But Tessa's played it up. She can take an instant and amp it into a thorough immersion experience. She's gonna ride that Windsor U pony til it breaks down.
 |
| College girl Tessa in her collegiate-style scarf |
She gives a lot of the credit to the Windsor faculty, which has permitted Virtue flexibility around her skating schedule in terms of completing assignments and taking exams.A lot of the credit? A year and a half of course work spread out over five years at a low-regarded university** and she still needs a Tessa-specific schedule to get it done? Tessa. You seem so intelligent.
How much walking and discussing in the ivied halls can she have done? How much of a contribution to that precious balance between Skate Tessa and Other Life Tessa is happening here? I don't think Scott not being next to her is why she's not recognized. She's not recognized because she's never there. Even her instructors are probably all - who now? But give the school a boost in an article and the people who work there become charitable.
Underneath this Collegiate Tessa fantasy Tessa is re-purposing her occasional school attendance as Tessa-speak for two things. One is the actual balance she and Scott have attempted to create away from the rink, together, at home. They take care to create connections apart from skating - to say the least. Together they've put a lot of work into that aspect of their combined balanced life. Balance - and keeping an eye on the future when they won't be competing - is something both of them have planned for and acted on. But not at the University of Windsor.
But the second thing Tessa is doing is using her "education" narrative to steer people into believing she spends most of her off-ice time away from Scott. Oh she loves school. Oh how she prioritizes the non-skating side of her. A girl like that, with so little non-skating-related free time, is not going to waste it hanging with her figure skating partner. Her nature is such that she wants a complete break from all that when she's not skating - a complete break into a different world - different PEOPLE (we got that too, right?). A world that doesn't include Scott. That's why she loves to talk about school. It's SCHOOL I love - not Scott. Besides, I live with my mommy. A girl who lives with mommy can't be with Scott Moir! Only Ryan Semple and Fedor Andreev!
About the University of Windsor - of which the urban dictionary says:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=University%20of%20Windsor
I remember when the Super Bowl was in Detroit - the celebs packed in as if it were Miami or New Orleans, mostly because everybody could hotfoot it across the border to party their brains out in Windsor. I never thought of Detroit as slacking off in the party department but going by reports from that time (2006) it can't touch Windsor.
I know I'm offending Windsor-ites but Tessa's wholesome knitted scarf, autumnal jacket, starry eyes and the "I love to be on campus" narrative, as if we're talking, say, the U of Michigan, is off.
It's not fair to snark at someone diligently working towards a degree while in an elite sport but what is taking Tessa so long seeing as she and Scott live such separate lives off the ice and other figure skaters seem to hit their academic milestones in a more timely manner all without down time due to compartment syndrome (remember, her bouts with compartment syndrome gave her more time for school!). And considering Tessa makes out as if every spare second she's soaking in the college experience. ***
The "I love school!" portrait does invite a couple of eye rolls simply because it's marrying something true (I bet she enjoys school) to something self-serving like Tessa's relentless on-message self-portrait of a girl who hates to think about ice (and Scott) or figure skating (and Scott) when away from the rink - a girl who glows when she's across the border "on campus" and adores the chance to have stimulating conversations with the U of W intelligentsia****, who loves balance so much she can't possibly be spending free time with that partner she loves but just hates being around off ice.
Tessa likes to lay it on thick.***** Also interesting is the drop that Kate Virtue lives with Tessa, per the article. Probably just editing out a couple of other people living with Tessa. I'd believe Kate is there at this time. I don't believe, and have reason not to, that Kate moved camp to Michigan until recently. Just add that to the lies in the book.
The thing with half truths is the sanctimony around them, like - oh it's only a semi-lie. No, it's not. It's a big manipulation. I also wonder why Tessa bangs the balance gong so so SO hard. If she's so about balance, why didn't she take last season off? That was the perfect opportunity to have a whole season of balance - a balance break. They both say their coaches wanted them to take that season off. What other permission do you need Tessa? Remember what you always say - you try to do things separately from Scott whenever there's the chance - I know the line as well as you do. Why did you instead choose to spend all that time training with Scott for a single competition when you'd have two more shots at it prior to Sochi? That's more time you could have spent being balanced away from Scott. Instead Scott's the one scooping you out of your hospital bed after surgery, he's the one who decides to relocate to London while you recuperate instead of going sandbag in Canton, instead of studying you're skating - all this hanging out - so unnecessary. I don't know girl, sometimes your stories - they confuse.
So - they did the 4CCs gambit and went for it at Worlds for no reason, really, under extraordinarily daunting circumstances. Why?
The "balance" as presented by Tessa is OTT. What she wants to be or thinks she ought to be, not who she is.
________________________
*Actually, Windsor University's definition of a part-time student is "one who is registered in fewer than four courses in a term" which leaves room for "no courses in a term" and "doesn't go to school whole terms at a time."
**The Canadian university student forums I've read seem to agree Windsor sucks and deserves its low ranking and that whether it matters depends on what the student wants to do after college and what they studied at Windsor.
***I wonder if Ice, Sweat and Tears will show Study Hall Tessa struggling to keep pace with the demands of the UoW's curriculum while we see Scott hoisting a few in Ilderton - the favorite "us time" destination for the Dube_Moir lovebirds.
****Is there an Audrey Hepburn Goes to College movie? Because Tessa's portrait of school doesn't feel lifted from actual experience.
