I just thought the amazing full color photo, above-the-fold article in the Toronto Star showcasing the utter urgency that American Piper Gilles get her citizenship ahead of other petitioners waiting YEARS and years, because Skate Canada really really needs the 18th in the world ice dance team to go to Sochi, was worthy of its own post.
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| Front page "news" with huge color photos. |
What is wrong with Alexandra Paul, Skate Canada? She is already Canadian. Can't she make a valuable contribution to Canada as she is, a genuine, home-grown Canadian citizen? She's all warmed up and ready to go! No @CanFund emails "clearing this up" necessary (but thanks for sharing on twitter, @CanFund!).
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| Where's the fire @CanFund? How does Piper QUALIFY for an Exemption? Share with the class. |
Who has Gilles & Poirier so sure they, and not another team, will be in Sochi if Piper gets to be Canadian ahead of everybody else? I don't think they're deluded at all - I think they're going to Sochi and Paul will have to break his leg again directly on the ice for them to finish off the podium at Canadians, and even then I'm not so sure there isn't some five second broadcast delay in place that would trigger a blackout if that happens followed by the announcement they did a fabulous job but alas the digital record has been erased.
How does Piper Gilles qualify for an exemption? The incredible hardship created by her wealthy family pumping tens of thousands of dollars out of their own pockets into her undistinguised skating career, but if she gets to be Canadian she can siphon off some tax dollars? That hardship?
Is it the amazing prestige she'll bring to Canada by skating at Sochi with Paul? Who the HELL is going to notice Gilles & Poirier in Sochi with Virtue Moir there, not to mention Weaver & Poje - besides what Barb, Debbi and P.J. can stuff down our maws on twitter and online newsletters?
Why did this article skirt over the existence of Virtue Moir and Weaver Poje? They made no case for Piper whatsoever. They mentioned the exemption she hopes to get, but completely failed to make the case that she qualifies for this exemption.
What contribution does Piper stand to make to Canada that Alexandra Paul cannot?
I think contributions are being made, all right, but I don't think it's to Canada. That's a lot of money siphoned into Piper's skating- I wonder if any is being diverted to other pockets.
BTW I have it on good authority the revamped Skatebuzz will be called Piper's Pipeline.
Because Virtue/Moir and Weaver/Poje exist, this obsession with railroading Piper through the waiting period reeks to high heaven. ESPECIALLY since by any objective measurement, Paul Islam, actual Canadians, are at least as good as Gilles Poirier, and in the eyes of people who actually care about actual skating, they're better. What's the worst that could happen? Weaver & Poje and Virtue & Moir finish the season earning another 3 spots for Canada, and Paul Islam are further back in the pack. What do Gilles Poirier contribute that would improve that scenario? Five places?
This is nonsense.
We'\re speaking here of a THIRD slot. For Sochi, Canada already has two incredibly strong teams and has no need of Gilles Poirier to keep Canada on the ice dance map.
So what the fuck.
Nowhere in the Toronto Star do either Poirier nor Gilles even pay lip service to the notion that the Canadian Championships are still to be held and that third slot is up for grabs.
Now why is that, unless it's NOT up for grabs and the championship is a mere formality?
I'm curious about a bunch of stuff, actually. Such as, what the fuck, P.J. Kwong. She didn't think it important to share that Paul Poirier had broken his leg earlier this year, for example. Even though it was announced over a public address system. Why? Would it be inconvenient to have the Ministry know about his leg?
And what the hell is the urgency about getting THIS girl eligible for Sochi? Why is Skate Canada turning its back on an ice dance team that is already Canadian, in favor of leaning on the powers that be to make an American into a Canadian? Not a number one American, not a top ten American, a freaking eighteenth place American!
Why are they rending their garments over Paul Poirier's situation? Did somebody rip Vanessa Crone - an actual Canadian - out of his arms unfairly and force him into a partnership with Piper? Is that what happened?
Because, as I understand it, he chose to dump her ass, and hook up with Piper. Good for him, but why should the Canadian government give a shit about the problems Mr. 18th Place brought upon himself when he dumped a capable partner for a non-citizen publicity whore? He can do what he wants. But the Toronto Star, and Gilles & Poirier, and Skate Canada on twitter, through surrogates, through his Zoueva-wannabe coach, Carol Lane, through Bonnie Gilles, with money, with promotion, with media opportunities, have completely failed to tell us why we or Canadian immigration should care.
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| Just because a girl has a dream is no reason she shouldn't cover her bases. |
In the comments below, a participant linked to this blog:
Olympian Piper Gilles
Which is a timelined chronicle of the publicity drive for Paul and Piper. Piper Gilles is not an Olympian.
Over on some of the message boards there's an attempt to equate Piper's situation with Kaitlyn Weaver's. Kaitlyn didn't go to the Vancouver Olympics because she and Andrew came in third to Gilles & Poirier.
I think the Piper partisans are overlooking that Skate Canada has clearly guaranteed the third slot to Gilles & Poirier and any other ice dancer below the level of Virtue & Moir and Weaver & Poje will just be going through the motions at Canadians next season.
The brutality towards their own non-favored skaters is something else, although not surprising considering the big mouths some officials have in full earshot when at actual events.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts on this post:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9xJvCCfW_s
WTH with Skate Canada. Is there no Canadian government agency that has the authority to investigate and hold them accountable? They have been on board with promoting a hoax (V/M) and giving out undeserved perks (Jessica Dube) and in the last couple years they have been in the business of throwing their star ice-dance champions under the bus in order to guarantee unwarranted recognition for Gilles-Poirier. This Federation is corrupt.
ReplyDeleteI hope the blog hasn't created knee whack potential for Alexandra Paul with this post. If she were out of contention the case for Piper would be stronger - well, as strong as a case that a third ranked, nonessential, non-citizen ice-dancer qualifies for an exemption because her partner dumped an actual Canadian with better skill to skate with her can be. And Skate Canada and the Gilles interests aren't just connected, they are incredibly INTENSE about all this, almost as if it's an entitlement someone is blocking.
ReplyDelete#nokneeclubbing, #notanothernancy, #2014not1994, #watchoutAlex
Actually OC - this is anon at 3:47 pm - with the intensity of this campaign - I think we need to extend this nokneeclubbing to both Kaitlyn Weaver and Tessa. Of course I am slightly joking but then again - I have a soft spot for "protective" Scott...hahaha
Delete#considershinguards!
DeleteGood post OC - not only is this garbage a slap in the face to Paul/Islam but to also Orford/Williams who had a respective first season in seniors. Hell - even Mervin Tran who got dumped by the Japanese federation - got his act together - found another partner and will try to get on the Olympic pairs team for Canada. And to think that in Tran's case - the Japanese federation actually had a leg to stand on in trying to get him Japanese citizenship for the Olympic team event. However, my guess is that because it is so difficult to get Japanese citizenship - the political backlash would be evident...so as stated in this post - why the push for Gilles - my guess is that the Gilles family has made some lovely contributions in one form or another and basically in return want an Olympic skater to show for it. Look I don't have any personal against Piper Gilles or Paul Poirier but these tactics scream entitlement. And as OC has stated the case for jumping the line for Piper Gilles is weak to say the least. Hell even the Lithuanian government looks like it's not going to give citizenship to Isabella Tobias who has been skating with Staguinas for a longer time and actually has had some decent results.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think the VM fans complaining about the GP hoopla is overdone, but then we get this. This is even more obnoxious than the rush to get Tanith US citizenship (with the hilarity of all the ultra-liberal FSU posters calling their senators to support a Bush budget to which her exception happened to be appended).
ReplyDeleteIt does say Weaver got this exception for Vancouver though and she didn't really contribute much to SC than a 17th at Worlds... but it sounds like she did that privately without the entire media and SC backing her. That's what's fucked up about it.
Some of those who complain about G/P don't do so out of giving a fig about how it does or doesn't impact V/M.
DeleteTo Weaver's credit, she and Poje won world junior bronze (and two JGP bronzes) in their first season together and she'd had an extra year of residence on Piper even with the exemption.
Anon at 5:58 pm - anon here at 3:47pm - you also hit the nail on the head. Since when does Canfund who supports amateur athletes financially get involved in citizenship issues - no less over twitter. This is a matter between lawyers and immigration officers period. Look we know that Weaver got citizenship for Vancouver and perhaps the reason for this ridiculous display for urgency is that the Olympics being in Russia - visas will need to be taken care of in advance. But the way this whole issue has been handled over twitter, 2 newspapers is truly unprofessional by all parties.
DeleteThere is a world of difference between Belbin's situation in 06 and Piper right now. Just to start, BA had been second at worlds in 2005--not 18th. BA had been skating together and competing for the US since, I think, 2001. With Belbin, the rules had changed after she'd initially applied for US citizenship, streamlining and shortening the process.
DeleteWeaver, to the best of my knowledge, did indeed go about obtaining her Canadian citizenship in a private manner and by following the process. She wasn't in the papers asking for special treatment.
"But the way this whole issue has been handled over twitter, 2 newspapers is truly unprofessional by all parties."
DeleteThat's the thing, isn't it. Skate Canada is showing itself to be neither professional nor ethical. They're all about internal, personal politics.
You know what's also interesting? Some comments here on the blog assumed SC didn't have the media power or influence to counter the DW media campaign from the US. Well gee, guess what. It turns out SC does have media leverage and connections. This article and the accompanying twitter campaign say it all re Skate Canada's priorities, which most definitely are not with their Olympic ice-dance champions.
Anon here at 6:18 pm...I also wanted to add that yes every sports federation has favourites and I've dealt with amateur and professional athletes in the past - but I've never this type of bs. You know this had to go through Barb McDonald - so no surprise there since the woman clearly is not qualified for director of public relations. What's worse or more disappointing to me is if Skate Canada's new president was aware of this piece being printed in the Toronto Star? If yes, being a former recent ISU ice dance judge and working in the pharmaceutical industry and okaying this type of article to be written - in terms of ommitting information that pertains to the overall view of the story - well I'm shaking my head. As someone who works in the pharmaceutical industry in both the US and Canada in research - not sales - I would have had my ass hauled in so quickly for this misinformation and not going through the right channels..and believe me I am equally as surprised with Canfund as well...Last note - don't get me wrong - every organization has a right to go to a media outlet - but if your telling me that this warranted front-page cover of the Toronto Star - well Skate Canada - you are nothing but a joke...cuz you couldn't get the cover of the Toronto Star when you had the World Championships in London - oh...but a passport issue for a skater who is not ranked in the top 10 in the world - yes that we can do...wow...
