Johnny Weir Wins Readers' Choice Award

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don´t know whether USFSA has a problem with Weir or not, but from various threads I have gotten the impression that overprotective ueberfans tend to see him as a victim whatever is happening or is not happening... I personally had a problem though as I saw Weir appearing in photos wearing women´s high heeled shoes and having a make-up to make him look like a girl. In my opinion that was not a good idea for any male skater to do.

During years Weir also has expressed some thoughtless remarks in interviews, the latest in this year. It went something like "I don´t care who is on the US team as long as I´m there". Anyway, he is not alone, some other skaters have been quilty of thoughtless remarks, too, LOL.

Very true. His ueberfans will not stand for the slightest criticism about Johnny. even if it's corrective criticism. The angels are warring angels and will gang up on anyone who thinks he's not perfect (JMO). Everyone likes Johnny's skating. That's pretty much fact. It's just that not everyone is so unbearingly obsessed with him. And it's not the gay thing at all. That's a dead issue. For other fans, it's more like the fact that there are other high ranking skaters in the Men's Division whom they want to watch as well in the comps.

 

[tilak]

Very true. His ueberfans will not stand for the slightest criticism about Johnny. even if it's corrective criticism. The angels are warring angels and will gang up on anyone who thinks he's not perfect (JMO). Everyone likes Johnny's skating. That's pretty much fact. It's just that not everyone is so unbearingly obsessed with him. And it's not the gay thing at all. That's a dead issue. For other fans, it's more like the fact that there are other high ranking skaters in the Men's Division whom they want to watch as well in the comps.

:sheesh: :banging: :banging: :sheesh:

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Excuse me for the question, but it´s a american prizes for american (US) skaters, no?? :frown2:
I mean, how is possible that Johnny has not won before? There aren´t so many high-level American skaters .....

There was always Kwan, and even Cohen got a nod one year. The Americans are waiting for an Oly gold contender at the LA Worlds.

 

[Mathman]

Excuse me for the question, but it´s a american prizes for american (US) skaters, no?? :frown2:
I mean, how is possible that Johnny has not won before? There aren´t so many high-level American skaters .....

The award almost always goes to the person who had the best results that year in international competition. Although Johnny won three U.S. championships, 2008 was his first world medal.

2007 Miami University synchro team won world silver (the first time a U.S. synchro team ever medalled at worlds )

2006 Kimmie Meissner, world champion

2005 Belbin and Agosto, world silver

2004 Sasha Cohen, world silver

2003 Michelle Kwan, world champion

The complete list is posted on the previous page of this thread by Brandy DeLain, post # 13.

Michelle won seven of these, based on finishing first or second at Worlds for eight consecutive years. After that the USFSA decided that she had won enough and would not be eligible for the award any more. They renamed the trophy after her -- the Michelle Kwan trophy.

OT. Hey Medusa, did you make this?



:chorus::chorus::chorus::agree:

 

[libby]

Very true. His ueberfans will not stand for the slightest criticism about Johnny. even if it's corrective criticism. The angels are warring angels and will gang up on anyone who thinks he's not perfect (JMO). Everyone likes Johnny's skating. That's pretty much fact. It's just that not everyone is so unbearingly obsessed with him. And it's not the gay thing at all. That's a dead issue. For other fans, it's more like the fact that there are other high ranking skaters in the Men's Division whom they want to watch as well in the comps.

Joe, this is a thread about Johnny Weir, and you are still offended that Johnny is being discussed on here? *****

No one said anything at all about there not being other men to watch in the competitions! That has nothing at all to do with this conversation. This is a thread about Johnny, so Johnny is being discussed. Naturally.

As for my request that Fossi simply say what he/she means by the comment that Johnny made the USFS interested in his "private life" by his actions and words, instead of responding with further vaguaries such as "do some research" and "it is obvious what I mean", why does Fossi not simply respond clearly? And why is everyone else guessing at what Fossi meant instead of letting him/her just speak for himself? :scratch:

 

[Brandi_DeLain]

I didn't get the feeling that Fossi meant his private life, but more the remarks in interviews etc. . . .

Was the USFS really that interested in his private life, or did he choose to make his private life public with what he said and did?

It's pretty obvious to me that Fossi is specifically referring to Johnny's private life.

------------------------------------

And, Joe, your whole -- "The angels are warring angels and will gang up on anyone who thinks he's not perfect (JMO)" -- is a total crock. I've never seen anybody say that Johnny is perfect. What I have seen is people come to his defense when someone says something about him that is obviously not true. I don't think those fans should be called "ubers" and "warring" just because they defend him. And, just like you have the right to say whatever you like, other people have the right to disagree with you. That's life.

One more thing, Joe -- you're the one who started this damn "private life" thing in the first place.

