Here's an icenetwork article on Weaver/Poje, facilitated, we can be sure, by Skate Canada:
The platonic passion of Weaver & Poje
In the States, eligible figure skating partnerships are allowed to date, marry and have a romance with each other. In Canada, not so.* Until you have retired, you may not know your partner in the biblical sense.**
This article describes in detail how the Weaver and Poje families spend every Xmas Eve and Christmas day together, breakfast together, midnight mass together, and also works in how Weaver and Poje share a house (platonically).***
On this blog one commentator scoffed when I cited Weaver & Poje as at first having insisted they were platonic. This comment informed the blog that everyone knew it was bullshit and nobody cares about them anyway (as I remember - I have not double checked yet).
The tone (not to mention my own impression) was that the cat had been out of the bag as to Weaver & Poje's real status for some time.
When the hell did it crawl back in?
Is it strategy? We all know Scott and Tessa's success and popularity derives from their relationship status, not their figure skating. Maybe Weaver & Poje are throwing down.
I'd suspect it could be pandering to religious conservatives in Canada - people who don't believe in pre-marital sex, but come on. Not to mention that theory is contradicted by aggressive image-messaging letting fans know that figure skaters are getting it on outside marriage plenty, just not with their skating partners.
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*The law prohibiting intra-partner Canadian figure skating romance was enacted in 2007 and is called the Dube Davison law.
**Skate Canada is obsessed with gay stuff so maybe they took the concept of "plays for our team" "doesn't play for our team" too literally.
*** So you see, it is totally possible to live together, share everything together including holidays, travel to be with each other, and vacation together, but NOT BE A COUPLE.
Are Kaitlyn and Andrew just taking one for the(ir) team(mates) - Scott and Tessa? Creating validity via their own story - back door messaging as it were?
Hard to figure it's for their own sake or privacy protection, seeing as - as the blog comment pointed out - when everyone believed they WERE a couple, nobody except a few random fans gave a shit.
I saw the icenetwork article yesterday about Weaver/Poje and when I saw the word platonic in there - I definitely rolled my eyes, LOL...Oiee...and to think that this "platonic" disease is spreading like wildfire...at least they admit to sharing a dwelling..yeah...it would be a sacrifice to look at Andrew Poje and think - yup nothing going on here, absolutely no chemistry and hey we might as well spend so much together cuz hey it's convenient.....oh detroit...seriously a tv reality show for Detroit based skaters would definitely fill a niche...and throw in a guest appearance from Johnny Weir every so often to visit Tanith and voila...
ReplyDelete[oh detroit...seriously a tv reality show for Detroit based skaters would definitely fill a niche...and throw in a guest appearance from Johnny Weir every so often to visit Tanith and voila... ]
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget to also add in Fedor Andreev, who has supposedly dated all of the elite ice-dancers in Canton. Maybe that's why Weaver and Poje are still platonic, Fedor has now moved on to the other rinks in Detroit! Hahaha
Fedor's a rare one - moves from girl to girl - all of whom compete with each other while being friends with each other - and does not upset any friendships. And as soon as he's on the market once more, he's snapped up again by yet another Detroit-based senior ice dancer without the girl giving it a second thought. :)
ReplyDeleteWell Fedor still has to conquer Nathalie Pechelat? No? LOL...mind you Nathalie is still a newcomer to the Detroit area...
ReplyDeleteWell if Waever and Poje continue this "platonic" relationship for the next while at least Angelika Krylova and Marina Zoueva can trade advice in Russian during warm-up sessions about to deal with such situations, LOL...more vodka please....
ReplyDeleteYou're joking - not another SC "platonic passion"!!
ReplyDeleteThat is the stupidest description. First of all, such a thing does not exist (what is this, a SC TV soap-opera?). So these young, beautiful ice-dancers are not like regular folk. They live together and act couple-like but they really never think about sex. They're platonic. Brother and sister. (If it looks like a duck and acts like a duck - guess what - It's a duck!!)
SC really needs to get out of the business of relationship-descriptions. They're a bunch of idiots. Aren't they supposed to be promoting figure skating in Canada? What does this stuff have to do with their jobs?
Weaver and Poje being together has never been a secret. I don't understand this attempt at promoting them this way. Do you think they went along with this, or is it all SC?
Tessa and Scott have NEVER been believable all these years that they've described themselves as platonic. I think it's time to cut the bull****.
Well today thanks to you guys I got a couple chuckles...enjoy the holidays...oh I would love to be a fly on the wall on this platonic relationship business between let's say Tracey Wilson and Shae-Lynn Bourne...