*****FF to 2045 and Tessa will be Skate Canada's in-resident Director of Sports Psychology with a therapeutic focus on rationalization.
________________________
Windsor University doesn't make the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which ranks the top 400 universities internationally. That's not a shocker. Windsor also doesn't make THE's top 400 in North America.
Windsor is unranked by Quacquarelli Symonds not only in its world rankings (700 schools) but in its Canadian rankings.
The Windsor University Faculty Association went on strike in 2008. There were a list of important issues including terrible pay, the hiring of unqualified professors and gender inequity but this one jumped out:
5. Horrible financial decisions. VP Finance, Stephen Willetts, was hired at the UofW to create long-term financial planning. So he hired an outside consultant team to come in and do hid job for him. Ross Paul was paid $615,000 for leaving the school (hard work, we know). The new logo cost $1.5 million dollars. And we wonder where our tuition fees go?Maybe Tessa thinks she's at school more than she is because Windsor is/was so similar to Skate Canada. Zebra Studios re-formatted Skate Canada's logo in 2011 and it looks to me as if SC has been obsessed with the logo-as-brand ever since. Cause when your sponsors go bye bye sink some $$ into a new logo, shove it in people's eyeballs and the money will commence flooding in.
I see why they wrote an article about this. Tessa is the first skater to ever go to school, and the first person to ever have family members who think school is important. Naturally it's something people will want to read about.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that Tessa gets to be a "normal" person on campus, and mix in with all the little people who have no idea who she is because she's not with Scott. "It's clear a degree means as much to her as the gold medal hat dangled from her neck in Vancouver." Oh, please. If it was that important she would have finished already.
Do you know what Jim does for work that allows his wife to be retired and pay for her living expenses and all Tessa's skating expenses?
To be fair, many elite athletes do take their time getting through school, and it is a good example to all those kids who look up to these guys.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree it's ridiculous the way Tessa lays it on. You'd think by the way she describes her schedule that she has no other life off-ice but school, regardless of the many other interviews and photos of her and Scott golfing, at fashion/celebrity events, etc. Per this article, Scott- Scott who? And where is the "balance" in this tunnel-vision life that consists only of training-time and mommy and school? And oh yeah, I love that Mom lives away from her own home to take care of a 22-year-old. Seriously? If it's not because of something like Grandma-duties I do believe that is a completely ludicrous idea and not true.
And I had to laugh at this blog quote:
"Is there an Audrey Hepburn Goes to College movie? Because Tessa's portrait of school doesn't feel lifted from actual experience."
She (and the interviewer) do portray a certain romanticism in Tessa's university "experience." Lol.
And was it just me, or in the high praise for Tessa's family's love of education is there the implication that Scott's family are country bumpkins with no interest in academia? Oh, his family must not care about the importance of education, so I guess he must be vegging on a sofa somewhere surfing sports' channels and hoisting some. Lol
Tessa and Scott - mostly Tessa - do try to emphasize the ying and yang, when in terms of what interests them they're so much more alike than they pretend. They used to not veer away from that. Tessa does have a love of verbal embellishment; things have a romantic patina. I respect that she goes to school - it's important, but if it were as important as the Olympic gold she'd have the degree already - you don't need to be a rocket scientist to pass classes at the University of Windsor, psychology isn't a hard-core concentration (and if it were she wouldn't be taking it there) and the way she paints her life - figure skating, school, mom and get away from Scott off ice as much as possible - one wonders why she isn't more than halfway through her degree requirements.
ReplyDeleteYes I think Kate is there for Grandma duties. I sometimes wonder if their kid will be looking at scrapbooks and see that they don't exist in the public record for the first 3 years of their life. There will be plenty of stuff in the family photos, but in all articles on mom and dad they're single, the child won't exist and say "oh, that's me!" and everything written and published will treat the parents as if daddy is dating another woman and mom is single living with grandma, and trying super hard to fill the non-ice hours so none are randomly spent with daddy, because enough already.
P.S. - I also wonder what is behind her always hitting the "we try to be separate" as much as possible. She hits it so so hard. What is she accomplishing? Weaver & Poje appear to have no problem with the narrative that they are best friends and do everything together and are platonic. Hell, part of Dube & Davison's Olympic profile was THEY were best friends who did everything together, and Jessica didn't work nearly as hard as Tessa does concealing that. What is getting done with Tessa emphasizing how different she and Scott are, how important she thinks it is to be separate, separate, separate? Is she using D/W as a role model - they've joked about it. I don't think anyone thinks D/W (Davis/White) are secretly together, and Meryl has joked that when she has free time she doesn't think: "I'd like to spend more time with Charlie!" and they've made jokes about separate vacations. Maybe Tessa has no idea how to be convincing platonically, so she uses the nearest example she knows.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is it's all words with them, there's no consistency. This romanticizing of school and wanting to be more than a figure skater - they can forget that song and dance after last season. Last year throws all her chatter about balance back in Tessa's face. Last year showed how important figure skating is to Tessa. It's way more important than school.
Sometimes I wonder if this stuff isn't more about her wondering how she's perceived versus who she actually is. I don't think there's anything wrong with who she actually is. I think there's a little something wrong with the amount of time she may spend worrying how people perceive who she is.
