Patrick Chan feeling unappreciated in Canada

[Mathman]

To me the most interesting part of the interview was not the part about not feeling appreciated. Rather it is the part where he complained that under CoP scoring all of the programs have become boring, repetitious "cookie-cutter" routines.

There is a little bit of irony there because it is Patrick himself who is the king of point-maximzation.

Still, it is interesting that he wants to push back against the creative boundaries that he feels have hemmed the sport in.

 

[mmcdermott]

Here's another article from the Toronto Star. My apologies if this one has been posted already.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/artic...n-proud-he-s-branded-a-canadian-for-life?bn=1

Here's some interesting quotes:

“I think when I did that interview [in September] I was answering everything very emotionally. I made a mistake of not being very precise and being very general. That allowed them to take things out of context and interpret it their own way.”

“My personality will never change. I love to joke and I love to be honest. I just may be a little more careful when I’m being honest.”

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

To me the most interesting part of the interview was not the part about not feeling appreciated. Rather it is the part where he complained that under CoP scoring all of the programs have become boring, repetitious "cookie-cutter" routines.

There is a little bit of irony there because it is Patrick himself who is the king of point-maximzation.

Still, it is interesting that he wants to push back against the creative boundaries that he feels have hemmed the sport in.

Yeah, that part made me snicker a little bit.

 

[Nadine]

Patrick comes from such a beautiful rich heritage, thus I find it sad that it doesn't translate into his interviews.

Just this past week I watched "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" (http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower-movie/), and marvel at how well the Chinese are at telling a parable through beauty, truth, and honor.

I wish some of this had rubbed off on him, but maybe it is only for those that not only grew up in that culture, but also in that wonderful land. Jmho.

ps: and this too shall pass...

 

[Ladskater]

Quite likely Patrick Chan made this comment during the Stanley Cup playoffs here in Vancouver BC this past Spring. Vancouver and area was hockey crazy (as it is most of the year) during the playoffs. Every paper in town had nothing on the front page (and back) but hockey, hockey, hockey. Of course, when Vancouver lost to Boston and the infamous hockey riot broke out, the focus turned to that night of mayhem. Patrick's world championship win barely got a mention in the newspapers. He was allocated almost to the back page of the Vancouver Sun. I don't blame Patrick for feeling the way he does. Traditionally Figure Skating is well supported here, but hockey is the major focus here. Our newspapers are loaded with pictures of hockey players and statistics about games, players, etc. Every night on one of our radio stations, a show called "Sports Talk" airs. Guess what the main topic is ten months of the year? You guessed it - Hockey and the Vancouver Canucks. Patrick Chan has made his mark here in Canada and Vancouver and would not be the first figure skater to feel ignored by the press and even the public. Most figure skaters here take it in their stride. Even Karen Magnussen never got the high profile she deserved over the years after her great contributions to Canadian ladies figure skating. She even taught some of the hockey players how to skate! I am sure Patrick is appreciated by us figure skating fans. We may be small in number to the hockey fans, but we do support our skaters and let them know!

 

[skateluvr]

Well, then it is simple. Patrick must talk to the South Korean skating federation and skate for them. He will be idolized. If they accept him in S. Korea. I honestly know nothing about if this were actually possible. But, imagine the charge he would get from S. Korean fans if this happened? Endorsements galore, bank acct like Yuna. Chan skating against Takahashi. Maybe this was said earlier. The big money is in Asia and for only a few skaters.

I don't know what the Chinese athletes earn at the top of FS. I am guessing not a huge amount, but tell me if I am wrong. I could not care less because I am not Canadian. However, if say Evan jumped ship for same reasons, I'd feel bad. But skating is no longer a way to get rich for the 99.5%...Do it for love of the journey or not at all. Why can't Patrick get some endorsement deals in Canada? I have no idea if he represents anything. One does not have to be caucasian in Canada to sell products. It is a pluralistic society, so I hope he was not implying racism. I don't buy that in his case anyway.

Well, good or bad, he speaks his mind. He is a champion skater and no one can take that from him. He will excel at something besides skating as he has learned every skill needed to succeed. Political correctness notwithstanding, but then his flaws make him interesting. He's sorry already, and fans will forgive him and forget quickly.

