Johnny Weir - Thoughts after CoR?

[skateluvr]

Will we see him again this year? Do we want to see him again? Do we all really love his SP and adore Lady Gaga? I hated it. He has done Gaga to death and it was not a good arrangement, so disappointing...ah, Johnny, I think you should gracefull disappear. I am hoping Evan makes it back in good form. I am just done with Weir as a skater. It isn't 2006 anymore. What do you all think he should do to save further embarassment? Even his ubers must feel disappointed.

 

[noskates]

well .... I hope to see him again. I think he's giving it a valiant effort and he's been training for quite awhile now. He's taken coming back seriously. I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga but I AM a fan of Johnny Weir. How is his withdrawal any more embarassing than Czisny or Flatt or any other skater that's had to dq themselves due to injury. He's not a young man anymore by figure skating standards and I give him props for trying.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

If he competes I hope he can bring programs that conform to standards a bit more. I wouldn't mind his over-the-top performances if he did transitions and skated faster, but his quest for individuality has resulted in programs that are rather empty technically. His skating is more suited to shows than COP.

 

[Skater Boy]

I would love to get into Johnnys mind and for that matter all those skaters who return. The truth be told very few comebacks work. And most of them stutter, stop and restart - they seem to have injuries or perhaps, and we do not like to say or think this that there are mental issues and such. Like Sashas return - you just knew she wouldnèt really be ready for the GP. And then Evan was suppose to return this year, and then SA and then an injury again. You wonder if they really are coming back or is this because they miss the limelight and there is not as may shows or medals in professional. I am sure there are some wondering if Ando will return as well as even Kostner.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I would love to get into Johnnys mind and for that matter all those skaters who return. The truth be told very few comebacks work. And most of them stutter, stop and restart - they seem to have injuries or perhaps, and we do not like to say or think this that there are mental issues and such. Like Sashas return - you just knew she wouldnèt really be ready for the GP. And then Evan was suppose to return this year, and then SA and then an injury again. You wonder if they really are coming back or is this because they miss the limelight and there is not as may shows or medals in professional. I am sure there are some wondering if Ando will return as well as even Kostner.

I wish the ISU could be more generous with prize money so that skaters who can still perform the difficult elements are incentivized to continue competing. The World Champion's prize money doesn't even cover training expenses.

 

[Tonichelle]

The World Champion's prize money doesn't even cover training expenses.

That's the same in a lot of niche sports.

 

[glam]

I would love to get into Johnnys mind and for that matter all those skaters who return. The truth be told very few comebacks work. And most of them stutter, stop and restart - they seem to have injuries or perhaps, and we do not like to say or think this that there are mental issues and such. Like Sashas return - you just knew she wouldnèt really be ready for the GP. And then Evan was suppose to return this year, and then SA and then an injury again. You wonder if they really are coming back or is this because they miss the limelight and there is not as may shows or medals in professional. I am sure there are some wondering if Ando will return as well as even Kostner.

Even Kostner? She has already said that she'll only skip the GPs this season. Ando is not coming back, clearly her motivation to practice as hard as required is long gone. She was so miserable during the months she tried her comeback.

 

[Skater Boy]

Just looking at past results missing the GP has made it hard to simply come back to win World gold. Even amazing skaters like Kim and kwan or K squared could not reach the top (I think the got silver which is great but not the same . What one says to the cameras and media is different from real feellings usually - we are not going to hear (until after the event ie Olympics) that a skater is having doubts or is worried about beating so and so, wonders if they can repeat etc.

 

[NYscorp6]

It was and is going to be tough for Johnny. Going back to 1994 comebacks were generally speaking unsuccessfull. Kristi might have been the exception is she decided to compete again. Her professional programs at the time were very strong. I was so looking forward to 2010 and Sasha's return, I'm glad she tried. Back to Johnny enough with Lady Gaga and he needs to work with current choreographers.

 

[noskates]

I wish Johnny had left the Russian group and (1) got a different coach and (2) got a different choreographer. He is and he has landed quads but I agree his programs are too predictable. I've always thought he was capable of doing more than he does. But comebacks in general are challenging. I think once you lose that competitive edge and take a year or two off it's very difficult to get it back. I also think its foolhardy to skip the GP competitions and just concentrate on your Nationals. You need that competition mindset.

 

[FSGMT]

That's the same in a lot of niche sports.