DeleteSkate Canada is showing preference to an American citizen over two Canadian citizens, Paul and Islam. Skate Canada has two highly ranked ice dance teams, neither of them Gilles Poirier, one of them the defending Olympic champions, both of them top ten (top five now, based on finish) in the world.
DeleteBut all of Skate Canada's influence and energy is directed at getting Piper Gilles - who is, to say the minimum, as redundant as it gets to Skate Canada's ice dance prospects - Canadian citizenship.
The exception under which Piper Gilles is petitioning allows for this: “to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.”
It's so ODD, isn't it, that the article in the Toronto Star doesn't say under which circumstance Piper Gilles qualifies.
Perhaps a family leaking 70K a year, of its own volition, to indulge their mediocre ice dancer's Olympic hopes, constitutes "special and unusual hardship". I've shelled out 140K for my baby's skating, if I don't get an Olympian out of it, someone's gonna answer to me!
What will Piper do if she's denied? Go on the show circuit like her low ranked sister is inexplicably able to do, somehow getting opportunities denied skaters with better resumes? Will she go exploring like her brother? That would be so so hard! She's decided what she wants, why can't she try? Isn't that an excellent reason to leapfrog over thousands of citizens who've been waiting for years, as well as a wonderful reason to step on Canadian Paul Islam's heads up onto the Canadian ice dance podium?
So - special services? Looking at what Canada currently has on offer in ice dance, I'm not sure how special that 18th place at worlds really is. Paul Poirier's most outstanding achievements involve footnotes - his National Championship with Vanessa because Virtue Moir did not compete, his first silver medal and trip to the Olympics were with a Canadian partner he DUMPED. He dumped her ass, but now Piper's partisans are trying to use what Paul accomplished with VANESSA as an argument to fasttrack PIPER's citizenship application. Un-fucking-believeable. How's this Paul - don't dump Vanessa. Doesn't that make it all easier?
The bottom line is Paul Poirier is the Olympic-level skater in this partnership, not Piper. Furthermore, he and she have been scored according to his abilities, not hers, which the the exact opposite of how the rules say skating should be scored (as a team, and no higher than what the weakest member delivers), so that's bad enough. But then there's the fact that he HAD a Canadian partner, a fellow Olympian, a very skilled figure skater, and he threw her away. He threw away a Canadian, chose to skate with an American, and now Skate CANADA is shutting out a couple of Canadians in order to get an American to Sochi. WHY?
I take Piper's petition amiss. Her whining on twitter is unbelievable. She can't claim special service to Canada. But who knows what she's claiming. She's insinuating hardship on twitter, which to her is, she wants something, and doesn't get to pursue it. She should jump the line. Canada should show her preference over native born Canadian skaters (because Paul Islam's shot will be buried once Piper gets her passport) to indulge what Piper wants. Canada should let her leapfrog over immigrants who make tangible contributions to Canada. Favoritism should be shown to a skater who is participating in an enterprise where, in terms of how Canada benefits, they are completely superfluous.
I am really fascinated to learn exactly what it is that @CanFund "cleared up" in its email.
8:10,. let's not forget that the new Skate Canada president was a judge at 4CC's 2013 where the judging was dubious, to say the least, and Gilles Poirier were overscored. Perhaps that's how she got herself the job.
DeleteWhy *did* Paul dump Vanessa, anyway? Their 11th place was a disappointment, but it was surely better than his current 18th...
DeleteI don't know. Vanessa's remarks about it have been very dramatic but unenlightening. One poster on, I think, fsu, said Vanessa wanted to leave Scarborough and Paul dumped her instead. That would certainly explain the remarks after the split, about how Paul was elegant but Vanessa made up for her deficiencies by being a hard worker and keeping herself fit. An entire interview about the split quotes Paul, and, I think, Carol, but didn't source those remarks. Usually quotes like that are from the very people they're interviewing who don't want attribution.
DeleteScarborough is the only training center I can think of that has its own fans on message boards. As soon as Paul debuted with Piper, this crowd launched rave reviews that sounded completely canned, always prefaced with "I liked Vanessa, BUT". It was obnoxious because the insinuation in it all was Piper was better looking, matched Paul's looks, and therefore, they had great sexual chemistry on the ice. Finally, he had a partner who was his equal in the important stuff - looks!
Once everybody else got a look at Gilles Poirier, this group switched gears and GP became "fun" instead. Apparently they're the only skaters in Canada with personality.
In the end, Piper Gilles will get her passport but the whole story etc is ridiculous. We now Moirville is bad but these Scarborough fans are up there too. It's such a shame that Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill get absolutely no support from this training center if you ask me - just look at the programs that they were given last year. And to think that Kharis actually turned down going to Georgetown to pursue her skating.
DeleteI think it would be shameful if "in the end" (i.e., in time for Sochi) Piper got her passport. "Working your connections" doesn't qualify someone for an exemption. "Special hardship" is downright offensive, and the fact that Paul's resume is what it is due to a partner he got rid of FOR Piper should not be a "special services" credential. Even with his resume, the existence of Virtue Moir and Weaver Poje combined with 18th place at Worlds by Gilles & Poirier makes his services unneeded.
DeleteWell stated oc. Ironic that without VM and WP, there would be no 3rd team option - so yeah...and as you stated earlier Paul Poirier and the skating club knew what they were getting into when they decided to partner up with an American..so you if want to play with fire...there is a possibility that you will be burned...and if you thought that the passport issue was automatically a done deal well you will ill-advised...oh Skate Canada...oh Skate Ontario Central Ontario section...that's arrogance...perhaps that's one of the reasons that Tracey Wilson has stayed out of coaching ice dance teams in the greater Toronto area..the politics alone...smart woman...
DeleteBased on what they said at the time, they did think their passport was a done deal and I don't think there's any question whatsoever that they were guaranteed the Olympic spot by Skate Canada. Guaranteed. There's Skate Canada's strenuous promotion and politicking for Gilles Poirier all over social media and old media, combined with their own complacency that the passport is all that stands between them and Sochi. They're not speaking as confident athletes; they're speaking out of unearned entitlement. It's already theirs. And now there's this freaking tantrum that it's not playing out as they'd been led to expect.
DeleteThe Toronto Star article was offensive in what it omitted. Gilles and Poirier's actual ranking in Skate Canada ice dance. Virtue and Moir. The fact that Skate Canada is not giving Paul Islam a chance to compete for the Olympic spot - they don't have a chance because Skate Canada has decided the team already, and Gilles Poirier is already on the 2013 podium. There is no exceptional service Poirier is rendering Canada that can't be rendered by Paul Islam just as well, and furthermore, that isn't already being rendered with far greater value by Virtue Moir and Weaver & Poje.
This is grotesque all on its own, this flaunting of favoritism and politicking, hanging it all out with no shame. The mischaracterization of their achievements goes back to when the partnership was still new. Skate Canada has made no bones that they are more invested in an 18th place team than any other skater competing for Canada.
I can't help but be outraged more on Paul Islam's behalf simply because of their short at Canadian Nationals. There is no reason on earth they should have gotten a lower score than Gilles Poirier. That was ridiculous. But of course, deep edges, unison, power generated from the blade, change of holds, twizzles in the character of the dance and musicality are not ice dance qualities Skate Canada is interested in validating at the moment.
So basically, despite their fall in the fd, at the last Canadians the CANADIAN team of Paul Islam demonstrated, with their skating, that they are at the very least equally capable as Gilles Poirier of representing Canada in Sochi in that THIRD slot. Yet Skate Canada feels only Piper and Paul will do. How come?
"And now there's this freaking tantrum that it's not playing out as they'd been led to expect."
DeleteYep. This whole thing reeks of desperation. There's no valid case for Piper's exemption and that's why they can't make one. All they can do is whore themselves out to the press and hope their doing so will result in them being afforded the special treatment they seem to believe they're entitled to in the first place.
I wonder if this little ninth hour power play won't backfire on them?
It's especially objectionable because they want to fasttrack Piper for freaking SOCHI, where Skate Canada is already sending the reigning Olympic champions, as well as a team that finished, I believe, fifth in the world at the last World Championships. So what is the all fired rush to get American Piper freaking Gilles off to the Sochi Olympics so she can represent Canada and finish eighteenth. There's plenty of other ice dance teams in Canada that can accomplish that essential service. Why the hell can't she wait the four years or three years? The very fact that they are waving SOCHI around as the critical deadline reveals they want Canada to do something for Piper, because there's no exceptional service or value Piper can bring to Canada in Sochi. She's completely unnecessary. This push is all about getting Paul Poirier to Sochi and I want to know WHY Paul Poirier HAS to go to Sochi.
DeleteI don't think it will backfire necessarily but this type of press won't win over other canadian ice dance coaches (ie Wing and Lowe and Dubreuil and Lauzon). I would imagine that Shae Lynn Bourne would raise her eyebrows. And as you stated Mitch Islam's mom was/is a canadian judge - how the bleep does this look? And this also has to do with the Scarborough skating club - they desperately want representation at Sochi...I've also wondered if Ann Shaw and Marijane Strong are on G/Ps bandwagon? I thought that Ann Shaw may have been on judging panel at this year's Canadians as either a referee or tech specialist...but you have to wonder how deep is G/Ps backing...
DeletePaul appears to be SC's Golden Boy for reasons surpassing understanding. PJ Kwong fawns over him. So does his coach. Scarborough partisans like to hit up social media sites and message boards with posts declaring how wonderful Paul is as a person, and that he's quite the linguist, and so polite, etc.
DeleteNo kidding, if someone goes on a message board and even suggests Paul's twizzles looked less than impressive that day, the Scarborough heavies descend en masse like they've been alerted by the bat signal, then chastise everyone for not paying attention to Paul's wonderful charity work in the community.
I'm sure Paul's a nice guy but the fluffing is so over the top (and clearly meant to deflect away from the deficiencies in his and Piper's skating) it's comical. Well, more like comically tragic.
