Gracie Gold

[guanchi]

NYDN is going by the icenetwork rankings, so in their mind, Mao is the favorite.
But in icenetwork's own prediction poll, Yuna and Julia almost tied at 15 points, while Mao was third at around 6.
I def. agree that the ladies gold will be between Yuna and Julia- one is the defending champion and the other has great momentum in her home country. Gracie is a marketing dream, but she may slip into silver only if the others majorly screw up. I think she and Mao will battle for bronze.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Gracie can score above the 200+ like at nationals if clean

That would indeed be a great achievement seeing as how she has yet to clear 190.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Yup. Re-read it start to finish and L'dMAO again. Skyfly_20 is on to something though. There are more than just a lot of Gracie threads. It would be a great idea to merge them into one.

I don't see a medal in Gracie's Sochi future. I'm not a Gracie hater but I'm not sure she can break 195-199.

IMO - minimum scores per medal.

-Gold breaks 210pts
-Silver breaks 205pts
-Bronze breaks 200pts

I also think two or three girls could break 205pts making the 200pts barrier for only 4th or 5th. Someone will fall most likely but these girls are good enough to make this a reality worthy of consideration.

I just don't think she can get that. Yuna,Mao,Caro,Adelina and Julia seem the most likely to achieve these scores. I hope she at least skates clean enough to make a stink and build up some future PCS. 4th would be respectable for her.

 

[Skater Boy]

So everything isn't based on looks? Seriously, she has big jumps and all but there is a lot of other talented skaters too. She has a chance for yes, even Gold but she could be out of the top 5 too. Being beautiful and American isn't everything.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Being beautiful and American isn't everything.

You make it sound as though it were a bad thing. Being beautiful or American are not bad things. I agree she could wind up outside of top 5 but at the same time she should be considered a contender for bronze, although it seems logical that Mao and Adelina should finish ahead of her. Factor in little things like that she's never beat Julia who is skating better than ever and it seems even less likely. I think she has a great presence and not unlike Julia can play to the crowds heart and steal some points that way. Although some contend you must achieve some great level of amazing senior status to win I do not ascribe to any such ideals and would embrace an Olympian underdog such as Gracie as a champion.

I think she is going to have to skate much better than her US nationals,which is possible, but seems unlikely based upon her reaction after her FS. She seemed very surprised and amazed at her effort as if it were unusual. As opposed to confident and poised as if it were a normal thing to go clean. I wish her the best and look foward to seeing her continue to develop.

 

[desertskates]

Why do I get the feeling Gracie's going to turn up for her oly long program in a new gold dress?

 

[meem]

Why do I get the feeling Gracie's going to turn up for her oly long program in a new gold dress?

GG's newest LP dress is beautiful - reminds me of Peggy Fleming's LP dress (in style only). Didn't Nancy K and Michelle K take gold dresses for their exhibition programs at the O's? I remember thinking that was a jinx for them.

 

[desertskates]

GG's newest LP dress is beautiful - reminds me of Peggy Fleming's LP dress (in style only). Didn't Nancy K and Michelle K take gold dresses for their exhibition programs at the O's? I remember thinking that was a jinx for them.

I also really love the blue dress. I do hope she keeps it for olys. It was made by Brad Griffies. He dresses a lot of the top skaters and does beautiful work.

 

[lcd]

Gracie's costumes this year are really beautiful. Frank's influence on details seem to be quite the polishing touches.

 

[louisa05]

Competition is getting harder. Kwan is competing:

http://www.theanchoronline.org/news/2014/02/03/pell-adds-his-name-to-the-mix/

(Scroll down to the article's last line)

Because sky_fly has taught us that if the media says it, it must be true!

 

[Mrs. P]

Competition is getting harder. Kwan is competing:

http://www.theanchoronline.org/news/2014/02/03/pell-adds-his-name-to-the-mix/

(Scroll down to the article's last line)

Because sky_fly has taught us that if the media says it, it must be true!

HAHA. Michelle had some fun with that:

Michelle Kwan
‏@MichelleWKwan
According to this article @claypell is running for governor & I'm competing in #Sochi Guess which one is true?
http://www.theanchoronline.org/news/2014/02/03/pell-adds-his-name-to-the-mix/ …
8:09 AM - 3 Feb 2014

 

[emma]

we can hope, right?

