Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Helsinki 2017


In the "truer words" department:
"The mantle of being the first, we proudly wear,” [Charlie] White said. “I don’t want to take away from it, but we did it on the back of everyone else. It was a group project."
I'll say.*

I'll be traveling during Worlds, and not sure how much wifi I'm going to have or when I'll be able to use it. I don't think it will be too bad, but I won't have my laptop with me, just a smaller and less powerful device.

My hope, and even expectation, for dance is:
Virtue Moir
Shibutanis
Papadakis Cizeron.

I can't really say I HOPE P/C are third, but I think that's the absolute best anyone who knows what Papadakis/Cizeron's skating is really worth can anticipate. There was an opportunity to start dropping them down during Europeans, but no other team took it.

I tried checking out the skating forums to catch up with anything I've been missing, but where dance is concerned it's all the same conflation of perceived (theatrical, non-skating expressive) performance value combined with "do I personally enjoy the choreography."

In pairs, just please no threepeat for Duhamel Radford. I am pretty hypocritical where they're concerned. I can convince myself that I appreciate what they've accomplished, but whenever there's a chance they'll be overthrown, I'm all about it and don't care much what team does it.

Rosie DiManno is still around. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth - her article is all about how ice dancing judging is corrupt. She excuses herself from knowing anything specific about scoring because she claims it's unfathomable to even insiders. Well that's true to a point -  it's unfathomable to many insiders because many have never bothered learning a thing about skating, let alone ice dance. But still. Skating is not unfathomable, and even scoring is not unfathomable. Just corrupt. When it doesn't match what happened on the ice, what's going on is pretty clear.

Rosie DiManno never goes away

So apparently this was a ground-breaking year, choreographically, for Papadakis Cizeron, and next year they'll pull back into their comfort zone:
(Guillame Cizeron) "We have some ideas, but I think this year - even if we kept a side of ourselves that we had in the last 2 or 3 programs - it's also a program where we kind of come out of our comfort zone. That's why we are taking a risk this year. And I think maybe next year we'll go with something less risky, something that we feel will allow us to get the gold."
Well alrighty then. Put it right out there. You believe the best way to beat the best ice dance team that's ever skated is to play it safe, be comfortable. Why not. it's been done before.


*The "back of everyone else" includes the knives in Virtue and Moir's.





23 comments:

  1. is it just me or do VM travel a lot during their spins?

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  2. P/c fans are finally not only being shouted down on golendskate and fsu but also the youtube comments section and its fucking beautiful.

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    1. Where are seeing this? The P/C fans are more insufferable than ever.

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  3. So.. from what I've seen, the Shibs should be 3x world champions at this point, including this year. Thoughts?

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  4. No way. Scott had a slip . They should have won the free dance too.

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  5. Funny how a fall in other disciplines while attempting more difficult element is rewarded and not seen as an unsurpassable blemish on performance, but in ice dance?

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    1. Seriously. Yet P/C can "skate" the same junior program three years running, on flats and far apart, with lame elements, and get a world record score. Fuck ice dance.

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    2. They seriously need to change it up next season. They may not be successful at it but they need to do it. Should've done it this year. This was the year to take the risk. If they don't and still skate the same ol', same ol' and get rewarded...well...fuck ice dance

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    3. Great observation, 2:47.

      6:37 - actually, P/C are so self deluded that they are of the belief that they did take a big risk this year with their FD choreo and are thus planning to "go back" to their strengths for the Olympic season. From Goldenskate's recent interview with them, IIRC.

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  6. 1:46 here. I'm not sure we're on the same page, I'm saying that the Shibutanis should have won in 2015, 2016, and this year as well (with Virtue and Moir in second, and P/C not on the podium). V/M's last twizzle was off in addition to Scott's quick slip, and Shib's technique is arguably now as good as or close to as good as V/M's, and they skated their program, which was difficult, flawlessly.

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    1. Again are you kidding me? Vm speed and execution was still superior despite Scott's minor errors. Shibs deserved silver for sure but hey will never be as fast as vm nor cover the ice the same. Please don't tell me their short dance performance was anywhere near vm.

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    2. Everybody fixating on Scott's slight bobbles is missing the point. Their difficulty and quality of execution is so far and above everybody else, they can afford a few bobbles.

      That P/C were handed a world-record score for a program that most mediocre Juniors would be embarrassed to execute is nothing short of a travesty.

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    3. "Shib's technique is arguably now as good as or close to as good as V/M's..."

      HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! Hilarious.

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    4. Not sure anyone's on that page 'Shib's 3-time World Champs" um...ok, ya....NO.

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    5. anyone who thinks the shib's slow ass, let's crawl on the ice, lack of power, lack of ice coverage skating is on the same level as vm is deranged and is in need of medication.

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    6. Resorting to using the offensive and out-of-date insult of "needing medication" (which shows a lack of understanding of current medicine, and is so out of touch with the progress society is making in terms of understanding mental illness) is a sign that you don't have much of substance to back up your case.

      While the Shibs are not on the same level as V/M, those phrases you used do not describe their skating at all, and I find it fascinating how insecure so many V/M fans are about the Shibs when they have no reason to be. Yes, V/M are clearly better and therefore there's no reason to overstate the difference between the teams and pretend that the Shibs skate slow and small when they don't. I agree with what 3:34 and 4:10 said. Well, perhaps not that Scott's trip was a "slight bobble", but I do agree they had enough to make up for it.

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    7. @ 3:30 AM you need medication too then or you're blind for sure. I just saw the shibs at skate america they were the slowest top team there and their ice coverage lacks just as their lack of power. This something not imagined as commentators like tanith and ben have commented on it too.

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  7. I can't with these announcers gushing over "the french". My god they're awful. They do skate fast but so would i if I barely had to touch my SKATING PARTNER and maintained the same freakimg dance hold for four minutes!!!

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    1. I only see french commentators "gushing" towards them. Tarasova and the europsport guys perfer V/M. And I only see french figure skating "fans" claim they are better. I swear those people live in a god damn echo chamber

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    2. Actually, at GPF, Tarasova was quite upset that V/M won the FD. She agreed they should win the SD but felt P/C should have won the FD. I thought that was quite interesting.....

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  8. It's safe to say if anyone favouring V/M will be called out as deluded. The fact that they have been skating (past few years since OG Vancouver) difficult elements with great degree of control, consistency and with better success, in comparison to other couples, doesn't even register any of the non-fans' mind. You know I get it. ID is pageantry. It's still about how it (should) look or "feel" ... or whatever ... *eye roll* Brace for next season for Round #2 of "overrated, overscored, should-retire-already, medal-stealer, attention-hogger, music-sucks, judges-biased, a win? it's politicking..." threads/blogs/commentary o_0

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