Scott and Tessa are just special.
I'll say.
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| Blah blah blah unique unique haven't picked up a thesaurus in four years. What's a synonym? Unique. We needed a book of lies AND a documentary of lies four years later to say we're unique. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. What am I missing? Didn't we journey to Ilderton and the Unique four years ago in the book? |
Not that many people outside parts of the Jersey Shore hang out in full make-up and swarovski-studded swimsuits. So that's special-ish.
Give her credit, she's not biting her lower lip over Detroit while she's doing it.
But stop the presses - Scott has seen Tessa in her swimwear.
Tessa says:
"I think there's a lot people don't know about our lives."
Well, we know you've been married for four years, we know you share a child who is nearly three years old and we know the child's gender, we know you're ice dancers and won the Olympics in 2010, and we know you train at Arctic Edge. We also know how old you are and we know you are epic, insatiable liars, find yourselves adorable, and claim you represent the best of Canada, so alrighty then. That puts Canada in a different light.
How much more do we need to know, really?
So maybe the pool scene is going to tell us. If they're dying to share, bring it on.
Whack-a-mole! Fun! This is that stuff nobody knows about them, how they hang out at carnivals because they don't have a child at home.
This (above) is also the sort of thing that advertises that the reality show is another load of pure manipulation. It's not for them. Because if it WERE for them, they wouldn't leave their kid out. They don't give a shit about what's in this documentary, as long as none of it is true.
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| Full make-up, as you do when training. Not sure those are actual tears. I see no water. |
What is this, exactly. Is she living the part? Is it a performance value or just some strain of sociopath in her. Generally speaking, when she takes the ice, she doesn't look back. With a couple of disconcerting recent exceptions, that's been her. So perhaps when she commits to something, she blows right past the big picture and focuses on achieving the best result with the task at hand, which is lying her head off.
I'm not sure I believe all that much in karma but when Scott and Tessa start talking a lot, the past shows it doesn't work out for them so great on the skating end. It's like they try to force reality with the forced conviction of the words they say and the attitudes they strike, but reality can't be bullied as easily as, well, other things.
Case in point would be 2011 when a whole platoon of Moirs (and Virtues) took themselves to Moscow to witness Scott and Tessa retaining their World title and instead had to stand there realizing they'd saved their pennies, acted like it was a sure thing and faked part of the 4CCs all to see the Americans win the first World title in ice dance for the U.S.
There's London Worlds last year - no need to go into that, but same.
This year already, Scott announces that he and Tessa aren't riding the roller coaster, they're DRIVING the roller coaster, just so you know, bitches, and they wanted to come out and make a statement and blah blah blah oh hello short dance score in the sixties and barely breaking a hundred in the free dance cause you didn't get levels and messed up elements.
IOW, the louder and more in your face they get, the more they are compensating. I guess that's the short way to say what my fear is. When they're this obnoxious, this ham handed, things are not that great on the skating front, sometimes for legit reasons (hey, she just had a baby) and sometimes for reasons that may include that for all their crying about zones and bubbles and driving the roller coaster they've spread themselves too thin and they've pandered too much, as well as the simple fact that what they're doing vis a vis the public and the management of the sham, and the content of the sham, is wrong. And that tends to show up and hurt you. And no matter how grandiose you are about yourselves, you can't prevent that. It's like whack a mole. Pound it down here, it's gonna pop up there.
And actually, I do believe in karma, as explained in wikipedia:
Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means "deed" or "act" and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, that governs all life. The effects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fated. That is to say, a particular action now is not binding to some particular, pre-determined future experience or reaction; it is not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward or punishment.I'd doubt Tessa, Scott or the Moirs worry about karma because in their minds they've done nothing wrong, and in their minds it's the fault of other people. The sport. The public. Etc.
Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. According to the Vedas, if one sows goodness, one will reap goodness; if one sows evil, one will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response.
So if the show talks about how they're not in a romantic relationship and shows Scott's girlfriend, how is that going to affect the image they have on the ice? If I don't know them and watch the show, I'm going to believe they aren't in a relationship. Then if I see them do something like the kiss on the hand maneuver that fans freaked on at Finlandia, I'll think -- oh, here's the acting they talked about. But by about a minute in, I'm going to realize they aren't really acting, because I'm not stupid. So then what? Most people would feel grossed out, cause it means Scott is cheating on his girlfriend and Tessa is a homewrecker. Why do they want to create a vibe like that?
