I had a great time tonight watching old coverage of Ryan on youtube.
Of course I was looking for the right FS for him to skate to at Worlds. (;^) But in the process I discovered quite a bit about Ryan, like how his father gave up his 17 year medical practice in order to move the entire family to Colorado so Ryan could have the best of everything in skating (ah, the sacrifices families make; btw loved seeing his folks up in the stands during his 2007 FS). And how he grew 10 inches in two years from 14 to 16 yrs. of age.! Lol, and I also was surprised to see that he skated at the 2000 Keri Lotion Classic in Kennewick, Washington (click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gbYSmZ2h2Y); I was there but don't recall seeing him! (8^O
But most of all I loved watching him skate....such potential unrealized.....truly sad, makes me think of Christopher Bowman in this way. Natural performers with an innate ability to jump, and jump HIGH in Ryan's case! But injuries & inconsistency have held him back, as well as his work ethic imho. So busy being the class clown that he hasn't worked on the things everybody has been telling him to work on, which you can hear from Dick Button all the way back from when Ryan was 16 yrs. old ~ they ALL recognized his ability to JUMP BIG ~ and also they kept saying he needed to work on his basics, transitions, and spinning. Yet watching some of his skates from age 16 to 27, nothing has changed, except I would say he was more focused when he was younger, eager to do better. Then it seemed he lost his focus later on, most likely due to age & injury, thus preferring to ham it up instead, mayhap thinking he's too old to change now. You're never too old, just as his coach Tom Z. told him in the K&C this past weekend when Ryan said "one year too late" and Tom replied "it's never too late", and he was right! :thumbsup:
Okay, so though I honestly loved each & every one of Ryan's past skates, these ones are my favorites:
1.) 2004 SP
"New York, New York" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOk5qjrUlqo&feature=related) ~ ah, this is the way I think a senior men's program should look like (ham it up in the SP, but be a bit more serious & respectful in the FS), complete with black pants, white shirt, black bowtie. Very slick & sophisticated, so one could focus on his gorgeous jumps, beautiful footwork sequence, musicality/flair/artistry/presentation, and his exquisite long lines in his camel spins. This look is a throwback to the 1920's & the leading men of that era, which is making a comeback this month on the cover of Vanity Fair, in particular Jake Gyllenhaal, whom Ryan looks like:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/2515974/vanity-fair-hollywood-issue-01/
2.) 2008 FS
"Charlie Chaplin Medley" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jvNVQRjdU4&feature=related) ~ another ah, what can you say, this is who Ryan is, a clown at heart, complete with moves, attitude, steps, personality, he has it all!
And again he looks like Jake Gyllenhaal:
http://images.picturesdepot.com/photo/j/jake_gyllenhaal-6475.jpg http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110131/c...1e498a-e601bd8ba871463ba2038772d01e498a-0.jpg
3.) 2004 FS
"Country Medley" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISEYOXCf4zk) ~ I looooooooooooved this program, made me want to get up and dance, especially when he dances during the footwork sequences!!!! BRAVO, Ryan Bradley, BRAVO! And Dick Button agrees with me throughout the performance, expressing what we all think, he has so much talent, but he's undisciplined, he's not as good as he could be, he has it in him to be a World Champion. ITA! :thumbsup:
The following two were for some reason dropped, but what I did see of them at Liberty was great:
4.) 2008 FS
"Western Movies Medley" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odMp1eFcRdc&feature=related) ~ lol, like the country medley, he's a natural when it comes to the South, and it even has the music from Clint Eastwood's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". In fact I'm wondering if this year's Men's Novice Champion, Nathan Chen, copied his SP from Ryan's. (;^)
5.) 2008 SP
"Elvis Presley Medley" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evYRFDycJSQ&feature=related) ~ love the music, the look with the slicked back black hair, black pants, and dark blue silk shirt, makes him look just like The King! In fact it reminds me of his "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" routine this year in some ways, shades of Elvis in G.I. Blues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4e_rhpmbpQ&feature=related (can't resist a man in uniform serving his country!)
***NOTE: this one might go over well in Japan, whom are HUGE Elvis Presley Fans, fact. His daughter, Lisa Marie, even married her fourth husband in Japan.***
Oops, one more, his 2006 FS to
"Saturday Night Fever" (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfghGWFE6Y8)I do recall seeing!
^D I loved it then & I love it now!
GOOOOOOOOOOOO RYAN BRADLEY!!!!!
I was just a baby when it was released in 1971, so my first introduction to the FABO world of Willy Wonka was 1976, and ALL that delicious candy; there's even old footage of me & other kids eating the bars on the "J.P. Patches" show. For those not in the know, the "J.P. Patches" show is the longest running kids show in the United States from 1958-1981; my eldest sister even appeared on it in 1978 as a Princess; she & the other contestants were running for Queen that year. 
But everything else was WONDERFUL! Thank You, Ryan Bradley, for bringing me back to the joy & wonder of being a kid again. Love you! 
arty:
for a while.