ReplyDeleteLOL as soon as I saw the W/P article I headed over here but I see the party started several hours ago. So incredibly weird!! If they want the platonic 'shield', why mention that they live in a house together at all? No question that SC is involved, it smacks of the same pathetic attempt at intrigue/bizarre passive agressiveness. I love you W/P, please don't go there...
ReplyDeleteWhile it's hard to believe the concern would be unmarried couples shacking up in Canada, the fact they've obsessed with the gay stuff shows they have their own agenda, unrelated to the social attitudes of most Canadians. But as has been pointed out, it's not that simple, because why shove J/S apparent pre marital activities in our face?
Happy Holidays everyone
Well after a great dinner and some wine, okay lots of wine, LOL, we know that Mr. Poje would not be a single male..thus for fun only - who would you pair him up with (no pun intended)...Kirsten Towers-Moore, Paige Lawrence, Meagan Duhamel...like I said the wine is talking at this point...and I agree with the poster above...why mention in the article that you are living under the same roof...I mean really...
ReplyDeleteThe theories that present themselves are Scott and Tessa stand out as so incredibly weird SC realizes it now and is using W&P as counter-spin - it has leaned on W&P to imitate VM's sotry so as to "normalize" the VM weird - oh, it's not weird - W&P are super-close, "like-family" platonic partners too!
ReplyDeleteBut begs the question of course - as the comment above said - WTF? WTF is SC doing? Shouldn't they be promoting figure skating?
I get the original twisted logic of how this shit promotes figure skating but it long since stopped making sense and now just wags its own tale. SC is scrambling to protect its incompetent personnel and their incompetent ideas that they put into practice starting 2007 and now have dug SC into a hole.
This is about SC proving itself "right" in some way.
I swear to God - if the guy is gay, SC falls over itself insinuating the guy is sleeping with a girl - if the guy and girl ARE sleeping together and partners - then they go the other way and try to sell us that two gorgeous best friends who adore each other are platonic.
When did this crap become the big preoccupation of SC's so-called marketing department? Right now it's the "cover our ass" department and that is IT. Nothing to do with marketing - just incompetent but ruthless SC personnel spinning, spinning, spinning - trying to make clown tactics work.
Yeah, but now that Andrew is platonic with Kaitlyn, where's his amoureux?
As said above - there are plenty of girls available and as it's paid off for Jessica I'm sure there's a bunch of SC skaters ready for the job of Poje gf - although W&P are going to have to step it up, results and popularity-wise, for a Poje fake gf to reap the same desperate perks SC showers on Jessica.
Right now I pretty much suspect the entire article happend to get that oh-so-casual "platonic" mention in, and that it's more about VM than W&P. SC is trying to push the idea that a relationship as tight as VM's, and still being platonic, is commonplace. Look at Weaver & Poje.
So now will those two get special consideration in return? I don't think SC has the resources, and if I were family of an up and coming skater I'd be incredibly pissed. My options would be to somehow be "useful" to SC in their bozo spin that protects Debbi and Barb, or ... well, otherwise I'd be screwed.
If I were SC - I'd back off. You can't put the genie back in the bottle with W&J. Everyone knows this is a joke.
What about Piper Gilles for Andrew's amoureux? I'm sure she's eager to raise her profile?
ReplyDeleteBut perhaps SC shrinks from pairing dancers with dancers. Fewer excuses for the lovebirds to be separate. They're on the same schedule not just the same competitions. Is Paige Laurence dating anyone? Although directly in competition with Jessica, she could perhaps get a boost. The Poje gf job is really the poor man's sham gf slot though, and Poje's sham gf would be getting Jessica's scraps. Would that be any better than Paige's situation now?
Well you know who would be a riot to pair with Andrew? try Cynthia Phaneuf...the French connection (Jessica and Cynthia) snagging the dance guys from Ontario...oh the possibilities...joking of course...but still...
ReplyDeleteI don't see how this could be pandering to religious conservatives in Canada. As a previous Anon has said, they've shoved a bunch of S/J supposed premarital activity in our face.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree with the theory that it's SC being it's incompetent, desperate self, and attempting to scramble to normalize the idiotic situation in which they've landed V/M.
They just keep digging deeper holes.
I wish Scott and Tessa would take control of their image and just put themselves out there with the truth. So let the chips fall where they may. They could not only have the relief of being free of SC's sorry attempts at skater-management, they could also be free of constantly coming up with lies to cover their asses. Be done with it already!
