What made you a fan? | Golden Skate

What made you a fan?

Kurt's Girl

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
I'm the resident n00b when it comes to skating--I only got into the sport this past January (although what I lack in expereince, I try to make up for in heartfeltness :) ) I know a lot of people on the boards have been fans for many, many years though, and I'd love to hear the story of what got you in to this wonderful sport/art in the first place.

In that spirit, my story begins with me being dragged to an SOI show on January 14, 2005. ("Figure skating?! Nooooo!" were my exact sentiments at the time, I believe.) We got there, show started...and I was immedeatly enchanted. Specifically my attention was drawn to one handsome skater in the opening number whose joy and love of performing positivly radiated out into the audience, all the way into the nosebleed seats where I was sitting.

Well, said handsome and charismatic skater came out later, apparently to fix a leaky pipe and skate to 'Jitterbug.' "That's Scott Hamilton right?" I asked my dad--much to my eternal embarassment. (At the time Scottie was the only skater whose name I knew, and I knew he was bald, so...). Of course, after that program they introduced him as Kurt Browning, and by the time he'd come out in the second half for "Supercalifragilistic" he'd compleatly stolen my heart and made me a fan for life. Both of himself, and of figure skating. (And I haven't confused him and Scottie since! ;) )

What's your story?
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Welcome, Kurt's Girl. :) It's never too late to become a fan. :love:

I always watched figure skating during the Olympics, but I really got hooked on the sport during the 1988 Calgary Olympics (still my favorite Winter Olympics) because of the "Battle of the Brians" (I like both Brians very much, but I was pulling for Brian Orser :love: ) and Midori Ito :love: The rest is history. Now I watch just about everything related to figure skating!
 
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dreamskateau

Spectator
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Two words: Torvill/Dean!
I got hooked in 84, and have been a fan since, and let me tell you its hard to be a skating fan in Australia - particularly during football season!
Cheers
Susan
 

MannyisHOT

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
I have been watching skating since I was about 5. My grandma always would watch it with me if it was on when she was babysitting. I never ever knew the exact schedule so if it was on when i was watching tv then I watched it. now however after seeing Canadians live this year I know the whole television schedule for everything and i watch it! But I have been a fan for about 8 years... but i became a huger one 2 and a half months ago!
 

childfreegirl

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 6, 2004
I've watched skating for as long as I can remember, but the first competition that really stands out in my mind is the '88 Olympics. I was about 10. I remember watching the Battle of the Brians and liking Orser, but then being so surprised when they said on the news that Boitano was retiring. I also remember the ladies competition and being so sad when Debi Thomas did less than her best.
 

Matt

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 19, 2003
My parents left the 1992 Winter Olympics on TV while they cooked dinner. I was an impressionable 5 year-old. The rest is history ;) :p
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I'm on my 17th year of fandom lol

My great aunt was a big figure skating fan... as long as they were American. And her biggest favorite was Scott Hamilton (my dad is also a fan, fell in love with Dorothy Hamil). In Jan. of 89 Walt Disney On Ice came to the Sully in Anchorage and my aunt bought tickets for the family because my bday was coming and "the baby" would want to see Mickey skate with Scott. What she really was saying was "the baby is my excuse to go watch Scott skate".

All I remember is being extremely BORED through most of the show. But then Scott skated a program to "Georgia On My Mind" (at least, that's what I've been told by other fans) where he had a radio prop. The radio had some "love/romance help line" thing going, and Scott got mad and turned it off. Saying something under his breath, and the radio started TALKING. That was the most awesome thing this three year old had ever seen!!!!!!! Scott skated the program and then he did the back flip and I was hooked. I was a fan like *snap* that!

my dad's favorite story from that show was during the second act Scott had a skit with "Sports Goofy". He was trying to figure out who Goofy was. He finally got frustrated and said "well, if you're not Michael Jordan then WHO ARE YOU????" the audience was dead silent, and then my little voice carried over the arena... "HE'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

Scott turned around with this huge smile on his face (this is the only part I remember of the story lol) searching for the kid who upstaged him. But by that time my g'pa had successfully stuffed me under his seat. :laugh:

I've grown to love figure skating since then, and not just pro skating... it's a growing thing I guess ;)
 

cianni

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Im a Fan

Because I fell in love with a little girl named Michelle Kwan and that hasnt changed.
 

Sk8n Mama

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I was a skater myself many years ago. Back then I watched every competition because skating was 'my thing'. When my skating career ended, I still loved skating and kept watching it on tv. When I skated, my hero was Katia Gordeeva. She and I are the same age and when I was twelve, my mom took me to Skate Canada which was G & G's international debut. They were awesome and I had to have a red 'wet look' competition dress that year because Katia's LP dress was red wet look. :lol:
 

