This is going to make me sound like an old codger who's been around since dirt, but I really can't believe that Brian Boitano has only been mentioned ONCE on this thread. Then again, it is fairly likely that many do not remember (or never saw, or, tho I'd rather not think about it, may not have even been born yet when they took place) the dull, boring technical displays he used to put on before he hooked up with Bezic and became an "artiste".... I personally don't care for most of the stuff he does, but that's more because of style preference. If you'd've told me in 1987 that Boitano would actually at any point ever HAVE a style at all, I'd've said you were out of your mind.
Kristi Yamaguchi is the main one who stands out in my mind, though. Even in her pre-pro days, she got better and better every year and during her pro career, she was THE one, every time, who always delivered the performance I enjoyed the most, even more so than people who I adored as "amateurs"; I actually became much more of a Kristi fan after Albertville than I was of her before.
