2018 Olympic Figure Skating Ladies SP

[ancientpeas]

I really admire Evgenia for her drive. The girl is fierce no doubt.

(As are Alina and many of the other ladies)

 

[amateur]

In anticipation of the freeskate, and because I have some time to kill, I felt like rewatching the top 10 SPs and commenting:

Kaori - Carol Lane called her performance "a triumph", I agree, I thought that was brilliant. Very musical, every movement made sense and was musically aware. Even the spin position-changes were consistently well set to the music. I'm far from sold on her free-skate, but this was excellent.

Mirai - nice to see a more mature Mirai. Her skating is a bit devoid of complexities, in both the transition content and her emoting, but there is still a nice grace about her.

Gabrielle - Her skating is still not really top level, but her expressiveness is coming along nicely, the program is good for that much. I hope she can still develop the skating skills and artistry -- she is till quite young, really, for this side of things. Her expression at the end was totally saying:"What the F?". She was so stunned by her error on the combo, which speaks a lot to her confidence level. This confidence at least is great to see from a Canadian lady skater

Karen - that she self-chorgeographs to this level, at her age, is mighty impressive, and her taste seems classy. She's performed this better though, I think. Enjoyable program.

Dabin - nice enough, and good for her skating that as home-crowd favourite. I feel nothing from this performance, though, beyond just a general "nice enough".

Evgenia - I don't typically get into her skating all too much, but after reading the live reports from those who posted them, I approached this with a more open mind. What I did notice is an especially great phrasing to the music though her footwork and movements (I think even including the pattern on the ice, though I can't really know that). This might be the "uncommon quality" element that she has going for her. Moreso in the first half; the jump backloading placement in the program messes with that a bit. It is that she is never at any point really holding out any moves which takes away from her reaching that more classically "mature" idea of beauty in figure skating, though this style of hers has its own quality I suppose, if it is well laid-out on the ice. I wonder whose idea the heart sound-effect is? Does she herself get into the idea of these kind of "storytelling" devices in her programs, or are they imposed on her? I share others' annyance, BUT, if it turns out that she in fact really likes this sort of thing in her programs in order to get into them, then I actually find it kind of endearing. She's so young, after all. If it is purely an imposed thing, though, then I wish they would stop!

Satoko - it's all been said about her artistic excellence and class. You completely forget that she is still only 19 too! Kurt Browning even calls her "tiny queen" -- I thought that would have been only an internet message board nickname? Kurt does point out her prerotation, too, btw.

Kaetlyn - Well done, solid. I think I've seen her a bit better on the spins before (she's a pretty great spinner too, not discussed much I find). I thought when I watched it the first time that the performance aspect was tenser than normal for her, but on rewatching I did not get that sense at all. So it must have been me as a fan who was tense - haha. Though I guess you typically hope for a performance that even surpasses the previous good performances, and that might not be possible at this point with this program. I love the head-flick she does after the lutz.

Alina - well, she is quite something. Wonderful dancer-like awareness and capability. Lacking extension in many places, but I think it's more due to being rushed, than due to lack of ability or awareness (though the ability to show beautiful consistent full extension may in turn be going underveloped, but I sense she would be fine in that style also if it was what they were going for). Her programs are jam-packed. Less polished than Evgenia for somewhat of the same style; from Evgenia there a slightly more mature calm and I think better emphasis on phrasing. But given her age, (which I always keep in mind in critisizing any skater) she seems to be in no way lacking in anything whatsoever at this point (--How the relative immaturity and the rushing should be scored is a separate discussion). I don't think this jam-packed movement is the best approach for figure skating; it's like there is no more room for glide and pausing on extension. But I do think Alina is truly great.

Kostner - you'd think she should be the standard, but maybe this is an "old-school" view

I'd rank my enjoyment of the programs in this order:

Kaori
Kostner
Osmond
Medvedyeva (this high perhaps because I was really focussing on her this time)
Satoko
Alina
Mirai
Karen (I enjoy her a lot, but had kind-of forgotten about her by the end, unlike Kaori)

I don't have a big opinion on who should be first after the SP, I can see an argument for any of the current top 3 (I'll refrain from zoning in specifically on PCS discussion), but I do think the top 3 here should all be close, which, while the margin maybe could/should be tighter, they still are, just enough.

