Yes! Not too remarkable, sadly. We've got some sports newspapers talking about the "amazing comeback" he did after the SP. None talk about how he actually did the program (and those who did... I wonder if they actually watched it?)
I can add some of the media coverage he's had in the Autumn Classic so you can see with your own eyes just how bad is the media coverage of figure skating in this warm, sunny, Mediterranean country.
Just after the SP:
From
"Marca": This one is just tragic. He basically praises Javi's SP to divine levels, grudgingly admits Hanyu was OK and adds "but he could use a bit more of facial expression", like
***. Talk about sore losers.
From "
AS" and "
Mundo Deportivo": Those two are basically the same: they praise Javi's SP and add that Hanyu won with a WR. They're simple. Mundo Deportivo uses a stock photo of Javi from 2015.
After the FP:
From
"La Vanguardia": Now this is weird! A non-sports newspaper talking about Javi! Wow! Pity they don't say anything interesting. Just that he won after (as I said above) an amazing comeback, epically getting the upper hand from Yuzuru Hanyu. I swear they make it sound like he almost gets a WR. They also use a photo from 2015 (they liked that costume didn't it?)
From ABC: More or less the same as above. Now this one is a non-sports newspaper...and even an important one! And they used a video of the current competition and not Malagueña o Black Betty or w/e! Wow!!
From "
Mundo deportivo": This one is just too funny. They are the same ones that put before the photo from 2015. Fortunately, they knew you don't use the same costume in the SP and in the FP, so they chose a different stock photo of Javi again. Like whaaat are you doing exactly :// . Text-wise it says the same thing: amazing comeback, blah blah blah.
From
"Marca": The title is literally: "Knightly Comeback of Javier Fernández to win in the Autumn Classic". And the first paragraph is this jewel: "Like in the best Don Quixote's dream, Javier Fernández pulled of bravery to win the first season's challenge: the Autumn Classic, in an interesting conflict with the actual Olympic and World Champion, the Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu". And all the article has that lame epic tone. It's like reading straight out of one wannabe medieval tournament commentator. Yeah, I get it, you want to play with the Don Quixote theme... but just don't.
Now, the only two more or less interesting articles (they at least add some tidbits of Javi's interviews and programs) are from before the competition.
They're very similar and from the same sports newspaper, As. One is from the
8th September and the other one is from the
22th of September. They've probably extracted tidbits from interviews, maybe even in English, but given that I haven't seen them... Well. This is what Javi says about...
...Autumn Classic: "It's an opportunity to show the new programs and see what the public says about them." "We usually start in Japon, but we wanted to change. We wanted to be able to start in a competition in which we could show both the programs".
...Chaplin: "It's like an old aqueintance. I already did him a few years ago, but this season it's going to be very different, more related to the working world." "I have a special fondness for him, that's true". "I feel comfortable with him".
...Don Quixote: "The costume is really cool" (what a dork
). "He's a universal character. It'd be good if people got to see and know him". About if he feels identified with him: "Yeah, it could be. I like the comparison. The part about looking for impossible dreams resonates with me. I like that idea."
...training: "You always want to do your best in training, but you also need to control that pressure and know that not everything is going to be perfect all the time. Handling that tension requires maturity".
...Olympics: "This time it's going to be different. I come with more experience and curriculum. However, it's true that there's a new generation of younger skaters pushing up, and everything is going to be pretty balanced"
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Look how happy he looks! You go Javi!!
I also love
this photo because he's the only one who still has the same pose LOL
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Given what Javi himself has said about his FP I agree wholeheartedly with @NoNameFace that his program has a mix of "universal themes" (such as hope) and his own personal history. Wich, I admire a lot.
Someone said on the ACI thread that it was too mixed and difficult to understand, like many stuff thrown together with any sense whatsoever. I don't agree. I think it tells a complex story full of development, and I love it, and I hope we can see it develop in the next months. I want to analyze the choreography and drag the meaning out because I think I missed some stuff. And I'm looking forward to seeing that absolutely amazing step sequence at the end done as beautifully as he can!!
Sorry for the English btw! Not my first language.
, first of all - Your English is very good! Next - big, big thanks for providing Spanish coverage of ACI about Javier
. I personally think that he really did not make things easy for him in terms of material this season - for me it's actually an attempt to reflect on the past while taking a step forward, it's definitely not staying in one place or trying to capitalize only on things/experience he already has. I appreciate having this more personal perspective in both his programs AND actually the fact that I was able to see it in his performances. Yes, technique/jumps were not maybe there yet as he would wish, but I think that the base and the concept he shown past weekend are very strong, convincing and engaging in not OTT/flashy was, but more taken from his maturity and performer's ability.
