Wagner Takes on Her Critics

[R.D.]

I will say this. The reporter hasn't done Ashley any favors with his reporting

That was EXACTLY my first thought. I had already listened to the teleconference in its entirety before this thread was created (and I read that article) and I thought it did a poor job of conveying what she ACTUALLY said. He totally manipulated the quotes to suit the agenda of his article...sadly, though, that appears to be the rule in the media biz and not the exception

Of course, making things worse was people reading the article and then going after Wagner for the words printed on that page...although she did say them, they were completely taken out of context. I knew it wasn't truly her fault.

One thing I learned is that this reporter can not capture the true spirit of an interview. I will refrain from discussing any of his stories in the future for fear of being burned again although after rereading it free of charged emotions...it's not all that bad. I should have gone with my gut...I'm sorry....

I actually learned this dirty secret about the media first-hand, the "hard way" if you will. A few years ago, I participated in a media report about something that happened on our campus - we had first-hand knowledge of what happened and what everyone said. Needless to say I was taken aback when I read the newspaper article the next day, taking our quotes out of context and making things seem so much worse than they actually were It's all about them views!

To this day, I refuse to speak to any newspaper or TV station about anything. I will go out of my way to avoid them if I see them on the street...

 

[Icey]

Comparing to Irina Slutchkaya, recent Russian girls are too much girlish. it's not mature women's performance. fans expect that figure skating show to us not only about jump,but also about art and mature performance in especially SENIOR ladie figure skating.

Was Irina at their age significantly or any more mature than these young ladies? I don't think so.

 

[peg]

Yeah, but she's not a casual fan, she's their rival. Doesn't she watch other athletes?

To be fair, she didn't necessarily say she herself sees them that way. She was talking about the difference between the Yuna/Mao period and the current period in a more general way.

I think that the difference between that era and the one that we're in right now is that, uh, all of these Russian girls right now, and who knows, like, you know, as time goes on maybe they'll start to stand out individually a bit more but everyone kinda sees them as one big...chunk of Russian girls skating

 

[WeakAnkles]

Love her. Her 'sonogram' crack may be the single wittiest and hilarious comment ever made by a skater. I'm laughing again just thinking about it. She is such a breath of fresh air compared to the usual "Offend No One Ever Under Any Circumstances" ice pwincess.

 

[ice coverage]

Many thanks to R.D. for transcribing the relevant portions of the teleconference. Very helpful.

For one thing, I hadn't realized that Zaccardi himself was the one who asked the question. :think:

I feel as though this is directed at me. Well the reason I put a at the end of "I probably follow the Russians closer than Ashley does" was a poke at myself for being a skating nerd. I really do doubt that Ashley knows more about the Russians than I do. I will quiz bowl her to prove it if I must.

It was not an insult to Ashley as you may have perceived it to be but merely a failed joke at my own expense.

RE: The other thread
FWIW:
http://cs540103.vk.me/c540105/v540105298/25395/qIXX2oC0u9E.jpg
http://cs540103.vk.me/c540105/v540105394/2470d/h9FzJq3ReXM.jpg
http://cs540103.vk.me/c540105/v540105213/16d34/vpyWTsqW3hg.jpg

Sam-S, I would be downright disappointed in you if you did not win the quiz bowl against Wagner. (I did not perceive your post as an insult to her.)

My post re the previous YL discussion was not targeted specifically at you ... although it is true that your well-known support for YL did help remind me of the other thread.

Thx for the cute pix of YL and ER. Happy to see that they are pals. I forget what their nicknames are -- Sunny and Lenok??

You have given me some hope that YL knows perfectly well who Josh is. LOL, I must say that if I were a young lady of her age, a guy as handsome, sweet, talented, accomplished, etc., as Josh is certainly would be on my radar.

 

[MariaRafael]

Upolished? Vow! Russian choreo has always been better than all Americans taken together. It's Wagner and Gold with their dental work that look identical, boring and lacking raw talent. Wagner will be the last in Barcelona. She is worse than the Russuian juniors.

 

[fridakalo]

Upolished? Vow! Russian choreo has always been better than all Americans taken together. It's Wagner and Gold with their dental work that look identical, boring and lacking raw talent. Wagner will be the last in Barcelona. She is worse than the Russuian juniors.

Don't be rude to Ashely! it's not good to your supporting Russians skaters

 

[ice coverage]

Re the Russian ladies in the GPF:

Unfortunately, even the official ISU Twitter account has not mastered the spelling of one of their names.

GP Figure Skating
@ISU_Reporter

First skaters to register at #gpfbarcelona were members of the RUS team: @Figuristka97/ Miroshkin, A. Porogilaya, S. Sakhanovich etc
4:54 AM - 9 Dec 2014
https://twitter.com/ISU_Reporter/status/542301225568698368​

 

[noskates]

Upolished? Vow! Russian choreo has always been better than all Americans taken together. It's Wagner and Gold with their dental work that look identical, boring and lacking raw talent. Wagner will be the last in Barcelona. She is worse than the Russuian juniors.

Yes, Gold with no talent. 4th at the Olympics, National Champion, just won the NHK. For someone relatively new to the board you sure know how to come out swinging.......

 

[R.D.]

