How much interest can Alysa Liu revive in figure skating in the US?

[RobinA]

In answer to the question, I do not believe that Alysa will create any major increase in interest in figure skating in the US. It doesn't seem to be about the skating with her, it's more a personality thing. I do expect her to retire. I'm moving forward...Worlds in two weeks!

 

[Arigato]

Alysa in W. Heck, she could wear a Hefty Bag and still look radiant. Knock yourself out, A.

Alysia Liu Talks Her Bay Area Style, Hair Advice & Going From the Olympics to Louis Vuitton's Front Row

Fresh off her gold-medal glory, the figure skating champ discusses how she draws style inspiration from her siblings, and her Paris Fashion Week debut.

www.wmagazine.com

 

[gkelly]

But Urmanov was there also! He was 4th I think (but don't pin me down on that).

Yes, Urmanov was 4th at 1994 Worlds.

He never did manage to win a medal at Worlds after his Olympic gold, but he did have a World bronze from 1993.

 

[Arigato]

Is the guy with the red badge her bodyguard?

Considering how crazy people can get, she needs several.

 

[el henry]

Embedding the WMag photos from IG because hey, an embedded photo is always cool . Whoever gave her this outfit, bravo.

This is still beyond anything I have seen for a figure skater in the US for at least 30 years. Is it primarily Alysa love and not FS love? Of course. But to use my other analogy (that I really like, so I'm re-using it ) will 90% of Swifties stop watching the Chiefs when Travis Kelce finally does retire? Maybe. But those other ten percent that stay can still make a difference.

I don't know if Alysa fans will stay. to watch, that's why I asked the question. But I hope some do. Even ten percent.

 

[dorispulaski]

Looks like there is about to be an Alysa Bratz doll!

 

[Diana Delafield]

Looks like there is about to be an Alysa Bratz doll!

Oooh, my Barbie, Dorothy Hamill, and Maggiebeary are going to have to make room on the podium!

 

[R.D.]

I saw a message from Bradie put up elsewhere, she confirmed that she will not be at Worlds. It is in the news too...

Figure Skater Bradie Tennell Addresses Retirement Rumors After Backing Out of World Championship

United States figure skater Bradie Tennell has addressed rumors that she’s hanging up her blades after backing out of the 2026 World Championships. “I just wanted to jump on here to address a couple things I see circulating since the Worlds announcement,” Tennell, 28, wrote via her Instagram...

sports.yahoo.com

I read this as someone strongly contemplating retirement, but not quite (emotionally?) ready to shut the door fully at this point. I wouldn’t expect to see her compete again at least on a regular basis.

As for Liu, she appears to be enjoying her time in the spotlight and taking full advantage of the economic opportunities now available to her. Can’t knock the hustle I’m curious to see how long her brand recognition holds, as I recall it being usually just a few months or so of fame, appearances and interviews before people at large move on. But this is now the age of social media branding, etc. Certainly an interesting time.

 

[Mathman]

I’m curious to see how long her brand recognition holds...

What seems to me (or is it just wishful thinking?) is that there might be something different about the instant celebrity meme this time around. All these clips of Alysa's actual performance that are popping up everywhere -- maybe some people will say, yes, she's definitely cool, but hey, what she is doing, all that spinning, stepping and leaping on the ice, that's pretty cool, too.

Hype can bring new fans to the party, but what they see at the party might make somebody want to stay.

 

[dorispulaski]

Barbie gets in the act:

Alysa uses Skater Barbie to demonstrate how to do a 3A and a Bielmann spin

 

[Diana Delafield]

Barbie gets in the act:

Alysa uses Skater Barbie to demonstrate how to do a 3A and a Bielmann spin

"Video not available in your country" so I couldn't see her singles moves, but my Barbie is a pairs skater with Ken

 

[noskates]

Just an FYI - heard from my friend in California that center ice tickets for SOI in San Jose are going for $500. I really don't remember them ever being that costly. The fact that Alysa is from the Bay Area I'm sure adds to it but wow! At least SOI will get some good attendance out of this.