Yes I get that impression that Paul is SC's Golden Boy. And no doubt that he is probably a nice guy. But you know what also makes an excellent male dance partner? The ability to show off your partner and that folks - Mr. Moir does in spades...seriously you just get the impression that Paul Poirier is about Paul Poirier and that he is the star of the team - always has been and always be...I mean clearly who was the better skater - Emily Samuelson or Piper Gilles - no contest - Emily...did he mesh better with Piper's personality - perhaps but Paul Poirier needs to be number one on his team...my two cents..
DeleteThe whining is completely offensive because of its personal, entitled slant. A LOT of people have a dream. A lot of people want opportunity. Plenty of people are awfully nice and personable. How is any of that an argument for the Ministry of Immigration to set aside its immigration process?
DeleteWhat is said about Gilles & Poirier is presented as if they are the only nice people in the world, the only ones with dreams (we already know they're the only ones with personality). Piper Gilles' family is the first to discover that skating is expensive, so the Immigration office must step in and relieve their burden (although how her citizenship would relieve that burden is unclear. Would she get a part time job? Or is it that mom wants her investment to pay off?).
Why should Paul Poirier's very ordinary contributions be disproportionately rewarded over everyone else's? When people reach for the "they're so nice!" argument, what are they saying about everyone else waiting in line? They're so amazingly impressed with their own niceness. Must not be an ordinary thing in their world if they're think it merits such a large reward.
There's no credential for the exception they're seeking. Services of exceptional value in the area of ice dance are being rendered to Canada by Canadians Virtue Moir and Weaver Poje. Gilles Poirier are far back.
If a skater medals, is that an exceptional service even if it's a lesser medal than those won by skaters who are already citizens and participate in the exact same discipline? What is the criteria for exceptional service? Especially when the reason for the rush to citizenship is so Gilles Poirier can get to Sochi, where they're completely superfluous to Canada's prospects.
If the bar is so low that Piper Gilles' "services" qualify, then the Immigration office better get off its ass and start expediting the applications of thousands of others who are waiting and have been waiting longer, and can meet a similar bar.
I object when the talk turns to the personal qualities of Piper and Paul, because the implication is that the ordinary qualities they possess DISTINGUISH them, which means others must lack them. There's an insult to others built into everything they say about themselves and that their partisans claim about them. A lot of people are bilingual. A lot of people have nice manners. A lot of people do charity work and have dreams they'd like to pursue. Many of them have been waiting four years and longer for their applications for citizenry to be processed in the system.
Piper Gilles deserves the chance to pursue her dream so her parents 70k annually doesn't go to waste. You guys, she gets up early and works hard five hours a day - who else in Canada can say the same?
They live in isolation chamber and flaunt their entitlements, confusing them with merit. They want pats on the back because Piper actually trains. That to them is special. It's so revealing, and so distasteful.
It comes down to, what is the reason Piper Gilles should be fast tracked - especially fast tracked so she can go to SOCHI as a Canadian ice dancer where Virtue Moir and Weaver Poje will already compete? Nobody has provided one.
Well I'm off to a bbq folks - enjoy the rest of the day....
ReplyDeleteOh, it gets better. https://twitter.com/ARBreedon/status/358958310499688449
ReplyDeleteWho is Ashley Breedon?
DeleteI just want to know how much money has traded hands between the Gilleses and Skate Canada and various other organizations. Piper is terrible and yet, she's all the rage. Alexe is even more terrible (really terrible, mind blowingly terrible) and yet, she has made quite a nice life for herself as a show skater.
ReplyDeleteThe comments on Bonnie Gilles' Facebook are nauseating. "Canada should be falling over itself to welcome Piper as a citizen" Why? Why should we be falling over ourselves to welcome a mediocre ice dancer, who is prone to outbursts of stupidity as a citizen? What makes Piper more worthy than anyone else trying to gain citizenship? She's not going to stay after Sochi.
That's a very interesting question in terms of how long Gilles/Poirier stay together as a team. For the Gilles family is Sochi the ultimate goal or is the next winter olympics in Korea?
DeleteBut yes if the quote is accurate that Canada should be falling over itself to welcome Piper as a citizen - well that's obnoxious. If this is so true Ms. Gilles, why did the USFSA release her so easily. To be honest, I think if Paul Poirier had chosen Emily Samuelson - I am not sure that the USFSA would have been so inclined to release her...just my opinion...
It's an insult to Canada and to Canadians. Like the quality level of Canada's citizens suck.
DeleteWas just reading back through some media pieces about the Crone/Poirier split, and a few things stood out.
ReplyDeleteThe first is from this article (http://www.yorkregion.com/sports-story/1436755-ice-dancer-crone-seeks-new-partner/) where Crone mentions that the reason for their split was "personal, more than a skating problem."
Then in an IFS article (http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/586-piper-gilles-and-paul-poirier) Poirier is quoted as saying he and Crone split because they no longer had the same goals, weren't moving in the right direction, and HE wanted a change. It's mentioned he won't elaborate more on why he and Crone decided to part, but the article tosses in a lovely little slam at her as being "not as good as her partner," though "her excellent physical condition made up for her lack of elegance."
Wow. WTF, Kany? You think throwing that insult in there passes as good sports journalism? Who okayed that? Did someone in the Gilles/Poirier camp request that be added but didn't want to be quoted as having said it or something?
PJ Kwong wrote a blog piece following up on Crone some months after the split and half of it consisted of Crone praising Poirier. Really?
Why all of the "Paul is amazing!" overkill?
Poirier's latest "for me, [Piper's] the best chance I have" comment might carry weight with more people if it wasn't so full of crap.
First of all, who says that? I have never heard Scott Moir talk about ANYTHING related to his skating in which he singles himself out in the way Poirier did. It's always "Tessa and I" or "we." Can someone direct me to the interview where Scott says "I continued to skate with Tessa after learning of her Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome because I knew she was the best chance I had to make the Olympics!"
Secondly, how can Gilles be the best chance Poirier has to make the Olympics when he already had a partner with whom he'd turned that chance into a reality? How does that make sense, especially since he claimed they split because HE decided he wanted a change?
Do these female partners matter, really? Seems like it's all about Paul in Scarborough, and Skate Canada, Kwong, and a few others in the media are helping steer the bandwagon.
Of course it was Carol and Paul taking the potshots at Vanessa's skating - it simply went without attribution.
DeleteAnd that said, looking back at Vanessa's "lack of elegance" becomes freaking HILARIOUS considering who his partner is now. Vanessa was neat, light, quick and controlled. She was freaking Tessa Virtue compared to Piper Gilles.
Your last point - that Paul dumped a Canadian partner with whom he already went to the Olympics, is a salient one. That was his choice. It's absolutely ridiculous for him to petition Canadian immigration to fast track his lesser skilled American partner because - what? He felt like a change.
What do you want, Paul? A chance to go to Sochi, or a change? This is a choice athletes make all the time.
I wonder how much Vanessa is leaned on. She is constantly recruited to support Paul, even though his decision to end the partnership was devastating. I find that absolutely disgusting, and P.J. is right in the thick of it.
The reality is there's no important reason - not for CANADA, which is the point - that Paul Poirier has to go to Sochi. CANADA doesn't need him in Sochi. So much for "exceptional service" to Canada. He provides none at this time.
The emphasis on SOCHI, IMO, undermines the entire cause. What's it to Canada if he goes or not? Absolutely nothing. What unusual hardship if he has to stay home and OW or PI go instead? If that camp finds it an unusual hardship, they all need a wake up call.
The tone is that Canadian Immigration has to rush rush rush to give Piper her passport so she can go with Paul to Sochi, and if people read this and don't see that the fix is in at Skate Canada then I don't know what it would take.
Virtue and Moir and Weaver and Poje are taking care of Canada in Sochi.
Paul dumped a Canadian partner with whom he qualified for the last Olympics so if Paul going to Sochi was so urgent, he could have stayed with her and earned his spot again, if he could.
I also find it outrageous how Skate Canada and everybody pushing for this is spitting on Gilles Poirier's peers. Nobody is saying give Gilles & Poirier the chance to compete to go to Sochi, they're not saying they want to compete for the opportunity to make the team, they're saying they want to represent in SOCHI. So apparently they are skipping the whole earn it at Nationals step and nobody around Gilles Poirier bothers to pretend Nationals is going to be anything other than a rubber stamp.
They are all coming across like spoiled spoiled brats. The utter lack of humility, the tone that Piper Gilles is doing Canada a favor by wanting to become Canadian, is beyond insulting to other applicants for citizenship. The ratio of entitlement to merit is absolutely ludicrous.
How does Skate Canada account for a tone that says, six months before the Championships that determine the third Sochi slot, that Gilles & Poirier are going to Sochi if Piper gets her passport in time? Shouldn't Skate Canada alert the Detroit Skating Club so Paul Islam can quit training for the season? Shouldn't the coaches of other teams also be officially notified? What IS this shit? Every article about them omits information that is relevant to Piper's cause, so I wonder if the Immigration Ministry has been given an accurate picture.
Do they know who Virtue & Moir and Weaver & Poje are and that Gilles Poirier aren't needed in Sochi? That third slot can be anyone.
Do they know that Paul Poirier dumped a Canadian partner skilled enough to go to the Vancouver Olympics after a close contest with Weaver & Poje? That it was a shock to his Canadian partner and she was heartbroken but he thought it was best?
I think the fix has been in to make Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier more than they actually are to Canadian skating, and for a long time. Pad her resume to pad her case before the ministry, strip the team's circumstance of context and then lean on the media to railroad her case through.
When one looks at the comments of the Gilles Poirier partisan in the Toronto Star article, and some of the comments on, I believe Bonnie Gilles' facebook, one wonders if they're taking the approach best calculated to move the Immigration Ministry. Such as Canada should be falling over itself in gratitude that Piper wants to be a citizen, or that everybody commenting on the article in the Star is probably a lazy, useless slug.
DeleteWho knew Canada needed to be IMPROVED by making a citizen of this Kardashian on skates.
My next prediction: Tanith Belbin will say on behalf of Piper Gilles - Come on Canada - be nice to your friends to the South and make her Olympic Dreams come true - like Uncle Sam did for me! (Insert Sarcasm and some sort of Disney cinderalla theme song - my apologies to Walt)...paid to you by the USFSA - cuz we love all Canadian skaters and teams (except well u know who....)