I sincerely hope W/P don't go down this road. They also need to tell SC to screw it, and just be open about who they are. Not that it would be a surprise to anyone. (*rolleyes*)
But if they do fall in with SC's plans (idiots), then perhaps one of the single skaters from Annie Barabe's group would be a good SO for Poje. Keep the fake gf out there in Quebec, and still provide the perks that SC bestows along with the position of fake amoreux.
You know what I've noticed - Tanith and Charlie are not asked intrusive questions. She's asked about him in interviews but I've yet to read anything that is too pushy. I've yet to see fans speculate ugly. Tanith will acknowledge in an interview about dating Charlie and then it's "how did you find out about Worlds? Was it hard to manage your excitement?" That's a moonball question. I've yet to see either one be asked "so what did you guys think of each other all those years you were both training at Canton and not dating? When did it change?"
ReplyDeleteI've only seen one reference to how Meryl reacted and it was basically Charlie saying she wondered if his focus would be 100% on the competition and she realized fast it was and after that things were fine. Not a single question about conflicts of interest during the Olympic year and Meryl/Charlie unseating Tanith/Ben pre-Vancouver and oh what a soap opera.
Nothing.
So the Scott/Tessa rationale is fake. They're not guarding against a real possibility. The limbo they live in, PR-wise, actually generates intrusive, inappropriate interest.
I haven't seen an interview ask if Tanith and Charlie have marriage plans either.
The tendency of fan message boards is to prefer lies, speculation, arguing different speculation, and referencing rumor and stuff totally made up when it comes to relationships.
Actual real stuff they leave alone because the truth is the truth, and a lie about what's real will be found out. And it's not fun.
A lie about something that's only speculation and can't be pinned down is easier. Truth is a buzz kill and suddenly the desire to chew the fat about it fades.
So, IOW, I believe the rationale behind Scott and Tessa's lies is crap. If they came clean, the fan focus would not get more intense and ramp up, it would back off. That, IMO, is the nature of fandom.
Let's face it - in general fan interest in figure skating has dwindled and the height of media attention only happens 6 months pre-Olympics and then continues for roughly another 6-8 months. There was a reason why Charlie and Tanith did not make their relationship status known until after the 2010 Olympics. So let's not totally pretend that Charlie and Tanith were totally open from the get go - they just got better advice of timing etc. And yes, let's not pretend that either Meryl Davis or Ben Agosto would have been thrilled that your partner is dating a competitor in the same discipline...let's not be naive here either..but coming back to V/M, yeah I think at this point in their careers if they are in a relationship - you don't necessarily need to make an announcement but stop the over the top sham etc....my 2 cents...
ReplyDeleteI get all of what you're saying ^ but my point is it was managed perfectly well. Tanith and Charlie's situation was only volatile in the tablod sense of rival ice dancers dating = conflict of interest. The writing was pretty much on the wall with B&A's first Olympic season GP series fd scores (I believe it was around 95 and Tanith even wondered if they'd gotten a deduction - which they didn't). By Nationals, Tanith was perfectly at ease with coming up second to D/W.
ReplyDeleteVM are in a less soap-opera situation - a long term ice dance team in a long term relationship that is now a lifetime commitment and then some. No conflict, no cheating, no soap opera element.
The media is pretty compliant - they won't ask gross questions unless the skaters want those questions asked. So that leaves what? VM are doing this because of fsu - fsu, which would back off and be self-policed if VM came clean, as they're all about rumor, lies, speculation and b.s. - but steer clear of truth? Not to mention, freak fans are freak fans - they'll be inappropriate whether VM come clean or not. They won't be MORE inappropriate if VM come clean - in fact, that might put them in check. Right now, I think the idea of Scott dating Jessica encourages fans to be much more familiar and intrusive with Scott than if they knew he was with Tessa. If VM confirmed their actual status, they'd have a bigger privacy zone than all the lies they've sold have provided.
IMO it comes back down to non-real reasons. It's "I am allergic to sharing ANYTHING real - so I'm going to look for reasons to lie." It's not about protecting themselves. It's all pretext founded in ocd, paranoia and neurosis - so they look for reasons. They'd have more distance with fans if the truth were out. They'd actually be better off, privacy wise.
But, at this point, it's not just Scott and Tessa. Debbi's ass would be exposed - the entire SC infrasture would be out there as the clowns they are - focusing on this stuff instead of important stuff. How much better to keep this afloat by hook or by crook, every desperate, pathetic measure they can contrive (hey, did you know W&P were platonic?). Why not wait til after Sochi when all the culpible partners move on and are "consultants" in the private sector, and the new officials don't know anything. SC's marketing department remains self-promotion (Debbi promoting hersel as a "personality" on Skatebuzz) and ass covering of past incompetence.That's it.
