- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
Someone posted recently about it being the off-season, and now that it's here, I think it's time for what I hope will become an annual tradition:
Ravyn Rant's Raves and Rants for the Season!
We'll start with the raves:
10. Biggest shock: Michael Weiss' Henry V program at Skate America made me cry. Maybe it was just the music and I was having a Paul Wylie flashback, but I have to be fair. I had a Michael Weiss moment. Who'da thunk it?
9. Belbin & Agosto: The best smiles on ice. I can't wait to see those smiles on the top of an Olympic podium, and I'm fully confident that it will happen eventually.
8. Sasha's silver. You held on. You didn't (exactly) fall. You're #2 in the world. You're beautiful! You go!
7. Michelle at Nats: She was da Kween. And the princesses on her heels ensure that the American ladies will be a factor internationally for years to come. Yay!
6. Johnny Weir! Can it be, at long last, a return to artistry in American men's skating? I sure hope so!
5. Plushy's Najinsky program showed me an evolution in his unique, quirky artistic style. I finally learned to appreciate the boy this season. No matter what he does, he commands attention.
4. The Japanese ladies have such a deep field of talent that their #3 skater (she did come in third at Japanese Nats, right?) can win the World Championships. Wow.
3. Julia Sebestyen at Euros, Stefan Lindemann and Winkler and Lohse at Worlds, and the crowds that supported them while they had their best skates ever at home. You could feel the love through the TV. Those moments are some of the happiest in the sport. Good for them!
2. Shen & Zhao's Nutcracker. Sigh. If the CoP system had been in use, they'd have won the gold. What a skate, what a program, what a team!
1. All you folks at Golden Skate for providing a new way to love this sport. I've been lurking all season, and it's been a blast. I've learned a lot, and I've laughed a lot. Thanks!
And now...the rants.
10. Michael Weiss. The Pike, the tired Civil War program concept (yawn), the lackluster choreography, the exhibition(istic) nonsense on the ice...Mike, Mike, you really are better than that! We have one Phillipe Candeloro. We don't need another.
9. So just what is it with Team Canada wearing fuschia and black all the time? Are they the team colors now? It's become a standing joke at my house. Maybe it's time to re-think the color scheme, kids.
8. Naomi & Peter. Heavy sigh. I'll miss them.
7. Biggest personal bummer : No Takeshi Honda. Hope you come back strong next season, Ichi-ban!
6. American pairs skating: bet you really miss Ina & Zimmerman providing a standard to aspire to, eh? I know I do!
5. Skater-bashing. This has been my first season with an internet skating resource, and while it's been lovely, I have to say I'm discouraged at some of the less complimentary posts. I'll just leave it at that.
4. The judging, as usual, and at Worlds in particular. Great skating, lousy judging. No wonder viewership is down.
3. Security at Westfallenhallen and that stupid online casino paying some schmuck to shatter a competitor's concentration like that. Shame!
2. American television coverage - I feel so cheated.
1. Skating injured, skating sick, skating after surgery...this is such a disturbing trend. Are the more spectacular jumps worth the physical price these kids are paying?
But that's a whole 'nother thread!
Thanks for your kind attention.
Rave
Ravyn Rant's Raves and Rants for the Season!
We'll start with the raves:
10. Biggest shock: Michael Weiss' Henry V program at Skate America made me cry. Maybe it was just the music and I was having a Paul Wylie flashback, but I have to be fair. I had a Michael Weiss moment. Who'da thunk it?
9. Belbin & Agosto: The best smiles on ice. I can't wait to see those smiles on the top of an Olympic podium, and I'm fully confident that it will happen eventually.
8. Sasha's silver. You held on. You didn't (exactly) fall. You're #2 in the world. You're beautiful! You go!
7. Michelle at Nats: She was da Kween. And the princesses on her heels ensure that the American ladies will be a factor internationally for years to come. Yay!
6. Johnny Weir! Can it be, at long last, a return to artistry in American men's skating? I sure hope so!
5. Plushy's Najinsky program showed me an evolution in his unique, quirky artistic style. I finally learned to appreciate the boy this season. No matter what he does, he commands attention.
4. The Japanese ladies have such a deep field of talent that their #3 skater (she did come in third at Japanese Nats, right?) can win the World Championships. Wow.
3. Julia Sebestyen at Euros, Stefan Lindemann and Winkler and Lohse at Worlds, and the crowds that supported them while they had their best skates ever at home. You could feel the love through the TV. Those moments are some of the happiest in the sport. Good for them!
2. Shen & Zhao's Nutcracker. Sigh. If the CoP system had been in use, they'd have won the gold. What a skate, what a program, what a team!
1. All you folks at Golden Skate for providing a new way to love this sport. I've been lurking all season, and it's been a blast. I've learned a lot, and I've laughed a lot. Thanks!
And now...the rants.
10. Michael Weiss. The Pike, the tired Civil War program concept (yawn), the lackluster choreography, the exhibition(istic) nonsense on the ice...Mike, Mike, you really are better than that! We have one Phillipe Candeloro. We don't need another.
9. So just what is it with Team Canada wearing fuschia and black all the time? Are they the team colors now? It's become a standing joke at my house. Maybe it's time to re-think the color scheme, kids.
8. Naomi & Peter. Heavy sigh. I'll miss them.
7. Biggest personal bummer : No Takeshi Honda. Hope you come back strong next season, Ichi-ban!
6. American pairs skating: bet you really miss Ina & Zimmerman providing a standard to aspire to, eh? I know I do!
5. Skater-bashing. This has been my first season with an internet skating resource, and while it's been lovely, I have to say I'm discouraged at some of the less complimentary posts. I'll just leave it at that.
4. The judging, as usual, and at Worlds in particular. Great skating, lousy judging. No wonder viewership is down.
3. Security at Westfallenhallen and that stupid online casino paying some schmuck to shatter a competitor's concentration like that. Shame!
2. American television coverage - I feel so cheated.
1. Skating injured, skating sick, skating after surgery...this is such a disturbing trend. Are the more spectacular jumps worth the physical price these kids are paying?
But that's a whole 'nother thread!
Thanks for your kind attention.
Rave