The award is definitely a popular one and Johnny is arguably the most popular skater in the world. What makes it interesting for me is that it is sponsored by Skating Magazine, an arm of the USFS. Has the USFS eased off Johnny's private life?

In the above post, you manage to act like the only reason Johnny won this award is because he is popular, not because he clearly deserves it. Then you go on to inexplicably ask -- "Has the USFS eased off Johnny's private life?" Huh? Do you know something that the rest of us don't? I had no idea that the USFS was giving Johnny trouble about his private life. Also, what kind of remark is that to make in a thread about Johnny winning this award? Can you just not stand for people to say nice things about Johnny? Did you toss that out there to deflect attention away from Johnny being honored for his great season? How sad and pathetic.

Oh, and, Uber haters are soooooo annoying.

 

[Medusa]

It's pretty obvious to me that Fossi is specifically referring to Johnny's private life.

Oh, and, Uber haters are soooooo annoying.

I know that Fossi wrote that - but private life is not the same as sexual orientation. That's what I tried to say in my post. I tried to stir away from the whole sexual orientation thingy - because I don't want it to be an issue and dearly hope that it has never been an issue for the USFSA.

And I doubt that Joe is much of an uber hater (why is the German word ueber used in English if you want to express something drastically? I always wanted to know that) - it seems to me that he is just overly sensitive towards biased opinions and fangirly behaviour.

OT. Hey Medusa, did you make this?



:chorus::chorus::chorus::agree:

Yep, that was me. Working on a elegant white swan and a punky black swan now.

Tss... How very fangirly of me.

 

[dancingqueen]

Congratulations, to Johnny. ! I’m so happy he won the award this season.
Very well deserved !

I personally had a problem though as I saw Weir appearing in photos wearing women´s high heeled shoes and having a make-up to make him look like a girl. In my opinion that was not a good idea for any male skater to do.

Maybe you have a personal issue with that.
I didn’t have any problem Johnny doing that for an art fashion magazine.
It’s no difference from many women fashion models are wearing men’s clothes and acting like a man with tuxedo to make artistry for photos.

During years Weir also has expressed some thoughtless remarks in interviews, the latest in this year. It went something like "I don´t care who is on the US team as long as I´m there". Anyway, he is not alone, some other skaters have been quilty of thoughtless remarks, too, LOL.

This is a thread about Johnny’s celebration for his award , and that’s what you wanted to comment about it without saying anything nice ?

I guess as you are an uberfan of Evan you are upset because your dear Evan didn’t win the award. You are obviously biased against Johnny.

It looks to me like you have personal issue with Johnny’s happiness. I saw you were commenting nasty things in Johnny’s celebration for his world medal thread, too.

 

[Brandi_DeLain]

I know that Fossi wrote that - but private life is not the same as sexual orientation.

:scratch: I didn't say it was.

You said that you didn't feel Fossi was talking about Johnny's private life. I thought it was pretty clear that that's exactly what he/she was talking about. Fossi can speak for him/herself from now on, though, as I don't intend to argue about it.

And I doubt that Joe is much of an uber hater (why is the German word ueber used in English if you want to express something drastically? I always wanted to know that) - it seems to me that he is just overly sensitive towards biased opinions and fangirly behaviour.

Joe constantly refers to anyone who says nice things about Johnny, or comes to Johnny's defense, as an uber. He did so in this very thread several posts before I said "Uber haters are soooooo annoying." I was just giving him a little taste of his own medicine.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

:
Joe constantly refers to anyone who says nice things about Johnny, or comes to Johnny's defense, as an uber. He did so in this very thread several posts before I said "Uber haters are soooooo annoying." I was just giving him a little taste of his own medicine.

Where did I use the adjective ueber except on this thread which was a repeat of what another poster originally said.

I don't think anyone hates Johnny or his fans. It's a question of gushing and we all know that is yeah, yeah, yeah. and not hate, hate, hate.

Can't you see how his ardent fans jump in when someone has an opinion that does not fit well with their thinking? Different opinions are what a forum is all about. All gush opinions belong on Fan Page. You didn't know that?

 

[tilak]

Where did I use the adjective ueber except on this thread which was a repeat of what another poster originally said.

I don't think anyone hates Johnny or his fans. It's a question of gushing and we all know that is yeah, yeah, yeah. and not hate, hate, hate.

Can't you see how his ardent fans jump in when someone has an opinion that does not fit well with their thinking? Different opinions are what a forum is all about. All gush opinions belong on Fan Page. You didn't know that?

I repeat
:banging: :banging: :banging:

What on earth is a "gush opinion" ? Aren't all opinions not allowed here?

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

What on earth is a "gush opinion" ? Aren't all opinions not allowed here?

