Andrew Torgashev

[Tav]

NBC's broadcast of Nationals this season was hot garbage... The camerawork was so terrible! How many skaters were totally ignored except for when they were doing their programs, and then not shown for a second before or immediately after? I'm also a big Daniel Martynov fan, and he was never shown even once in the Kiss & Cry. Same as so many others. We weren't even given the scores for most of the skaters, except Max, Andrew and Jason. What's the deal with all that crap?? Sorry... I just need to rant a bit about this. I hope they never do this again.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

NBC's broadcast of Nationals this season was hot garbage... The camerawork was so terrible! How many skaters were totally ignored except for when they were doing their programs, and then not shown for a second before or immediately after? I'm also a big Daniel Martynov fan, and he was never shown even once in the Kiss & Cry. Same as so many others. We weren't even given the scores for most of the skaters, except Max, Andrew and Jason. What's the deal with all that crap?? Sorry... I just need to rant a bit about this. I hope they never do this again.

The "like" I just gave to this post is in sympathy and agreement. The coversge was not very good. But it's all we got, unfortunately. The Pairs Short and Pairs Free were the only full segments with Ben and Ashley, along with Group 1 of the Women's Free, Men's Free, and Free Dance.

 

[Kiki5375]

Someone posted a link for Jsport4 from Japan. I am forever grateful to whoever it was. I was able to watch everything without commercials. I don't care about the commetator as long as I can watch it

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Someone posted a link for Jsport4 from Japan. I am forever grateful to whoever it was. I was able to watch everything without commercials. I don't care about the commetator as long as I can watch it

Did it have Ben and Ashley commentating? Could you hear anything that was said in the K&C? I am curious. And I have no idea why Peacock didn't put up all the full segments. Oh well.

 

[Kiki5375]

no it had Japanese commentators but they didn't speak during the performances and I was able to hear what the skaters and coaches said in K&C. I tried NBC first but the stream wasn't running that well and they cut out the K&C for commercials
But after I was sure I would not be able to see anything at all I ended up with two streaming options and I was more than happy


Edit: It's getting offtopic here now. Maybe we should switch this to How to watch Nationals thread

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Wait, you haven't seen his FS from Nats?

You should be careful
Personally, I can't sleep since the live broadcast

I pounded my hand on the desk and scared the hell out of a deer on my patio from yelling.

I watched the Men's FS on Monday afternoon. I screamed silently, mouth probably open, so as not to draw attention to myself. And I slept well last night for the first time in a few days (too nervous/excited before then).

 

[el henry]

Thank you for asking @skatingfan4ever I am of course devastated for Jason. I’m still looking for a good close up avatar like yours for PChiddy. Time to retire Toller and honor Jason….)

But back to the subject at hand, I am still processing Andrew. All the ups and downs over the past 11 years. That preternaturally possessed 14 year old at Junior Nats who first caught my attention. Now going to the Olympics.

They grow up so fast.

 

[trishelle]

I was in the arena, and the scream I SCRUMPT when he landed that last 3Flip and went into his fly sit spin... I'm pretty sure I yelled something like "Bring it home Torgs!" while he was mid-spin.

I was always a little sad to have missed seeing Nationals last year, because Scheherezade was done so amazingly well and I watched that LP many times cuz it was that good. Crazy, but this Apashe performance was even better and I got to experience it live. He really gave everything to that free skate and challenged the Non-Ilias (and USFSA really) to try and take this Oly spot away from him.

That choreo sequence was so so intense guys. I don't even recall seeing the 1-handed cartwheel before during the GP so I was almost surprised when he absolutely threw his whole body into that, his hand wasn't even reaching out to the ice when he launched his body out and he might have honestly been able to do a no-hand cartwheel there (but I'm glad he didn't lol). Between me yelling increasingly feral and the rest of the crowd cheering as they were completely won over, that last 45 seconds I felt like I was flying along with Andrew.

I'm glad that I have a DVR and was able to record this (given that it seems NBC Sports YouTube won't post it UGH) so that I can watch it. Really appreciate the Japanese version that is up on youtube, cuz you can see slo-mo of his jumps and also hear most of what Andrew & Brandon are saying on the couch, which is as endearing as ever in their bro-ness with each other.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Someone posted a link for Jsport4 from Japan. I am forever grateful to whoever it was. I was able to watch everything without commercials. I don't care about the commetator as long as I can watch it

Thanks to @trishelle's post above, I went looking on YouTube. It took a bit of looking, but I found it!!!!! Here it is!!! Even though it was cool to see Ilona celebrating on NBC, Andrew's entire reaction is priceless!!!!! Enjoy!!! I downloaded it in case it disappears from YouTube.

 

[teddycat]

I felt that Andrew's FS was special when I saw it live in its early stages last July. It's so different from Scheherazade and more suited to him. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to concentrate enough to land all of the jumps, and then have both the energy and abandon for the last minute with the stakes being so incredibly high!

I was also hoping that both Andrew and Max would make the Olympic team, but it seemed that they and the others would have to battle for the third spot. I didn't want either one left off for different reasons, but it had to go the way it did. Andrew wouldn't have been given a spot unless he finished strongly and on the podium.

I get that his season hasn't been without controversy, but it is a shame that his selection has prompted some very negative comments. I hope he avoids reading how some are predicting and even hoping that he will implode. Emotions are high now, so it might settle down. It is a very strong team and I am so proud of all of our Olympians!

 

[trishelle]

I say let people be mad all they want, doesn't change the fact that JB took himself out of consideration (and he looked quite old and washed the entire week TBH). I don't hate him, but I've been just as tired as others (and going by Johnny's commentary, it's def not just Torgs) seeing him propped up like in the old 6.0 days going back a long time.

