Jump hype or soap opera: what can make the general public of the U.S. fall in love with figure skating again?

[moonvine]

In my opinion it is impossible to anticipate or predict -- much less to orchestrate -- when such a perfect storm situation is going to develop.

I am sitting here right now watching college gymnastics on U.S. network TV. College gymnastics? Network TV? Who knew there was such a thing as college gymnastics?.

But this year Olympian Jordan Chiles joined the UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) team (12 and 2 overall, 0-0 in the new expanded Big Ten conference this season). Not only did Chiles perform beyond expectations at the 2024 Olympics, but she has remained in the news because of an ongoing dispute over the judging (now in the Swiss courts). All of a sudden college gymnastics is big. Plus, the college version is more entertaining (to me), especially the floor routines, and the scoring system is easier for inexpert fans to follow compared to international and Olympic rules.

I’ve been following college gymnastics since the 1980s.

As someone else mentioned it’s been coaxed along for decades.

First it was on JP Sports which was a channel I didn’t even get. Other than that you had to follow the live scoring.

About 10 years ago the SEC network came along. All of a sudden I could watch almost all the meets.

Now, pre NCAA ruling, these athletes could not make any money from their sports. So most of them skipped college. Suni Lee single-handedly turned Auburn gymnastics into a sell out every weekend.

Now a lot of elite athletes go to college since they can still get sponsor money.

And yes, the scoring is much easier for people to understand. That’s long been a complaint of mine with skating.

College gymnastics meets are a really fun family night out. Season tickets are $60 and single meet are $15.

 

[noskates]

I, too,, like gymnastics and the fact that the US has been so successful in the Olympics has definitely sparked interest. However, scoring is soooo much easier hance easier to understand. You either land a "trick" or you don't. You fall off the bar or you don't.. You step out of the defined space or you don't. There just doesn't seem to be so many variables as in figure skating.

 

[dorispulaski]

Alysa Liu may wake up America all by herself:

St. Louis Sports Commission on Instagram: "Alysa Liu in the Lou! ⚾️ World figure skating champion Alysa Liu brought her double Axel to Busch Stadium today, throwing the first pitch at the Cardinals game as we countdown to the U.S. Figure Skating Cha

5,102 likes, 17 comments - stlsportscom on May 7, 2025: "Alysa Liu in the Lou! ⚾️ World figure skating champion Alysa Liu brought her double Axel to Busch Stadium today, throwing the first pitch at the Cardinals game as we countdown to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships—coming to St. Louis...

www.instagram.com

She threw out the first pitch at the Cardinals game, following doing a 2A

Video is the fourth photo in the above insta post.

 

[Mathman]

In the still photo just before the clip, the Cardinal's mascot sure looks impressed!