 

[Ginask8s]

Anything can happen but I would bet she won't beat Yuna Kim

 

[jenaj]

Gracie can score above the 200+ like at nationals if clean
she has speed, power, big jumps, attractive body type and face and has the components to score big

intimidated she will challenge Yuna for the gold medal ?

I would be very happy if she--or anyone--could challenge Yu Na for a gold medal. But Gracie cannot and will not.

 

[Ginask8s]

I would be very happy if she--or anyone--could challenge Yu Na for a gold medal. But Gracie cannot and will not.

I agree

 

[Figure 8's]

There are at least a dozen threads wailing about Mirai not being selected for the Olympics but heaven forbid someone should start a thread about the Gold Medalist from the National Championships And may I add, only the 2nd time competing as a Senior.
Yuna will be pretty hard to beat as she has the whole package, grace, technical ability, beauty and a big plus, EXPERIENCE. But that is no excuse for continually belittling Gracie and sneering at what she has accomplished in such a short time.
Frankly I love Gracie and Polina too. When new and young skaters can step up and skate as well as they did at the National Championships, I will be the first to say "Bravo"

 

[louisa05]

There are at least a dozen threads wailing about Mirai not being selected for the Olympics but heaven forbid someone should start a thread about the Gold Medalist from the National Championships And may I add, only the 2nd time competing as a Senior.
Yuna will be pretty hard to beat as she has the whole package, grace, technical ability, beauty and a big plus, EXPERIENCE. But that is no excuse for continually belittling Gracie and sneering at what she has accomplished in such a short time.
Frankly I love Gracie and Polina too. When new and young skaters can step up and skate as well as they did at the National Championships, I will be the first to say "Bravo"

No one has sneered at Gracie. The sneering (which leans more toward gentle laughter anyway) is at the OP who seems to think (in a flurry of threads) magazine covers, media coverage, and good looks will determine the gold medalist in the ladies event. If that had ever been the case, Nancy Kerrigan would have a gold medal. Because if you want to talk about pre-Olympics media saturation...

 

[lavender]

Just so weird...I'm sorry.eek

 

[Icey]

Brad Griffies designs

https://www.google.com/search?q=bra...LKqqoyAHuzoGICg&ved=0CEIQsAQ&biw=1317&bih=876

 

[gourry]

Gracie is a very beautiful girl and she has lots of potential in the sport. I can definitely see her on Worlds' podiums in the future.
But is it enough to be marketable? Especially when figure skating is not that popular any more in the U.S., her potential success in the sport won't necessarily appeal to the sponsors.
Sure she is pretty but so are many, many other girls, models, actresses, you get where I'm going. Beauty will take you only so far. If you are really irresistibly charming, then it may work, but Gracie is not in that category, imo.

The way I see it, to be marketable, you need 1) some talents and if you don't have 1), then 2) huge fan base.
Here I'll use Yuna as a case study because she is the most marketable skater right now.

To be really marketable, you need something else.(Because figure skating is not popular. If Gracie were a baseball, football or basketball player, she doesn't need this.) Some talents like singing, dancing, acting, very likable personality, or even heartbreaking personal history to make people relate or sympathize, or so very controversial quality that people can't ignore, for example.
The reason why Yuna has been so marketable is because she can dance, sing, act, pose. Whatever they ask, Yuna could do. That opened up her chances to many products because Yuna is not just a pretty sportswoman, but a beautiful woman with many charms.
Can Gracie do anything other than juggling? Gracie can skate, but it means very limited marketability to stuffs like sports gears or sports drinks. And here she has to compete with other major sports stars.

Secondly, Yuna has a loyal fan base. The ones who want to support her by purchasing the products, the ones who want to be like Yuna.
Companies will hire you as their model even if you suck at modelling, IF you have enough fan base to buy the thing you are selling. I don't think that's the case for Gracie, yet.

Moreover, Yuna has the 'first rate/world's best' quality/image that comes with being Worlds and Olympic champion which the sponsors just love. By using Yuna as their model they expect the image transfers to their product image. Gracie doesn't have it yet. Sure she won the nationals, but honestly other than fans who cares nationals?

But Gracie has a very bright future as a skater for sure.