I'm not clear on her emphasis that she wants to be more than a figure skater for other reasons - since when are figure skaters just figure skaters? Is figure skater synonymous with one-track mind or meathead? Is there a problem with the reality that competing in a sport like figure skating takes most of a person's focus for the time they're doing it, and of course afterwards they move on to other things? A bazillion figure skaters have transitioned to the real world after their competitive careers; I don't know what point she's so eager to make. There's not some figure skating jail she's going to find herself in unless she forces herself out.
It's not hard for people to grasp that skaters are more than that. I think people easily grasp that Patrick Chan speaks 3 languages, was in Dubai to learn about finance, and is interested in going to University. We've been beaten over the head with Rachel Flatt's academic accomplishments. Many figure skaters have done well in business. Bryce Davison has spoken comfortably about his interest in medicine and how he went back to school on line during his injury. Debbi Thomas (of the 1980's) is a doctor. Michelle Kwan got a masters degree. This is something we brainless peons easily grasp - figure skaters is smart. Maybe Tessa is self-conscious about how much time she actually spends on skating, how important it is to her, the extremes she'll go to to persist and win, and thinks she should be more than that - or at least seen as more than that. I just think if she really were balanced she wouldn't be going on about it constantly. And I actually don't see a whole lot wrong with being about figure skating at her level of success at age 22. It doesn't sentence her to only being about figure skating at age 32.
"And I actually don't see a whole lot wrong with being about figure skating at her level of success at age 22. It doesn't sentence her to only being about figure skating at age 32."
ReplyDelete^^This.
And actually, there's not a whole lot wrong either if she should transition to a life that is still about figure skating in some capacity, such as coaching. I have never thought the skaters who become coaches are not-intelligent or not-educated. They're still smart human beings with plenty of "balance" in their lives in spite of their profession. I think you're right, she comes across as being preoccupied with being perceived as "only" about skating, and as if that somehow makes her less than educated, or balanced - and really, she has no need to worry about that at all.
Not to mention look at Marina Zoueva. This is a woman whose daily life is filled with figure skating. Is she not balanced? I think Zoueva's "balance" is one of the keys to her success - she's living her passions. She just channels all of it into coaching figure skating - her visual sense, musical sense, strategic and psychological smarts - no apologies, no self-consciousness.
DeleteI never thought "just a figure skater" was an issue for figure skaters. Figure skaters more than many athletes have avoided being pigeonholed as just anything.
So much of the stuff Tessa and Scott say seems calculated to head off problems only they think exist.
ReplyDeleteNothing is wrong with schooling at all, but this story is forced. We've all been beat over the head with Rachael's schooling but I never get the feeling that it's *not* who she is. Tessa is trying to distance herself from that pesky skating world that gave her fame and fortune and that pesky partner that fans want her to be with. So she latches on to the school narrative a lot harder than she should. How great of her to climb off the Olympic podium and go to school with everyone else. If she wants such a "normal" life, then quit skating. Again, nothing wrong with going to school, it's just how she words it that's off.
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten the impression that skaters are dumb brute athletes. It's probably more rare for a skater to not be in school. Skaters tend to be some of the smartest people around because their work ethic extends beyond skating.
What is the point of this story, anyway? She's been in school for five years but only halfway through - why now? Did the V/M camp think "Gee, we need to put another PR wedge between Scott and Tessa so let's call up the paper"? The way that it is written is like Scott is almost non-existent. Did the writer have to solemnly swear to tow the V/M line? Were they not allowed to ask about her relationship or she'd walk out of the interview? Something is very strange when Meryl is just as elite/competitive, belongs to a sorority, and is very smart yet doesn't really talk about it. This article would have us believe that Tessa is a 22 year old college student who lives with her mom and appears to have zero social life.
So if there IS a baby, eventually it will have to come out. Grandma can't live with them forever. They have the choice then of either fessing up and admitting that they lied to everyone all those years, or they can continue the lie and say it's adopted. The whole thing just seems like so much work. That must be why she can only take 1-3 classes, because it's exhausting living such a huge lie.
That's how Tessa always comes across - she hangs out with mommy, goes to school and avoids Scott when not at the rink. She's so inauthentic. She imitates something, she's never herself. You're always going to sound more normal and natural talking about something real (no matter how "unique" and "hard to explain" you've been deluded into believing your "real" is) than the type of rote, packaged little WTF sound-bites that are Tessa's speciality. Her account of school doesn't sound like anyone's experience of school, let alone at freaking Windsor, and it's not an experience you can have spread over five years accumulating a year and a half worth of requirements on your own schedule because nobody else in that program is on your schedule. Hell, the people she started with in 2007, the ones that graduated, graduated way back, and the people who started when she was already 3 years in will graduate next year, long before she does, so what kind of academic social life is she peddling here? She's never there! Her program is nobody else's program - she doesn't even take exams when others do.
ReplyDeleteAre other Windsor students on the get half of your three years done in five plan? (Yeah - I see it - the Windsor joke tells itself right there.)
Meryl may also be taking the slow road to a degree but she belongs to a sorority, attends a much MUCH MUCH better school, and at the least, speaks a foreign language (Italian and I think possibly another) to show for it.
As to what happens when it comes out - they'll do what they want. I've read and heard a lot of speculation about what they'll have to say and explain and they don't have to do any of it. One thing I truly believe, just observing them the past year - is it will freaking KIll THEM to have to come clean and they'll dodge that at all costs, simply out of pure resentment they were called out. They see themselves as in the right and fans who talk back as how dare they.
do people seriously think that tessa has a baby? that seems so unrealistic to me. Maybe she and scott are or have been together...but a baby? come on...
