This isn't aimed at you personally, but every time I hear a call for middle ground I think of one of my favorite quotes: "Nothing in excess is excessive nothingness." (A. R. Ammons, "The Golden Mean")
Why oh why would the figure skating world not have room for both Elvis and Johnny? Both types have won many medals so it would appear that both can skate. Settled!
Who skates best, that's all that matters to me. And what they wear is of ... what comes after tertiary? ... interest to me. Except that I always think Johnny is beautiful.
Really well said, Spun Silver!
I never understand those who talk about how individual personalities in figure skating should be squashed so we can acheive a more bland, homogenous "middle ground". No other sport seems as obsessed with having all of its athletes adhere to a pre-approved "personality model", and I always feel like that kind of 1950s thinking really hurts the sport.
Why in the world shouldn't Johnny Weir feel free to be his exuberant, flamboyant self? For that matter, why shouldn't Elvis and his ilk feel free to express themselves the way they want to? Both Johnny and Elvis have huge fan bases, so apparently their personalities are not chasing off fans - heck, they only appear to make them more interesting. And their personalities haven't stopped either of them from being talented skaters. What's the problem?
Why cant figure skating have all kinds of personalities? Other sports do. I have no interest in skaters acting a certain way because they feel it is the approved "middle ground" - I'm much more interested in seeing who they really are.
Also, I have to disagree with Joe's assertion that female fans don't respond to men's skating as a sport and are just enamored with sparkly costumes. As a longtime female fan of the sport (and most of the fans of this sport are indeed female), I can assure you what these men - and women - do athletically takes my breath away. I couldn't care less about their costumes (although I think they should feel free to dress however they want); they are competitive athletes and it is an exciting sport! (And by the way, if your American Idol example was true and " America says it does not want fem men in anything", well then, Adam Lambert would not have made it all the way to the final two - tens of millions of people voted for him).
Last edited: