Michelle will be at Marshalls

[Rgirl]

As Judas said at the Last Supper, "Is it I?"

See, what it is, is, not loving Michelle is a form of mental illness. It's like saying, I don't love the sunrise.

It's like saying, I don't love the first crocus in February, poking it's brave little head up through the last cruel snowfall of winter. (That particular crocus -- the purple one next to my rose-of-sharon bush -- is named Michelle, natch. ).

Not loving Michelle is like saying you don't love it when you pull up to a Krispy Kreme -- AND THE LIGHT IS ON!

MM

Damn right "It is I!"

The sunrise sucks.

I stomp on that first friggin' crocus.

And Krispy Kreme stores with the light on can bite me!


The Forever Mentally Ill Rgirl

MM, you kill me!

 

[Doggygirl]

I would have thought that the first flower would have been named Kimba, and the ssecond Mathman

LOL!

Well, there IS something in the yard with Kimba's name on it, but sadly, it's not a flower. And it doesn't smell as good as a flower either.

DG

 

[chuckm]

I have to admit it: I truly LOVE the Kween.
I will be SO glad to see her on the ice once again.

YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

 

[flowjo35]

ITA with Red Dog. I'm not a fan of Michelle's, but I've liked her skating since '03, "Aranjuez" and I'm thrilled that she's well enough to skate and will be happy to see her--just as I did Irina when she was able to return to the ice. But I've gotten too many posts, PMs, etc. from Radical Kwan Fans who have said verbatim, "I just don't understand how anyone could not love Michelle."

And that's just what I get. I've seen the same thing happen to others. RDF's love Michelle "for always" and that's great, but sadly I've also seen too much evidence that at best a lot of them just don't get why others don't feel the same and at worst, express their hatred for anyone who isn't an RDF, much less someone who just plain doesn't like Kwan's skating or Kwan.

But to be fair, there are plenty of Heavy Duty Kwan Fans who have expressed their understanding of both sides of the Kwan Koin. You know who you are. You actually talk to me, LOL (just kidding). You are often the ones who put things in the best perspective. I'd list you but these days I'm sure I'd forget most of your names.:scratch:

Rgirl

Rgirl, I know you may not be a fan of Michelle's but you seem to appreciate what she puts on the ice. I do enjoy reading your post whether I agree all the time or not. This is one Kwan fan that is understanding and will continue to look at both sides.

 

[Kwanford Wife]

Watch KW do the happy dance now...

Provided she's healthy, then I do believe this is probably the best cure for her... get something, anything under her belt to shake off the cobwebs & any confidence issues... as my husband would say "get her head right" & then roll on into Nationals...

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Why can't you just be happy that Michelle is going to be at Marshalls? Yeah allowing the audience to vote is just really dumb. It's obvious that Michelle will likely get the most votes. But the most important thing is that we will be able to see Michelle skate. Isn't that exciting on its own? Who cares about the lame contest! We will get to see how wells he is doing. Stop being so negative.

frackskate - I did not organize this competition and I would never organize any kind of cheesefest. I like solid competitions with everyone skating to the same music; no sequins or bangels on costumes; and international judges. It may be boring to most posters but for me it's a do or die competition.

Joe

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Real- Thanks very much. But you are not one of those posters that I'm referring to. I'm speaking of the ones that relentlessly use sarcasm and low blows to try to make certain other posters feel uncomfortable. And that is definitely not fair. Sounds like something that should be happening on a fan forum.

RD - I don't bait you. I seek clarification on what your say. Michelle is going to be with a lot of pressure; Irina's health is a factor. It seems no other skater is going have a lot of pressure and not other skater will be at their best with injury or health. You kind of single out certain competitors and nothing about Amber.

Other than that, I really enjoy your posts and your defence of Sasha I often agree with. Carry on, RD.

Joe

 

[R.D.]

Oh, someone please finish off this nearly-dead horse that is the Kwans vs. the anti-Kwans debate! I will give somebody an appropriate tool to drive in the death nail! There is no need for the sarcasm or the veiled mud-slinging. I'm glad that everyone seems genuinely pleased to see her back on the ice, whether they like her or not.

I'll be happy to do it. I wish Kwans and non-Kwans could "live" here in peace without all this doubt and resentment waning in the middle. I tried in vain to enable the two parties to come to some sort of agreement, but seems we'd just rather bicker, lowball and slight. Too bad

OT: MM- I take it you're kidding? I mean, there ARE people out there who don't like Krispy Kremes.

 

[R.D.]

RD - I don't bait you. I seek clarification on what your say. Michelle is going to be with a lot of pressure; Irina's health is a factor. It seems no other skater is going have a lot of pressure and not other skater will be at their best with injury or health. You kind of single out certain competitors and nothing about Amber.

