Scott Hamilton Zoom Talks with Skaters: Lysacek, Boitano, Gold & More

[skylark]

In my case, I was aware before your thread that Scott had conducted an extended interview with Evan, but had not felt a burning desire to see it.
I had never disliked Evan, but was not inclined to spend over an hour watching an interview with him.

But ... your very positive review of the interview made me curious enough to take at least a brief peek.
To my pleasant surprise, I ended up happily watching the whole thing. I enjoyed hearing everything that Evan had to say.

I'm so happy you enjoyed it! :hap93: Thanks for letting me know. I've found, even when a skater isn't on my personal "A List," that I've often been pleasantly surprised when I listened to what they have to say, provided that an interviewer brings out nuances and thoughts I hadn't heard the same way before.

It is disheartening indeed that any skater like Evan is the subject of widespread and persistent negativity.

You summed that up well and succinctly.

Thank you for speaking up with your endorsement of the interview.

You're welcome. And thank you for your kind words and validation of my posting the interview. I had my doubts, beforehand, about doing so.

 

[el henry]

I didn't think about Evan one way or the other before this interview, and I found it informative, interesting, and told me things I did not know. That is all I can ask of any interviewer or interviewee.

Not only that, the interview with Gracie was honest and emotional, and the interview with Brian O. and Tracy was a blast from the past, instead of 50 minutes on what it's like to coach Yuzu. And hey, any preconceptions about American skaters don't apply to them. And Brian B. was funny as always.

I'm glad I didn't let any preconceptions prevent me from watching these, and I look forward to watching the remainder:agree:

 

[el henry]

Well now I just listened to the Meryl and Charlie and Tanith one, and it was so enjoyable.

Scott spends a lot of time in these talks on the beginning of a skater's career, and hearing Meryl's and Charlie's different reactions to their singles skating, as well as programs of many falls, was amusing. And how Scott learned Charlie and Tanith were dating.

And that Mabel Fairbanks did choreo for a young Scott's ice dance routine

And that if Ben Agosto doesn't like you, you are beyond redemption

 

[TontoK]

^^ It was hard to tell from the first paragraph alone, but I get that you think Evan has "huge ego about" his Olympic victory. As compared to whom? Plushenko?

I've always found Evan to be proud of his Olympic win, as he has every right to be, but humble, appreciative of his competitors, and generous to everyone whenever he possibly could be. And, I loved Evan's skating: he exuded passion and intensity; he executed Lori Nichol's choreography to the best of his ability, and his musicality always seemed to be an integral part of him.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, so we can agree to disagree.

I found it disheartening, when I joined this forum 5 years ago, that no one could even mention Evan's name in a positive way without getting a storm of fervid negatives in response. I still do. Oh, well. I'm content to have given other Evan fans (who do exist around here; they're just mostly silent) an opportunity to hear this interview if they hadn't known about it previously.

Two things can be true at the same time.

1. Plushenko is one of the greatest, most magnetic skaters I've ever seen.
2. Evan beat him fairly at the Olympics. On that night, he was the better skater. He absolutely deserved the title.

 

[skylark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8XoVRnY_ZI&list=PLtqQesWFIMP9A_icI7DzeNShO-y4liZv2&index=8&t=2360s

This is Scott's interview with Nathan Chen. The most surprising part of the interview is around the half hour mark. Scott asked Nathan to describe his take-away from each of his coaches. His answer about what he's learned from Rafael Arutunian is just amazing. Things I've never heard any skater say about Raf.

The following page lists all the interviews in Scott's Webinar series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtqQesWFIMP9A_icI7DzeNShO-y4liZv2