ReplyDeleteWhat bugs is Paul kicked a Canadian skater to the curb. Then on top of that, Piper's citizenship will destroy the chances of Canadian skaters as qualified as she is.
DeleteThere's an actual editorial now the Star - apparently the front page wasn't all that was promised. So a major newspaper is making an editorial argument on a topic of which it's totally ignorant. So why's it wasting the space? Who called in a favor?
The editorial even says Piper and Paul are "going for gold". Gold? They can't go for tenth!
These things can't go into detail because Piper's situation is as different to other "fast tracked" skaters as can be, and is so explicitly about Sochi, where she's not needed and where other Canadian teams deserve the opportunity. It's so offensive because by waving the maple leaf they are actually arguing to shove aside skaters who are already Canadian.
OC - You know who writes for the Toronto Star - Rosie Dimanno...even though she didn't write the article - perhaps Skate Canada called in a favour with her....for front page space...
DeleteWhen I saw it was the Star, I was surprised that Rosie's name wasn't on it. Maybe it's not salacious enough for her.
DeleteAnon here at 7:46 pm - just saw the editorial - going for gold...I think we need to revisit the hashtag no kneeclubbing to not only include Tessa, Kaitlyn, Alex but also include other detroit area skaters such as Meryl, Maia, Nathalie, Madison Chock, Anna Capellini and hell let's add Madison Hubbell...this is just so ridiculous..
DeleteNo kidding 7:59...is the author aware that Ms Gilles and her partner were EIGHTEENTH at Worlds? They're not even top 10 material, let alone "going for gold" material.
DeleteAnon at 7:57 pm - We know that Rosie DiManno can be salicious but I don't think she is suicidal, LOL..if I had to put money - Skate Canada called Rosie for a favour and then Rosie gave the story to obviously a non figure skating reporter for the obvious reasons of this story and now the editorial has no leg to stand on..Barb McDonald - seriously you make Ann Coulter seem like a normal human being...
DeleteA comment on FSU made me think -- what is happening with Paul's injury? I guess the prognosis must be good if they're so actively pushing for Piper's citizenship but shouldn't that be taken into consideration? Who knows whether her partner will even be in top form come January/February. Not that it matters, I guess. As soon as Paul sets foot on the ice, they'll be crowned the bronze medalists. Their flights to Sochi are probably already booked.
ReplyDeleteOf course their flights are booked and they're already on the podium. Oh, one little detail - Canadian Immigration didn't kick in with Piper's citizenship as the confidently predicted from the day she joined forces with Paul.
DeleteI continue to love the tone. Piper's doing Canada a favor. Please appreciate it, Canadian Ministry.
Perhaps it wouldn't be amiss for the Canadians out there to write to the Minister of Immigration, filling him in on a few details.
ReplyDelete@ 5:13 -- IKR. Predictably, the same group of fans, I think mostly from that "Addicted to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir" facebook place, rush in to "like" any and every photo that has a mention of Virtue Moir. Why are they liking these shitty pictures?
ReplyDeleteThe Ilderton Club took more than a month to go to the arduous effort of uploading pictures from this charity event. Then they finally unveil the work that took all this time and it turns out to be a pile of crap. Any high school yearbook has better photo layout and picture-stories of their events. This is bs.
Could it be more obvious these guys could care less about good PR for Tessa and Scott? It's about sticking it to the fans, not about enhancing Virtue Moir's public standing. God forbid they should show kindness to the #crazyfans who love Virtue Moir. How dare the fans be interested in their champion team that belongs only to them.
"It's not our fault that the Cassandra situation is a pile of transparent bullshit."
ReplyDeleteWhat? NO!! She's so much prettier than Tessa. And not princessy like Tessa. And she makes Scott so happy! Scott and Cassandra are so super adorable. I'm sure they're real. Aren't they?
What? NO!! She's so much prettier than Tessa. And not princessy like Tessa. And she makes Scott so happy! Scott and Cassandra are so super adorable. I'm sure they're real. Aren't they?
ReplyDeleteOh right, I forgot about that! It's so super obvious from the pictures how much Scott loves her and how happy she makes him! He looks so at ease and comfortable with her. *sigh* I'm so glad that Scotty found such a nice girl to love.
*barf*
I cannot believe it took them over a month to get around to sharing any photos and then that's what we get. How much longer does this pissing match have to go on for?
Nothing to do with G/P, but OH DEAR: http://www.corusent.com/home/Corporate/PressReleases/tabid/1697/Default.aspx?Id=2542
ReplyDeleteI'm already cringing at how bad this is going to be.
As previewed it looks absolutely horrible, but so did Ice, Sweat and Tears, and that turned out to be just a lot of Debbi concepts set to film snippets.
DeleteThe "unique friendship" and how fans are "intensely interested" is the usual fobbing off on us bullshit.
At the moment the whole thing sounds like the early p.r. for Ice Sweat and Tears. It could be bait and switch, just like that. The "unique friendship" and "intimacy on the ice" and "intense interest" sounds like priming the pump. They're working it hard to set people up.
DeleteAlthough it will be interesting to see just how much they ignore their child who will then be three. Will they pretend to have separate residences that we see? Will we see them chat on the phone? Will we see medium shots of Cassandra?
There was similar speculation with Ice Sweat and Tears re their "off ice lives" and Jessica, and it turned out to be nothing. Any time they weren't actually standing on ice turned out to be "off ice lives".
Well as fans I don't think we need any more roller-coaster rides but as OC said look how Ice, Sweat and Tears was initially pitched as a V/M project and then we ended up with a product with V/M lite to say the least...who knows if they end up with 6 episodes but I think by the end of TEB - they will be done filming - cuz you know they will want to get into their bubble...Perhaps we will get more camera time with Maria Mountain, Jennifer Swan, Jean-Marc Genereux, Marina Zoueva, Johnny Johns etc...
DeleteRight to the camera time with their team, and then the usual with "Tessa keeps me calm" "Scott keeps me laughing" for their "unique friendship".
DeleteFocus entertainment also has a lot of press releases about Babar the Elephant.
We are also not told the running time of each episode in this series.
Moirville is very cynical. The fans are their pretext for everything they want to do. This is just hype.
I'll admit that it sounds like the early p.r. for Ice, Sweat, and Tears. I would be fine if it were just a look behind the scenes when it comes to the skating.
Delete"Although it will be interesting to see just how much they ignore their child who will then be three. Will they pretend to have separate residences that we see? Will we see them chat on the phone? Will we see medium shots of Cassandra?"
This is the part that concerns me. By the time a child is three, they definitely have a huge interest in their world and know things are going on around them. What lengths will they go to in order to make it appear they have separate lives? How the fuck is that child going to feel when she someday looks back at this stuff that happened when she was 3 and her parents' lives have been edited to make it so she doesn't exist and they're not together?
This may be my anger, but VM don't deserve that child. In juxtaposition to this, the friends of a good friend of mine lost their child to illness a couple of years ago. She was only a year and a half old. The mom started a blog to chronicle her grief, and as I read the struggles of this woman who would give anything to have her little girl back in the world with her, it pisses me off that VM have, presumably, a healthy, living, breathing child that they can't even acknowledge. Well, really, beyond can't even acknowledge. They go to lengths to make sure she's edited it out of their on-record lives. It's just disgusting.
"As previewed it looks absolutely horrible, but so did Ice, Sweat and Tears, and that turned out to be just a lot of Debbi concepts set to film snippets."
DeleteIt's true. Ice, Sweat and Tears originally sounded just like this. I hope you're right and it turns out to be nothing.
I cannot stand the thought of 6 episodes devoted to all of Tessa and Scott's lies. I think I'll actually hate them if they do that. It would also RUIN this Olympic season that as a fan I want so much for it to be all about skating and ZERO about "relationships." Is there any way we can get them to shut the hell up? Please?
I think it's a little extreme to say they don't deserve their child. I understand the story about your friend, 12:16 PM, and empathize, but we don't really know how well they treat her in real life. This is all aimed more at the fans. They will explain that mommy and daddy have crazy fans (who do things like make playlists of the music they skated to!), and yes, many other athletes have children and they showed them publicly, but mommy and daddy's fans were super crazy shippers (they thought mommy and daddy looked like they were in love and should get married!), and that baby needed to protected from these crazy, crazy fans. These fans wanted to see things like pictures of mommy and daddy together at public and professional events they co-hosted!
DeleteI'm sure the kid will be scarred from all this, I don't agree with what they're doing, but I know the plot isn't against her - it's us. Rather than say they don't deserve their child, I'd sooner say they don't deserve their fans.
Why are they doing this? :( They can take their "unique" relationship and shove it up their asses.
DeleteOK, here's a totally Polyanna comment, I know....but maybe it will be part of the process of coming out. OyCanada has laid out reasons why it's more likely they'll come clean in the end than not...but to have a six part chronicle further entrenching their lies months before unveiling the truth doesn't make any sense at all. Not that what they do ever does, but ....maybe??
Delete12:48, the thought briefly crossed my mind. But they wouldn't do that. Would they?
Delete12:48 I so wish you would be right, but in that case, wouldn't they be ramping down Cassandra right now?
DeleteShe did delete her Twitter and her Facebook has been rather blank and stagnant for a while. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them though. I'm sure it's just the calm before the storm.
Delete12:29 - I agree with you, and also, your comment made me laugh.
DeleteThe sham is usually quiet after the obligatory beach vacation photo spam. They save up for the launch of the new season. Remember last year? Cassandra dropped in November, but got on twitter in August. Scott left facebook in September. That's when we'll see more Aruba shots and various other photo shoots.
The Focus media press release is such clear bait and hype I honestly would try not to start hoping they'll start acting like mature adults. This is more of the same. They haven't had a new idea since this sham began, and they haven't changed their agenda.
DeleteSage advice, OC. They haven't given any indication that they have any intention of growing the fuck up.
DeleteNope, no intention of all to grow the fuck up. They don't have the inclination or the balls to do it.
DeleteHow far will they go? Is Cassandra learning her lines as we speak? Is there an apartment being decorated as Scott's "own place nearby"? How many teary shots of Tessa will we see as she contemplates what life will be like without Scott? She doesn't even remember life without him, guys!