ReplyDeleteWell, you've just described a whole lot of the Dube sham.
DeleteNot to mention they do think we're stupid. You're just watching them with George Clooney eyes!
It's because they're gross. It's because they don't care what we think. They really don't. I think they don't give a shit if we think they're married and know they have a baby. They don't give a fuck. We can't make them tell. That's all. If they don't admit it, they can keep acting out.
They're up their own hind ends. It's how they're raised. Also, the Moirs run a skating club, so they know everything. There's not a fucking thing anyone can tell them. Except other skaters. They'll listen to other skaters.
People in the public eye lie or don't tell stuff. This is different. This isn't, oh hey, did we mention we got divorced back in 2008? Well, we did. And it's not a couple of skaters who married during their Olympic season, got pregnant, had a baby the following season, and came back that same season keeping it all off the record, while making sure a few photos of them out and about with supposed SO made the rounds. And I'm not even going to deal with how they did the sham part, the stings, the sweeping in of thousands of fans just so Scott could host a mirror sight for Jessica's page, and blah blah.
Just - we won the Olympics and Tessa got pregnant and we went around on a media tour telling people we were platonic and if they bought the book they could get the real, true scoop. IOW - they WROTE A BOOK. It's faking a book signing and putting it on Skatebuzz. It's laughing at people who think you're together when your wife is gestating your kid. It's lying about people. It's acting one way when people can catch you out (like perfect role models) and acting like assholes when you can get away with it, and putting that on parade. It's announcing you've got two programs ready to skate at the 4CCs when you're only going to do one. It's pretending there's no difference between lying and acting. It's making sham photos aggressively gross because you think it makes your critics eat shit. It's turning around and doing a reality show where you recycle the same crap you sold people in your book because you can't get enough attention from people you treat like crap, and that includes your moms, who treat people like crap but why not cry on camera anyway for those people.
And most of all it's that their sense of right and wrong comes down to it's only wrong if other people do it. It's not wrong if we do it because we're unique. They show that every day.
I don't know precisely how these things work, but I do know that nobody runs something like this and comes out the other end without losing something or getting hurt. It doesn't happen. No matter how unique you are, and the ways in which these two are unique aren't the ways in which they think they're unique, that's for sure. But the way in which they're unique is going to bite them in the ass. They are forcing it. They're forcing it with this reality show. They're trying to be untouchable, and nobody is. Nobody is going to "expose" them but this is going to hurt them in classic ways, on the ice or off.
I'm frustrated, but only because I realize that I keep wanting V/M to be something that they're not -- and that's my fault, not theirs.
ReplyDeleteI keep wanting them to be people who take ice dance seriously and communicate that to their fans and to the world. People who talk about what it's like to adapt dancing on to ice, how COP affects their vision, etc. Last year, when I saw Carmen, I was thrilled because I thought that was the direction they were going. We were going to hear stuff about modern dance, how they developed the program, how they practiced off the floor, how COP affected their choice of movements, etc.
Then, when interviewed, nothing about the above. Instead, Tessa started crying about how she heard people say that she was a whore in real life, and that really hurt.
W.T.F.???????
That's who they really are though. Look at this clip. Full of nonsense, but Tessa is milking every drama-queen filled minute.
As a mom, I know I should love my child for who he is, not for who I want him to be. But like the legions of parents that have failed at that noble task, I feel sorry for the potential that has been totally wasted.
I think your reaction is classic. We keep thinking they're not really who the sham shows them to be. It's circumstances, very unique, blah blah. But it's as you say, you look at the package and it doesn't really fly. The drama. The embellishment. The posing and acting and fake. The OTT everywhere. The seeking out opportunity for OTT. This isn't new. They've always done it.
DeleteAbout the skating - one of the messages we get from the sham is that Scott and Tessa belong to themselves and belong to Moirville and nobody else. They are sending a clear message that they're too precious and unique for the common horde AND THAT INCLUDES THE SKATING.
Which is just amazing. They're not going to talk skating with the likes of us. Fucking hell no. Their folks run the fucking ISC!