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
I had always loved watching skating competitions, and I have some vauge memories of the 88 olympics (I was only 4 at the time). My family has always been passionate about watching the olympics, and Albertville is the time that I remember becoming obsessed with skating. Since then it was over for me, and I have become a total nerd over it, forcing roomates and loved ones to watch with me.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
I've been a figure-skating fan since the dark ages, when Tenley Albright won Olympic gold. I lived in NYC, and always had an eye out for Carol Heiss and her sister Nancy when I went to Rockefeller Center to skate (I never saw them there, though). I remember the plane crash that took the lives of the entire US team and their coaches and families, and Worlds being cancelled that year. I remember Peggy Fleming skating to Olympic gold in an outdoor rink, and thinking how very beautiful she was. I so looked forward every year to Nationals on TV, and was beside myself every four years for the Olympics. I cheered for Dorothy Hamill and cried for Linda Fratianne and Debi Thomas. I was thrilled by Kristi Yamaguchi's OGM and by Tonya Harding's 3A. But it was Michelle Kwan who really hooked me--hard. I first saw her at 1994 Nationals, when a tiny girl won the silver medal behind Tonya. I was saddened when Nancy Kerrigan didn't win the OGM that I thought she had earned. But what impressed me most was the tiny little girl who won the silver medal went to Worlds and was the lone US qualifier--and she finished 8th! I thought she should have won a medal at '95 Worlds, but '96 was the year she won every competition in sight---and thanks to the Harding scandal, there were lots of competitions on TV.

I have been hooked ever since, and I dread the day she retires. I don't think any other skater will ever be able to fill her shoes.
 
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Okay, don't throw things at me.....the Kerrigan/Harding scandal brought me into skating. Just couldn't stand everybody talking about it and not knowing who these two girls were. So hubby and I watched the women's skating portion of the '94 Oly's.
I was hooked from there on in....started watching EVERYthing on tv, found out "a skating show" was coming to the nearby Philadelphia venue in I believe March '95...."lets go see it" says I, "okay" says hubby.
What really hooked me into the sport is the variety of things you can see in the sport....strength, beauty, poise, excitement, beautiful women, handsome men, beautiful costumes. And just the fun of being a fan, seeing your favorites do good, sitting in my living room clapping, hollering and even crying when someone skates a great skate. I guess I owe Harding and her hooligans a thank you.
 

clairecloutier

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 27, 2003
Growing up, my family always watched the Olympics on TV, especially figure skating. I have vague memories of all the Olympics, starting in 1976 with Dorothy Hamill. We also watched Nationals and Worlds whenever we ran across them on TV. And I took skating lessons for a couple years myself.

But I didn't become a real fan until 1991. I watched Nationals that year for some reason, and will always remember how exciting the ladies event was, because that was the year Tonya Harding landed the triple axel. What really turned me into a fan, though, was seeing 1991 Worlds and, especially, Kristi Yamaguchi's victory there. The ladies competition was exciting that year, with Tonya and Midori as the big triple axel jumpers, and Kristi and Nancy as the artists in the competition. Then Kristi put it all together in the free skate and delivered one of the best programs of her life. It was just all so exciting, and I was completely hooked. I've been watching ever since!
 

nicole_l

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
I was a skater for five years when I went to California to skate at Frank Carrol's camp for a week. Something clicked (mentally, anyway) when I got to see Michelle Kwan, Timothy Goebel, and Nick LaRoche live. From then on, I've watched every competition I could and rooted for Michelle.
 

Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
I became a skating fan watching Katarina Witt win her first gold medal. I was too young at the time to understand the country thing but I really liked her attitude. She was like a fairy tale come to life...

Kwanford Wife
 

ATW27

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 16, 2003
Believe it or not, the 2002 Olympics.... more specificaly, the pairs sp and Sarah Hughes. Prior to that, i was pretty much a casual fan; you know, 'I'll watch skating if there isn't any else worth watching on TV tonight', or whenever the Olympics rolled around. But after watching the Pairs short with S&P and B&S, I realy wanted to know how this was thing gonna end. And that pretty much carried over for the rest of those Olympic games. It was Sarah Hughes in the ladies final that truly made me fall in love with the sport. After that, I was hooked; appreciation for her grew into appreciation for the whole sport. And I've been having a great time ever since.

Andy W.
 
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Piel

On Edge
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I remember knowing that the Olympics were coming up when Parade magazine would feature the U.S. lady being touted for the OGM on the cover. Debi Thomas's story grabbed me and Calgary was the first Olympics that I counted the days until opening ceremonies. I was so disappointed for Debi but was hooked on figure skating. Nancy Kerrigan was the next skater that I followed And then entered Michelle Kwan. The way she did her job at such a young age and brought respect back to U.S. figure skating after the Nancy/Tonya mess was just wonderful. To this day this young lady has done nothing but good things for her sport. In all of her years she has not once taken a bad step or done anything to embarrass herself, her family, her country or her sport. Even if she never wins another medal she will still go down in history as the best the sport has to offer. Her record will probably never be broken. How cool is it that we have been able to witness the remarkable career of such a talented and gracious champion?
 

bili

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 18, 2005
I have been watching the Worlds and Euros constantly for the last couple of years, but if I am to say what got me so fascinated in the first place I would have to go back to the 84 Olympics - I was just 8 years old then (!) but I can still remember the feeling I got watching Dean/Torvill's Bolero...
However, what made me a huge fan of figure skating was definitely Yagudin's performance at the 2002 Olympics Exhibition (I still can't get over that - perhaps he's the reason why I never really liked Plushenko. I always thought of him as inferior to Yagudin).
Also Denkova/Stavisky renewed my love for Ice Dance.
 
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