 

[chopinskate]

AZ 82.92 v NC 82.27

Arizona vs North Carolina? :scratch3:

 

[Metis]

Why is the Program Components Score being labelled as "Presentation" score when the skaters score is presented on screen?

Not sure if ironic or a language barrier, but:

PCS (Program Components Score) is all the “non-technical” element scoring, or a revised version of the “artistic merit” mark. What’s shown on screen during a given skater’s performance is their technical score, with the Grade of Execution marks factored in. Because each element (spin, jump, footwork, etc.) has a base value for the level of difficulty it was performed at, it’s easy to calculate a skater’s technical score in real time. The Grade of Execution marks are received in real time and added to the skater’s total technical score. This allows broadcasters to show the current skater’s technical score versus that of the leader.

The PCS marks are divided across five separate categories, with scores ranging from 0 to 10. Unlike with GOEs, they do not have to be whole numbers; the intervals are 0.25. Each judge assigns the skater a score for each of the five “program components.” This is what replaced the “artistic merit” or “presentation” score from the 6.0 system, which is why some people still use the term.

PCS scoring is kind of a headache, but that’s the basic gist and why it’s called the presentation mark!

 

[amateur]

She doesn't skate to Black Swan in her step sequence, she skates to Moonlight, a film about a gay African-American youth who is dealing with poverty, isolation, drug abuse, and oppression. I think calling her interpretation masterful is kind of like a kid declaring microwave food the most delicious thing in the world. The footwork sequence is athletically convincing, but far removed from what better dancers can do, both in her form itself and in the understanding and expression of the music.

I emphatically disagree that any interpreter necessarily has to express the theme of a film (or other artwork) that happens to be attached to a piece of music (regardless even of whether the music was composed for that film) to give the performance valid artistic merit. That would be one interpretive choice, granted, and even a powerful one if you want to look at it that way, but by the very nature of music existing separately from film, this is by NO means a requirement in creating another valuable piece of art with it.
It is even possible to not know the film, and respond to what the one hears in the music, which I repeat exists separately from the film. And one can hear many and diverging things in any good piece of music. There are different levels of interpreting music, of course, and you're free to label one interpretation "shallower" than another, but not expressing specifically the film (and it's not like the music could only possibly call to mind that film and nothing else in the universe) is not in itself reason enough to do so, and does not make it a "wrong" or "poor" choice, by any means, which you seem to imply.

Heck - I've seen Moonlight, and I did not recognize the music, if that's where you say it comes from. But certainly I did enjoy hearing that good piece of music in Alina's program and admired her movement to it, and there was enough of a common element (perhaps an "angsty" foreboding feeling, along with the violin-based aesthetic) to make sense in her program. No, she as a 15-year-old figure-skater in a figure-skating competition (not a mature interpretive dancer on a stage, mind you) did not display a "masterful" interpretation of even this broader abstract notion of angst or whatever we want to label it. Yet she did weave in a compelling performance (given the context) of what she was going for in this program. Tastes may vary, and that is fine, but there is a need to recontextualize here!

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

. I think calling her interpretation masterful is kind of like a kid declaring microwave food the most delicious thing in the world.

Ok ...I’m dead

I really can’t disagree although I don’t really have the same issues with her scores/interpretation as others. I’m admittedly very lenient and less picky than many when it comes to these things eace:

 

[Shayuki]

I emphatically disagree that any interpreter necessarily has to express the theme of a film (or other artwork) that happens to be attached to a piece of music (regardless even of whether the music was composed for that film) to give the performance valid artistic merit. That would be one interpretive choice, granted, and even a powerful one if you want to look at it that way, but by the very nature of music existing separately from film, this is by NO means a requirement in creating another valuable piece of art.
It is even possible to not know the film, and respond to what the one hears in the music, which I repeat exists separately from the film. And one can hear many and diverging things in any good piece of music. There are different levels of interpreting music, of course, and you're free to label one interpretation "shallower" than another, but not expressing specifically the film (and it's not like the music could only possibly call to mind that film and nothing else in the universe) does not make it a "wrong" or "poor" choice, by any means, which you seem to imply.

Agreed 100%. In fact, you bring up the word "shallow" and I might even use it as a counterpoint - The belief that music always needs to be connected to the context it was created for is in my opinion a very shallow and uncreative way of thinking. You can combine different types of music and use fitting music for your own creation, no matter what purpose the music was originally intended for. You can also invent your own purposes and interpretations to music that the composer might never have thought of. And you can base stories around music that have nothing to do with what the composer had in mind.