Thank heavens then, for people like Maria Mountain and Jennifer Swan, who gave us the only insight into Carmen as choreography and Carmen as a physical challenge that we got last season.
And as I said, it makes me nervous. The last time they were this forced, that they pushed this hard, it was 2011 and that didn't work out. I remember myself not being sold on FF at times but I don't remember Scott and Tessa sweating it that season - the 2011 free dance was reworked as a 2012 short dance and Funny Face kept growing as a free dance. They didn't make pronouncements every time they spoke to the press. They didn't seem spooked by Die Fleudermaus.
Last season they had an epic program and then had trouble skating it as well as they're capable of (even though they ought to have won Worlds) and they seemed to hedge. The hedging part is not like them. They forced it.
This season they said all the right things - shaking off last season, we're driving this roller coaster, we're making a statement, and I don't think they've ever launched a season laying an egg on the scoreboard the way they did at Finlandia. The programs are fine, but I don't think that in the past, scores at a given competition at a given point had fallen so short of their aim. They'd always gotten the scores round about where they expected, and they usually skated about how they expected. Here after all the chest beating, they fell short both in how they skated and how they were scored.
To me this documentary, not just because it's a lie, but because it enmeshes them with Moirville and forces them to add an extra layer of fake to competitions that wasn't there before, is hubris. Sochi is a big freaking deal. They can't talk themselves into winning there, they have to skate it.
They are already operating on some type of self-inflicted handicap when it comes to execution - I don't understand it, I don't know if they understand it, but Scott acted like he had it nailed and he didn't. But they'll be fine and they can do this documentary and all it means in terms of being suffocated by Moirville and adopting a fake persona during the GPF. Good luck. It's a great idea kids. You're unique. For anybody else it would be a very very bad idea, not just for morality reasons - you know, the huge hoax part - but for yourselves, it's just common sense. Don't do both, don't carry on with the documentary idea after the season you had last year and the way this has started.
They must have blown up in their own minds. The gold medal transformed them from people/skaters to gods.
Tessa and Scott have truly done themselves in. We can complain all day about the scoring, but DW are skating like crap and have crap programs. VM could have pulled it all together, but instead of focusing on their skating, this piece of shit "documentary" has been the focus. It's obvious it's distracting them from the task at hand with the skating.
DeleteI never thought I'd be disappointed with their efforts when it comes to their skating. I never thought they'd let that suffer.
Whatever. I'm done with them. Piss on them. If they can't even buckle down on the skating, why should I care?
Well, that's part of the concern, it seems very unlike them to tackle a documentary - as stupid as this documentary is, and as pathetic, and as incredibly dated (doesn't it feel old and tired?) during an Olympic year. It's like the old pride goeth before the fall.
DeleteI don't think they'd have even considered something like this in 2009 - they were too on task. Every competition was obviously a marker en route to Vancouver, you could almost see what Vancouver was going to look like, and it started with Thornhill. Here they're saying all the right things but it's almost as if they're insisting on saying the right things because they're not doing the right things. What have they become? Are they bigger than the Olympics now? They can win the Olympics falling out of bed?
And it's not as if they've won everything in the interim - they've lost worlds twice, and every Grand Prix Final.
You don't just need to be physically ready for an Olympics. You have to be living, breathing and loving what you're doing and where you're going, and pretty much nothing else. Dreaming it. Can't waiting.
We know that short dance (Finn step) was ready. That was in more than mid-season form in Quebec. They couldn't execute in Finland.
They've added a world of shit to this season, an Olympic season where they're going in far more vulnerable than they were the last time. The shins are nothing compared to the DW propaganda juggernaut, their own weird inability to execute after announcing they're about to execute, and the way they've been lowballed in the scores. As a real obstacle to victory, the shins are nothing. There are real obstacles this time, and they're behaving (it seems) as if the task requires less focus than Vancouver.
One thing I have to hand to Marina is that in a post-2010 Olympic win, in one of the interviews, she stated that she made sure that both VM and DW did not get wrapped up in other miscellaneous activities and focused on the skating...that pre-Olympics the fluff interviews, promos were kept at a minimal...then you have this 180 degree turn this time...wth...this is where a lack of professional management happens...I am not saying that there is no hope for gold but I do think there was a miscalculation....