DeleteThere may be plenty lies by ommission or framing, but would they really ramp up the crazy by doing a TV show? Hasn't the argument always been that they don't think social media lasts? Granted these morons released a book, but they never mentioned JD or anything.
DeleteThey clearly have the intention of continuing with the Cassandra bs. It's anyone's guess how that translates for this TV series. They did put Jessica in the front seat of a buggy next to Mom Moir for a parade that was the town event and got media coverage. But then they didn't mention her in the book.
DeleteNope, the sham definitely isn't ending anytime soon. Assholes indeed. I suppose it was to be expected given the latest round of pics that were released. You really can set your watch by it.
Deletewhoa whoa whoa hey no. it could be the exact opposite. maybe they wanted to do something special for us by making an online photocollage but they didnt know how to and it was their first time doing so?
ReplyDeleteAnd they accidentally sepia-toned it and included close-ups of inanimate stuff and old posters?
ReplyDelete8:44 a.m. - they were having a one-sided pissing contest with fans long before the blog existed.
ReplyDeleteNot to change topics but it looks that D/W and the Shibs are doing a Senior B in Salt Lake City in the middle of Sept. So far no Igor teams including Chock/Bates - which makes me wonder if Finlandia will be popular...my guess - yes..lol..
ReplyDeleteSo, we'll start the season off with some sort of ridiculous score for D/W. 80 points for the SD and 114 for the FD in mid-September? DONE!
DeleteAgain, I don't even know why V/M are bothering to compete next season. They say they'll be disappointed by anything other than gold. Well, that ain't happening.
guess we get to see D/W's boring recycled programs earlier this year.
DeleteI love how Marina said Carmen would break 200 but it's totally going to be DW who do.
DeleteRight. And it's not going to be a score that they did a damned thing to actually earn. Blah.
DeleteIn my eyes, the "letter of inquiry" from the ISU about misuse of the interruption rule - when there is no reason on earth Virtue Moir would have wanted to misuse the rule last season - was a clear indicator that nothing will change this season. DW will continue to earn monster scores no matter how little what they put on the ice resembles the standards and criteria set down in the rules, their easier and junked up stuff will get credit for high level of difficulty and high GOE, the same as ever twizzles will get credit for stylings before the twizzles are launched and after they're finished, rather than anything during, and the same for the spins and other elements, including lifts. Virtue and Moir will have to eek out every single point and every detail will be scrutinized, and suddenly the judges will be absolutely scrupulous about what's in CoP.
DeleteThe interruption inquiry pretty much says that Virtue Moir, despite having won the short and being ahead on GOE at the point of interruption, must have stopped for a less than legitimate reason. And what on earth would make winners do that? Clearly, they're not winners. That's the ISU message.
This happens every summer. Since 2009. Or let's be generous and say 2010. After May, the sham simmers down. Fans tiptoe around. Because they still think what the Moirs do with the sham is somehow connected to what fans do, how they act, or what fans say.
ReplyDeleteIt does NOT. That's just a bunch of lies Moirville tells. They're doing it with the come on for the Focus Media "series", they do it with everything.
Don't set yourself up. There's a whole bunch of intuitive stuff with the sham that actually doesn't relate to reality. One was the fan tendency to see Tessa and Scott's sham gf's in competition, or the sham gf as some type of B team gf who deserved real gifts, real attention, etc., and who was acting on her own.
The other is this thing that fans have anything to do with what they do. We don't. Every summer this happens. Things appear to be going well, so fans think if they lie low, Scott and Tessa might not see the need to continue shamming.
They will always see the need to sham because they want to be right, and Moirville wants to be right. Or save face. You know if you don't admit what you're doing, you're right. That's how it works.
OC - I may not agree with everything in your blog - but one thing is clear - there are patterns that are obvious and - the PR aspect is really out to lunch...there is no reason to lose sleep or have ulcers since it's not about the fans - we are the excuse...it's about control and access. Even if you take everything at face value with them - things don't add up. In the end I am so glad that Moirville is not in charge of the skating...
DeleteScott needs to stop sending mixed signals. If he wants to fuck Cassandra Hilborn that's fine but he needs to stop pretending Tessa means anything to him. Likewise, if he loves Tessa, he'd stop messing around with other women. What a tool.
ReplyDeleteYes, sometimes i think that the real lies are the interviews in which Scott tells us how their relationship is so special...sorry Scott and Tessa but I don't believe you, in one form or another you're telling us a bunch of lies
DeleteIn addition , if I remember correctly, they are training even in the weekend...if you are an olympic athlete in the olympic year you can't just take two days off to go out with your girlfriend
That is where their lies are. They want us to believe their relationship is so special and unique but in the end, it's all just an act. The blog is right in that secrets are being kept and V/M are committing a hoax on the public but it's not what everyone seems to think it is.
DeleteScott's girlfriend would rather that Tessa doesn't exist. Does he feel the same way? Please tell us Scott, I'm dying to hear. How do the Moirs really feel about her? What did Tessa do to deserve that hate? (aka who's the actual father of her child?)
I'm sick of their lies and bullshit. If they think this is the appropriate way to treat fans, I hope they lose in Sochi.
Sad but true...
DeleteWith the story of the special relationship they earn money with bridal photoshoots and tv series. It's only "bad" marketing...
Just my opinion...
It's a business and yep, they earn money. Anyone want to place bets on how many times Scott and/or Tessa will sniffle about how they can't imagine life without each other? They're counting down the fucking days. They'll still keep the business relationship, no doubt, but at least they won't have to see each other every day.
DeleteNo, it's not true, he's not messing with Cassandra, he's messing with fans. The mixed messages come from what's obvious (that he loves Tessa, and the games they play with legit media) and the crap on social media.
DeleteThis tactic has appeared on the blog before - proceed as if something has been established and then go forward. The commments section is not the place to express theories that Scott is banging Cassandra and pretending to be in love with Tessa, because it's not true, and the blog is about what is true - they're married and the fake girlfriends are fake girlfriends covering up for Scott and Tessa both.
The "marketing" tool they use it to pretend they have a unique relationship - a concept that has increased in obnoxiousness over time - and market that. They recognize no distinction between performing in real life and performing in an entertainment venue where the audience knows it is a performance and isn't suckered into believing it's real. That's a slippery slope and a rationale that could turn on them if somebody ever decided that it's not necessary to be truthful about something with THEM if you go ahead and call it performance.
So no, conversation that pretends Scott is sleeping with Cassandra and not married Tessa isn't going to take place here.
I also suspect that some of this conversation is just a way to bash Tessa and Scott and sort of show them how their tactics can create stories and rumors that get out of control - to punish them by pretending to believe their lies but up the ante to where they get scared distortions are going to run rampant on the web and even when they do tell the truth they won't be believed. Whatever the agenda, it's a game and it's acting out by some posters in the comments section that doesn't belong here.
DeleteThis tactic has appeared on the blog before - proceed as if something has been established and then go forward.
DeleteI'm sorry, OC, but isn't that what this entire blog does? I don't see anyone rushing forward to corroborate your stories that they're married and have a child. All I see is a lot of people who agree that something hinky is going on with VM. What makes your speculation any less valid than mine? No one seems interested in providing any proof or stating exactly how they know the marriage/child to be true.
A relationship as close and intimate as the one that VM appear to have and claim to have cannot exist in conjunction with outside romantic relationships, particularly the one that Scott has with Cassandra. And yet, Scott doesn't appear to have any more of a presence in Tessa's life off the ice than she does in his. Why? Apparently I'm the only one who thinks it's odd that for as often as they're recognized off the ice, not a single person has ever seen them out and about with a child.
I'm left to conclude that yes, VM are lying about their relationship but it's to cover up the fact that they're not as "special" and "unique" as they want people to believe. They're leading fans on, they're playing a game and laughing all the way to the bank.
"A relationship as close and intimate as the one that VM appear to have and claim to have cannot exist in conjunction with outside romantic relationships, particularly the one that Scott has with Cassandra. And yet, Scott doesn't appear to have any more of a presence in Tessa's life off the ice than she does in his"
DeleteI agree...it's the only way I can explain their behaviour...and i really don't like it.
But this is only my personal opinion and may be i'm wrong
"And yet, Scott doesn't appear to have any more of a presence in Tessa's life off the ice than she does in his. Why? Apparently I'm the only one who thinks it's odd that for as often as they're recognized off the ice, not a single person has ever seen them out and about with a child."
DeleteThese sorts of comments are so laughable. Plenty of people have seen Tessa and Scott out and about together and with their child. Just because they haven't tweeted about it, you think this proves Scott doesn't have a presence in Tessa's off-ice life or she his, or that it must mean there's no marriage or child?
You're right that Tessa and Scott are leading people on and playing up their relationship as "unique," but they are married with a child and plenty of people know this to be a fact. Tessa and Scott utilize the term "unique" to describe their relationship as a means to cover up the fact that they are married (though of course it's unique in other ways as all relationships/partnerships are), not to convince people that they're probably romantically involved but actually want nothing to do with one another.
Since no one is providing you with the "proof" you want, you've taken to crafting various theories in your head as to why what's been said here about Tessa and Scott being married and having a child must be false. It is not false, it is true. Perhaps you should spend some time coming to grips with the fact that people in the know do exist, they've simply chosen not to share with you the kind of confirmation you'd like to have.
OC is not speculating about the facts, nor is she the only person privy to this information.
DeleteIt is a fact that Virtue and Moir are married.
It is a fact that they have a child.
It is a fact that Scott is not dating Cassandra.
It is a fact that Scott did not date Jessica.
I know that the what is on the blog is true, and the blog was established on that premise. It's not a theory. You may not know it but I'm the one who knows it and as it's my blog, that's all I need.
DeleteThe point. The comments section isn't a clearinghouse for other people's theories, because that pretends that the blog itself is just a theory, and it's not. Whether you believe it or not isn't relevant - I know it to be true and I'm the one who needs to know that.
The rest of what you say is poorly reasoned and again tries to establish that Scott is having two relationships at once, which he is not.
Don't do it anymore. If you don't believe what's here and prefer to play with theories, do it somewhere else.
9:18 knock it off. Your questions are shit stirring because even a moron would know they're ridiculous.