 

[dorispulaski]

NYT on Alysa's victory tour - read for free

Behind the scenes of Alysa Liu’s Olympic victory tour and her new level of fame

Meeting Harry Potter. Getting a medal made of Lucky Charms. And dealing with paparazzi. Liu got a first look at her new stardom last week.

links.e1.nytimes.com

 

[usethis2]

Malinin got way more attention from people around me than Liu. NBC was hyping him before the Olympics as the gold favorite. I do not remember what Liu's coverage was like.

With that out of the way, Liu has everything going for her to become a household name. Honestly speaking the quickest way to become that is to win many International events and build up towards the next Olympics. People will start tracking your achievements and naturally get invested in your success.

 

[TallyT]

Malinin got way more attention from people around me than Liu. NBC was hyping him before the Olympics as the gold favorite. I do not remember what Liu's coverage was like.

That was probably to be expected - Liu was one of several women tipped for the gold (I do wonder what might have been had she stuck with Lady Gaga ) whereas Malinin was considered by nearly everyone including USFS and himself... and that wasn't a dig even if I am not a fan, it was so predicted that even if he had nerves people probably thought - the commentators clearly did! - it might just make the gap smaller. So of course the media were hyping him.

Then that happened. and the current buzz over Alysa is probably the greater because, world champion or not, she wasn't such an overwhelming preannointed.

With that out of the way, Liu has everything going for her to become a household name. Honestly speaking the quickest way to become that is to win many International events and build up towards the next Olympics. People will start tracking your achievements and naturally get invested in your success.

Yes... though it is a long time till her next competition. At least for the new fans who don't know...

 

[Magill]

Malinin got way more attention from people around me than Liu. NBC was hyping him before the Olympics as the gold favorite. I do not remember what Liu's coverage was like.

With that out of the way, Liu has everything going for her to become a household name. Honestly speaking the quickest way to become that is to win many International events and build up towards the next Olympics. People will start tracking your achievements and naturally get invested in your success.

The main problem I can see with it is that at this point her competing for several seasons to go, up to the next Olympics or her retirement right after this one to focus back on her studies having added a few major golds to her bio and a few million bucks to her account feels equally probable.
If she stays, she'll be the favourite and this time it will be her who will be under pressure and hype. Plus Mao Shimada is coming to seniors next season, with all her jumping arsenal and the love of the judges so winning may not be a given, especially in the long run as Mao matures.
We'll see what Alysa decides and how it goes.

 

[Anna K.]

Alysa needs to do shows in Japan!

Alysa will do shows in Japan with Japanese Stars on Ice even before she will tour the U.S.
A live broadcast is scheduled for the Osaka show on April 5.

I understand that the Osaka shows are sold out. There might be some tickets left for the Tokyo show scheduled on April 10. Those are set to go on sale to the general public on March 21.

More details are available on the respective thread in the ice show subforum.

 

[dorispulaski]

I would go to that show!!

(If I could afford it!)

It is interesting to see Madison Chock & Evan Bates and Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier will be there, but not Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron.

 

[el henry]

Alysa's rising star has as much to do with her personality and backstory, if not more, than with her gold medal. ("I am coming back but I will not starve myself" resonates with a lot of people. Especially for me learning that she was asked to gargle water rather than drink as a young tween because of some happy hoohah about water weight. ) ,

It also has to do with the fact that her winning performance was joyful, it was recognizable music to a wide age range, and she had no falls. The wide world out there doesn't know a flip from a flutz. They do know about falls.

Now, would everyone and their little cousin. know about Alysa without gold? No, so that is a circle. But just gold? Just racking up golds over the years? Plenty of Olympic athletes and skaters do that. They don't get this attention.

Will people pay attention to other skaters because of this?

 

[el henry]

The American media is not responsible for Alysa's popularity. That is what is so stunning (to me) about it. It is organic. Now have they latched onto it? You bet. But for their own purposes, not to promote Alysa.

My original question was about Alysa's popularity in the US. I do not know, nor would I care to hazard a guess, about her popularity in other countries. In this I am being US centric because I care about the popularity of figure skating in my country. So that I can get to see more figure skating, from every skater in every country