And Now There is Ryan Bradley

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Do you believe it. Second Place, Silver Medalist, US Nationals.

He had the audience in his hands. He could have been the gold medalist, the audience wouldn't mind. We are all so use to seeing this 'entertainer' bring down the house but never with Technical. He did both in Spokane.

He's off to Tokyo, and I hope Jeremy Abbott goes to 4CC so he gets credited for more than one GP.

The Men, imo, were much more interesting than the Ladies. So many were in contention for the bronze medal. Best US Nats Mens comp ever.

There's a new look in US Figure Skating.

Joe

 

[Zuranthium]

Ryan was amazing. I hope he does really well at Worlds.

The men's competition was INFINITELY more interesting than the ladies.

(btw, ARE you Dick Button? Your second paragraph is pretty much exactly what he said on television...)

~Z

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Ryan was amazing. I hope he does really well at Worlds.

The men's competition was INFINITELY more interesting than the ladies.

(btw, ARE you Dick Button? Your second paragraph is pretty much exactly what he said on television...)

~Z

No I'm not Uncle Dick but we do have similar tastes probably because of the skating eras we were around.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Evan's Quad

It looked real. Was it?

Joe

 

[nymkfan51]

I loved Ryan!!! ITA with you, Joe. As great as Evan was, Ryan gave the "performance" of the night, IMO!!! I hope he can build on this ... Worlds should be interesting now.

And yes, Evan's quad was for real!

 

[Jaana]

I saw Abbott in Finlandia Trophy and was very impressed. Great that he got fourth place. Well, if the short programme had gone better... Lysacek was simply awesome, the best men´s freeskate that I ever have seen from US Nationals! Bradley was enjoyable.

 

[emma]

I almost went to be after Johnny - and I'm soooo glad I didn't. Ryan was great and it was wonderful to hear the crowd response -- truly unexpected turn of events, for me at least, but fun, fun, fun!

 

[STL_Blues_fan]

So happy for Ryan, but absolutely heartbroken for Johnny.

I completely agree with the above that the Men's division is so much more interesting that the Ladie's. I could never undrstand USA fasination with the ladies and nothing else. Sure, the ladies brought home a lot of Olympic medals but so did the guys. At last World's we had a guy medalist - you would think ESPN would devote more time to coverage?????

American guys rock!!!!

 

[childfreegirl]

I've been a Ryan fan ever since I saw him skating to "Devil Went Down to Georgia" on the Nats broadcast from Atlanta in 04. I'm so glad I got to see him live at Mids this year (and last year at Nats). Wow, that guy can skate! I loved his interview with Peter Caruthers last night. Way to show 'em Ryan!

 

[merrywidow]

I've always found the mens competitions to be more exciting than the ladies. More diversity in styles, choreography & costumes. I was thrilled at the coverage of the mens long programs last evening after the disappointment of their short programs on tv on Thursday. So proud of Lysacek & Bradley but sad for Weir & Pennington. I was happy to see Abbott & Carriere for the 1st time & way to go Derrick Delmore! Terrific Nationals:agree:

 

[Wren]

I'm so conflicted this morning it's crazy! I'm crushed that Johnny didn't have the Nationals he wanted but if anyone was going to beat him for the silver medal after he clearly wasn't goign to win then I would have wanted it to be Ryan. Ryan is such a great guy, he goes out, has fun and gives it his best shot and is happy with however well he turns out. It's refreshing after so serious a competition. And you can't help feeling happy for him when he is clearly so happy himself.
Poor Johnny though, that must have been so tough. I just hope he takes this as a sign that this new style is not working (in my opinion at least) and will go back to something he is comfortable with. I saw him skate two older programs at Marshall's this year and he was gorgeous. I really hope he figures things out.
And Evan I've always liked well enough and he obviously deserved his win and I'm happy *for* him but I'm not happy *about* him winning... If that makes any sense!

 

[Tonichelle]

Wren - it makes total sense

and I can say that Joe is not Dick, I met him last year (though people still don't believe me lol)

Joe is better than Uncle Dick anyway

 

[JOHIO2]

Johnny needs to focus on skating. He's been given a chance to prove himself at 4Cs. I hope he does.

And Ryan. Luv ya, kid. Have a great time at 4Cs and Worlds!

 

[scorekeeper]

I was glad to see Ryan pull it all together and finally get a medal. He's a great entertainer. And, despite my apprehension before the FS, Evan gave a great performance and didn't need to be held up in any way. I was sorry that Johnny didn't do better, but it just wasn't his night.

 

[Spun Silver]

Poor Johnny though, that must have been so tough. I just hope he takes this as a sign that this new style is not working (in my opinion at least) and will go back to something he is comfortable with. I saw him skate two older programs at Marshall's this year and he was gorgeous. I really hope he figures things out.

Couldn't agree more! There is a great irony in his insisting on being himself off-ice while changing his whole on-ice style this season to fit into a stereotype of masculinity. Whoever said to dump Anissina is right. Russian or not, she didn't do him any favors.

 

[Ausrick]

Couldn't agree more! There is a great irony in his insisting on being himself off-ice while changing his whole on-ice style this season to fit into a stereotype of masculinity. Whoever said to dump Anissina is right. Russian or not, she didn't do him any favors.

Mmm...while there may be a certain 'faux-macho' style about his SP, I think his LP still looks pretty much classic JW to me ?

As to dumping anyone at this stage, it's a bit late in the day. Besides, I think he can still make his LP 'work' well enough to maybe even medal with it at worlds(according to my calculations ). Let's see what he can do there, eh ?