DeleteHere's something I find ridiculous - people who are in the know dying to rush to the internet and share. How much sense does that make? They already know it. What's in it for them to go and blow someone's cover on the web? They already have people to discuss it with if that's what they want.
The reasoning process that leads to questions like that are so divorced from common sense it makes even less sense to address them, especially for the benefit of people who think because they aren't privy to proof, proof must not exist.
It also feels like "Heather" is bored because her twitter isn't getting attention and has returned to the blog to stir it up here. Don't.
^^^ Yes.
DeleteTo those who doubt those truths because they've seen photos crafted to convince them that Jessica and Scott dated one another, or that Cassandra is now dating Scott - would you believe those facts listed above by @8:57 if they were "confirmed" via tweets by random people you've never met? Because that's essentially the "confirmation" some of you are asking for, correct? A "sighting" on twitter? Why is that what you want, and how would you "know" the sighting isn't completely fabricated?
This blog has always been clear about the fact that Tessa and Scott are married with a child, Scott never dated Jessica, and he isn't dating anyone now. It's then gone to great lengths to lay out how the attempts to convince fans otherwise have played out. It doesn't exist as some kind of "confirmation" service for fans wanting certain types of "proof." And anyway, there is plenty of proof for fans without insider information to see - and it's usually right in front of their faces. They simply don't recognize what they're looking at.
"8:53, have you seen their child? Is it a girl? What does she look like? What's her name? WHY DON'T I KNOW these facts?"
Delete@9:18, I fixed the last sentence of your comment for you. Now it's accurate.
9:35 - I put the original comment in spam, but your own comment is dead on. People pretend not to understand the distinction between what they know or what's been shared with them, and what's true.
DeleteMore and more "unique" sounds not just their cover up for their marriage, but an excuse.
DeleteBased on their p.r. on social media and off, and the patterns of the sham, they don't know what context is and they don't know perspective. They see themselves as occupying a particular position and proceed from there. The position they occupy, though, only really exists at home. It's Moirville, which clearly includes Alma's skaters, that are "intensely interested" in Scott and Tessa, and intensely interested in establishing themselves as inside the loop versus a mere fan, even if they're fans themselves. A way to separate themselves from the horde is to mock them; something that's obviously customary off social media because the UWO skaters feel so free to do it on.
At the same time I can't help being curious about which members of Moirville loved to give out of towners the real low down on Scott and Tessa's relationship and the fakery of Jessica in 2010. I know that visiting fans both in Canada and from overseas got an earful at Canadians 2010. It wouldn't be surprising if many of the locals who opened their yaps were Alma's students.
When Scott and Tessa describe their relationship as business partners, that's probably the most honest they've ever been.
ReplyDeletepictures of them together aren't seen because they don't exist, not because of some massive cover up and conspiracy. They don't spend time together unless it's for the business. Scott would rather run off to Chicago than spend the weekend with Tessa. Must be nice to get a break from her once in awhile.
The rift? Of course the story keeps changing. It's a lie. How can you have a rift when you already can't stand each other. Bravo, Scott and Tessa, you've fooled everyone and your stupid little documentary is sure to take it even further.
Take this somewhere else.
DeleteThis also explain why Tessa is non-existent for Scott's girlfriend...because she is non-existent in Scott's life besides skating
ReplyDeleteBingo.
DeleteNo, he's married to Tessa. That's it.
DeleteWell I indicated in a previous post about rollercoaster rides and these folks like to engineer them. Who knows what the real deal is anyways but if money is the only driving force and they couldn't stand each other's company - they would have went professional after Vancouver and made more $$$ a la Joannie Rochette - without selling of their unique relationship. Then if you argue that they wanted to stay in competitive skating to push the sport aspect - you wouldn't do the high risk moves, risk further re-aggravation of Tessa's CECS etc without at least respecting and trusting each other on the ice. And after so many years, if you don't get along off the ice - there is just so much you can tolerate. Then why bother introducing their first annual golf tournament? If it's only about money and keeping your name in the spotlight - I don't think you attract or keep a Maria Mountain or a Jennifer Swan on your team. And if everything is such a lie, how in the life do you explain Jessica Dube's reaction at the 2010 Olympics when they won? Was she that jealous that she couldn't crack a smile for her BF? Folks that's not normal...and neither is Scott's mom, aunt or friends displaying personal pictures of Scott..I don't care how redneck of a family you are...and the current girlfriend - fine - she might have nothing to do with Tessa - but why have others post pictures of you and the BF? What are you trying to prove? Again why the pre-occupation of Moirville?
ReplyDeleteScott - my advice to you - after you retire - go to Russia and coach with Zhulin - you need a little space...
They're married.
DeleteI don't know why Moirville is the way it is but it seems clear enough they're why the sham is the way it is. Going back to Alma's remarks about gayness in the sport - whether or not she still has the same views - that Kurt Browning getting rid of the sport's "gay image" was as important to skating as his talent, that Brian Boitano was DETRIMENTAL to the sport - BRIAN BOITANO!!! - because people looked at him and believed he was gay - the way she said it and the fact that she said it reveals more than her views on homosexuality in figure skating at the time. It reveals attitude, character, and personality. It was amazingly callous and complacent at the same time. Who rolls right in and takes a potshot at someone like Boitano without thinking twice? It's fucking disrespectful and it's so unTHOUGHT.
They are very loving and generous to people who are one of them, in their own version of loving and generous, which may not leave a lot of breathing room. They clearly have problems with outsiders - whether from insecurity or misplaced elitism, who knows. But fans are outsiders. Scott and Tessa are theirs even though Tessa is an outsider - she's with Scott and she's the reason Scott is a gold medalist, and her family is friends with the Moirs, so she's grandfathered in even if it comes with a footnote. They NEED others to be outsiders in order to feel like insiders.
This may be too much for Scott to deal with but it's really not. It's one of the things adults deal with. Plenty of people have tricky famililial relationships. What I question is why Scott's in the position he's in, why his family doesn't make it easier, why they're willing for him to make the accomodations he makes which includes humiliating himself all over social media and degrading himself, when it could likely be managed if they all put their own need for access and participation in check. They're not going to do that unless they're told to do that, IMO, and they're not being told.
link to alma's remarks?
Deletehttp://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/EIFSA/message/1859
DeleteI linked to a message board topic somewhere that reprints the interview (which is over ten years old, let's me repeat that) because it also includes the only response, a letter to the editor taking issue with Alma's sentiments. The message board also links to the Gazette. I know there are links elsewhere to the Gazette itself that include the letter to the editor, but this was the first link I found.
Going back to Piper and Paul, I came across this gem of a blog: http://waymorefun.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteIt gives quite a rundown of their adventures in the media, going all the way back to the beginning of their partnership. Seeing everything grouped together like that, it's even more apparent how much attention and the kind of attention they've gotten and made for themselves out of proportion to their actual achievements.
The Vanessa piece of it is really unsettling. Whatever happened between her and Paul, she was the one who was dumped and she is clearly a much better skater than Piper Gilles.
DeleteThe IFS article on the split taking shots at Vanessa's skating is pretty ironic considering who Paul selected to skate with after her. But Vanessa obviously wants to stay in the sport. If she wanted to change coaching to a US base, now she has no choice but to stay put, and make nice with the people who had a part in getting rid of her. That's reality, but for people like P.J. to exploit what Vanessa MUST do to have coaching opportunities, and use it to present Vanessa as Piper & Paul's big cheerleader is degrading, albeit characteristic of how many people around SC do business. I do find Skate Canada's general habit of cloaking manipulation, disrespect, self-dealing and mendacity in sugary, peppy banalities absolutely blood curdling, although I suppose William Thompson's pompous arrogance wasn't much of an alternative. Professionalism seems too much to hope for.
The Piper and Paul promo push has been overbearing from the start, and also bizarre considering they got more push on Skatebuzz, when it was up, than any other skater for Skate Canada, including those ranked higher, and even more push on twitter. If seven skaters tweet on the same topic, P.J. Kwong will retweet Piper's.
I've also been following the comments on The Toronto Star, and looked over some of the wordpress blog linked above.
DeleteFirst, I am curious if anyone disputes that the Gilles are a wealthy family?
And yet, according to the comments below the article, Bonnie Gilles was able to secure funding from The Michael Weiss foundation for her kids. Is that true? Did she game the system - otherwise how could she honestly qualify?
I am confused by the commentator below the article who keeps saying that the money being put out for Piper's skating "isn't sustainable" as a reason she needs citizenship. The reason I'm confused is - will citizenship make her skating cheaper? Are there substantial subsidies waiting for Piper as soon as she gets citizenship?
The same commentator mentioned that Piper "can't work" as long as she's not a citizen. This assertion is challenged by others in the comments section who say as landed status is a prerequisite for citizenship, and applicants with landed status can work, Piper must have landed status/be able to work, but my question is - what job can Piper get while training full time that will offset the "not sustainable" 70K this person says the family is shelling out? Because she's saying that Piper's inability to "work" is also a financial burden on the family.
Of course, this same commentator claims Piper can't go to school as long as she's not a citizen because it costs an international student 25K, which she says is beyond the family's means. But Piper IS going to go to school, and 25K is cheaper than it would cost in the US.
Some of this money talk makes me wonder if they are leaning on Immigration to grant Piper an unusual hardship exemption as in - it costs so much money to pay for Christopher Dean, Piper's Porsche, gas, insurance, her shopaholic hobbies, her salon appointments, her brother's adventuring, etc. etc., that we'd really like some Canadian funding. We're not accustomed to paying for so much ourselves. Hurry it up, will you?
They live in an interesting universe, that family.
Other things of interest: Piper - not a terribly famous skater, got an internship at IFS that is apparently set aside for students. She was not a student
Her sister, Alexes Gilles, by all accounts an undistinguished skater, is invited on the show circuit over more accomplished skaters.
Saw that addendum oc - good to know that Piper is an Olympian - Vanessa who? okay it's an honest mistake - but boy - how do G/P get invited to these events? And honestly these are your high profile athletes in the Toronto area? Seriously? Just like the exhibition galas last year...people are pulling strings and if the folks at FSU can't see that - well whatever...I wonder if Mr. Poirier's head will be able to fit in the arena at the high performance camp...
DeleteI don't think it's an honest mistake.