A gush opinion is a favorable opinion of a skater. Depending on the amount of gushes, it could, imo, be boring.

I should hope all opinions are allowd here. I think they are.

 

[Brandi_DeLain]

Where did I use the adjective ueber except on this thread which was a repeat of what another poster originally said.

Are you seriously saying that you've never called Johnny fans ubers before? Or acted like we are all just silly fangirls whose opinions don't count? I'm not going to dig around and try to find exact posts, but you always seem to trot out the labels when someone disagrees with you or comes to Johnny's defense. And yes, I realize Jaana used the term first in this thread, but it didn't take you very long to jump in with both feet and agree with her. And your "warring angels" label is just another way to cut down people who disagree with you. You seem to have a thing for name calling.

I don't think anyone hates Johnny or his fans. It's a question of gushing and we all know that is yeah, yeah, yeah. and not hate, hate, hate.

Why the heck shouldn't Johnny fans be allowed to "gush" in a thread that is about him winning the Skater of the Year Award???? Frankly, I haven't seen much gushing, just congratulations. But you seem to think that anything positive said about Johnny is "gushing."

Can't you see how his ardent fans jump in when someone has an opinion that does not fit well with their thinking? Different opinions are what a forum is all about. All gush opinions belong on Fan Page. You didn't know that?

I don't think YOU get to decide which opinions belong where.

 

[dancingqueen]

I don't think anyone hates Johnny or his fans. It's a question of gushing and we all know that is yeah, yeah, yeah. and not hate, hate, hate.

Can't you see how his ardent fans jump in when someone has an opinion that does not fit well with their thinking? Different opinions are what a forum is all about. All gush opinions belong on Fan Page. You didn't know that?

I don’t feel you are a hater of Johnny, but what I can see is you care for image, somehow you are embarrassed to be gushing for one particular skater, and you look down on people who you feel are gushing , because you want to make everyone think you can see things fairly. However, IMO, you are not always fair.

There are people who I can feel have “ jealousy “. and you are one of them.

Jealousy is not pretty.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don’t feel you are a hater of Johnny, but what I can see is you care for image, somehow you are embarrassed to be gushing for one particular skater, and you look down on people who you feel are gushing , because you want to make everyone think you can see things fairly. However, IMO, you are not always fair.

There are people who I can feel have “ jealousy “. and you are one of them.

Jealousy is not pretty.

Your feelings are yours. I have nothing to do with them.

My praise of Johnny (note: not my gush) began in 2001 and 2002, respectively, when he placed 6th and 5th at US Nats. He out performed all those Americans in those days, imo, because he had such natural flow over the ice. He was allowd to perform at those silly Sunday afternpon shows but he was uneasy at those venues. Nontheless, he must have continued ecellent practices with Priscilla because he placed 2nd in the SP at US Nats in 2003 I was beaming. He was like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, he withdrew from the LP,. I then encouraged everyone in GS to send him their good wishes to continue skating. He specifically, thanked GS for their encouragement. In 2004 I watched him in Atlanta, win the Nats. That same year, as a new international skater, in Dortmund, he moved up from the penultimate group to skate in the Final Group. He placed a very respectful 5th with Plushenko, Joubert, that German boy and Lambiel ahead of him. Weiss did his americana number which no one understood and dropped to 6th,

From then on, Johnny was the talk of the Boards, and why not? He was special.
He was on his way. But his World Championships were not winning performances until 2008. He was not at his best in 2006 Worlds or Olys and the same in non best in 2007 including the Nats. of that year.

The above are all facts. None of it has to do with saying anything bad about Johnny. I still consider him a very special skater and wish him the best in all his forthcoming competitions. If this is read as a negative of Johnny, then there is something more going on here.

As for some of his fans, they should lighten up. No one is attacking Johnny.

 

[Brandi_DeLain]

I feel the need. The need to gush!

Congrats on a fantastic season, Johnny!! Hope next season is even better! Onward and Upward! Aim high! Wheeeee!!

Hey, at least I was on topic.

 

[taylorfax]

As for some of his fans, they should lighten up. No one is attacking Johnny.

Oh, they never arrre. They just say clever little things like "Was the USFSA interested in his life before, or after, he made all the public statements and actions." And then it's a surprise that fans react? Don't make me laugh. Call it a heightened sense or something, but over the years, after some of the insane stuff he's been criticized for (count me in as one of the people who never sees what's so scandalous about what he's doing), maybe the fans are a bit touchy, don't you think?

 

[MichelleTodd]

I didn't get the feeling that Fossi meant his private life, but more the remarks in interviews etc.