DeleteI thought especially after last season that they'd come out fired up with a fire in their bellies to fight back. Instead, it's all half-hearted and half-assed. If they were focused, they'd still have a shot at the OGM. Instead, they're throwing it all away.
DeleteI'm fully expecting SC to be another mess this weekend. They'll blow a few elements here, a few elements there and put themselves more in the hole.
Given DW's shit skating and VM's apparently not giving a damn, I'm hoping somehow another team can pull it together for Sochi. DW don't deserve to be on that podium, much less the top, so if VM are going to dilly-dally around and not fight, then it's up to another team to do that.
Seriously though, if they don't want to give their all to their skating, why are they even bothering? There are quite a few other teams that would love the chance to go to the games and give it their all. We don't know what's going to happen with Piper's citizenship, but say it doesn't go through. I'm sure all of PI, RH, and OW would give anything to go and would be proud for the opportunity.
It stands to reason that Marina doesn't touch Moirville with a ten foot pole. She can counsel all she wants but when Moirville comes in ready for the big stage that Scott and Tessa provide, would you touch it? Would you try to get in between Scott and Moirville even with a buzz saw? Those people don't hear anything. It's fascinating, selfishness of those people. And the arrogance, because they don't think it impacts the skating.
DeleteWatching the clip, I wonder how much Tessa is the driver behind this. The way the clip was cut, it makes it look like she's the star of this show. Is this a way to set-up that post-skating life she's always been blathering about? What does she think she's going to do? Be a reality-show star?
ReplyDeleteThere's just this feeling I'm beginning to get that the reason the marriage and baby has been kept on the downlow is because it makes that makes it easier for Tessa to ditch both Scott and the baby after Sochi. Maybe she'll get a new man worthy of her beauty and they can live in a castle in France, where she can pursue a career in "business."
I am basing this on nothing in particular but I always used to wonder if it was ever scary for Scott for his marriage to Tessa to be secret, because as you say, she could slip away and it never happened. Once it's public, it's as if she's publicly committed and then it's official. Although the marriage is official anyway, I think you know what I'm saying.
DeleteI think the promo focuses on Tessa because she's beautiful. She's got the pretty clothes. She's got the face. And they're not going to tip us off about anything Cassandra-related right at the jump.
In the past, I've wondered if Scott was the one who regretted marrying early. Maybe you're on to something and Tessa's the one who regrets marrying and maybe resents the kid. I've wondered how a mother could possibly deny her child's existence. If Tessa doesn't care for her daughter or love her the way a parent should, then that would explain things. Maybe her big plan is to ditch Scott and the kid after Sochi, thus her reluctance to put it on the official record.
DeleteThe single-mindedness with which Tessa is able to deny her marriage and her kid is eerie. At least all of us can see how Scott totally messes up every time he tries to hide. It makes me wonder if, in Tessa's mind, the marriage and child really don't exist. Of if they do, it's just to the extent that it's convenient for her.
DeleteI don't think either regrets it and Tessa's not denying her child's existence - well, in public she does via pretending she and he aren't married. But in what consists of the child's world - which does not include the whole world, or the public realm - the child of course exists and isn't denied.
DeleteI also have begun to believe all of Tessa's blah blah blah about balance blah blah and how she's more than just a skater is really her position vis a vis Moirville, and not really a reflection of what skating and competing is in her own life. You don't pop out a kid and then crank it up to compete at Worlds in Russia, intending and expecting to win, if you can sit the season out, bond as a family and come back strong the next year, not if you're Miss "Oh, I really want to explore the non-skating part of me."
Just remember Tessa did that. Scott didn't drag her back to training. Her shins were stronger, she could put on muscle, she was dying to go even though she'd JUST had a kid. Remember that every time she presents as "oh, balance balance balance."
Seems to me that's more a hedge against the Moirs who only see the skater, and when they see the skater, see the medal they want and expect, and see what they expect to get out of that win for themselves. That's when I'd be "Oh hey, I have a name! When you cut me, do I not bleed?" It's the Moirs who see everything with skating eyes and as she's part of that family that's one way to create some boundaries. I'm sure she doesn't want them up the ass of her skating either.