And it's so sad ... But I hope Johnny will keep competing, just to give us (fans) a good performance at least at Nationals, I don't care if he will obtain the minimum TES or if he'll go to 4CC or Worlds, but just skate your best and enjoy it (like Flatt did last year with her Firebird FS, she placed 6th, yes, but it was her best)! That said, I'm not sure about Sochi: a year and a half is a long time in elite sport when you are 28... I like his programs this year, especially the Lady Gaga sp (I'm a fan of both Weir and Gaga, yes ), he just needs to be health and skate them well, I think. The best for him, I suppose, at the moment, is to skip TEB and focus on Nationals...

 

[Jaana]

And it's so sad ... But I hope Johnny will keep competing, just to give us (fans) a good performance at least at Nationals, I don't care if he will obtain the minimum TES or if he'll go to 4CC or Worlds, but just skate your best and enjoy it (like Flatt did last year with her Firebird FS, she placed 6th, yes, but it was her best)! That said, I'm not sure about Sochi: a year and a half is a long time in elite sport when you are 28... I like his programs this year, especially the Lady Gaga sp (I'm a fan of both Weir and Gaga, yes ), he just needs to be health and skate them well, I think. The best for him, I suppose, at the moment, is to skip TEB and focus on Nationals...

He has withdrawn from TEB. But can he compete at the Nationals without a result from Russia and France GP?

 

[Mrs. P]

He has withdrawn from TEB. But can he compete at the Nationals without a result from Russia and France GP?

Yes. He has a bye through his sectional (Eastern) due to being at COR.

 

[Jaana]

Yes. He has a bye through his sectional (Eastern) due to being at COR.

Yes, but he skated only the sp and got that bye. What about the fs bye as he is not competing at TEB?

 

[Skater Boy]

Does anyone know why he is withdrawing? Is he injured? What is injured? How bad is the injury? Or is this that infamous injury "coldfeetitis" which coincidentally strikes people making comebacks? There is no real evidence other than so many skaters get injured coming back and delay their reentry or never come back at all. Of course, it could be just a coincidence and not a sociological trend.

 

[Mrs. P]

Yes, but he skated only the sp and got that bye. What about the fs bye as he is not competing at TEB?

The bye doesn't look at whether you completed both segments of the competition, it's whether you were at a competition close/on the competition there. He was at COR right before Eastern sectionals, so the bye still stands.

 

[ice coverage]

Does anyone know why he is withdrawing? Is he injured? What is injured? How bad is the injury? Or is this that infamous injury "coldfeetitis" which coincidentally strikes people making comebacks? There is no real evidence other than so many skaters get injured coming back and delay their reentry or never come back at all. Of course, it could be just a coincidence and not a sociological trend.

Weir has a hip injury. He has been very open with the media about it ever since it forced him to withdraw before the FP at CoR.
The USFSA announcement of his withdrawal from TEB also cites his injury.
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=48646&type=media

 

[skateluvr]

I agree galina is not right for Johnny tho I loved many of Victor's pro programs. Johnny is stale and his Gaga is a retread. Also agree they look like show programs, not CoP. I think it is hard for someone to step out of the limelight gracefully and move on. Even MK fans felt 2004 Tosca was her last great skate and pushing thru injury to 2006 was only about the Oly medal, and with the rapid rise of Arakawa and the possibility of Irina and Sasha medalling-it was not likely even MK would have podiumed. Johnny may have a somewhat consistent quad, or not, but he is a nervous competitor.

It is always about attention with Johnny. I like Gaga's original piece of music-orchestrations of so-so pop don't always make good sp. But he has done these show prorams so many times to her music. I think Nationals will be his final swan song, as it was for Sasha. He skated beautifully in Vancouver-pure Johnny. It seems that he should have moved on with a very nice skate-even though it was more 6.0 in composition. He has fame, what more?

Does anyone know his LP music?

 

[noskates]

I think Galina is stale. And Johnny was given the music by Lady Gaga who is a personal favorite of his. That can be heady stuff when a big celebrity wants you to use her music. But I totally agree that it's a retread....especially without the makeup and weird costume (which thank GOD he did not subject us to in competition) I don't mean to keep defending him but skating beautifully in Vancouver sure didn't get him anything. I can see why he felt he wasn't finished. I think he got robbed. Not saying he should have got a medal but at least 4th would have made more sense to me. The composition of his programs and transitions, etc. are pretty much all on the choreographer and coach. I think Johnny has some great skating left in him. I wish wish wish he had moved to another coach with a little more current skating knowledge. To me Galina is a 6.0 coach!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I don't think Galina takes coaching Johnny all that seriously. If you saw the fluff of Baiul training under her, Galina coached her with an iron fist. She controlled every aspect of her training, choreography, and competition preparation. I think Johnny has a lot more control of the coaching situation, and Galina seems happy to help him out.