR, is obviously going to attract more fans than those who don't. And not all of them are exactly skating fans. Does it really matter, at the end of the day? Would you rather have a hundred thousand fans with a bunch of toxic obsessive nuts mixed in, or a relatively smaller group of fans who know how to respect boundaries and don't get involved in stan wars?

I don't really think that skaters got to choose which one they prefer, either.

charlotte14 · Sep 19, 2018

laiyamanika said:
Yuzuru Hanyu has the biggest fandom right now mostly thanks to YOI and especially because of SOCIAL MEDIA. But who wouldn’t acknowledge someone who has indeed accomplished so much in figure skating in recent years

excuse me... go to Hanyu's fanfest and count the pages & comments BEFORE this Yoi anime was released. No one complains if you are new to the fandom. But they will complain if you are disrespectful and reduce everything down to your favourite anime. Before Yoi, Hanyu was crazily huge in Japan and in fact that anime does not make him more popular in his own country as he has been a household name quite before that. BTW I am certain the huge fandom of Hanyu in many Asian countries starting from 2014 and thanked to PW short program, not YOI. Many Chinese fans became his fans after Cup of China 2014 collision.

charlotte14 · Sep 19, 2018

laiyamanika said:
I agree that most V/M fans are just casual supporters. The fandom only became bigger because of their viral fairytale success in Pyeongchang. And most their fans are just shippers.

:roll9: you do not talk about the fans of Canadian ice king and queen like that. :palmf:

Fluture · Sep 19, 2018

Mathman said:
It seemed like the team event overshadowed the individuals. Julia was all the buzz leading up to the games, and she came through like gangbusters in the team competition, looking like she was unbeatable. Plus, Plushenko showed who was still boss, before withdrawing from the men's individuals.

I added “individual“ in front of OGM so that it makes it clear that I know she is in fact an Olympic Champion but not in the individual event like everyone seems to be thinking. But I agree, the team event was definitely the more memorable of the two. So I guess I understand it.

emdee · Sep 19, 2018

VM has a huge fan base world wide. They also have their own fan boards and blogs that are very active.

Rissa · Sep 19, 2018

laiyamanika said:
Yuzuru Hanyu has the biggest fandom right now mostly thanks to YOI and especially because of SOCIAL MEDIA. But who wouldn’t acknowledge someone who has indeed accomplished so much in figure skating in recent years

But I also think that if Yuna, Mao, Yagudin or Plushenko had the same impact of internet or social media back then, they would have comparable huge fandom as well.

I agree that most V/M fans are just casual supporters. The fandom only became bigger because of their viral fairytale success in Pyeongchang. And most their fans are just shippers.

This is from 2015, a year and a half before YOI came out:

https://youtu.be/zryEdGhuwos?t=5m21s

And this is from 2014, two years and a half before YOI came out:

https://mainichi.jp/english/graphs/20180216/hpe/00m/0sp/001000g/13

Hanyu's fanbase grew because of his Sochi win, not because of YoI. Social media played a part of course, but given that Hanyu himself is not on social media, his presence there is a symptom of his popularity, not the cause. As somebody mentioned, YoI became possible because of Hanyu's popularity, that's how the producers believed there'd be market for a FS anime in Japan. Notice how YoI is about Men's skating, not women's (Mao). Afterwards, YoI did boost up Hanyu's fanbase. Maybe not his overall general popularity, but the raw fanbase numbers for sure.

Now, about V/M. It may be true that in the Tumblr/Twitter world most of their fans are just shippers, but that's certainly not what I had a chance to notice around figure skating circles. And I dare say that in their case the FS fans would outnumber the new shipping ones, they've been around for years and years and always popular.

Sabrina · Sep 19, 2018

I'd also include Julia Lipniskaya among skaters with a big fan base.

Spinning · Sep 19, 2018

emdee said:
VM has a huge fan base world wide. They also have their own fan boards and blogs that are very active.

In the UK, ID is a big deal (as much as it could be in a sport in which having no exposure at all). V/M always has been famous long before OG2018.

For casual fans they won even the heart of the football fans. That said a lot about their popularities.

WineHerUp · Sep 19, 2018

charlotte14 said:
:roll9: you do not talk about the fans of Canadian ice king and queen like that.

They're not only the Canadian ice king and queen but also the most decorated ice dancers of all time. It's ridiculous that some people would attribute V/M's popularity to something as silly as shipping rather than their impressive resumes :slink:

. And besides it's hard not to be a fan of Tessa Virtue who is literally perfection on/off ice :love:

.

TallyT · Sep 19, 2018

silverfoxes said:
I don't really know that bigger equals better when it comes to fandom. Anyone who medals at the Olympics, and has decent PR, is obviously going to attract more fans than those who don't. And not all of them are exactly skating fans. Does it really matter, at the end of the day?

I humbly suggest that the accountants for the various skating venues, rubbing their hands at the magic words "Yuzuru Hanyu will be competing here," would give you an emphatic yes to that question. :laugh:

Rissa said:
Hanyu's fanbase grew because of his Sochi win, not because of YoI.

Also and probably not at all coincidentally, none of the characters in YOI are based on Yuzuru - I believe the main one is accepted as being loosely based on Machida, whose fannish following should by that argument have gotten the bigger boost.

Social media and the internet certainly made fannishness easier - it's easier for fans like me, who may never get to see a major competition and almost certainly never see Yuzu at Worlds or the GPF but thanks to twitter/forums etc etc can follow everything he does and thanks to videos can watch umpteen and often HD skates/practices/commentaries/fancams that followers of earlier skaters could only dream of. But social media doesn't make people shell out the big bucks and travel across the world, or turn out in their thousands upon thousands on a hot day to catch a bare glimpse of someone they could have watched in comfort on TV or the computer.

WineHerUp said:
And besides it's hard not to be a fan of Tessa Virtue who is literally perfection on/off ice.

Not perfect until they fulfil what Tessa especially was born to, and do a version of The Masochism (edit - Tango, I meat Tango!!!). I swear I will then worship at their feet.

chopinskate · Sep 19, 2018

TallyT said:
Not perfect until they fulfil what Tessa especially was born to, and do a version of The Masochism Waltz. I swear I will then worship at their feet.

Masochism Waltz? I've heard of the tango, not this.

TallyT · Sep 19, 2018

chopinskate said:
Masochism Waltz? I've heard of the tango, not this.

Ooops, I knew I shouldn't have been typing while this music show is on...

I meant the Masochism Tango , of course :hslap:

Biggest fanbases in figure skating?

silverfoxes

Baron Vladimir

ankifeather

sun110

leoleo

Mathman

laiyamanika

sydney

Wynter

charlotte14

charlotte14

Fluture

emdee

Rissa

Sabrina

Spinning

WineHerUp

TallyT

chopinskate

TallyT

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