ReplyDeleteI agree it does seem implausible when you consider their competitive lives and the seeming lack of evidence...
DeleteUntil you really start looking at some things from the Fall of 2010, especially. Then you're not left with a whole lot of options except that there must be a baby (born from her body) somewhere in her life.
I definitely can see changes of Tessa's body in the fall of 2010 but how can anyone hide a pregnancy? if this is true when exactly did she give birth??
DeleteIt's not all that to hide a pregnancy - actress Hunter Tylo did it in the 1990's. She was suing Aaron Spelling for discrimination. He'd fired her from a job on Melrose Place when she'd gotten pregnant. He said a pregnant actress couldn't play the sexy vixen role she'd been hired to perform.
DeleteDuring the trial in Los Angeles Tylo was surrounded by a media scrum coming and going to court. The focus of the trial was pregnancy discrimination (between her firing and the trial, she'd had the baby).
At the trial's conclusion, Tylo revealed she was well into the third trimester of another pregnancy. It was a complete surprise to the media that had filmed and photographed her every day. You don't see something if you're not looking for it. In Tessa's case, I'd say it's the fans who don't see it when not looking for it, with the help of clever dressing, photography, filming and finessing of time lines. I believe a good percentage of the regular media knew she was pregnant. In fact, I'm quite interested to see how some of the journalists explain not mentioning what they knew. Many had fun winking at the topic while it was going on.
If Tessa has only done a year and a half of course work over five years (nothing wrong with that, by the way), then there's no way in hell she has taken 2-3 classes every term, plus in the summer, the way she says in this article.
ReplyDeleteWho are they kidding? And what for? There's no shame in saying things are going so slow you only take one class now and then.
They all need to get over themselves.
There's no shame at all, in fact it does show dedication of a different sort to stick with it over such a long period of time at such a slow pace. She's not embellishing out of shame - she's embellishing because that's her story about who she is when she's not at the rink - she's a woman who is committed to school - no time for Scott there, you see. She's got this jam packed schedule with training, working out, physio, early to rise and she has to go to bed to get her rest, and when you consider all her scarce free time is spent studying, clearly there's no time to fit in a life with Scott Moir. In fact, all of this school school school preoccupies her because she's so eager to have a life away from Scott Moir.
DeleteBreaking it down that the woman has actually gotten a year and a half of a 3 year course done in 5 years at a factory school and on top of that hasn't even been able to keep to the given schedule - you've got a different picture. What does Tessa really do with her free time? And why is Tessa so bent, so driven to control what we think about her damn free time, and what exactly does she think would happen if we dared think she spends her free time with Scott? In short, what is her problem? She happily throws away the "I don't spend my free time with Scott" storyline away any time it suits; other times adheres to it like she's progammed. This type of inconsistency defeats any rational purpose. It's pure control freak/neurotic.
Just a few random comments:
ReplyDeleteif she's honestly thinking about graduate work she'd be on a four year honours track so half a degree would be 20 courses...still 5 years with 3 terms/year, averages 1.3/semester
U of Windsor is a confusing choice because while location most definitely IS a constraint, citizenship shouldn't be. It should be a piece of cake for someone as smart (as she appears) and with such evidence of high achievements to get accepted to a good American school such as U of M. As someone who really wanted to go to school in the States, the number one challenge for Canadian students? Money. Extremely rare scholarships. But $$ has never appeared to be an issue.
"They see themselves as in the right and fans who talk back as how dare they."
there's this British comedian who has a character (Catherine Tate I think is her name) who seems very gay but is super offended when anyone says it and always responds "how very dare you!!!" ........matches the puzzling righteous indignation of this crowd lol
lol "who dear? me dear? gay dear? no dear!"
DeleteTessa's a liar. It might be kinder to say "Tessa lies" because this whole crowd lies, but when you practice lying as much as they do it stops being something you do and turns into something you are. They are all of them involved in this full of it. Very merry about their lying, very chipper and oh so earnest.
DeleteI doubt her "thinking about" graduate work extends to anything so specific as a 4-year honors track at Windsor.
Moreover if she were serious about graduate school she'd go to a serious school, which Windsor isn't considered by a long shot. Will she go some day - sure, I bet she's sincere, but right now she's just putting along when she has the time - she's not a serious student in terms of course load, study hours and time investment and her jabbering on about school and posing a la "co-ed" on "campus" is a joke. But it serves her purpose.
Psychology at Windsor is perfect for someone who comes and goes and just wants to keep their foot in, practicing tortoise and the hare, school-wise. It's not a competitive school and nobody's in line for her place - what tiny "place" she's got is so random it's not going to correspond with any other prospective psychology student's curriculum per term.
Me, I suspect Bryce Davison did more studying on line in the early part of his injury recovery than Tessa did ever at any one period.
Maybe she can say 2-3 courses at a time because of some terms not taking any, then other times taking those 2 or 3?
DeleteIn any case, yeah, unlikely she's living any kind of typical university-student life. Not even a typical part-time student life, considering all the special considerations that are probably needed due to the skating schedule.
(^comedian is Catherine Tate, not the character)
ReplyDeleteI think it's extremely unfair to come down hard on somehow because she's in school, as well as training in an elite sport, and mock her choice of degree as well. Have any of you tried to do it? Are you all that jealous that you can't see hard work where hard work is due? So what if the paper did a story?
