What do you think is the most nitpicked skating result? ;)

[lulu]

What do you think is the most nitpicked skating result?

What "constroverstrial" skating result has been monday-nite quarterbacked the most?

This ISN'T who should have won X or Y event. Or what result was or wasn't a "robbery"

But what result caused/causes the most analysis, debate, etc. between fans.

 

[mike79]

This is a great poll.

I voted for Oksana and Nancy. After ten years it is still debated time after time by skating fans, sometimes very heatedly.

Just about any of the choices would be a good pick.

 

[berthes ghost]

I went with SLC pairs, just because it was that close and one really has to talk minute details or subjective overviews to really debate it.

Kerrigan clearly outskater Oksana on the tech mark, delivering less mistakes on a more difficult program. Things were really more equal with the pairs: clean S&P or more difficult B&S. I have no doubt that this too will still be a hot topic in 10 years time.

 

[RIskatingfan]

This is a tough topic LOL I would leave out 1994 Olys FD, 1994 G/G vs M/D and Boitano/ Orser, it's not really controversial... People talk about Urmanov vs Stojko but that was a clear win as well... 2002 SLC ladies there is some debate but not that much, it has more t odo with a surprise winner and Kwan in third... 1998 Olys ladies was close, but I think most people accept the results... 1996 ladies there aren't many rabid Lu Chen fans to cause debate LOL

So this leaves out the SLC pairs and 1994 Olys ladies. I'll go for the 1994 ladies only because it's been 10 years and people still talk about it. I sort of agree with BG on the pairs issue. It had it all (very close, judging controversy by the middle, rabid fans on each side, a gold medal each) but it was only 2 years ago. Who knows how it will be viewed in 10 or 20 years. We can make guesses, but for now, I find it impressive that the Baiul/Kerrigan is still debated. Or maybe I should vote for the two LOL

 

[Antilles]

I went with the SLC pairs because of the huge controversy, though I think 1994 ladies plays a close second. For bronze medals, I'd add the dance from 1998. At least in North America, there are still some people harping over it.

 

[Tonichelle]

I went with the 1998 Ladies... there are message boards out there fighting over which lady should have won STILL... get over it people! LOL

 

[Mathman]

I voted for Boitano/Orser. I thoiuhgt that was a dead heat. I still can't make up my mind.

Mathman

 

[lulu]

I voted for Boitano/Orser. I thoiuhgt that was a dead heat. I still can't make up my mind.

Mathman

That was a good competition, but how many times do you hear people going to "war" over Boitano v. Orser?

I would vote for Kerrigan v. Bauil,

S&P v. B&S obviously caused a lot of commotion, but you really don't hear that many people getting into long analysis over who should have won anymore. (Maybe everyone is just too tired? )

But the 1994 Olympic Ladies always seems to pop up on a thread. On the MKF it went on for over 100 posts.

 

[Jaana]

Personally I would leave e.g. these from lists, because they are not contraversial wins:

- 1988: Boitano vs. Orser (a clear win, because Orser made technical mistakes)
- 1994: Urmanov vs. Stojko (a very clear win, Stojko got only one judge)
- 1998: Tara vs. Michelle (a clear win in my opinion)

As the question though was about nitpicking, I would say Tara vs, Michelle, because I have never before or afterwards seen as vicious postings on Internet.

About B&S I think that they were robbed.

 

[Kasey]

I voted for Nancy/Oksana.

I think the 2002 pairs really isn't debated that much because, let's face it, they BOTH won. Whether both teams deserved gold or not...there was a "bad guy", there was the intrigue, etc. But both teams got the gold. Not much left for nitpicking. (although I would have gone with B/S).

Kasey

 

[show 42]

Good choices, all of them, but I went with the Ladies at the 2002 SLC Olympics. Many factors were in play here, position of the skaters going into the final, "cheated jumps", the cloud hanging over the competition because of the pair controversy, the judging.........my second choice would have been the FD during the 94 Olympics ending with T and D in third place.........42

 

[boggartlaura]

Personally I would leave e.g. these from lists, because they are not contraversial wins:

- 1988: Boitano vs. Orser (a clear win, because Orser made technical mistakes)

If it was such a clear win, then how did Orser get four judges?

 

[lil lion 816]

If it was such a clear win, then how did Orser get four judges?

I agree - and if the artistic presentation mark had been the tie-breaker rather than the technical (as it should be in a *free skate* I feel) Orser would have won. Personally, I always thought he should have anyway, an opinion I hold to this day and after numerous viewings of both his and Boitano's programs.

I agree that the debate about the ladies in '94 and '98, as well as the pairs controversy in SLC are the ones I see crop up over and over.

 

[Jaana]

If it was such a clear win, then how did Orser get four judges?

