Tanith Belbin = America's Sweetheart

[i love to skate]

Unfortunately men control the tv networks in the US, and most of them know zero about hockey (unlike Canada), but they recognize it as a rough and tough sport and devote some air time to it. For skating, they think more like Phil Hersh - It's a woman's sport and manly men don't watch it. Golf, which most of tv execs play, is hardly rough and tough, but because they play it - it's on tv all the time. Most of the TV execs are still in the dark ages when it comes to skating, and they still think US women are really the only thing to watch in skating. Maybe someone should try to show clips of pairs and dance teams with their injuries - cuts, blood, broken noses (in pairs), etc. Totmianina got lots of coverage for her accident at Skate America several years ago. Perhaps that's the only way for these TV execs to understand how difficult/athletic these forms of skating actually are.
,

Well it could be said that men don't watch golf, they watch Tiger Woods. With him out now out, golf is going to suffer big time. If you want you should send the networks these videos. If these don't get across the message of the dangers, courage and difficulty than nothing will!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmqORGOj_DQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DcF...1E60EC08&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=34

Canadian TV has ran segments on the dangers before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOFwWE1qGA

 

[fairly4]

sorry i don't see her in the roll
primarly because you normally have to be born in the us ( i know it is stupid) but people might remember and not remember how she can about in it.
i personally don't see her as america sweethart --it implies wholesomeness and someone who did kind of racy photos somewhat loses that.
but america';s sweethart --i doubt it it usually goes to a single gil not a team.

like say mia hamm--was a team member not a sweethart came big nonetheless.

you don't name someone sweethart they become one because of something-like dorothy win but primiarly because of haircut-
nancy because of what happen,
peggy only one to win etc.
something else has to happen to allow it.
the media might say it-but people have to believe she fulfills the roll/requirements i don't see. the requirements are different for different people.

 

[Buttercup]

Most of the TV execs are still in the dark ages when it comes to skating, and they still think US women are really the only thing to watch in skating. Maybe someone should try to show clips of pairs and dance teams with their injuries - cuts, blood, broken noses (in pairs), etc. Totmianina got lots of coverage for her accident at Skate America several years ago. Perhaps that's the only way for these TV execs to understand how difficult/athletic these forms of skating actually are.

Canadian TV has ran segments on the dangers before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOFwWE1qGA

Jessica is tough; didn't she have an accident as a kid that cut half of one of her fingers off?

Of course, this being Canadian TV, Jamie crashed into the Russian team - but no mention of whether this affected Elena and Anton... I'm kind of grateful Elena Berezhnaya's famous accident with her old partner happened during training and nobody was on hand to film it. I do know there was at least one fluff about it during SLC. Now that is one injury I would not wish on anyone.

The problem is that the artistic/aesthetic aspect is a major part of skating, and some people can't understand that it's possible to be tough and athletic and still wear sequins and makeup. As demonstrated by public perception of synchro swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, too. I'd like to see any baseball player give any of these sports a shot.

 

[Tonichelle]

Well it could be said that men don't watch golf, they watch Tiger Woods. With him out now out, golf is going to suffer big time. If you want you should send the networks these videos. If these don't get across the message of the dangers, courage and difficulty than nothing will!]

Tiger took a semi hiatus before and golf did not suffer. It has a huge following in the states and it will do just fine without him

 

[life684]

Tiger took a semi hiatus before and golf did not suffer. It has a huge following in the states and it will do just fine without him

I agree when tiger had that leg injury (i think so ), most majors had exciting and tight finishes. it may actually do a lot of good to the golf with him taking a break, at least will allow casual fans to get to now about other golf.

Good to see you still posting Tonichelle, after a very difficult week.

 

[Tonichelle]

Good to see you still posting Tonichelle, after a very difficult week.

thanks. not much else I can do while I'm healing from the wisdom teeth... blah.

 

[i love to skate]

Tiger took a semi hiatus before and golf did not suffer. It has a huge following in the states and it will do just fine without him

Really?

