sigh.
yet another Michelle/Sasha thread...why?
There's more intrigue on some of these threads than at the Olympics!
The way I see it is, Michelle has been Sasha's chief rival, the skater in whose shadow she has skated, ever since she arrived on the amateur scene. Yes, they may be COI colleagues, but while you're in the amateur ranks, it's all about the top spot on the podium. Michelle herself, in it to win the elusive Olympic gold this many years later, would be the last to refute that. Where am I going with this? Basically, I'd like to see some people criticizing Sasha for poor manners, insensitivity, or what have you, put themselves in the boots of someone who, like all her fellow skaters, trains as a full time job to put it all out there on the ice, win or lose, succeed or fail. Both Michelle and Sasha have their competitive demons; so Michelle has had nerves of steel, but the Olympics have proven to be her achilles heel. Sasha's path has been rougher, coming up short and runner-up to Kwan or sometimes to another hardier competitor on a number of occasions. The fact is that Michelle has won many more competitions than she's lost, and it may be easier to maintain a sunny disposition and winning, always-on public persona under more favorable circumstances - though she has earned every medal she's donned, as well as all the respect. I'm just speculating, feel free to pick apart my musings.
The withdrawal may hurt Michelle, it may hurt Michelle's family, friends, and many fans, and it may hurt NBC ratings. But I do want to point out that Michelle might also agree with Sasha's statement on things not always working out, given her Olympic track record of silver and bronze healthy. It's not that tragic that she became injured and had to withdraw, because she's had two shots at Olympic gold already, and due to the vicissitudes of competition (it is a competition, the highest stakes one, not the crowning achievement of every legendary skater - look at Janet Lynn, for crying out loud! And so many others!), which Sasha has been on the business end of many more times than Michelle, she came up short both times! This is not a judgment of Michelle; I think she's an amazing skater who comes across as charming on screen and she's a master at public relations. However, I don't think anyone is in a position to judge people they don't know, their manners or what have you, ESPECIALLY not in a competitive context in one of the most high-pressure sports there is, where the stakes are higher than ever! If I were Sasha, might I be focused on my skate and my skate alone (not to mention trying to deal with jetlag, fatigue, loads of nerves, pressure from expectations galore, starting with my own, and physical conditioning and actually skating, to boot)? Yes. If I were Sasha, might I have less than warm and fuzzy feelings about Michelle and her legacy and how it always overshadows my own attempts to forge one? Yes. Might I be annoyed by a question about Michelle, though I may wish her no harm personally, on an interview about me? Yes. These are human reactions, people!
I feel sorry for Michelle and for her fans, and I myself, like Dee, was raring to see whether Michelle could throw down at these Olympics, looking forward to check out what sound like exciting new programs, and wishing her the best. However, I can't accept that catharsis has to come at the expense of a comment Sasha made that wasn't really evil or anything; all too often, disappointments over favorite skaters are aired out and vented in these famed, epic, "my skater vs. your skater" threads, and that's part of what I feel has happened here. Just my two cents.
Instead of fans putting themselves in the shoes of other fans, how about putting ourselves in the boots of some of these skaters that we go to town on? Kinda hard, considering that most of us have no idea what that kind of pressure feels like and what effect it has on people, in most cases, very young people in their formative years. So what if Michelle may be considered a class act by some in dealing with the media in comparison to Sasha? (I for one can't decide whether someone is a good person or not on the basis of interactions with a media industry that prefers its figure skaters politically correct; as nice a person as Michelle may be, there's always some measure of acting involved, for all skaters, or at least those who deal with US media - see Russian skaters' refreshing yet shockingly un-P.C. comments for a stark contrast) I feel a comparison of their skating is the most relevant as a fan of skating, and even then it's apples and oranges, it's down to what you prefer, or (gasp) if you like both! The personality stuff, which we can't know but to a limited degree since we don't know the skaters personally, just becomes "my skater vs. your skater" sniping. Yawn.
Sarah M.
p.s. Bravo to Michelle for looking to come back next season!