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to see these kind of comments - basically women tearing other women down. This blog is so full of negativity, I just don't truly understand the purpose. The vitriol spouted towards Virtue and Moir and Skate Canada is ridiculous.
It's extremely unfair to use your genuine, homegrown personas and everything from babies to Christmas to the Olympics to patriotism to education in order to make fools out of people, your public, that you also hope will buy the stuff you sell and accept you as credible endorsement personalities. It's incredibly, unbelieveably unfair to do what they do to the Canadian figure skating public, as shamelessly as they do it. They are lying. Their account of their lives is a hoax. And they set people up to sting them with their lies - it's pro-active, not defensive or reactive.
DeleteWe're not mocking her attempts to get a degree - it's her lying about it and the role it plays in her life. Embellishing the role of education in her life to convince the public of a falsehood. That's what they do with everything. Some think it shows lack of respect for the stuff they use to lie - lack of respect for birth, marriages, babies, holidays, weddings, the Olympics, etc. I maintain it shows their lack of respect for the public - the public doesn't deserve basic decency, their strings can be pulled using things the public - with their good will and good faith - would never dream these "kids" would exploit, and Tessa and Scott want to make money off this behavior on top of that. They're entitled. The public isn't even entitled to common decency. They're constantly mocked with this behavior, and this article is another instance of it. That's what's unfair.
I want to apologize for deleting someone's comment - I was trying to delete my reply and re-post it, and I deleted both.
ReplyDeleteThe comment (not mine) that was deleted expressed the opinion that the blog hasn't provided one ounce of proof that Tessa is lying about her education, that Windsor is a damn fine school and highly accredited, and that if I want to challenge Tessa's account of her education I should write to the paper, which is sure to retract upon the demands of an anonomous blogger and enough already. That's the gist.
So, my reply - the proof is comparing Tessa's own words with the reality of Windsor's bachelor program in psychology. There's what she says (halfway through since 2007), there's the program (a three year program).
If the commentor thinks Windsor is a damn fine school I want to see their idea of a mediocre school AND their idea of a superb school and a super duper superb school.
Windsor is cut-rate and bargain basement academically. Some of its programs are better regarded than others but it's relative. The school isn't good, let alone, damn fine.
Tessa is not making a big thing of school because she loves education so much, or because she's defensive about the progress she's made, or because of vanity and the desire to portray herself as balanced. Tessa is promoting her schooling - what she's done of it - to communicate the narrative that she has a life apart from Scott and figure skating when she's away from the rink - with a special emphasis on away from Scott. IOW, she is manipulating, as she and Scott and everyone around them have done from the start and continue to do at every turn. There is no stone they'll leave unturned to beat people over the head with what they want us to think - that they're not a couple. Why they're so freakishly obsessed with what people think, beats me, but they are. It's absolutely ridiculous, but at the same time, very interesting to see people like them, in public life but by no means superstars, without the assistance of anybody who knows what they're doing, be so obsessive, so relentless about manipulating and "winning" over the Canadian public they claim to respect. The public is competition, is the enemy, is "someone" to manipulate and one-up and trick. It's unbelieveable, how obsessed they are, how fixated.
And it's interesting to see and talk about. I definitely believe that there are people who don't find this interesting. However, the people who come here and read the blog and then rant about it aren't among them.
It was my comment you deleted. Your paraphrasing didn't include the sarcasm nor the scolding tone that I had in mine, but that's to be expected. You didn't answer my question either, which if you think she is truly lying and if you're so offended, then you can do something about it by contacting the newspaper, the author of the article, and the university itself. That would be far more credible than making vague statements as an anonymous blogger. But your response is indicative. Instead you then went to attack my opinion on what I think is a good school, as opposed to getting to the meat of the comment. It would appear that you can dish it out but cannot answer the challenge. That is also fine, you don't have to answer my questions as I don't have to believe your claims or opinions.
ReplyDeleteI don't berate you for your opinions - you think that the public relations aspect has been fouled up and I think its harmless fluff. You think they are obsessed with manipulating a certain image, and I think its nothing out of the ordinary for athletes/celebrities to have a public persona vs. a private one.
The main point of my comment was that I thought it was over the line to claim that she was lying. If you want to think her too saccharine, or over the top, or nauseatingly perfect, that it was one thing, but to claim that she's lying if a bit far. That is my opinion, which you and and your readers don't share, which is also fine with me because we can disagree.
You have managed to convince others, so I congratulate you on that. However, I would have liked to believe this blog for the juicy factors, but it falls short for me.
I think people are bright enough to assume the sarcasm and scolding tone as a given based on the summary, but I'm glad you came back to display it first hand.
DeleteI KNOW she's lying about her relationship with Scott. People have the option to believe me or not. As to her lying about her studies, here is a link to Windsor's general psychology degree program:
http://web4.uwindsor.ca/units/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/cur.nsf/982f0e5f06b5c9a285256d6e006cff78/b25c5999a95e4e0885257362005fd13e!OpenDocument#General%20Psychology
There are thirty courses in the program, ten of them major requirements. Tessa has gotten through about "half" since 2007. Let's say fifteen courses. Spread that over five years and she's lying about the number of courses she takes and about her campus experience and its frequency since she also says she must also reschedule assignment deadlines and exams.