Viewership for golf tournaments is likely to plunge as long as he stays off the tour. A study by rating firm Nielsen a year ago, when Woods was returning from a six-month injury rehabilitation, found that ratings for tournaments he missed in 2008 after playing them in 2007 were down an average of 47%.

Even the major tournaments are likely to take a hit in their television audience if he misses them. Nielsen found that viewership for the final day of the Masters fell 20% in the years that Woods did not win the most watched tournament.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/14/news/companies/tiger_impact/

I think it is going to have a significant impact

Jessica is tough; didn't she have an accident as a kid that cut half of one of her fingers off?

Yep, when she was a toddler. She has also had two knee surgeries, was in a horrible car crash where she badly sprained her wrist and still competed in singles and pairs at Nationals a few weeks later, she has had back injuries, ankle injuries, and of course the bad fall from the twist last year. Toughest girl on the ice, IMO.

Of course, this being Canadian TV, Jamie crashed into the Russian team - but no mention of whether this affected Elena and Anton...

Well it was a 100 pound girl crashing into a 190 pound man. I'm sure most people would realize that he would most likely be fine

 

[janetfan]

Well it was a 100 pound girl crashing into a 190 pound man. I'm sure most people would realize that he would most likely be fine

Most people would realize such an obvious fact. But not all people would.

 

[PolymerBob]

i personally don't see her as america sweethart --it implies wholesomeness and someone who did kind of racy photos somewhat loses that.

I wonder, if Dorothy Hamill had posed for racy pictures, would she have been America's sweetheart? I just don't know.

 

[Tonichelle]

Really?

Viewership for golf tournaments is likely to plunge as long as he stays off the tour. A study by rating firm Nielsen a year ago, when Woods was returning from a six-month injury rehabilitation, found that ratings for tournaments he missed in 2008 after playing them in 2007 were down an average of 47%.

Even the major tournaments are likely to take a hit in their television audience if he misses them. Nielsen found that viewership for the final day of the Masters fell 20% in the years that Woods did not win the most watched tournament.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/14/news/companies/tiger_impact/

I think it is going to have a significant impact

I'm not saying there isn't going to be a drop, but golf ratings are at an all time high at the moment. even a huge drop like 47% is still ranking higher than anything skating pulls off in this country right now.

 

[Wicked]

I'm not saying there isn't going to be a drop, but golf ratings are at an all time high at the moment. even a huge drop like 47% is still ranking higher than anything skating pulls off in this country right now.

You are right that golf ratings are at an all time high. And Tiger is the reason for that. You think golf, you think Tiger, even if you know nothing about the sport. It will be interesting to see what happens to golf if he stays away for a long while.

In the US, there is no one skater who is strongly associated with the sport. If you ask most people in the US to name an American figure skater, they will probably name someone who is no longer competing, like Michelle or Boitano.

 

[i love to skate]

I'm not saying there isn't going to be a drop, but golf ratings are at an all time high at the moment. even a huge drop like 47% is still ranking higher than anything skating pulls off in this country right now.

Golf is mostly a professional sport though so I don't really think you can compare it to skating. Professional sports are run completely different than amateur sports and the television deals and sponsors are much more competitive.

Skating is in a league of it's own when it comes to amateur sports, even through the past couple years when things have slowed down a bit. Look at the other US winter Olympic sports; the curling team has resorted to selling condoms and US speedskating needs Stephen Colbert to bring attention to the sport.

 

[Tonichelle]

those sports, though, have never had the type of viewership or sponsorship that skating has had in the past... skating has taken a nose dive in the last 10 years... even at teh height of Michelle's career we weren't getting the ratings that the whack heard round the world delivered... sadly.

as I said, it's a bloodlust type mentality...

professional sport or not, Golf will still have it's many magazines, its own network, and followers long after Tiger is gone. skating can't even keep the former hours of tv coverage it had prior to 1994!