8:16
DeleteMaybe that's why Tessa is all okay with Scott assgrabbing, kissing and frolicking with another girl.
"In the past, I've wondered if Scott was the one who regretted marrying early. Maybe you're on to something and Tessa's the one who regrets marrying and maybe resents the kid."
DeleteIf this is true, it makes more sense (to me at least) why Scott pursues the sham. I've found it hard to believe that Scott does this for Ilderton simply because he can't stand up to his family. I could believe though, that he does this because Tessa tells him to do it, and he does it out of love for her.
I'm guessing Tessa encourages him to sham because:
-- it keeps him away from her and gives her some personal space
-- it covers up their marriage and family
-- it gives her grounds for the divorce she wants anyway (though she probably doesn't really need grounds).
Just speculating.
"But in what consists of the child's world - which does not include the whole world, or the public realm - the child of course exists and isn't denied."
DeleteHow do you know this?
To clarify, how do you know the child isn't denied, by Tessa in particular?
Delete@8:27 - What exactly are you asking? If the kid is living with her parents at home but her mother ignores her?
DeleteThe point of the comment above (as I understood it) is that the child isn't denied in her own world. Her world is made up of her and her family. It isn't public.
I'm asking what makes OC suggest that Tessa doesn't deny her child's existence in the private world in which the child exists? I can believe that there may be others that love the child, but is Tessa one of them?
DeleteI'm not 8:27, but I think what 8:27 is getting at is how involved is Tessa with the kids life, even if they're living under the same roof. We know Kate is in Michigan to care for the child, but is it just while VM are training, or is it all of the time? Is it a situation where Kate cares for the child while VM are at the rink, and then Scott comes home and does the rest (except when he has to sham), while Tessa's off doing whatever?
Delete"The single-mindedness with which Tessa is able to deny her marriage and her kid is eerie. At least all of us can see how Scott totally messes up every time he tries to hide. It makes me wonder if, in Tessa's mind, the marriage and child really don't exist. Of if they do, it's just to the extent that it's convenient for her."
DeleteI don't think it's nearly as nefarious a situation (her ability to deny so easily) as people are speculating it to be. She's always come across as a person who will absolutely kill herself to compartmentalize and rationalize her behavior. That would mean convincing herself that what she's doing is for the good of her child and then beating that belief into her brain until she can't see the situation from any other perspective.
When watching the melodramatic P&G profile something that stood out was Tessa's mother's comment about how home was Tessa's "safe place" away from the pressures of skating and everything that entailed. But of course, Tessa put herself under that pressure. It was her decision to skate, yet she supposedly needed a safe place to get away from it all.
Cut to present day and (speculation only) I could see Tessa as a mother deciding that her child also needs a "safe place" from the decisions she and Scott have made about their career (including all of the lies), even though they stand by those decisions. So she'll go to the ends of the earth to make herself seem as sincere as possible. And boy can that woman seemingly turn on the waterworks at will.
Anon at 8:41 pm - I agree that P&G profile with Tessa's mom was interesting. I have to wonder if Tessa really needed that "safe place" or if Tessa's mom insisted on that "safe place" just in case Tessa wanted to quit skating . I sometimes wonder whether Kate Virtue really wanted Tessa to skate or perhaps in her heart wished she had pursued ballet...
DeleteI agree that Tessa is the one who seems really enthusiastic about denying their relationship and child while Scott would probably put an end to it all if he could. I'd love to know how she justifies it to herself. The "safe place" explanation doesn't make much sense but then rational thinking clearly has no place in this situation.
DeleteIt doesn't make sense when one pulls back and actually looks at it with any kind of perspective, but that's the point of the proposed theory. Which is: in Tessa's brain, what's morally right/what makes sense from a standpoint of logic doesn't just take a back seat to the backwards assessment that how they're denying the child's existence is actually in the kid's best interest. It gets beaten to a bloody pulp with a tire iron and shoved in the trunk.
Delete8:59, Tessa's mom mentioned in the book about how she wanted Tessa to pursue ballet since she was in ballet when she was younger herself but she left the decision to Tessa to choose.
Delete9:36 I agree with both of your points re Tessa and lying.