That's not opinion. Maybe Tessa should have taken remedial arithmatic before the interview.
Actually, I think calling her nauseatingly perfect, OTT or sacchrine is meaner, untrue and more subjective than calling her a liar. She's a liar by the evidence she's offered herself. That's not mean, that's the truth.
The other names have nothing to do with how she behaves, it's personal opinion and I don't agree with it, although she can often be so extremely on message it seems unnatural and out of touch, calling attention to itself.
I think the above person misses the point about the "Tessa is lying" accusations. She is not lying about going to school - she is lying about Scott and her not being together, and using the school narrative as a distraction to somehow prove that she is never around Scott.
ReplyDeleteContacting people would accomplish what? A newspaper that tows the VM line is not going to bother exposing their relationship scam because they're in the tank. Contacting the school would only be of use if we believed she was not a student (I believe she is.) Even if people thought she wasn't a student, they're not going to release personal records.
I simply ask "why now" about this article? I can see writing an article in the following two cases:
1. "Windsor Student Wins Olympics" right after it happened.
2. "Olympic Champ Graduates from Windsor" but she hasn't graduated, and is only halfway through.
Neither of these apply to her right now, so the timing of this article is odd.
I suspect she also uses this narrative to illustrate that she's somehow not as passionate about figure skating and competing as she is. She and Scott like to pretend they're near-opposites.
DeleteBut what she did last year makes her self-portrait as someone who prioritizes her life outside of figure skating suspect.
Her own coaches - according to Scott and Tessa - thought last season was an opportunity to take an entire year off what had been an entire lifetime dedicated to figure skating. They'd just achieved their lifetime goals in figure skating, and skipping the following season would have had no real downside as far as preparing for Sochi. They declined to sit out the season, taking a number of risks in the process.
Tessa could have really cought up on her requirements by taking the season off.
I'm not really sure what Tessa's agenda might be to be constantly asserting she needs balance. Yes, she uses school to establish her narrative that off-ice, she spends as much time away from Scott as she can, they occupy separate worlds that we're meant to believe don't intersect (as Scott is mum as to whatever his off-ice academic interests might be). Of course, this narrative went into the tank last season when they fell over themselves showing that unlike last time, this time there was no rift and Scott was with her the entire process. Their versions of themselves are so fluid - what they say has no relation to the truth - it mostly relates to whatever given purpose is before them. They invent a truth to suit. If it coincides with something real - hey, cool! If not, no difference to them.
Tessa wants us to believe skating = Scott and school = not Scott, so she works hard to embellish the role school plays in her life. For pr purposes, school is a useful distraction, as Sarah puts it.
Since she's lying about it, they could drop the pious tone, IMO, but hey.
What's weird is as the blog said before, she and Scott do work hard on balance but school is not how they achieve it. Golf is closer to the type of thing they do to achieve balance because they admit they do that together. It's about pursuits that include them both, some a pasttime, some a focus of a lifetime.
I am dying at the bloggers description of Tessa's scarf. It is a Missoni scarf, value of about $200. As for why Tessa goes to the UofW, I think it's pretty clear. It's the only school close to where she lives where she won't have to pay huge international student fees. I suppose she could go to some local community college in Mich like Lauren Senft but the Virtues don't have Senft type of money. As for Windsor, it has a very strong Law program. One of the top in the country and a lot of major Bay Street firms recruit from there. Maybe Tessa's plan is to go to Law school when she's done her undergrad degree?
ReplyDeleteSo Missoni isn't worn by collegians where you're from? An upscale, Dead Poets Society type co-ed look for 2012 can't be styled by Missoni? A $200 scarf is a special occasion item? Tell me more!
DeleteWindsor's law school sucks less than its undergraduate programs but it's not excellent, though you and the "other anon's" agreement that Windsor is excellent is, I'm sure, all the evidence anyone needs. That, or it's revealing about your academic standards.
And what an excellent point you make - taking a mediocre 3 year psychology degree at Windsor and then taking 5 years to complete half the requirements is logical preparation for law school. That got right by me.
Of course it's sour grapes and jealousy - don't forget angry, bitter and taking things too personally! Isn't that automatic when a fan is frustrated, pissed and bugged by what someone is saying but has no other way to bully them? Cue butt hurt. :)
What I always find interesting is how someone can be bugged that other people believe what someone else says - really bugged. At the same time, find the topic a waste of time, fluff and irrelevant. Don't people have lives? And at the same time as well, find it all lol!!! and entertaining. All at once. It pisses me off, it makes me laugh because it's so ridiculous and it's also a waste of time which is why I keep coming back! Maybe there aren't a lot of entertainment options where you're from?
Excuse me for a bit anon at 10:05 and anon at 10:21 - I'm going to check something out.
Anon at 10:05 - I completely agree. I concur that Windsor is known for it's strong law school, and that it's completely rational that she would attend a school close to where she lives (which frankly, has been the "story" all along). I also love that the Missoni scarf wasn't recognized and was mocked. Probably the scarf is another subliminal message that mocks the public in screaming "Scott is not my lover" or "I'm married" or something of that nature.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, the story all along is that school is important to Tessa because it gives her an identity outside figure skating and so she lets it be known she tries to be there as much as possible, loves to be on campus and enjoys a non-skating social life. Meantime, she's never there and goes to school infrequently. So she doesn't go to school as much as she claims but she wants us to think she does, with emphasis always on that separate identity.