That's the beauty of music in the first place.


Of course, I'm not saying that it's a bad idea to interpret music for what it was originally intended for - Just that it's perfectly valid to approach it from a different angle.

In my opinion, this piece of music works really well for the purposes of Alina's SP and that's what's important.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I emphatically disagree that any interpreter necessarily has to express the theme of a film (or other artwork) that happens to be attached to a piece of music

I never said that. I was simply pointing out where the music came from, which someone incorrectly labeled, and also giving a broad example of why Zagitova's skating fails to have the depth some people think it does.

Zagitova's form and interpretation of the music are far from the best, regardless of what exact interpretation someone wants to do. She doesn't extend as well as possible and the timing of the movements is often rushed and without as much of a personal expression. There are far deeper and more developed displays of choreography and interpretation that are possible.

I love many movie soundtracks where I've never watched the movie or don't even know what it is about

Perhaps if you did watch more films and artworks, particularly other dances/skating performances, then you would also share the opinion that Zagitova's movement and artistry is undeserving of being called masterful. This is why I used the example of a kid thinking microwave food is amazing. If that's all you have experienced and surrounded yourself with, then you are going to be unaware of the different, better possibitilities out there.

When I think of the expression and form that the best actresses and dancers are able to provide and could do with this music, and how a skater would go about translating it to the ice if they were approaching it with 100% artistic integrity and capability, then it's just silly to consider Zagitova as being a peak of artistry in figure skating.

 

[MIM]

It was heartbreaking to watch Mirai over-rorate her 3A and fall. But her 3F3T was perfect! She did not give any slightest reasons to review that jump combo! And her smile out of that jump made me
But I have to say that given all her brilliance in spins, her STSQ at the end fell short. It was forceful and lack of flow/speed. I know she is not known for her skating skills, but her lack of SS kinda hurt a lot the entire performance.

Kaori is a breath of fresh air. She uses Moonlight sonata beautifully. She started with sweeping moves with her deep and fluid edge work. The layback spin to the footwork matches well to the slow section of the MS. And as the music picks up, she starts to take off her jumps. Her jumps have nice in and out flow and transition-especially the take off at the 3loop and exit of the 2A. The whole thing felt organic and natural. This is the back-loading strategy I agree with along with Alina Z.'s Don Quixote except the flaw of placement of first 3Lz3Lo and 3F2T2Lo that doesn't fit to the musical notes/speed of the program. And Kaori's superior SS quality (like Patricks's) shine throughout the stsq. There is not a moment her edge is flat. She always moves leaning on her edge. I do believe she has the best SS in the current field. The first part without any jumping elements didn't feel empty/abandoned/like a break at all. It is the mystery to me how her score is 9-10 points lower than Evgenia's with the same backloaded jump contents. Seriously...

Satoko was precise, perfect, sublime. I know how limited her score can be due to her small jumps. There is neither surprises nor complains. I am just glad she is physically strong to perform this beautifully at the Olympic stage. SO perfect in her own league. Judges are rarely invited.

Kaetlyn skated another CLEAN short program. So happy that she didn't repeat the mistakes at the team event. She was sassy, regal, graceful, explosive, a whole package!!! This has been two seasons in a row. But it never bores me.

Okay, Evgenia and Alina are great athletes, and they deserve to be 2nd and 1st. Watching them together and how they were scored and placed, I finally figured out what bothered me to totally be warm to Evgenia.

!. Alina embraces her athletism. Even though she is wearing tutu and skating to two ballet music, she doesn't act like a delicate flower. Her footwork is done in a manner of artistic gymnastic routine. It is broken and clear. Not esthetically pleasing, but she gets it done. And I noticed some of her STSQ adjusted so that she has little more room or time to finish her movements before the next. Good call by the choreographer and well done by Alina. Then her jumps are no doubt most difficult and explosive. I don't see anyone who puts a 3Lz(+3Lo) and a 3F in the short program in the event. That shows her confidence! She makes her performance brilliant with the superior athleticism. And she proves it time and time after.