DeleteThank you for the link to that blog chronicling the promotion for Piper, and G/P as a team.
DeleteI'm disgusted.
What the hell is going on in icedance this cycle? An inferior skater like Piper is teamed up with a decent icedancer and suddenly they're one of the best teams ever? And they deserve to perform in galas ahead of other teams who received better placement scores? Then there's all the evident corruption in the overscoring of anything DW do - a team with crappy skating skills! They've been stealing podium spots in front of everyone's eyes and the figure skating culture just goes along with it.
It's a wonder VM count for anything. They're the real thing but the ISU nor their own fed, SC, give a rats ass. TPTB have agendas that have nothing to do with skating expertise.
Gilles/Poirier's motto - "Hey, at least one of us can actually skate."
Delete4:20, the motto also needs to include how FUN they are. Besides, I can't take Paul seriously as an ice dancer until he learns to show some expression and actually present his partner properly.
DeleteG/P - perhaps - Fake it til u make it...
DeleteI, personally, don't understand the passion around Paul Poirier. He has deep knees but so does Andrew Poje. He reportedly is a good member of the community but that aspect of his life is relentlessly publicized so how altruistic is it? There is now a big to do about how much he deserves to go to Sochi because he's the future of ice dance in Canada, which I suppose means he can dump as many fellow Canadian Olympian partners as he chooses, pair up with a non-citizen from another country and have them become insta-Canadian because it's Paul.
DeleteThis is obviously purely speculation because it's based only on bits and pieces I've read about immigration rule changes and on what I understand about how Piper's citizenship quest as played out in public, but I wonder if it has been completely misplayed by them.
First of all, Bonnie Gilles is a middle-aged woman who has lived her entire life as a U.S. citizen and never before felt the desire to become Canadian, despite her mother being Canadian. Her kids have been in figure skating for years and she's never wanted to become Canadian before.
So, pretend I'm looking at the paperwork in this case. A couple of years ago, Bonnie Gilles applies to and becomes a U.S. citizen. Five seconds later her daughter applies. It certainly appears as if the only interest Bonnie Gilles has in Canadian citizenship is to get her skater daughter Canadian citizenship.
Is Bonnie currently living in Canada?
Meanwhile the rules have changed so that if your parent is granted citizenship the adult child is not automatically granted it, and this comes as an unpleasant shock to the Gilles family who immediately agitate for an exception. But the way they went about it in the first place almost illustrates the reasons the rules were tightened.
Now that they're making a huge stink, and the tone of the stink is a little unflattering to Canada - all about how Canada should be grateful Piper wants to be a citizen, nothing about what Canada means to her - it seems to me a bigger stink might ensue if they give the family what they want. It will appear as if they're caving in to some inside deal or favor.
So far, only half-arguments are being made for the fast track. The skating argument (special services) is a half argument that can be challenged if one looks at Piper's actual contributions to ice dance in Canada vis a vis the Canadian ice dance picture as a whole.
There's the argument that it sets Paul, the future of Canadian ice dance, up for 2018, but not only is that presumptuous to other Canadian teams looking towards 2018, it overlooks that Virtue and Moir didn't go to Torino, yet things turned out just fine for them in Vancouver.
Piper's particular "special services" may warrant her application being processed more smoothly than most people's, but does it warrant being express tracked? There's no real urgency for Sochi - her and Paul's career is proceeding apace without citizenship at the moment.
I wonder if the Immigration Ministry thinks - these kids HAVE to get to Sochi, or don't really see the rush.
And the other thing is that according to the Michael Weiss foundation web page, both Piper Gilles and Alexes Gilles received foundation money in 2009. The criteria for these awards are clearly spelled out under the criteria tab and one of them is that the family income must be under $150K.
Oops, I think you meant a couple years Bonnie Gilles applied to and received Canadian citizenship, not US citizenship...
DeleteYes, of course. And it sort of sticks out. She's been eligible her entire adult life and doesn't try until Piper pairs with Paul, whereupon she immediately applies, and when Piper's process takes longer than expected - not as long as the normal applicant with serious intent to live their lives in Canada, but not as instantaneous as expected - they make a huge stink, all predicated on one matter of urgency - Sochi. That's it. How urgent a reason is that, really?
DeleteOT: A day or two ago there were comments about alternative theories about Scott and Tessa, which were shut down. In reaction, someone complained that the blog was becoming like the VM facebook group.
ReplyDeleteThe VM facebook is a fan group. Its mandate is to be respectful of Scott and Tessa and respectful to fellow members. Yet the participants on the VM facebook routinely discuss Scott's crotch, wonder what is REALLY going on behind what VM say about their career, have speculated about why he's with Jessica (that used to go on a lot), and have linked to photos of him with Jessica that came from "private" facebooks. (That last bit is hypocritical, as the group officially accepts Scott's version of his dating life. If they accept that, then they must believe the photos are from private facebooks. Instead they collect the photos, host them, and link them).
Their idea of respectful is, as with much of everything surrounding Scott and Tessa, hypocritical, illogical and self-serving with a side order of sanctimony.
The only thing that can't be challenged there is what Scott and Tessa say about their relationship.
That's a political topic. It's fan politics and it gets shut down, even though the fans that shut it down have no problem not believing plenty of other things said by Scott and Tessa.
Politics.
Here, the premise of the blog is based on facts that I, the blogger, know. Not theory.
Those facts were re-stated in a comment above. Scott and Tessa are married. They have a child. They've been married since 2009. He's not dating Cassandra. He didn't date Jessica.
The fact that things play out as they do, that Scott's p.r. is a fucking tire fire, isn't on the blog, it's on them. The more this goes on and the less fans become publicly invested in Scott and Tessa's official version of their relationship, the more revealing Scott and Tessa's games, and hypocrisy, become about the environment in which Scott and Tessa operate. That environment is Moirville.
It was also Skate Canada (two environments with similar agendas re Scott and Tessa). The agendas of both groups were self-dealing, which explains the sham overkill.(At the moment, it appears that Skate Canada has been elbowed out of sham management, but Moirville's mentality and agendas have always been similar to Skate Canada's, and Moirville continues to run it).
What is put out on social media is upsetting to fans because in their minds either Scott repeatedly creates bizarre triangles with himself and another girl and publicizes these triangles on social media and then goes to the regular media and pretends not to be on social media at all, or he's lying completely about his closeness to Tessa, OR - the truth - he and Tessa are married and their p.r. IS where they come from and IS who they are, and that is also upsetting to look at. It's vile. It's rude. It's mean, mean, mean. And stupid.
But only the latter option is the truth.
I understand this is frustrating to fans, but it doesn't change the facts. Virtue and Moir are married with a child. The crap they pump out in mainstream media is lies. They can reframe it all day long as performance, but performance requires understanding on both sides that it's a performance, and here the public is meant to believe it's the truth, so they're not "performing". Cassandra isn't "performing", like an actress (as has been suggested here). They're lying.
Comments on the blog have claimed the blogger is either crazy or lying or a combination. I get that. "I don't believe you!" However, it's not a forum for "theories" because the blog's premise isn't a THEORY. It was created to chronicle all that Scott and Tessa do in public to lie about themselves, and it was created because the WAY Scott and Tessa lie about themselves is proactively mean, arrogant, unnecessarily aggressive and routinely presumptuous about their supporters. It's wasn't created because I had a theory.
DeleteI actually have a question of my own. What secret has been exposed on the internet? Not by the subjects exposing themselves in some way, but by someone coming forward, under their own name, and blowing the whistle on someone else's dirty laundry? Apparently this happens all the time, which is why so many people can't believe it hasn't happened yet to Scott and Tessa.
P.S. - In the first part of this comment, above, after mean mean mean and vile, I should add the most important adverb - hostile. That is understandably upsetting to supporters of Virtue and Moir, people who love their skating. Why would Scott and Tessa be so hostile to the public? Everything they do has that subtext. They're speaking to a lesser order of people - it reeks of it. And although people don't always cop to it, I know there are fans that, unreasonably or not, find it hurtful. But this is what they're doing and that hostility is there.
And then they turn around and want our attention - the bridal shoot, the sportsnet shoot, the upcoming documentary. Again, this is revealing about them and none of it is pretty, not the stuff they do, and not the many byproducts.
"I actually have a question of my own. What secret has been exposed on the internet? Not by the subjects exposing themselves in some way, but by someone coming forward, under their own name, and blowing the whistle on someone else's dirty laundry?"
DeleteYep. As soon as more fans realize that the internet has made it EASIER for celebrities/athletes to hide the truth (rather than more difficult to keep it hidden), the easier they'll be able to wrap their heads around the fact they're being bamboozled.
Anyone who thinks twitter or facebook are platforms for "outing" people needs to think again. That's not how it works. In fact, it's the opposite of how it works.
Social media makes it easier for celebs/athletes to hide by sending the public down different online corridors and away from the truth. Since much of the public usually (and stupidly) assumes the pictures they're shown (or the tweets they read) are indicative of reality (based on nothing but their own willingness to believe what they're shown or read is credible and not something posed to look/sound like real life), it's easy to direct them one way or another. Social media is a PR offensive tool (celebs and athletes use it to play offense, not defense) and Virtue and Moir use it all the time via surrogates.
Fans often confuse a "I don't care to go online and blab about my knowledge of Virtue and Moir's personal life" sentiment with a "I must NOT go online and blab because I promised to keep mum about this!" sentiment. But the two are not the same. The first one is almost always the reality. The second one - almost never.
The press release for this upcoming "Tessa & Scott" documentary definitely has a bait and switch type feel to it. If it doesn't solely focus on their on-ice training and instead follows them around off-ice, what fans should pay attention to isn't what is being left out, but what is being deliberately shown/mentioned (though I'm sure they'll make sure to throw in some little asides meant to convince fans they live separate lives either way).
Virtue and Moir don't hide much of anything about their personal life, and that includes their child. They simply don't publicize certain details. But that's not enough for them. They also work overtime to bait and then misdirect fans to focus their attention elsewhere (on fake significant others and storylines), then make fun of the fans when they take that bait...all the while claiming they sincerely appreciate their fans.
I think a lot of fans would be surprised to discover that what they think is hidden has largely been in front of their faces the entire time.
whoot whoot lol new profil pic for Cass...