DeleteI know these points - agree with the opinion of the blog or not - are tough. One can't be missing them on purpose and instead chortling over how a woman like Tessa Virtue, who wears Herve Leger to a Worlds banquet, wouldn't POSSIBLY throw on Missoni as a "collegiate-style scarf." The very idea is ridiculous. "Collegiate-style scarves" are purchased at the collegiate-style scarf store - I think the Gap has a boutique. Who'd wear Missoni for that? If I'd recognized Missoni, I'd have never mocked it as part of Tessa's styled collegiate image. It's Missoni! Heavens. Do we think she has Senft-type money?
LOL - this thing about the scarf wins the prize for "weirdest critique of this blog" - grasping at straws much?
DeleteI'm still not sure why the blog not initially i.d.ing it as Missoni unseats the point that Tessa is posing here a la college student.
DeleteIt shows your lack of knowledge and inability to pay attention to detail, and your willingness to jump to outrageous conclusions based upon little to no information.
DeleteReally? How is the Missoni detail relevant to the blog post in question? Did I err in not identifying who did her make-up for the photo shoot as well?
DeleteMy conclusions about Scott and Tessa are based on facts, not little or no information.
"Tessa's scarf cost $200."
ReplyDeleteThe blogger never mocked the cost of her scarf; where are you getting this from? The only thing oc said was "collegiate-style scarf." What you are missing is that the scarf represents a *charicature* of a college student's wardrobe; it's what someone who doesn't spend a lot of time on college campuses *thinks* college students wear, if that person wanted to present an image to the public that they are serious about college. Most students roll out of bed and throw on some work out gear to attend class. It's possible that she wears casual clothes to class but dressed up for the photo, but it's still a charicature, none the less.
The scarf style represents one of the many ways that Tessa is over-reaching in her efforts to present an image of independence from Scott ("Look, I'm a real college student!") The high cost that the above bring up, to prove something about how great Tessa is that she can afford such luxury, has the unintended consequence of being even more hilarious because what "normal" college kid owns a $200 scarf? And that's what Tessa said, right? That she wants to be "normal." I could care less about how much her scarf cost, but the blogger didn't bring it up, the above commenters did; which proves what, I don't know.
"You're just jealous, and bitter."
Of what? A fake relationship? Lying to fans? Spending an inordinate amount of energy to cover up something 99.9% of people could care less about?
"Huge international student fees."
Public U.S. colleges charge one rate for in-state residents where the school is located, and a higher rate for out-of-state sudents (including international.) For a Michigan school, Tessa would pay as much as someone from Wisconsin, but not more. If the school is private (not run off government funds), the cost is the same for in-state, out-of-state, and international students. Both public for out-of-state and private can be more costly, but deals can be found. There are many local U.S. community colleges that are extremely affordable, even $200 a credit. I do not buy "cost" as a reason she goes to Windsor, so now that the cost argument is off the table, let's talk about the real reason : to present the appearance of getting away from Scott.
There are lots of normal university/college kids who own expensive clothing, as well as dress up for school. Again you are really reading too much into the article/picture/ or whatever Virtue's actions are. Really?? The scarf says all that about being normal? The scarf is another example of overreaching? I would have to say that these far fetched conclusions are the example of overreaching. And why would Virtue go to a US community college over a Canadian University? The community college is likely inferior ( and before you get your knickers into a knot, I'm not calling U of M a community college, I know it's a good school). Going to school in Windsor is not proof that's she's not dating someone. This is now descending into absurd territory - I'm in awe that anyone believes this.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to clutter comments with posts that miss the point intentionally and make out as if the blog is saying things it isn't, or claims the blog is setting up arguments it's not. IOW, I'm not cluttering comments with stuff from posters who are talking to themselves and making arguments they want to make that have nothing to do with what the blog is saying.
ReplyDeleteI believe either you know the point the blog is making but choose to address fake points because it allows you to vent things you want, or you actually are missing the point, in which case there's nothing I can do about it but the comments section isn't going to get sidetracked by it.
I well believe you're in awe - awe can stun somebody into forgetting to shut down a browser window hours at time.
But in any case, going in circles isn't on. Even though I enjoy reading sweeping pronouncements about territory the blog has reached and the absolute certainty that your own response to something is ground zero to whether something has merit and the certainty that these pronouncements are of interest. Did you get that confidence in college?
I know exactly what point your blog is trying to prove and it's a hilarious conspiracy theory to me. To you, this is a passionate subject as you devote time to create a blog to this subject, and your posts are full of some heightened emotion that I do not understand. I was truly hoping that you could enlighten me, but alas, you cannot. I'm not addressing fake points, I was addressing direct points brought up by your post. Your last paragraph in your above reply doesn't make any sense. And I definitely gained confidence in university, as well as some book learning.
DeleteWell if you don't understand it, something must be wrong for sure. Clearly, you went to an excellent school, possibly almost as good as Windsor.
DeleteI don't know why you would crucify a girl in print for going to school. Give her a break! Even though Tessa does not finish her course ever, she finds time to study and that's very admirable (and she does not even need the money or get a job). Don't you know how hard it is to study and train at the same time. It takes dedication and discipline and people doing that should be admired. You want to be petty? Ok. Let's just ask who is PRETTIER AND SEXIER. Your girl Jess or Tessa? HANDS DOWN ITS TESSA AND EVERYBODY WILL AGREE. You are very cheap and so is your girl.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me this blog isn't going to be overrun by V/M champions like all the others. Look people, we are fans of V/M. We are not here to "crucify" them, as was so ridiculously put. We just know there is more than meets the eye with these two and none of us can understand the lengths they will go to create red herrings on their relationship.