2. Evgenia's packaging is not genuine. She is packaged something she isn't. Or, she is over-packaged. The artistry is manufactured and put on to her. She has a great presence on the ice and the "it" factor! She doesn't need 911 noises to be taken seriously. She does not need "comeback" or heartbeat or exhale sounds to Chopin. She does not need that many strips to her dress; The dress is too busy to perform serene and peaceful Chopin. Her choreography is too busy to be artistic; her edge is too shallow to execute all the given choreography. She can extend her limbs but she cannot elongate to create a line with them. Although Evgenia has two more senior seasons than Alina has, Evgenia's artistry hasn't been nurtured in a right direction. Her body starts to get weaker and her jump contents are limited (lutz! and no 3Lo combo) in comparison to Alina.

Evgenia and Alina's strategy shares the same root; Maximizing technical scoring system, then Component score shall follow. There is not enough artistry gap between Evgenia and Alina to separate. Because their programs do not base on artistry from the design. Hence higher Tech score wins higher PCS and the total score. It all sounds logical to me.

Missing oportunity: sigh...
- Caro showed signs of decline already. She peaked too soon for this season, and doest have stamina to keep that up high to the Olympics.
- Karen's program is so beautiful! She could have created a moment if she skated clean. The pgroam is too pretty to be buried in this big stage.
- Gabby realies big time on her AMAZING 3T3T. not the same performance quality after marring the combo.
- Giada Russo was pleasant surprise from Italia. Okay I expected something different knowing her red violin from EC couple seasons ago. I wish she made the free cut. Her artistry and creativity keeps Figure Skating fresh and relevant as an Art form. Amazing, Unexpected, Sharp STSQ EVER!!

 

[Ambivalent]

Yuna's Roxanne 2007 SP is my idea of "masterful". Not sure if BoP would agree.

I still want Zagitova to absolutely nail her LP though. If she does she will win. For all her deficiencies (and there are many), I do not forget she is incredibly talented at such a tender age.

 

[OniBan]

Edit: damnit these mobile format!! I meant to reply (and include in quote) to the poster who said Kaori's Moonlight Sonata music choice is a weird choice to 'backload program' with.

I watched it live and I thought it works really well choreographically. The jumps are incorporated in time to the music and I don't think anything is jarring or out of place.

 

[Shayuki]

Perhaps if you did watch more films and artworks, particularly other dances/skating performances, then you would also share the opinion that Zagitova's movement and artistry is undeserving of being called masterful. This is why I used the example of a kid thinking microwave food is amazing. If that's all you have experienced and surrounded yourself with, then you are going to be unaware of the different, better possibitilities out there.

When I think of the expression and form that the best actresses and dancers are able to provide and could do with this music, and how a skater would go about translating it to the ice if they were approaching it with 100% artistic integrity and capability, then it's just silly to consider Zagitova as being a peak of artistry in figure skating.

Ah, regarding "mastery of artistry" in a vacuum ? No, I don't think Zagitova is there.

However, within the context of this figure skating competition right here, she's among the top. As I said - If Kostner got 38+ for that, Zagitova deserves all the PCS she got.

I really don't get why you have to be so rude and condescending. Can't you just argue the points themselves? These things are largely about opinions, you don't have to label everyone who disagrees with you as someone "who thinks microwave food is the best food in the world".

 

[qwertyskates]

Alina - well, she is quite something. Wonderful dancer-like awareness and capability. Lacking extension in many places, but I think it's more due to being rushed, than due to lack of ability or awareness (though the ability to show beautiful consistent full extension may in turn be going underveloped, but I sense she would be fine in that style also if it was what they were going for). Her programs are jam-packed. Less polished than Evgenia for somewhat of the same style; from Evgenia there a slightly more mature calm and I think better emphasis on phrasing. But given her age, (which I always keep in mind in critisizing any skater) she seems to be in no way lacking in anything whatsoever at this point (--How the relative immaturity and the rushing should be scored is a separate discussion). I don't think this jam-packed movement is the best approach for figure skating; it's like there is no more room for glide and pausing on extension. But do think Alina is truly great. Kurt suggesting that the double axels are overscored from both Russian girls. Carol is a huge fan of the dress, calling it perfect and

Good post, though we differ in our preferences!

I want to point out that Alina's jam-packed stsq segments are meant to convey chaos, dissonance and her descent into madness, so her movements are frantic, erratic and limbs and body are crooked and broken. I think she did an I turn with her hands crooked and touching her head as well. After the halfway point, she visibly straightened, stretched, as the Black Swan emerged from her previous dissolution. That is where you see the perfectly straightened/extended limbs, eg the Charlotte, and her electric energy going into her jumps, as in the film when the prima ballerina delivered Perfection, till the end.