"A lie about something that's only speculation and can't be pinned down is easier. Truth is a buzz kill and suddenly the desire to chew the fat about it fades."
ReplyDelete^^This.
That's all.
OMG, just saw on fsu that some are authoritatively saying the icenetwork article is true. Weaver and Poje are platonic.
ReplyDeleteI hate to cast aspersions on anyone's intelligence, but what is it with these fans? With both Tessa and Scott and now Weaver and Poje, there is some kind of suspension of reality. Do these fans really think these couples are platonically lovey-dovey, live in each others lives, but aren't for real? And they have SO's who are perfectly fine with these arrangements - unlike the way real people anywhere else in the world would feel or behave.
Yeah right.
You mean Andrew's bf or gf has no issue with him and Kaitlyn living together, attending midnight mass and having Christmas breakfast, Grandmas giving a xmas ornament each year and mom whipping up breakfast tacos - Kaitlyn and Andrew living together but they just don't feel that way about each other?
ReplyDeleteSome fans pretend to believe the knowing each other as children accounts for Virtue Moir - and ignore that Scott's description of his early days with Tessa when he was a child - butterflies, cold sweats, panic, nerves, excitement, stealing flowers and trying to kiss her - show the theory of being 'raised' together doesn't hold with them. Their non-platonic chemistry hit immediately.
But Andrew and Kaitlyn got together as a skating team well past puberty. Is this another case where the partners are pretending to heed the nonexistent-in-real-life "Joey Tribbiani" theory of hands-off?
If they want privacy for their skaters, why do they bring relationships into the forefront and then why do they aggressively shovel shit? Why do they make a fetish about how platonic it all is - stories, anecdotes - where the "duo" are encouraged to share totally off-ice, non-skating related aspects of their super duper intimate closeness that is not nope not even crossing their minds sexual?
Who is the audience for this shit? What kind of warped freaks are running Skate Canada that they WANT to do this - because one thing I'm getting is this is not about marketing - this is about these SC personalities and their own weird obsessions and bizarre perspective which has warped how they present things to the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteTheir obsession with platonic passion is almost lascivious, it comes off kind of voyeuristic, like the platonic component Skate Canada is obsessed about is actually kind of sexual, if that makes sense. You know how people get off on weird things? It just comes across that Skate Canada gets off, in a sick way, on the not getting off aspect of these skaters' lives, and they are always trying to find ways to detail all the intimacies - emotional, experience-wise, even physical - that are not sexual - and this turns the SC folks on.
Why didn't Andrew and Kaitlyn talk about their skating? What is SC's obsession with TELLING us shit while keeping the actual people behind a brick wall? The blog has said over and over that the USFSA tells us very little that's personal about the skaters, but we get to know their skaters by spending time with them, sharing a skating or seasonal or skating-related experience (NOT personal, not relationship-based). SC doesn't allow the public to spend time with these people and it treats skating itself as a side issue, and it's constantly shoving TALK about their personal lives down our throats, while blocking any chance the public will actually get to know these skaters in a normal way. In interviews PJ Kwong feeds them robot questions that require canned, bullet-point responses, or she tells them what they're like and what she thinks about when she thinks of them, and Debbi is just unctuously unspeakable. Show and not tell, SC.
SC is all about the tell and the word-association branding. They're just sick, for real. The skaters are blocked, and we get Debbi. is that the plan, really? That the skaters are sort of bait, but if we want to hear from them, it goes through her and she feeds crap back to them? Certainly SC is not about the figure skaters or the public, but SC does want to use the public platform to sell something - i don't think it's figure skaters or skating though, I think it's the personalities of their officials they want to sell. They're the ones yammering on ABOUT the skaters or figuring out ways to get them to us second hand (through them) or third hand (through some article they've helped frame) - anything to prevent us from seeing or experiencing for ourselves, without THEM. And this sex/no-sex thing is just almost TMI at this point - not about the skaters - but about the officials. They're a little perverted.