I don't hear ANYONE discussing Amber Corwin right now. On that topic, should I start a thread on her?

I've said in the past I only watch ladies skating. And out of those, I admit I mainly stick to the tried and true discussions about the favorites and about the B-team. I will offer thoughts and predictions on upcoming events, skaters, etc. But my field of vision begins to blur when we get into technical discussion (like jumps) and point analysis (like DG tends to do a lot). However, that's not to say I don't find it interesting- it's just out of my "league", so to speak. I'll leave that discussion to the experts.

Other than that, I really enjoy your posts and your defence of Sasha I often agree with. Carry on, RD.

Interesting you say I defend Sasha, especially considering many of the comments I've made about her recently. I don't think I've given her ONE compliment (on her skating) this entire season, partly because I have none to give her.

I DO "defend" her when the comments get out of hand, though. Some posters on this forum throw out baseless accusations about Cohen all the time (just for the sake of putting her down I suppose) and I will likely challenge such comments. Now, here's what people don't understand- you DON'T have to be a fan of a skater to "defend" that skater. Heck, I've even defended Irina before, and you all know how I feel about her.

I must say that some fans have actually (indirectly) influenced how I feel about certain skaters. For example, all the MK gushing made me get really sick of her at one point. (Too much sugar and honey can be sickening, you know?) And the constant accusations of me liking Cohen actually ends up pushing me further away from her. But this is in general. The skating is a different story.

I tell it like it is from my viewpoint. All I post here is truly how I feel. I would never make anything up. What you see is what you get with me.

 

[millie]

I have been sitting back reading the comments about the big farce of Marshalls and Michelle being there. What a joke!!! Why don't they just give it to Michelle now even before she skates, we all know that she has it in the bag already! We all know that the Kwanics out number the rest of the fans of other skaters, all put together. They will be on the phones like bees around a hive. She will win even if she justs stands in the middle of the ice and waves to everybody. I don't see why the rest of the skaters are even going there, they should know that they are not going to win even is they do triple, triple, triples and do head stands on the ice. Be happy for Michelle now.

 

[nymkfan51]

I have been sitting back reading the comments about the big farce of Marshalls and Michelle being there. What a joke!!! Why don't they just give it to Michelle now even before she skates, we all know that she has it in the bag already! We all know that the Kwanics out number the rest of the fans of other skaters, all put together. They will be on the phones like bees around a hive. She will win even if she justs stands in the middle of the ice and waves to everybody. I don't see why the rest of the skaters are even going there, they should know that they are not going to win even is they do triple, triple, triples and do head stands on the ice. Be happy for Michelle now.

Why does this bother you so much? I mean, if the competition is such a worthless piece of you-know-what, and means nothing ... then why would you care if Michelle wins?
And one good reason the skaters might go ... even if they are certain that despicable Michelle Kwan is going to win ... money and tv exposure.

 

[FreeKatie]

I'm glad she'll be back on the ice cuz I get that Dan Jansen dude give up already it ain't gonna happen but holy crap it actually did happen feeling about her sometimes. I used to get that feeling about Kurt Browning too. Sorry Kurt. At the very least it will make the season more exciting to have a michelle/irina show down at the Olympics, where most likely it will end with both of them in tears and some young sprite beaming with a gold medal wrapped around her neck:yes: .

 

[millie]

Why does this bother you so much? I mean, if the competition is such a worthless piece of you-know-what, and means nothing ... then why would you care if Michelle wins?
And one good reason the skaters might go ... even if they are certain that despicable Michelle Kwan is going to win ... money and tv exposure.

Hey, hey, don't get your pee hot!!! I didn't criticise you or mention your name, so why get yourself all worked up over a comment I made about Marshalls and Michelle!!Did you see my at the end of my post. I take that back and I am , did you want me to say that she is going to lose :frown2:. I will end on this note "The most popular skater will win, not saying that she will be the best at the competition".

 

[gezando]

"The most popular skater will win, not saying that she will be the best at the competition".

But being most popular and skating the best at an event is not mutually exclusive. So what if Michelle delivers the best skates of the competition, how will you react??

So what if Cohen comes in second by popular vote, but Alissia delivers a better skate, how will you react??

Marshalls is just a cheesefest, not unlike the dancing with the stars speicals etc. so it is relevant that the most popular skater will receive the most vote, assuming her / his fans will call in to vote.

Even if the most popular skater does not deliver the best program so what, it is not a real competition. OTOH, we have seen plenty of examples of skaters who did not skate the best, yet come away with the gold in a real competition, it happens. Cohen's placement ahead of Arakawa in Skate Canada 03 comes to mind.

 

[Doggygirl]

Random Musings on Marshall's

I know I've not been the only one going :scratch: about Why THIS Cheesy Format in the Midst Of Oly Season?