 

[Procrastinator]

Yes, Kaetlyn's head cock after landing the lutz was such an iconic moment, and she did it all while milking the landing edge for a full two seconds (let's see any Russian besides Sotnikova even *try* that).

I think the moonlight track does fit well with the black swan theme because of how devastating/dark it is, but I only felt this way after several several rewatchings. The footwork sequence itself is quite impressive and generally well done, but it's slightly overwrought at the beginning and, during this SP, she was really out of time with the music. Grading her in real time, I had to drop the GOE from +3 to +2 and her INT score -.25

 

[Leelee425]

I never said that. I was simply pointing out where the music came from, which someone incorrectly labeled, and also giving a broad example of why Zagitova's skating fails to have the depth some people think it does.

Zagitova's form and interpretation of the music are far from the best, regardless of what exact interpretation someone wants to do. She doesn't extend as well as possible and the timing of the movements is often rushed and without as much of a personal expression. There are far deeper and more developed displays of choreography and interpretation that are possible.



Perhaps if you did watch more films and artworks, particularly other dances/skating performances, then you would also share the opinion that Zagitova's movement and artistry is undeserving of being called masterful. This is why I used the example of a kid thinking microwave food is amazing. If that's all you have experienced and surrounded yourself with, then you are going to be unaware of the different, better possibitilities out there.

When I think of the expression and form that the best actresses and dancers are able to provide and could do with this music, and how a skater would go about translating it to the ice if they were approaching it with 100% artistic integrity and capability, then it's just silly to consider Zagitova as being a peak of artistry in figure skating.

I’m sorry but it is outright condescending to say that maybe if someone looked at more artwork and watched more films and dance they would share your opinion of Zagitova. If your taste level is so high that you are only able to appreciate the likes of Tosca, Meryl Streep, or the Alvin Ailey Dance Company you must really be disgusted with the audacity of anyone to call any of these ladies programs masterful or the peak of artistry because clearly none of them live up to the best interpretations of music, film and literature there ever were. Some may be better than others, Kaitlyn’s short is a very good character performance, broadway like perhaps which is far from being considered the pinnacle of artistic perfection so I’d be interested to know what sort of kid’s menu equivalent you have for it. Karen, Satoko, and Carolina have nice extension and can create some beautiful shapes, but they are far from Giselle. Does Alina get higher Interpretation scores than she should? Sure but don’t they all? Just like the men’s competition is essentially a who can land the most quads event, the
ladies is about landing the most clean jumps in the back half of the program, at least that is how it’s being judged. So the best artist, if by your standards you can call any of them that, is not going to win here and we all knew that months ago. The way this competition is set up, there are only two choices for the gold, Alina or Evgenia, and if Alina is microwave popcorn, Eugenia is that same child now as a college student who just figured out how to pop some Orville Redenbacher on the stove, slightly better but far from gourmet.

It’s possible for those of us who have been to the ballet, the opera, art museums around the world, watch most if not all of the Oscar nominated movies every year and see a lot of independent and foreign films to still enjoy Alina’s performance for what it is. No it’s not an artistic masterpiece, but her athleticism and stamina are impressive, she does have some level of musicality, I can get the gist of a story she is telling without her miming, giving the same over dramatic face for every expression, or cuts in music for heart beats, 911 calls or fog horns. Her jumps hit accents and unlike others her rippons actually are used to punctuate specific parts of the performance as opposed to being thrown in just to get extra GOE points. (And she fully extends those rippons too, doesn’t just stick her arm up like a limp noodle because no matter how ugly it’ll still get the points.) And she is more consistent than most so I don’t have to worry as much about a performance with a big old splat in the middle of it and then a break in the footwork while they skate around trying to gain speed again. I’m sorry but if you went and saw Swan Lake and the prima ballerina fell on her butt during a pirouette nobody would be standing outside the theater later talking about how artistic she was. Again I’m not saying she’s the greatest artist, but she is the one of the best technicians and right now technicians win.

 

[Metis]

Hate Medvedeva’s tweaks to Chopin all you want, but Chen’s bird noises need to come with a warning to mute sound for cat owners.