ReplyDelete9:38--But of course. Yesterday the Ilderton club shared some pictures from Tessa and Scott's golf charity event (crappy pictures but still, it's "VM publicity"). Then there was also the announcement of a series of TV shows focused on Tessa and Scott's skating and *private* life. So, more "VM publicity."
DeleteAs per established sham protocol, any type of "VM publicity" means an automatic sham response. It's on auto-pilot. Big deal, who cares? They can take their sham photos they expressly create as a response to any "VM publicity" moment and shove them up their ass.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151571780137939&set=a.10151571779627939.1073741838.47362597938&type=3&permPage=1
ReplyDelete*sigh*
did piper get all her friends to like and comment?
Tessa & Scott have a good connection, but Never as much as Weaver/Poje. You can tell their relationship is real & true, not forced, or a business partnership.2013 worlds. I cried...I find Tessa & Scott to be fake. I really don't think they like each other off of the ice unlike Weaver/Poje. W/P should be Canada's team. V/M are media whores & you can tell no other skaters like them...
ReplyDeleteI do also think that W/P are together as well, but, once again...
DeleteTessa and Scott are married to each other. They have a child together. They are crazy about each other off the ice.
Saying V/M are media whores is just laughable as is your statement that no other skaters like them. Please.
I hate that I agree with you, 9:47 but I do.
DeleteScott shouldn't have said that his and Tessa's partneship is like a business. People are sick of hearing the dark & dirty side of icedancing. The whole V/M D/W rivalry is getting dark & dirty. I love seeing Weaver/Poje. They are refreshing, pure, & what the sport is supposed to be. V/M, D/W are so fake. They don't even know themselves as real people..
ReplyDeleteI think you're probably saying this to be a troll but you're right - I do think that VM have totally lost sight of who they are.
DeleteI think I've said I don't want off-topic comments in the comments section. At the same time, I have to figure out the intent behind these comments even though I'm not a mind reader, and if it's not self-evident that anyone with common sense can identify, then it's a judgment call. The comments section really isn't a place to work out one's feelings about Virtue Moir IF one doesn't accept the premise of the blog, because it's not the place. The comments section CAN be a place to tell the blogger they don't believe a word the blog says, because that's on topic, and it just depends on if the person is making a statement or here to act out and have shit fits about THAT.
DeleteBut anyway, 8:01, I want to know - who do YOU think Virtue and Moir are? What is it they have lost sight of?
I don't think they've lost sight of anything, so much as their perspective on public relations and their public image, and what constitutes a "marketing tool" has never been that great in the first place. It's always sucked, that's gotten clearer, always been informed by hostility, distrust and ill will. They've corrupted the meaning of actual words, such as "performance." Performance is something they've appropriated to mean manufacturing their private circumstances for public consumption. But for something to be performance, the audience must know it's performance. Otherwise it's lying. Tessa or whoever may claim that when she smiles and acts like everything's great when she's at events that's performance too, but that's really professionalism. A smiling demeanor and positive attitude is entirely different than a set of fabricated stories and hoaxes.
This might be presumptuous of ME, but I do wonder why some people who know or used to believe Virtue and Moir are lying still get so upset. I think maybe it's just difficult to accept this is what they're doing, and therefore, this is who they are or who they've decided to be, and everybody struggles with those implications. It might be easier to feel that well, Scott's just an asshole in his private life and they love leading us on that he and Tessa are close.
Nope. This is what they're doing and yes, that's who they are or have decided to be - liars and manipulators who treat the public with contempt and are holding fast. Of course WE don't get it. WE don't understand. I can just imagine, based on all of the other ideas they hold, what leads them to that conclusion, what makes them think they're that unique.
What makes them unique is Moirville. That's the one thing that distinguishes them from other skaters in a position similar to theirs. Skate Canada too, but even with Skate Canada no longer providing full time work for Debbi and Barb with the sham, there's still Moirville. If we weren't around, there would be no justification for all of Ilderton, a lot of London, and apparently a great deal of UWO to enable their OWN fandom and obsession with Virtue and Moir via pretending VM need to be protected from us.
Dealing with all of this is apparently too big a task for Virtue Moir themselves, what with their skating and their family life and their big, big stardom. Enabling is the path of least resistance, and apparently Moirville is happy to be enabled. They're not growing up any time soon.
W&P are nowhere near the caliber of V&M, they have their own cognitive dissonance thing about their relationship going on with the public, and no amount of anons from the same person agreeing with themselves is going to make them happen.
ReplyDeleteThey do, yes, but at least W/P aren't being assholes about it.
Delete8:48
DeleteAnd W/P (nor any other skating team) does not have their families making moronic decisions on behalf of their skaters' PR. Such as token "picture sharing" that only pretends to share but really makes fun of the fans' hopes for pictures (i.e. that absurd and ill-advised collage of pictures of the golf-charity-event). Or their families participating in an active social media scam that is insulting to the fans.
Only Tessa and Scott happen to be so lucky in their families.
Of the current amateur skaters, I don't know that anyone else has the misfortune of a Moirville-type family that lovingly keeps ruining their skaters' PR.
If they didn't spend their time making asses of themselves running Scott and Tessa's p.r., what would they spend their time doing? Living their own lives? Doesn't seem like it. They would be up Scott and Tessa's business in other ways. Moirville seems to think Scott and Tessa IS their life.
DeleteGiving Moirville near free reign on the p.r. not only provides involvement for anyone who wants to join in, it also buys at least some breathing room for Scott and Tessa. It might not be the same as accessibility, but it's accessibility by proxy, makes people feel important and in the loop, and gives them someone to mock, which for UWO, Ilderton and the nearby neighborhoods and skating community, seems very very important. Someone to belittle.
It surprises me that Tessa and Scott care so little about their own business. I don't know how they make their money or how much it is for that matter but even they need to have an interest for their finances so how come they just don't give a flying hoot over their own marketing ? Giving your fame whoring family an opportunity to live their dreams is one thing but completely disregarding your own interests is another.
Delete"completely disregarding your own interests is another."
DeleteIt's plain that what Tessa and Scott care about is that the public think they're platonic and that it be known Scott is not with Tessa but with a juvenile, self-absorbed social-media gf who competes with Tessa.
In that sense, they have not disregarded their interests at all. These two narratives that they care about are successfully out there. Therefore, it can be said that they have accomplished the only pr goal they consider important.
The fans hate this pr and it's also moronic in that it does nothing to defend their status as *deserving* Olympic and World champions. But there's nothing that can be done about that as long as Tessa and Scott care only about a pr that delivers their chosen relationship-status narratives.
Cat's out of the bag...V/M's music choices for the upcoming season:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130805&content_id=55949358&vkey=ice_news
Russian-composed ballet for the FD? Marina, you are bloody brilliant.
This whole sport is riddled with corruption. When you look at this situation with Piper and Paul then look at the fact that
ReplyDeleteIslam's parents are in judging and coaching what chance does a team like Ralph and Hill have of getting a fair shake. It is clearly seen that the fix is in at Canadians every year. Ralph and Hill deserved the bronze at least one time at Canadians over the last number of years. Their parents are not "connected" do not have the financial resources to send their kids to Detroit or other places with the right coaches or arrange articles at the Star. Their coach does not fight for them since Piper and Paul are the darlings. Yet they finished 13th at worlds last year where they received a standing ovation from the crowd in France who also booed the marks which could have been higher but would have displaced the chinese team and we can't have that. They are ranked higher internationally than Islam/Paul i believe and consistently get better marks when competing internationally where the judging and tech calling is stacked with different pre-arranged instructions. They got no international assignments from Slipchuk and company at Skate Canada, why? Well we can't have a Philipino and Black Skater represent Canada, is that it? If it walks like a duck....... and all that sort of thing. Even this blog is written in bias assuming Islam/Paul should represent eliminating any chance for Orford/Williams or Ralph/Hill. Everyone seems to have an agenda, what about letting the skating on the ice decide? Well sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men... as seen at Canadians earlier this year.
6:48 - I just saw this comment and do want to reply. I can't find Ralph/Hill's Worlds fd so this is based on prior programs of theirs and their SC 2012 fd.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think P/I are a stronger team at this time. They have better speed. They have a very light quality but especially last year they are covering more ice and have a better run of blade than R/H. They have better unison and skate closer together in hold, and their entrances and exits to elements are cleaner/more refined. They sustain their speed with good flow. I think this is true of them versus G/P as well.
That's why I single them out vis a vis G/P, and particularly last year, where there was no viable reason IMO for G/P to be scored higher than P/I in the short at Canadians.
R/H are very athletic and very strong. They can be sluggish. They slow down markedly in their transitions. Of course they were five places better than GP at Worlds and of course GP come out of Worlds blowing that off, continuing to be presented as future Olympic stars while R/H barely get acknowledged.
I think the programs they've gotten from Carol Lane are by and large awful, but that's typical Scarborough (and I don't think Christopher Dean has been an improvement inasfar as the programs he's given G/P). The best program out of Scarborough I can remember is Crone & Poirier's Olympic fd in 2010. The end. Naturally this meant Lane went to Dean afterwards, because he's got such an amazing track record on the contemporary Olympic and international podium and of course he's perfect for CoP seeing as how he's been recyling since the stone age. But, the name provides cover - it's Dean, so we can't call the program a lot of ass. It's Dean!
I think it's awful that R/H finished 13th at Worlds, five places ahead of G/P, yet G/P are treated as the de facto future Olympians, and Piper Gilles is on twitter every other day shouting out her gratitude to yet another brand for the free swag. How an 18th place finisher from Canada makes that type of haul beats me.
I don't believe the fact that Islam's relatives are judging and coaching have helped them much. In fact I think their move to Detroit was overdue - for the sake of their skating progress, they should have left home quite some time prior. If your connections aren't wonderfully talented and able to transmit it to you, it's not going to be that much of a boon and could become a handicap.
All that said, figure skating is not fair. Were Piper Gilles not a Gilles, and just came with her track record and her current skating skills, I don't think she's be skating with Paul Poirier. It's nothing new for Carol Lane to neglect her skaters that aren't part of a Poirier team, but this is compounded by her having pretty horrible taste even with her favored skaters.
oc
Here is the free dance for Ralph/Hill Worlds in Nice
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u59lhwo7g0