ReplyDeleteActually, maybe the poster above is the reason they keep doing this. These leaked stories and continued auto-bot type messaging is what creates this hysteria of "aren't they perfect, but only friends" simplicity reserved for teenaged Beiber-mania.
Hey Beiber-mania, tell me this: would you want your boyfriend publicly kissing, hugging and whispering sweet nothings to his "best friend" while you are sitting there watching? Yeah, thought so.
Oh, and the Missoni scarf is on sale online at Beyond the Rack right now for $70. Just sayin' ;)
Oy, the Missoni scarf. :)
DeleteThe blog's comment about the scarf intended to observe the romantic patina with which Tessa paints her college experience, complete with a classic collegiate look for the article. Her aim is to amp up and inflate the amount of time her life is devoted to school - as if it's an important component not just emotionally, but in terms of the time she invests. She's dressed to go along with the student persona she's selling. She wants to embellish this experience so we believe her time away from the rink is likely spent at school and engaged with her non-Scott, Windsor-focused social life.
The reality is that Windsor isn't really the sort of classically romantic college environment Tessa implies, one where students eagerly discuss and debate lectures and reading material in the halls of academe. Do some do, for sure, why not, but it's a party school and also a get the job done school whose course content is pretty basic. Intellectually inspiring, it is not.
Further, even if it were a college environment of romantic folklore, the arithmatic tells us Tessa isn't there to experience it. She's on her own track - an extremely slow, sporadic and "away" track. By choice. The article paints an intentionally misleading picture of Tessa's life, which again highlights this rhetorical point: why does Tessa want to be misleading and why does she spend so much time creating the impression that school is a much bigger part of her life than it is?
Really, stop talking about Windsor as if you know anything about the school. You don't. At all. I doubt you've ever stepped foot on campus. I doubt you know anyone go goes there.
ReplyDeleteIm not the going on and on spouting these so called facts. You're stating them and cannot back up your statements when challenged. You are overreaching. You can dish out harsh criticism but cannot take it and respond to it, and I haven't flung anything at you as harsh as you have flung at at V/M. Your blog is really nothing but opinion, and I don't believe anything you have to offer because it's posted in such a hateful, jealous, aggressive manner. That is my opinion, and you have yours. You come across more subjective than objective. I was rooting for you and hoped you had some good stories and insight to tell, but as far as I can see its all observations from afar.
DeleteReally, you should understand that Windsor is a low ranked school and you can insist til your comments are blue in the face that it isn't and it doesn't change the facts. Its ranking and reputation are not a matter of opinion. But goodness you are overreaching. Do you want to let me know what else I must stop talking about on my blog?
DeleteBTW certainly not all Canadian universities are so low regarded as to be unranked, obviously, and I don't even mean McGill or Toronto U. Even the University of Guelph has a QS ranking - it's in the 401-450 range slotted between the U of Alabama and the U of Kansas in the State (after the list reaches 400 it starts putting universities in a range. It's ranked in the 276-300 range by THE among universities in North America. Windsor doesn't make the 400 school cut-off on that list.
Sorry anon, I was adding to my reply and reposting it while you were making your comment, so now your comment is above what it was replying to.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that "as far as you can see" the blog has no merit is a crushing thing to learn. But I would like to share with you that "haven't backed it up" and "haven't convinced you" are not synonymous concepts. Universities are ranked. THE and QS have general rankings, and then re-rank using different criteria, such as reputation, for a different list. Setting foot on campus isn't really how you judge a school's ranking and reputation or an awful lot of students wouldn't be able to decide where to go to school unless they personally visited. The information about ranking is out there to inform people. As to Scott and Tessa's relationship status, the blog exists because I know it for a fact. Of course this isn't going to convince everybody and I'm sorry you don't find good stories here and think it's just mean - that must be disappointing so I hope you find another blog whose stories you think are good and that you don't find mean.
Thanks, I'll have to keep looking, because the kool-aid that you all drink around here is a little too cuckoo for my taste. But hey, you provide fantastic entertainment, so whenever I need laugh, I'll check back here to see what ludicrous things you've come up. Cheers.
DeleteCheck in, stick around and set up camp - I suppose the difference is only semantics.
DeleteI think there are so many people that are taking this whole thing too seriously. Why are you defending Tessa and Scott with swords and teeth? Are they some kind of your relatives? Do Fans feel hurt by this blog? Then click on the red cross button and belive in what Tessa and Scott say. No one is forced to believe.
ReplyDeleteWell that's a good question and I don't think they are defending Scott and Tessa. It's fan shit -that has its own politics. Scott and Tessa are just the pretext. It's funny to be told the blog takes the hoax issue too personally when so many fans take the blogger so personally and get their noses out of joint that nobody can shut the blog down. If it's such a stupid ridiculous blog that nobody with half a brain would believe, why concern yourself? Yet these fans get bent out of shape. Believe me, it's not about Scott and Tessa. It's all power tripping fan stuff.
DeleteI thought Tessa had visa issues in the U.S. so that's why she went to UoW. I forgot where I read that.
ReplyDelete