DeleteAs to how do we know she doesn't treat her kid like crap - how do we know Scott and Tessa don't secretly hate each other? How do we know anything? We can make shit up all day long.
I still strongly suspect that Tessa (and her mom's) mantras about balance are really their message to other people to get balance in their own lives and not live up Scott and Tessa's rear ends. Tessa's mom does this by example - doesn't go to the rink and when Tessa would get home, talk about things other than skating.
This entire point is far more about how other people behave than how Tessa behaves. Again, Tessa had a baby, trained throughout the pregnancy, was back on the ice competing weeks later and went to Worlds expecting to win. Everything would have been a lot easier, including politically, to sit back and let DW win Worlds unchallenged. No skin off VM's nose since DW did it without defeating VM, but still got the credit of being the first North American champions in ice dance. But nope. VM wanted to get in there at the last minute and challenge.
Throughout the pregnancy she and Scott promoted a book, made public appearances, and Tessa trained. As soon as the kid was out they started releasing video showing how unbeatable they were and felt. They had every excuse on the planet to sit out the season and nobody would be saying she must be pregnant. They'd say good for her to give her legs and body every chance and take a break. It was the first season after Vancouver - no risk for Sochi. IOW, there were no "business" or "strategic" reasons to put themselves back in the picture that season but they did it.
So that's how "balanced" Tessa is. She's an incredible competitor or was - and that adrenalin is another part of the lure of skating over ballet.
I also suspect the ballet stuff is a way to underplay the bond Tessa and Scott shared, which was a huge part of why they both carried on. That, and of course, they were successful.
But just because Tessa is a skater, and other people in the family on the Moir side are professional skaters, doesn't necessarily follow that Tessa's skating - or Virtue and Moir's skating - has to belong to Moirville.
I believe that's where the balance talk comes in. They'll never back off on the skating but I suspect she wishes THEY had balance and boundaries where the skating is concerned - her and Scott's skating.
As to Scott tired of the sham, blah blah blah, that used to be something the blog looked at, but that this exists to protect Tessa from the public and because Tessa's uber sensitive about their privacy doesn't really scan with Tessa's previous history on the internet (her facebook, her photos on their old web page), her more candid behavior in her teens, nor with the bait and switch she and Scott engage in with the public, nor with how she and Scott behave around each other on and off the ice.
DeleteI think we can all see there's plenty of evidence as to how involved the Moirs are. We then look at the anecdotes about other Olympians - Bilodeau sending the email that put up a firewall to friends and family, Boitano expressing gratitude that his mother dropped him off and picked him up at the rink but talked of other stuff at home. That kind of thing isn't because skating doesn't mean everything to Brian, it's so the family demonstrates that Brian's skating doesn't mean everything to THEM.
It's Brian's freaking skating, not theirs. His mother knew it. Other families apparently don't share that perspective.
So say Scott is tired of the sham. Well, he can take steps to make the sham not "necessary".
This is Scott's family. If the sham stopped, what would the family do? Find another way to be up in Scott and Tessa's business. What boundaries exist seem to be created by the sham. It's on Scott to act like a man. He doesn't. He's got the accoutrements of manhood, but not the stones. A gold medal isn't a character credential, although we know damn well the Moirs believe it is and is the next closest thing to a religion. Character is how you behave.
In 2010 - we had two teams VM and DW that I think we can all agree we enjoyed watching their skating and comraderie. Fast forward to the present - DW are faking in on the ice and VM are faking it off the ice. Then mix into the equation the USFSA politics, Tanith Belbin, Moirville, blah blah and all of a sudden - holycrap maybe the Shibs may be the only genuine normal in Canton...And I have to agree with OC that all this extra curricular stuff has taken a toll...hell just to get just a couple of interviews, pictures done for HPC is time-consuming...then add the Canadian Olympic Team promos, RBC promos, the Procter and Gamble stuff, etc then whatever they will need to do to promote this documentary...I don't care how organized you are...this is not down time...sometimes less is more and I think that the documentary probably has taken way too much time than originally planned...my two cents...and god knows that there is no one in VM's camp that would have said - that's a wrap...certainly not the Moirs...
ReplyDeleteI didn't enjoy DW in 2010.