 

[MIM]

I thought Kaori has a very Eteri-style program, not only because of backloading, but also because every second is crammed with movement to the brim. It's nice that she can do all that stuff but the Moonlight Sonata is a weird piece to set such packed choreo to.

Yes, Kaori does backload her jumps. But I differ from your impression of how she uses her music.

The beginning of program has slower pace music and she builds it with deep edges in the STSQ and spins.
Her layback spins felt like a stationary lift in Ice Dance. She changes from side to catch-foot to bellman position as the piano hit higher keys. Her rises and falls in steps and turns synchronized well with he slower pace of the Moonlight Sonata. Especially her second twizzle matches to the piano phrasing perfectly. Flying part and position changes of Camel Spins also match the musical note and concludes the slower section of the MS.

As Music in the second half picks up, Kaori skates faster and her combo is done at the highlight of the musical phrasing. The loop is done in the continuous fashion just like the music keeps building its tense energy. And there is the release right on landing a 2A. And Kaori extends her arm and free leg, exiting the jump. There was a genuine joy at that moment. The music rushes to the finale, so does her spins with dynamic changes in position from illusion to upright to sit, then the final pose.

I just am curious to know what part of the program to Moonlight Sonata you felt weird?

 

[ReasonOFF]

full of bs post

that funny guy thinks only asian skaters like kim yuna lu chen or karen chen and others with their ugly skating skills are true artists which is really an epic joke

if compare them all with osmond or zagitova these two are far ahead of them

let him leave in parallel world and write bs like he loves, probably moonlight is his favorite movie so about tastes here's nothing to discuss, because this food is definitely from a rubbish bin

 

[TerpsichoreFS]

Ok, I've more or less calmed down from the ice dance drama.

Before ladies FS, my opinion on the ladies short.

I agree with the guy from TSL. The first three groups were kind of painful and boring to watch. I enjoyed all of 4 skaters out of the first 3 groups (Hanul, Emmi, Ivett and Loena(and she bombed)).

Props to Kailani Crane for doing well as well even if I don't like her program. And to Giada Russo who doesnt quite have the skating chops to pull off btw program she wanted but you could tell it was inspired with innovative choreography.

Rajicova good on you but what a snooze.

Alina was breathtaking. I loved it. The heaviness of the swan on a 15 year old might look ridiculous at smaller meets, but here at the Olympics the special atmosphere makes it right. She was fast, the jumps gorgeous and everything she did looked harder than everyone. I don't really understand the remarks her scores get online. Deservedly first and world record. The only skater close to the crispness of Alina was Kaetlyn.

I know many are Evgenia fans, but she was gifted here. The program couldn't quite draw me in like I know she can. It looked a little imprecise at times. Kaetlyn was genuinely better. Should have been second. But not first. Alina had 'it' last night.

Satoko! Good job on the borderline jumps, but not ur. Best short program of the season.

Dabin was... tentative? Good on her for being clean bit not a program I will rewatch.

I dont understand Hanul's pcs. Are the judging profiting from her low ranking to score her low because she has short legs? Also I enjoyed Emmi but after the combo the program dissolved too much into posing.

Also Mae Berenice should actually learn how to move her body before skating to Beyonce...

I also feel like Alina's SP is more cohesivethan Evgenia's. Maybe being the choreographer's favorite has perks

 

[Procrastinator]

The fact that everyone already has a thesis-level explanation ready at hand to defend and rationalize why their favorite skater is great is almost laughable at this point.

Say anything about Alina and someone will reply with ten page cites to Cervantes' Don Quixote or the personal correspondence of Leon Minkus to explain how everything Zagitova does, including breathe, is imbued with metaphorical meaning.

Say something about Kaori and someone will hire ten music theorists to argue that the landing of her combo is perfectly consonant with the exact musical note of moonlight sonata playing at the time, and is in fact a veiled subliminal allusion to Gordieva and Grinkov's 1994 Free.

Say something about Boyang and people will mention that his smile during his footwork sequence to star wars was timed to happen exactly 38 years to the day that George Lucas finished filming A New Hope, and that Carrie Fisher's last words were about how only Boyang could ever do justice to figure skating.

It's almost insane, and a master class in how motivated reasoning works.

Edit: On a similar note, I'm reminded of the fake letter that Yuna fans created and spread after Sochi that was supposedly from her "dad" and was supposed to explain how Adios Nonino was a metaphor for her own relationship with and love for her father. God, this sport really does attract a certain kind of fan.