Seriously, Patrick should do whatever he can to bail out his incredibly sacrificial parents.

 

[Bluebonnet]

It's just a shame that all this is happening right before the GPF. I hope Patrick is able to put it aside and concentrate on the ice. I wish him two great skates!

That was the intention of this Reuters reporter!

I, too, hope this won't affect Patrick's concentration this weekend!

Haha, see how much I've underestimated the power of this reuters report? The journalist has won!

I've found and read the original article. Nothing striked me as important. I felt Chan's representing China comment might get a little negative reaction. Since it was a new article about Chan before GPF, I put it into GPF folder. Had I had slightly any idea of the offensive level of his comments, I'd at least put it in The Edge.

 

[skateflower]

Well, then it is simple. Patrick must talk to the South Korean skating federation and skate for them. He will be idolized. If they accept him in S. Korea. I honestly know nothing about if this were actually possible. But, imagine the charge he would get from S. Korean fans if this happened? Endorsements galore, bank acct like Yuna. Chan skating against Takahashi. Maybe this was said earlier. The big money is in Asia and for only a few skaters.

I don't know what the Chinese athletes earn at the top of FS. I am guessing not a huge amount, but tell me if I am wrong. I could not care less because I am not Canadian. However, if say Evan jumped ship for same reasons, I'd feel bad. But skating is no longer a way to get rich for the 99.5%...Do it for love of the journey or not at all. Why can't Patrick get some endorsement deals in Canada? I have no idea if he represents anything. One does not have to be caucasian in Canada to sell products. It is a pluralistic society, so I hope he was not implying racism. I don't buy that in his case anyway.

Seriously, Patrick should do whatever he can to bail out his incredibly sacrificial parents.

Skating is crazy in South Korea because of Ya Na Kim. If Chan can represent South Korea, I'm sure he'll make tons of money and pull his parents out of debt. I say go for it!!!
I'm not sure about China. FS is not really that popular there.

 

[Becki]

Skating is crazy in South Korea because of Ya Na Kim. If Chan can represent South Korea, I'm sure he'll make tons of money and pull his parents out of debt. I say go for it!!!
I'm not sure about China. FS is not really that popular there.

Kinda unrelated to PChan, but I remember someone suggesting Yuzuru represents Taiwan to increase his chances of making it to the World Championships, lol. But honestly, I don't think he would want to represent S. Korea even if the Federation allows him to because he won't be eligible to represent the country for the Olympics.

 

[skateflower]

Kinda unrelated to PChan, but I remember someone suggesting Yuzuru represents Taiwan to increase his chances of making it to the World Championships, lol. But honestly, I don't think he would want to represent S. Korea even if the Federation allows him to because he won't be eligible to represent the country for the Olympics.

Well, he can help his parents pay down the debt quickly by winning a few world championships for S. Korea.

 

[fscric]

I honestly don't know where does this 'skating for South Korean skating federation' come from! He's talked about the financial strain his skating has put on his family, do you really think he would skate for South Korea just so he could get the money when the article also focused on his Chinese heritage? I understand if you disliked Patrick because of his words or his skating, but this has come too far, don't you think?

Well, then it is simple. Patrick must talk to the South Korean skating federation and skate for them. He will be idolized. If they accept him in S. Korea. I honestly know nothing about if this were actually possible. But, imagine the charge he would get from S. Korean fans if this happened? Endorsements galore, bank acct like Yuna. Chan skating against Takahashi. Maybe this was said earlier. The big money is in Asia and for only a few skaters.

I don't know what the Chinese athletes earn at the top of FS. I am guessing not a huge amount, but tell me if I am wrong. I could not care less because I am not Canadian. However, if say Evan jumped ship for same reasons, I'd feel bad. But skating is no longer a way to get rich for the 99.5%...Do it for love of the journey or not at all. Why can't Patrick get some endorsement deals in Canada? I have no idea if he represents anything. One does not have to be caucasian in Canada to sell products. It is a pluralistic society, so I hope he was not implying racism. I don't buy that in his case anyway.

Well, good or bad, he speaks his mind. He is a champion skater and no one can take that from him. He will excel at something besides skating as he has learned every skill needed to succeed. Political correctness notwithstanding, but then his flaws make him interesting. He's sorry already, and fans will forgive him and forget quickly.

