I think it interesting to ask people why they see Chan as a possible greatest ever contender for men's singles. What does he have over Daisuke, to compare him to someone still competing? Really one thing. He is faster. People love speed. Yuna flew into and out of a triple triple and usually had correct edges and the jumps were WELL ROTATED USUSALLY. Such speed, they said. So much better than poor Mao, who is slow and only did 3 triple axels. Lousy programs, yuna is so much faster and that means better is what I hear people who see these skaters live say. Should speed (Carolina Kostner) be the winner even in FS?
It is interesting that people who see the speed of Chan over Takahashi in the rink are blown away, even if Dai skates a beautiful program without falls, full of beautiful edges, artistry, elegance, mature nuances. I think of skaters like John Curry rolling in their graves when the 'greatest ever in a one time World Champion as yet, who flies into the boards with a quad/triple then falls. Such control, such artistry. Come on. He is just beginning, and he will not stay around to be a poor artist once the competition days are gone. So we won't see Chan the artist. IMO he is not an artist at all yet. Even when you compare him to just Canadian men, he has not just Kurt to gaze at from far away, but Toller Cranston, a genius on the ice. It's always fun to say who's the best you've seen, but in skating, it all comes down to artistry or athleticism and some judge exclusively by hardware earned. Why does everyone act like the greatest skaters are the OGM holders? Often true but not always. It is opinion. WHo talks about Urmanov? No one. Was he "great?" He had a OGM. Lots of people diss Evan. Hey he beat everyone including the legendary Plushy. Does that qualify for greatest ever?
There is no way to ever say 'the best skater who ever lived." I like the MK moniker she or her team made up. "The most decorated US skater ever." Well, she competed a very long time and was beloved by many fans, many judges. She won a lot of titles, and it must have been very hard to skate against her at Nationals, which many said every year was hers to lose. Talk about intimidation. Poor Sasha. It is fun to do such threads, but the fact that Browning usually mentions Canadian skaters as "the best he's seen" just shows his nationalism and his affinity for his Canadian friends in skating. If Kurt were being honest, he'd probabaly tell us, blade to ice, he himself is the best single skater to date. I think Kurt could have been a top ice dancer, and he could have done well in pairs, but he was too good for that.
One thing is for sure, he was skating after the whack and he has had the opportunity to try it all from amateur to pro. I think he's not just been talented, he's been super lucky. Patrick will never have the longeveity of Kurt, Orser, Boitano, Plushenko. We even forget Kulik as he turned pro quickly. We forget Yagudin, perhaps the better skater when we think of all that Plushenko has done, which seems impossible, and he still may surprise us more.
Will Chan create like Dick Button and win two Olympic gold medals? NO. So you can really only seriously debate people from same era, or compare jumpers, or blade to ice skills or speed etc. Chan is a very complete skater and I hope to see more skating like at Nationals He does not sound like he will compete past Sochi, and if there is no money in show skating, he will move on to another sport or field of endeavour. It's funny that skating has so much hyperbole an it is usually opinion, unless you have the hardware to back it up. Even then, it is impossible to give the greatest ever title unlss you are talking baseball etc where it is all about numbers. And no subjective numbers, either.
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NYAH! Brick House is fun. As for Plushy's Sex Bomb with two million viewers, it's hilarious fun.
