I know I'm in a minoroty being a fan of figure skating, but I just love seeing those tiny girls giving their all on the ice. I think a female is at her very best when she rules the ice, and lives the figure skating role (being polite, gracious, and warm). I was channel surfing today, when I discovered by accident that NBC was airing Skate America-the opening event in the skate season. I used to be a HUGE fan, but when figure skating was pushed to cable (I don't have cable-long story) a couple of years ago, I had lost something I very much looked forward to. I love the drama element of the sport, some of those girls have such a story, for instance: Michelle Kwan-The only thing that might keep her from being considered the greatest skater ever is the fact that she has never won Olympic Gold (just bronze and silver). By far, she has more national and world championships than anyone. By far, she has more perfect scores than anyone else. Sasha Cohen-Elegance is a word that comes to mind when you see her on the ice. She has such great athletic skill that comes across in a performance as pure grace. She would skate on one foot while the other foot was perfectly parallel to the ceiling. The thing that dogged her and kept her from being superstar great was that she would make one small error during big performances, because of that, she always got the silver. Jenny Kirk-was at her peak while her mother was dying of cancer. You just wanted to cry every time she took the ice. She never really won anything, but she was a true competitor. Tara Lipinski-won Olympic gold at age 14, then retired from competitive skating because of hip replacement. NBC is also going to carry Nationals and Worlds. I'm really excited.
I know I'm in a minoroty being a fan of figure skating, but I just love seeing those tiny girls giving their all on the ice. I think a female is at her very best when she rules the ice, and lives the figure skating role (being polite, gracious, and warm). Uhm....not to puncture your balloon or anything, but have you ever heard of Tonya Harding? She's from Oregon, BTW.
I remember Tonya before the "incident". She was rough around the edges then. I never saw her being polite, gracious, or warm. She never really fit into the "Adorable Princess" role that skaters handle so well. She smoked, even though she was asthmatic. Skaters make lots and lots of money from endorsements (in 2006, Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen made 3.5 million each). They make excellent role models because they epitomize so many things that we think girls should aspire to. Even though it was marketable that Tonya was a poor girl who waitressed to make ends meet (while competing), she screwed herself (by bashing Nancy's knee) while on the verge of making six figures.
In 1983, along with some other guys, I was watching an aerobics class. We were scoffing at the women in the class (phfft, we can do that). Then I took a class and found out it was hard work. I eventually became an instructor. There's something about being a guy who can become the center of attention on a dance floor, not because of looking like a total twit, but because of skill. Who's the better athlete? The guy who can bowl a 300, the golfer, or the guy (or girl) who can spin around the ice and complete eight perfectly executed required jumps? Don't knock it till you try it, and I've tried it.
I like figure skating, it is interesting to watch, but I don't make any great effort to watch, short of when the Olympics are on. Tara Lipinski has not had a hip replacment, though. She had a profound injury to the supportive structures of it, but the joint itself is good to go. BTW, she was 15 when she won the Gold, the youngest person to ever win a Gold in the Winter Games.
Hmmm dunno if you can dock man points on this one DG , LCP did lay out in the beginning its all about watching the girls. And you have to admit the skaters and dancers have the best figures and legs michelangelo designed.
Say what you like about Tonya Harding, she was a damned good skater, one of the best in the sport. My point was that she certainly doesn't epitomize the ideal of the female figure skater that you expressed; "I think a female is at her very best when she rules the ice, and lives the figure skating role (being polite, gracious, and warm)." She didn't whack Kerrigan's knee, but there was a strong suspicion that she incited one or more of her boyfriends to do the deed. I'd say taht the fact that she was banned from the sport for life, for an act that is more evocative of the professional wrestling circuit, somewhat invalidates your poetic vision of female figure skaters
I would never question the athleticism, I just never got into it. Of course, I would rather watch ice skating than soccer so it is not the lowest of the low in my book! (And I used to have a male friend who was a professional ice dancer so I know the effort that goes in to skating, but still . . . . )
When I was very young, one of my sisters told me never to pick a fight with a gymnast, they're so strong that you won't last long.
try Mountaineering preferably throwing in some ice-climbing as well. Knew a babe' that could spin on ice in the flats as well as rip up 100 footers faster than anyone and she knew here strengths but proved that she indeed had the technique's down ......... E ♫