Here's my theory.

1) Marshall's is important to the USFSA as it is a fund raiser. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm sure between ticket sales, ad sponsorship, and the newly added $ potential from phone in votes is important to the USFSA.

2) Speedy made it pretty clear last year that he doesn't like skaters doing non-ISU competitions and withdrawing from GP events.

3) Had MK and Sasha been able to compete both of their scheduled events, then it's safe to assume they both would have had pretty high odds of making GPF. Had things played out this way, the USFSA is presented with a couple of potential problems:

1) If Marshall's was held in a standard competitive format, and a GPF'er wants to withdraw from either Marshall's OR GPF, that's a problem. Either a problem with interest / viewership for the USFSA if the top skaters in popularity pull from Marshall's, or with Speedy wrath if qualifying skaters pull from GPF.

2) If what actually happened happend (which is what happened LOL!) and two of the high profile skaters withdrew from earlier GP events due to injury, but then are well enough to skate Marshall's in the standard competitive format, then Speedy still has an issue.

So. The current Cheesy Cheese format gets around these problems. It's not a "real" competition format, it's likely to make ad sponsors happy because with viewer voting they will have the highest possible live audience watching the event, and it circumvents Speedy's issues.

I think under the circumstances, this actually works out pretty well for MK and I'm saying this in a very positive sense. (I do NOT believe the extent of her injury and subsequent off-ice and rehabilitation were known before the Marshall's decisions were made) I doubt very seriously that MK wanted to miss all three of her scheduled competitive events before Nats. At least this gives her an opportunity to get in front of a live audience. She is (deservedly) an audience favorite, and will be well recieved. I'm sure this puts some fire in her belly. And she won't be under any pressure to perform any moves she isn't ready to do yet.

So I don't think this is about who wins. I think it's good for the USFSA ($), good for MK (on the ice in front of an audience), and probably a net neutral to the other skaters who would probably be better off just taking the training time. (but they have opportunity to make $ too, which I'm sure is a good thing, without pressure of doing the big tricks). For Alissa, I think this could go either way. On the one hand, she has a LONG travel schedule ahead for GPF. On the other hand, she earned GPF with the very early season events, so maybe just getting on the ice in front of a crowd that is sure to be positive will give her a boost heading into her first GPF.

OK - pick my theory apart now!!!!!!

DG

 

[Mathman]

I don't see why the rest of the skaters are even going there...

There is no reason for other skaters or their fans to begrudge Michelle her popularity. The welcome attention and favorable publicity that Michelle attracts to the sport benefits everyone.

MM

 

[attyfan]

The problems that $peedy has with skaters doing cheesefests instead of the GP applies equally to skaters who do shows -- as a matter of fact, it was Plushy opting out of a GP event, when he was scheduled to do a show the same night, that triggered all the problems, to begin with. So, I don't think this format was picked to avoid problems with the ISU. I think instead that the format of exhibition skates only might have been picked (and Americans only invited, I think) so that no one has to wear themselves out with either travel or lots of jumps, thereby enabling those that qualified for the GPF to do both events. I also think that the over one month between Kwan's withdrawal from CoC and her appearance here is enough to show a legitimate recovery that won't trigger the wrath of the ISU (I read somewhere that the rules only prohibited shows, etc. if the person opted out of the GP from the outset without a medical excuse)

 

[nymkfan51]

I don't know millie ... I guess I just don't get your sense of humor. You talk about it being a farce that Michelle will be competing there. Color me confused.

My point is ... this is not a serious competition ... obviously ... it's simply a made-for-tv sports/entertainment program ... probably brought on by the recent successes of reality television. Personally, I would much rather watch a real competitive event, but since this all they are giving us ... I will watch and be happy I finally get to see Michelle this season.

And yes, everyone will most likely vote based strictly on who they like the best. :sheesh:

 

[millie]

There is no reason for other skaters or their fans to begrudge Michelle her popularity. The welcome attention and favorable publicity that Michelle attracts to the sport benefits everyone.

MM

You say there is not reason for other skaters or their fans to begrude Michelle her popularity. But on the other hand is there a reason for other skaters or their fans to begrudge Irina with her outstanding scores under the CoP's. It works both ways. Was I right or wrong in stating that Michelle will win at Marshall's? Popularity will not not win at the Olympics, only high CoP scores. That's all she wrote. Oh, by the way, may the most popular skater win.

 

[millie]

I don't know millie ... I guess I just don't get your sense of humor. You talk about it being a farce that Michelle will be competing there. Color me confused.

I did not say that it was a farce that Michelle will be competing at Marshall's. I said that Marshall's was a farce--like most people are stating on this forum.

and the world will along with you.