Seriously, Patrick should do whatever he can to bail out his incredibly sacrificial parents.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Patrick will skate in Korea but will never skate for Korea. He would have to renounce his Canadian citizenship and he will not do that. Even if he were to skate for Korea, he would not be Yuna Kim. There is only one Yuna Kim, with everything in her life that makes her who she is.

I think Patrick also felt somewhat sad he had to skate in Asia to make money for his training, even when doing shows there cut aways his training time. The Asians make money in their own countries as rock stars, and Americans get to do some shows and get some endorsements. The Canadian World Champion has to worry about training costs. Actually that is a headline in the Chinese press - A World Champion With Money Worries, no doubt stemming from his HK TV interview in which the interviewer was incredulous and put in quite a bit of her commentaries on her own and comparing the sport systems.

He may be called sheltered and admittedly living in a bubble, but the kind of emotional burdens he has to bear is certainly not something a young person usually experiences, neither are the kind of devotion to training and the competitiveness he brings as well as travelling the world he gets to do. Sheltered or not, naive or not, it's not really a simple or simplistic life.

 

[Becki]

Well, he can help his parents pay down the debt quickly by winning a few world championships for S. Korea.

I think his ultimate goal is the Sochi Olympics. Look at how proud he was to present CANADA at the Olympics, he even got a tattoo to commemorate the achievement.

 

[Tonichelle]

WC Championship Prize money 2011

1st place US$ 45,000
2nd place US$ 27,000
3rd place US$ 18,000
4th place US$ 13,000
5th place US$ 10,000
6th place US$ 7,000
7th place US$ 6,000
8th place US$ 5,000
9th place US$ 3,500
10th place US$ 3,000

No way?! That's less than the winner of the IDITAROD wins! (and that in no way pays for their expenses either, but they don't have federations, they're completely on their own)

 

[Bluebonnet]

To me the most interesting part of the interview was not the part about not feeling appreciated. Rather it is the part where he complained that under CoP scoring all of the programs have become boring, repetitious "cookie-cutter" routines.

There is a little bit of irony there because it is Patrick himself who is the king of point-maximzation.

Still, it is interesting that he wants to push back against the creative boundaries that he feels have hemmed the sport in.

It's kind of cute to see the track of his mind flow and how fast Patrick's mind and emotions turn. When he was focusing on transitions during Olympic year, quad wasn't important in his talk. For that, he made a lot of controversy. When he was training for multi quad jump programs last year, he had realized the quad value and his talk had turned an 180 degree. This year, he is focusing on artistic perspect of his skating. He's suddenly found the "cookie-cutter" fault in CoP.

Frankly, I could forgive all these funny talks simply because Patrick is a bright, extreme, precious, super talent.

PS:

In debt or not, Patrick will never skate for Korea. It's ridiculous to think of that.

 

[Nadine]

No way?! That's less than the winner of the IDITAROD wins! (and that in no way pays for their expenses either, but they don't have federations, they're completely on their own)

That's why, as Elvis so eloquently stated, one must do it for the right reasons (aka "love of sport"). Because as you can see $$$$ isn't a strong suit when it comes to amateur skating, unless one wins an Olympic Gold Medal.

Furthermore, this is why I have no problem with skaters cashing in by doing shows, movies, magazines, modeling, television, cosmetics (ala Johnny Weir), et al. Strike while you're hot, and try to give back as much as you can to those that spent their life savings to get you there, namely one's family. And that's if you're lucky. So many never even make it to Nationals, let alone Worlds or Olympics. And a medal, that's just a cherry on top.

Figure skating is an expensive sport, and one's family should know that before heading in, unless of course one comes from a wealthy family. Otherwise, the family should not expect a return on their investment. Jmho.

 

[Bluebonnet]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/artic...n-proud-he-s-branded-a-canadian-for-life?bn=1

“It hits my heart because of people’s reactions and how people will perceive me now,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is make people upset. When I was in high school, I remember when I would get in trouble I would feel awful for the rest of the day. That’s exactly how I feel now.

“I’m extremely deeply sorry for what I said and I never meant to offend anyone. There’s no place other than Canada I’d love to represent. This is who I am. I’m young and inexperienced in this field and this is a little bump in the road and I know what to expect for next time.”

