I don’t usually post new threads, but I have been a huge figure skating fan for almost 50 years. It used to be fun. And I even enjoyed a bit of drama and intrigue, always about the feds and coaches and media, never about the skaters. But now it’s become too much, especially with social media. The fan wars, the cruelty toward skaters for disappointing fans—it just seems all so entitled to me. I couldn’t believe some of the things I read about Karen and Zhou yesterday. Even USA Today “journalist” Christine Brennan, who should know better, piled on. Someone who first reported evidence of allegations of abuse. And now a new skating Cold War seems to be re-emerging. I think this team event has been a horrible influence on the sport. It used to be about admiring skaters from all over the world, not just your own country. (I hated the USA! USA! chant for the stupid hockey game when I was a teen. It seems everyone just needs to grow up and get a grip. It’s no fun either when the results are a foregone conclusion. Nothing is fun about this anymore.
My thoughts are very well aligned with yours, as well as my longevity, though I might have a few years on you.
At the time of the Lake Placid Games, I was all for the USA chant, but the hockey players were amateurs. It was a special and unexpected moment. Gritty. But that chant has taken over in so many arenas and is used to drown out an opposing side. It's became virulent and aggressive.
Speaking of drowning out, the Sochi fans who were trying to drown out skaters' music so they couldn't hear it while skating their programs. Boorish, aggressive, unnecessary. So, I guess I hate the evolution of fandom. I have no wish to be at skating events any more. The intolerance makes me fearful.
There's no openness to others in that tactic, which is where we are right now.
On the other side, I also am fearful of fans projecting themselves onto the objects of their fandom, such that we see fans defining what specific skaters "need", "wish", "feel" even if they've never met them or have no personal knowledge. I would feel a lot more comfortable if the fans in question are aware they are confusing themselves with the objects of their admiration. Perhaps it's social media that has brought us to this. At any rate, the projections of fan fantasies onto skaters I find very troubling. It, too, lacks awareness and appreciation for "other".
IMO These two forces are combining right now into nationalistic fandom with fan assumptions that they know what's best for a skater. This opens the pathway to abuse, especially of abuse of young people, since they are in some ways blank slates as yet, and easy to project onto.
I won't be watching the remainder of the skating events of this Olympics. Really, I've had it, and it's been many decades that I've stuck with watching the sport.
On the question of the team competition, I wish there were more teams. For those nations that don't end up in the top 5 (and therefore allowed to move into the FS portion)... it's, like, the top 5 and everyone else. Supposing instead, there were more countries, and each country got to pick 3 disciplines, their choice. Strategy could be fun!
It would also be fun to have mixed groups, where maybe 3 skaters from a large geographical region formed a team. This would let some of the smaller federations get involved, too. Supposing, for instance, we had a Scandinavian team, or a Latin American team, or a Southeast Asian team not from the traditional powerhouses.