 

[i love to skate]

Well I would say the USFSA needs to step in and figure out how to market their skaters and the sport better then. Perhaps they need to do what Skate Canada did - buy the rights from the ISU and then negotiate them to a broadcaster. Skate Canada and CBC are working together in the coverage and new endevours such as SkateBuzz have resulted and viewership has been very high on TV and online.

I don't think hours declining on TV is that bad. People probably spend more time on their computers than they do watching TV anyway and that's just the new reality - everything is shifting to the Internet, Blackberries, I Phones, etc.

 

[Mathman]

Most people would realize such an obvious fact. But not all people would.

But Anton was so upset and concerned about possibly having hurt Jamie that it threw his concentration and focus off. :yes:

(But seriously, Jamie was clearly at fault because she was skating by herself and Anton and Elena were skating as a pair. The pair always has the right of way, for obvious safety reasons.)

 

[Tonichelle]

yup, it was just an unfortunate accident all the way around... both teams did fairly well considering

 

[jcoates]

Well I would say the USFSA needs to step in and figure out how to market their skaters and the sport better then. Perhaps they need to do what Skate Canada did - buy the rights from the ISU and then negotiate them to a broadcaster. Skate Canada and CBC are working together in the coverage and new endevours such as SkateBuzz have resulted and viewership has been very high on TV and online.

I don't think hours declining on TV is that bad. People probably spend more time on their computers than they do watching TV anyway and that's just the new reality - everything is shifting to the Internet, Blackberries, I Phones, etc.

This is an important point. To bring up tennis again, I think there are lessons skating can learn from that sport in re-marketing itself in the US. Tennis ratings were on the decline in this country, even when Sampras and Agassi were still playing. They took a nose-dive once the Federer/Nadal era start and overlapped with the many injury absences of the Williams sisters. Fortunately, the powers that be realized that they were doing something wrong, because the sport was growing at lightspeed throughout the rest of the world. Tennis has even weathered the recession fairly well compared to other sports.

My point is that the various governing bodies started investing in promoting the top players regardless of where they were from while at the same time creating more streamlined, TV friendly scheduling (particularly heading into the US Open). This has gradually boosted fan interest, increased familiarity among casual fans about the top players and generated a spike in grassroots participation. TV ratings have started to climb again, even when Americans are not featured and sponsorships are pretty healthy.

In addition, all the stakeholders have invested heavily in making information about the sport as accessible as possible, especially at the big events. Virtually any handheld device can get ever more detailed info and even video in some cases. I think, in order to compete, skating has to deepen its internet investments to make information accessibility faster, broader and more detailed. Partnering with NBC now that there is a multi-year deal would be a good start, especially if they can take advantage of the platforms NBC already has in place.

 

[Nadine]

Haven't read the whole thread, too long, but just wanted to say the title of this thread immediately sprang to mind the following (America's 1st Sweetheart; also from Canada btw) :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39907211@N03/3704831082/


http://www.biographcompany.com/celebrity/pickford.html

 

[Buttercup]

Well it was a 100 pound girl crashing into a 190 pound man. I'm sure most people would realize that he would most likely be fine

But Anton was so upset and concerned about possibly having hurt Jamie that it threw his concentration and focus off. :yes:

(But seriously, Jamie was clearly at fault because she was skating by herself and Anton and Elena were skating as a pair. The pair always has the right of way, for obvious safety reasons.)

What I meant was, if the narrative is "Jamie was shaken but still won gold", the same could be said for Elena and Anton . Anton stumbled to the ice and Elena was dragged down but managed to regain her balance. As MM noted, the pair has the right of way in that situation, and an experienced skater like Jamie should have been more careful.

BTW, re golf ratings and Tiger Woods, AFAIK ratings drop whenever he's not competing. We'll see what happens this time... Personally I don't know how anyone can consider golf more of a sport than skating (and more worthy of being an Olympic sport than softball ).

 

[Wicked]

the curling team has resorted to selling condoms

Do you have a link for this? I'm asking because one of the lawyers I work with loves curling and would absolutely love to see that.