Andrew did himself proud, and when Vincent announced that he was the newest member of the Olympic family to start the Team Announcement gala, I yelled YEEESSSSSS!!! and then just relaxed for the rest of the show.

I think that Andrew will do the free program for the Team Event, as Vincent did in Beijing. I think not having to do the short for the TE would be helpful for Andrew, mentally. He's in the Top 5 no matter what, since only the top 5 teams go on to the free program. Vincent was 3rd in his portion, and I do think Andrew could place just as well.

 

[el henry]

Just a gentle reminder, folks, that fan fests are the place to uphold and support our favorite skaters. Comparisons to other skaters, particularly to the detriment of other skaters, not so much.

So I am going to break the rules ever so slightly myself: My fav team would have included Jason and Andrew. I adore Jason. What he has done for the sport of figure skating cannot be underestimated, even this year. He bombed the FS at Nats and therefore is not on the team. That is life, and sports.

One final note: in my humble experience (all of three or four people ) Jason brought them into skating and Jason brought them to Andrew. I hope some day Andrew finds it in his heart to appreciate that.

Now what all of us agree on: Andrew is on the team Let him make the most of it!

 

[Arigato]

I get that his season hasn't been without controversy, but it is a shame that his selection has prompted some very negative comments. I hope he avoids reading how some are predicting and even hoping that he will implode. Emotions are high now, so it might settle down.

Andrew has been stalked online long before Nats, and long before anything having to do with any other U.S. skater. They did the same thing to Vincent as they did to Andrew - stalking both and seeing where they put "likes" on social media posts. The goal is to smear them, creating quasi-political narratives for them, without any regard for accuracy or truth. This is not a new way to smear someone online and it won't be the last time it happens. A word of caution: Just because you see a post online does not mean an actual human made it. Bots and bot networks are designed specifically for smear campaigns to resemble human interaction and they are frequently initiated by certain countries to sow division within the U.S. In short - caveat emptor. Be careful what words you buy and who is trying to sell them to you.

And now . . . back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I would love to have Andrew skate last season's SP with this season's FS at the OLYG. You'd think someone would have already said to Andrew, "Hey, wait a minute . . . what if we do this?" It would be fan-frigging-tastic.

 

[Kiki5375]

Oh but I love that scorpions song so much. It one of my fave programs of all.

 

[trishelle]

I've gone back and forth regarding returning to L'Enfer for the Olys. I think that if he still likes the program after almost 3 years and feels that he might be able to skate it freely, he should do L'Enfer. I do like the Scorpions program though, and certainly the costume more then his old one.

 

[el henry]

An interesting thought experiment about what to pair with this year's FS (not that I think there is any chance Andrew will leave the current one. After all, he already set aside "My Way" before the season started).

I would reach into the wayback machine for Bloodstream, probably my fav Andrew SP after L'Enfer. Of course, that is selfish, because I would love to see Andrew skate it again.

 

[Arigato]

Bloodstream was done by Tokio Myers. (I knew about Tokio long before I knew who Andrew was.) I used to play this all the time:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

I’ve not that keen on the Scorpions SP (don’t like the song that much but thank God he didn’t do “My Way, but I thought the same as moldy oldie McArthur Park, so what do I know?). L’Enfer is totally what put this guy on my radar a few years ago. Like who IS this guy all-out running across the ice? A lot of us new fans were glad when he decided to keep it last season. And it paired well with the more classic Scheherazade program. But the new free is another Shae-Lynn Borne program with a lot of the athletic and quirky moves showcased like in L’Enfer. Might be too much of a good thing and best to stick with the ones from this season. (Loved seeing L’Enfer at gala though.)

I hope Shae-Lynn continues to come up with these inventive programs for Andrew. I know she works with a lot of skaters, but I kinda see them as a Adam/Benoit team where the athlete has a special ability to interpret these outside the box moves she dreams up.

I would also love to see another classical program too. Just no soft rock, as Adam and Ashley say. Scorpions are getting kinda close to that. The guitar riffs/breakdown save it from that.

 

[teddycat]

I have felt for a while that there has been a deliberate effort to erode Andrew's support by trying to link him with certain ideologies. Whether or not it is accurate (and it isn't relevant to his skating IMO), it can't make it easy for him to feel that he is disliked and that so many are actively rooting against him. Also, most other skaters are getting a pass.

I would love to see Bloodstream again! L'enfer is more likely, but I also wondered whether it is too close in style to the new SP. I don't mind the Scorpions program, but it hasn't gone that well (maybe because it is linked with his former girlfriend and personal stress). We want it to go well at the Olympics, whatever he and his team decide.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

I posted something here yesterday that I deleted shortly after because I realized it was negative and unnecessary. Sorry for my contribution to the mood.

He needs to skate a good SP at the Olympics. Twenty-nine men are competing, which means five won't make the Free Skate. Andrew has scored in the 60s and low 70s before. If not Top 10, I hope he can finish somewhere in the teens or top 12 overall. He's had enough experience finishing in the 20s.

I assume he never got his L'Enfer costume back since he used the Summer Sizzler one at Nationals. I think L'Enfer and Good News are too similar to each other to be used in the same competition. He'll do what he wants, of course, but it's kind of late to make a big change. In fact, in less than a month, the Men's individual competition will already be over. Bloodstream is so nostalgic. I would love that but I doubt he'd do it. I thought that Maybe I, Maybe You actually went well at Nationals compared to its other outings (a low bar, but still).