It is disappointing how Skate Canada is focusing on the friendships of V/M and W/P and really not focusing on their skating. Well Debbi Wilkes is definitely on a power trip...PJ Kwong is knowledgeable but she is constantly sucking up to skaters, coaches in her interviews and at times comes off as fake...she definitely does not cause waves...some people are not a fan of Phil Hersch's work as a reporter and his views but at least he puts issues on the table to discuss...In general with figure skaters right now because the average age of the elite skaters is much younger than let's say 5 to 10 years ago, commentators/interviewers are getting away with asking inappropriate questions about personalities rather than about skating itself. So it's like interviewing high school students vs. a person in their mid to late twenties...the viewers are coming away saying "is this a sport or is this a popularity contest"...in general the sport has to do re-think its marketing position not only in Canada but in the US as well - although the USFA is doing a better job - it's not totally immune either (ie. the Rachel Flatt fiasco of just fining the athlete - of failure to disclose an injury prior to Worlds..and absolutely no repercussions to the coach...and then using Flatt's image to promote 4CCs this year)...
ReplyDeleteIn terms of interviewers, I would love to see Jeff Buttle give it a shot (without Debbi behind the scenes) but alas that would not happen due to reasons stipulated above. Oy Canada - you mentioned you would enjoy to see how Debbi would interview Fabien - but even better can you imagine Debbi trying to interview Toller Cranston - I would pay money to see the one-liners from Mr. Cranston, LOL...
ReplyDeleteYeah, the USFSA has some internal issues but at least it doesn't have very many public issues. They know having nationals over two weekends nationals wasn't popular (I think that was an issue) but they sounded like adults talking to adults when they discussed it. As to skaters, I don't recall any USFSA official telling me who Mirai is (or worse, telling MIRAI who Mirai is - FOR us), or who Meryl and Charlie are and what people think about them and want from them, and all the other bullshit. The USFSA knows how to segment out their products to different sponsors and their sponsors haven't fled like rats from a sinking ship. Hell, they've had to entertain bids and then choose the winner.
ReplyDeleteAre they perfect - no. Are they functional and professional - yes.
Their PR people aren't pushing themselves forward, trying to become niche-market media stars on the back of their supposed product, which is the figure skaters and figure Skating. Unlike Debbi, Bill and Barb. As you and people notice, Debbi is on a complete power trip. Her title is just a title - it's not her job. Her job is to showcase herself on Skatebuzz and use figure skaters to do it. As we've seen, if there are no eligible skaters to be had she'll grab those long retired and if there are no live ones she'll rob a grave.
Skatebuzz is about and for Debbi.
Going by her GPF performance, the opportunity to paste her face and cloying voice all over skatebuzz was like a someone who'd been dry drunk for months walking into a bar.
How stupid are we meant to be? Her title is publicized on Skate Canada's web site and anyone with a brain knows that job isn't compatible with the job she's doing particularly at high profile events. Her job is being a "personality" , plus all the other "personal" stuff she gets up to behind the scenes to consolidate her status. And the skaters and their parents and Canadians in skating seem like sheep. Yeah, the skating stars might be younger than in the past, but they're not that young, and they have parents. And Nagasu and D/W are also and were young and they aren't treated like nitwits and they don't make nitwit mistakes. Where ARE the parents? I can't imagine some of the parents of the USA's teen stars of the past sitting still for anything like this - why is it different in Canada?
SC appears to treat its star skaters like hothouse flowers, intellectually impaired, lacking common sense and any real life experience - and they WANT them that way, because that opens up not just a job for Debbi, et al but it preserves that job. I'd just love to see her try and interview Fabian on a routine basis - I don't know if he could keep a straight face.
As lovely as Carolina Kostner was in her interview I think even she was taken aback that Debbi would be THAT idiotic after Debbi simpered out her little lesson nugget and then put the mike to Carolina and went "And do you know what they said?" What does Debbi think she's doing - reading in a local library program to pre-schoolers?
She also has a quality of listening to her own voice and being self-amused. I guess somebody has to be.
I agree PJ is a decent person but her interviews during HPC were painful. I can't even remember the sound of the skaters' voices, only PJ conducting the same unnaturally tight, rote interview and requesting extremely restricted responses "Tell us this - but in THIS way" "Wonderful! Now - answer this - like THIS." "That's just great. In one word, what ..."
It's all like that. It's horrible and a turn off. It's all about them.
^As you've said, it doesn't matter who interviews, as amusing as it is to think about, because the agenda would still be set by the same people and they don't intend to relinquish the controls. The public stuff is their job security; they want to attach themselves to how that is presented as much as possible, they want to be the ones framing it - off camera if it has to be that way, but preferably on camera.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on Benoit Lavoie - Skate Canada's president? He seems more low key than the rest of the SC crew...
ReplyDeleteLavoie comes across like a figurehead given the title as a sop towards and to give prestige to the Quebec side of the organization.
ReplyDelete