It's Wagner and Gold with their dental work that look identical, boring and lacking raw talent.

Gold lacking raw talent? Damn, that's a first

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Upolished? Vow! Russian choreo has always been better than all Americans taken together. It's Wagner and Gold with their dental work that look identical, boring and lacking raw talent. Wagner will be the last in Barcelona. She is worse than the Russuian juniors.

Wonder which country you're from. :sarcasm: Yes, Adelina's waving to the judges during her spiral was groundbreakingly better than all Americans' choreography put together.

 

[surimi]

Wonder which country you're from. :sarcasm:

What does it matter what country they are from? Honestly, reading some of the posts in this discussion makes me feel like the Iron Curtain had never been lifted.

For myself, I appreciate that Ashley is different and speaks her mind. However, I don't agree with her that the Russians have it easy (if that's what she really said), and that they're a blur to everybody. Mostly because with Ashley being a professional, it seems to suggest they seem so to the experts, which is somewhat offensive.

 

[Icey]

One can expend too much energy and time taking on their critics. And the thing with critics they seldom go away.

 

[Mrs. P]

What does it matter what country they are from? Honestly, reading some of the posts in this discussion makes me feel like the Iron Curtain had never been lifted.

For myself, I appreciate that Ashley is different and speaks her mind. However, I don't agree with her that the Russians have it easy (if that's what she really said), and that they're a blur to everybody. Mostly because with Ashley being a professional, it seems to suggest they seem so to the experts, which is somewhat offensive.

A friendly reminder, to read these posts by RD (http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-Her-Critics&p=1040518&viewfull=1#post1040518), to state that Ashley didn't just go out of the blue and say "Russians have easier than me!"

Basically the context of the question was Rafeal's complaint that Ashley did not have enough ice time that she wanted and it was Lynn Rutherford who asked her to compare her ice time with the Russians.

Again, people are missing the second half of Ashley's quote.

Rafael loves to...let everybody know how difficult things can be (brief laugh) sometimes, but quite honestly, you know, if I have 2 hours on the ice and it's not exactly perfect training conditions, that's fine, it's the best I'm going to get that day and I have to just work with it. So it's not something that I think affects me all that much, because I'm just (???) kinda pushing through...uh, but...it would be nice to (laughs) live a day in the, in the Russians' shoes and, you know, have everything kind of perfectly set up so I can just focus on my training.

 

[Sjs5572]

This post would be better placed in the Politics threads here. This is an international forum. Please be considerate

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?176-Politics

I have deleted; however, sardonic reference to American dental work is not exactly PC either.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I have deleted; however, sardonic reference to American dental work is not exactly PC either.

I don't disagree. I try to support all skaters regardless of where they come from. I'm as American as they come and I've even lived on a farm and had cows

 

[ice coverage]

A friendly reminder, to read these posts by RD (http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-Her-Critics&p=1040518&viewfull=1#post1040518), to state that Ashley didn't just go out of the blue and say "Russians have easier than me!"

Basically the context of the question was Rafeal's complaint that Ashley did not have enough ice time that she wanted and it was Lynn Rutherford who asked her to compare her ice time with the Russians.

Again, people are missing the second half of Ashley's quote.

Adding to Mrs. P's post:

The excerpt below from Lynn Rutherford's report on the media call gives her perspective on Wagner's answer about ice time (emphasis added).

Occasional crowded conditions in Artesia have prompted Arutunian, who also trains U.S. skaters Nathan Chen and Adam Rippon, to seek additional ice time at other rinks. On her teleconference, Wagner refused to use limited ice time as an excuse.

"If I have two hours on the ice and it's not exactly perfect training conditions, that's fine -- that's what I am getting that day, and I have to work with it," she said. "It's not something that affects me all that much, (though) it would be nice to live a day in the Russians' shoes and have everything perfectly set up so I can focus on my training."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/12/08/103435016 (Dec 8)​

 

[R.D.]

But even that quote as posted in Rutherford's article is missing some context - makes it seem as if she mentioned the Russians out of thin air when that wasn't the case.

 

[Sjs5572]

BTW, Ashley hasn't tweeted anything since December 4th. Does anyone know if she made it to Barcelona yet?

 

[[email protected]]

We will see how Ashley does this week. She talks a lot. And so far she cannot help but mention Russian skaters in almost every interview. May be there is some dissatisfaction that they just dismiss what she says and in general stay clear of comparing themselves or their training condition with others. For example, this is the last Pogo's interview http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/index.php?threads/interview-with-anna-pogorilaya-«just-anya».94089/ Calm and positive.

And Ashley tries to convince herself and others that the Russians have much better conditions. Nonsense. Thousands kids have to get up at 5 a.m. to get to the rink before school. I have not heard that anyone including the top skaters have their personal rink time. There was a report on Eteri's group training day - Eteri has a lot of students and they were all on ice at the same time. And the state does not give out apartments. There is just one case with Yulia who lived with her mother for years in a small rented apartment. Then after she became Olympic Champion the Fed asked the state to give her an apartment. And Moscow government did it: some say 1-bedroom - others 2-bedroom apartment in a regular high-rise apartment building. So it is 60-90 square meter or 700 - 1000 square feet apartment for one skater. Why would Ashley care of all this stuff unless she is just defensive?