That is no surprise in world of figure skating that Orser got four judges, LOL. We must also remember where the competition was being held (IMO that counts very much, although the judges are international). I would say that if one compares how they skated the freeskate, Boitano would have deserved and should have gotten more judges. In that sense I believe he had a clear win. If Orser had managed to skate his programme including a second triple axel and a succesful triple flip, he would have won.

I remember that as I watched it live on Eurosport, I had the opinion that the right Brian won. About four years ago I got a tape, and I still had the same opinion (although I of course very much enjoyed of Orser´s skating also).

 

[Ophir]

The Battle of the Brians. Clear cut. The men had been making such technical advances, you could not deny the power and beauty of Tano's jumps. Orser, if I recall, popped two of his and that's why he lost.

Nancy and Oksana. Hmmmmm. I have never been a fan of Oksana's skating. I prefer the US-Canada style of skating, where athleticism is held up by artistry instead of the other way round. Oksana's skating for me was mannered and I cannot forget those two-footed landings. I didn't care for her costume either. If Nancy hadn't doubled that flip (or was it a loop), she would have won. Despite evidence to the contrary, I know people who have met Nancy and said she was as sweet as pie. And when you consider all the bs she went through thanks to Tonya Harding and her toadies, I think she skated beautifully. She didn't get what she deserved, or what she thought she deserved, and for me, that will always be the most nit-picked figure skating event ever. A lot of people criticized her "jerky" hand movements and the triple cum double. But Oksana skated with her hands - so much hand waving I thought she was helping a 747 land. Or doing semaphore. Nancy looked gorgeous to me with her exquisite Vera Wang dresses and she skated beautifully. I will always think Nancy deserved the gold. If she had won, maybe we wouldn't have had to see her act so obnoxious afterwards. But I kind of can understand how she felt. The press was practically up her rear end all of the time. She was burned out from all of the drama. But she has recovered. A good pro career, a loving husband and a beautiful little boy. Her QOL factor is much higher than Tonya's or Oksana's.

 

[Vash01]

The Battle of the Brians. Clear cut. The men had been making such technical advances, you could not deny the power and beauty of Tano's jumps. Orser, if I recall, popped two of his and that's why he lost.

Nancy and Oksana. Hmmmmm. I have never been a fan of Oksana's skating. I prefer the US-Canada style of skating, where athleticism is held up by artistry instead of the other way round. Oksana's skating for me was mannered and I cannot forget those two-footed landings. I didn't care for her costume either. If Nancy hadn't doubled that flip (or was it a loop), she would have won. Despite evidence to the contrary, I know people who have met Nancy and said she was as sweet as pie. And when you consider all the bs she went through thanks to Tonya Harding and her toadies, I think she skated beautifully. She didn't get what she deserved, or what she thought she deserved, and for me, that will always be the most nit-picked figure skating event ever. A lot of people criticized her "jerky" hand movements and the triple cum double. But Oksana skated with her hands - so much hand waving I thought she was helping a 747 land. Or doing semaphore. Nancy looked gorgeous to me with her exquisite Vera Wang dresses and she skated beautifully. I will always think Nancy deserved the gold. If she had won, maybe we wouldn't have had to see her act so obnoxious afterwards. But I kind of can understand how she felt. The press was practically up her rear end all of the time. She was burned out from all of the drama. But she has recovered. A good pro career, a loving husband and a beautiful little boy. Her QOL factor is much higher than Tonya's or Oksana's.

Orser did not 'pop' two of his jumps. He had a slightly flawed landing on the triple flip (pop means doing fewer than the planned revolutions, and he did not single or double it), and he CHOSE to double his second triple axel. It was not a pop. It certainly made the difference in the technical marks, but he won the artistic marks. At that time though the tech marks were the tie breaker. Had the rules been what they are now, Orser would have won. So it was not as clear cut as you say.

About Oksana-Nancy, it was a close competition. Nancy was technically better, and Oksana was artistically better. She had the best flow on ice, of all the skaters, so it is not correct to say that she only skated from waist upward. She did use more posing than Nancy, but there was plenty of skating and edging that was high quality. It was a matter of what you like. As you said, you prefer the athletic style. BTW, Nancy's costume was Gorgeous! However, I liked Oksana's too. It fitted the Broadway theme of her program very well. I thought the media and the public were a bit too harsh on Nancy in their later criticism, however. I do agree that had Nancy not doubled the first triple (flip) she would have won handily.

 

[ouridol]

I think 98 Olympics, and 94 olympics ladies FS were the most. 02 pairs was more of a publicity thing.

It took a loonnng time before Tara and Michelle fans stopped arguing over who decided to win that night, and same goes for Nancy and Oksana.