“As a skater and an athlete, we live in a bubble,” said Chan, who trains in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Geez, I don’t even have a TV in Colorado. Maybe I should do more homework. I think that’s lesson No. 1, to look at what’s happening. I didn’t even know about any of this.”

Chan said his ability to focus will be put to the test this week, but that he doesn’t expect to hold himself back in future interviews. Not too much, anyway.

 

[Buttercup]

1. When Tomas Verner skated in North Korea for Kim Jong-Il, I was very upset (SkateFiguring defended him, Buttercup, so I don't think you can just presume it's his admiration for Chan guiding his thinking here). If Chan truly, truly doesn't know the history of China with regards to human rights, I would be terribly disappointed. I have to admit that PJ jumps to his defence was predictable, so I'm rather afraid to actually read it.

I actually thought of Verner and the NK controversy when this came up. I was not posting or reading GS much at the time, so I don't know what the reactions were here. My experience has been that Verner's fans on GS are rather less devoted and passionate about their favorite than Chan's. Anyway, I do remember that Verner did not try to suggest that he didn't know what was happening in North Korea, and he did attempt to explain his reasoning for going there. I have some other thoughts on this that are more appropriate to PM, so will leave it at that.

PJ's reporting is about what you'd expect, I think.

Patrick is just such an easy target. He speaks English and is accessible, open, too open, and as PJ and others repeatedly say, he answers every question posed to him. Ask him anything and he will answer. He is high profile in the sport, always a nice target to create some controversies with. He has a sincere demeanor to get his points across when he is not so articulate. But that makes his words very easy to twist in written reports. Also there are so many eager to go along with any negative portrayal of him for various reasons. In a way, he is a media's dream!

Skaters whose English isn't as good are much easier targets; it's harder for them to express themselves in what might not even be their second language, and cultural norms of what is appropriate to say may differ. I don't recall Plushenko and Joubert being given a free pass because of it. Or Massimo Scali, who was hounded by a reporter in the mixed zone after the FD at the Olympics until he made comments that could be twisted to make him seem like an unsportsmanlike jerk. I would expect an English speaking skater with years of experience at the senior level to understand how to deal with the media.

4. I want to flash to what I consider to be a fairly astute media interview:Virtue/Moir at TEB with Team Orange. Now, you might point out that they're with fans, not with the bloodthirsty sharks of the foreign media, but they're asked some questions that, if answered the wrong way, could cause offence. But they sidestep beautifully, without ever being dishonest (or appearing to be) while still giving terrific answers that don't seem canned.

I agree, and I think you could see a lot of that in the Orange Team interviews - the skaters got some interesting questions and most of them gave thoughtful, honest answers but not offensive ones. Another example would be Absolute Skating interviews, such as the Jeremy Abbott one that I linked to upthread.

That was the intention of this Reuters reporter!

Yes, Reuters hates Chan. They like 6.0 skating If they wanted to sabotage him, why not sit on the comments until Worlds? That would have had much greater impact.

 

[seniorita]

anyone in the public eye, trained or not, politician or not, come under scrutiny when it comes to what they say IN THE PRESS.

I dont disagree with that. Yes I can choose to agree or disagree with his interviews, like or dislike his media persona but I dont get why should I expect a skater to be so gifted in PR and answer questions diplomaticaly like he is Miss Universe. Plus the press always adds an extra drama. Actually I m rather tired to read the speculating of the character of a person I dont know by an interview, I used to do in the past too, but I believe in message boards people expect too much from skaters, there are fav gymnastics athletes of mine I ve never known their voices.

 

[dorispulaski]

For sure, not every athlete is talented at interviews. While it is boring for the watcher, the "I skate for the joy of skating, I respect my competitors, I was happy to win," is probably the best interview for a skater to give.

This whole thread reminds me of why I miss Debi Thomas-she gave great, funny, personality filled interviews.

I think that the point with the Team Orange interviews is that they are not trying to goad the skaters into giving stupid, cringe worthy answers so that they can write some tabloidish pap about it. They are asking questions that fans would like the answers to, too. I'm afraid the same is not true of the some of the professional journalists.