And if he did mean his private life - then I don't really understand it, because to be honest, we don't know anything about Johnny's private life. We only know what he wanted the world to know - and that has rarely been connected to his private life. I don't consider remarks about drugs, or "provocative" (I didn't think so, but others apparently did) photo shootings, or reports about shopping, or parties, or the design of his costumes, or his clothes in general, or modeling - as part of someone's private life, or as an important part of someone's private life.

I never really got what was so scandalous about Johnny. His coaching situation always seemed very stable, mature - no reports about trouble, no mercurial outbreaks, when he ended his collaboration with Hill he did it in style and now maintains a close relationship with his former coach. In contrast to other skaters this story is absolutely harmless and boring, Timothy Goebel's coaching changes were much more interesting, Lambiel was basically fired by Grütter in 2004 (well covered in the European press)...

There have never been any scandalous photographs (e.g. him involved in a huge orgy), he has never sued an ex-girlfriend because she told the press that he was gay, there have never been any reports about him partying too much or with too much alcohol, he never got kicked off the COI-tour, he never had a DUI...

He seems to love his family and seems to be loyal to them, he respects and honours his teachers and mentors, he seems to be a rather fair sportsman, he is honest and it seems that he is trying to stay true to himself, he is tolerant and has lots of different and diverse interests, he is considerate and appreciates his fans. He seems to a responsible person and is control of his private life (because I don't think we ever got to hear anything about him / his family / private life he didn't want the world to know).

I think that he doing pretty well.

I know I'm going to regret doing this, but here goes: First, I found Johnny's photo shoot and some of his remarks very offensive, being very conversative myself. We'll just have to agree to respectfully disagree. Two, everything you said from the third paragraph on could apply equally to Evan Lysacek, but some posters carry on as if he were the Antichrist Incarnate. Third, I think Evan was just as deserving of Skater of Year last year as Johnny was this year. I'll always be disappointed and angry that Johnny got what he deserved when Evan didn't.

 

[Medusa]

The above are all facts. None of it has to do with saying anything bad about Johnny. I still consider him a very special skater and wish him the best in all his forthcoming competitions. If this is read as a negative of Johnny, then there is something more going on here.

As for some of his fans, they should lighten up. No one is attacking Johnny.

You know, in this post you only talk about figure skating. It's your opinion, it's in my opinion a good one - it's one of the opinions of yours that make you
respected and popular on the boards (just my opinion, of course), it's about skating, about Johnny's achievements and about your ability to appreciate a talent before others even know that skater's name.

But your first comment on this thread had not much to do with skating - and I just don't understand why you wrote it.

The award is definitely a popular one and Johnny is arguably the most popular skater in the world. What makes it interesting for me is that it is sponsored by Skating Magazine, an arm of the USFS. Has the USFS eased off Johnny's private life?

Nobody talked about his private life till then, nobody tried to reduce the award to a "popularity contest" till your comment. If he is really that popular why didn't he win the award in 2004, 2005 etc.? If this was just a popularity contest he probably should have won a few times before 2008. Perhaps there were a few people who don't just gush - but actually recognised Johnny's achievements this season.

Very true. His ueberfans will not stand for the slightest criticism about Johnny. even if it's corrective criticism. The angels are warring angels and will gang up on anyone who thinks he's not perfect (JMO). Everyone likes Johnny's skating. That's pretty much fact. It's just that not everyone is so unbearingly obsessed with him. And it's not the gay thing at all. That's a dead issue. For other fans, it's more like the fact that there are other high ranking skaters in the Men's Division whom they want to watch as well in the comps.

You wrote this post as an answer to Jaana's post - a post that had nothing to do with Johnny's ability as a skater or as an artist, Jaana's post criticised Johnny for cross-dressing for a photo shooting and for certain comments. And you somehow quoted that entire post, talked about corrective criticism and how unbearable we all are - so I guess you agree with that entire post by Jaana, that as I said before had nothing to do with skating, abilities or Johnny's achievements.

That bugs me a bit. Of course everyone can have an opinion on these photographs or on cross-dressing - but I also have the right to say that this is a rather shallow and intolerant opinion. And I don't understand how you can quote that and talk about corrective criticism and "warring angels" versus "real figure skating fans who are interested in skating". So I have to make an intolerant comment like that and suddenly I am a "real figure skating fan". Good to know.

*****

Why the heck shouldn't Johnny fans be allowed to "gush" in a thread that is about him winning the Skater of the Year Award????

Good point.

 

[Hsuhs]

just got banned from the FSU forum

Can one get banned from the FSU???!! I didn't know that.

That photo shoot of Johnny's was, IMO, a remarkable one, I still have the magazine.
I may not be a fan of Johnny's skating anymore, but I don't see anything wrong with his public image at all. He's said so many funny things in his interviews.

They renamed the trophy after her -- the Michelle Kwan trophy.

I wish they didn't do that, wish they kept it neutral.