Delete"I don't care how organized you are...this is not down time...sometimes less is more and I think that the documentary probably has taken way too much time than originally planned"
DeleteAbsolutely. No one is special enough that taking time to film fake-reality clips over a period of months plus the intrusion of cameras following along for those months won't mess with preparations for something as big as the Olympics.
And this:
"To me this documentary, not just because it's a lie, but because it enmeshes them with Moirville and forces them to add an extra layer of fake to competitions that wasn't there before, is hubris."
Yes - Hubris.
The gall, it practically turns my stomach.
They will not get away with this.
"IOW, the louder and more in your face they get, the more they are compensating. I guess that's the short way to say what my fear is. When they're this obnoxious, this ham handed, things are not that great on the skating front, sometimes for legit reasons (hey, she just had a baby) and sometimes for reasons that may include that for all their crying about zones and bubbles and driving the roller coaster they've spread themselves too thin and they've pandered too much, as well as the simple fact that what they're doing vis a vis the public and the management of the sham, and the content of the sham, is wrong. And that tends to show up and hurt you. And no matter how grandiose you are about yourselves, you can't prevent that. It's like whack a mole. Pound it down here, it's gonna pop up there."
ReplyDeleteI had missed this addition to the entry, but so true. They've spread themselves too thin and have absolutely blown to smithereens whatever chance they had in Sochi. DW look awful right now. If VM had only focused on their skating instead of this, they'd be in pretty decent shape. They simply don't have time to be ready for the games now, either mentally or with the skating. The FD needs to be a lot further along and they're making mistakes all over the place.
They know the fix is in for D/W, no thanks to skate canada . So they are trying to get as much out of this , their final season as possible. Stardom, money. Who can blame them really? I don't. One can tell only by looking at their lackiaidasical attitude toward actual skating this year. Go bless them for even attempting, knowing full well what their fate is. If the sport of figure skating makes a comeback in the future. A big IF. History will judge them for being the better team, and politicking defeated them.
DeleteHistory should also judge V/M for being big fat liars who pushed their bullshit agenda in the public's face at every opportunity while asserting that they only wanted to be remembered as good people.
DeleteIt's just not giving me a good feeling when I compare it to Vancouver, when, remember, they also shammed. But otherwise their heads were in the game. Furthermore, they were shamming with someone who was also gearing to compete in Vancouver. When Scott talked at the TEB press conference, Vancouver was on his mind. What the programs would become was on both their minds. All they thought about was Vancouver.
DeleteHere it's as if they believe they don't need to devote the same energy. And despite the fact that evidence is already in that this doesn't work for them, they are still diverting their energy and then pushing at competitions.
I never thought they'd turn into Jessica Dube. All the talent in the world but weird mistakes cropping up. Scott not finishing a rotation. A foot down. Wonky twizzles. Suddenly getting self-conscious and hedging bets in competition. All summer to train and that second rotational still isn't ready.
What the hell.
In the past, when their energies have been divided WHEN HAVE THEY WON?
2008-2009. Despite the shins, and despite it being a long shot, they wanted to win worlds to set up for the Olympics. They legitimately hoped, based on their free skate win the year before. And the shins were an unavoidable distraction that took away from training, despite all they did to prepare while Tessa was away from the rink. What happens? Scott - who has healthy shins - fucks up the twizzles in the od. Scott - who has healthy shins - stumbles on a choreographic move in the free. They still ought to have won because everybody else was also crippled (literally) in some way, and skating like it, but that was a season they relied on their talent and their mental game to make up for 100% focus on training, and their mental game suffered (Scott in the od).
Olympics - that was as pure as it gets, in terms of focus.
Following season. Oh, let's have a baby, write a book that denies we're having a baby, promote it, let's enjoy all of the perks of winning the Olympics, let's fake this, that and the other thing. Let's go OTT about 4CCs and Worlds. Let's announce we intend to be World champions and 4CC champions.
They lost Worlds.
Following year - seemed pretty focused to me. There was the sham gambit in Paris, but Jessica was already in Paris competing. It wasn't an add on, it was a built-in. They won Worlds.
Last year was Cassandra's debut. It was Worlds in London with yellow sweatshirts at every turn. It was Tessa suddenly skating like she had doubts.
Apparently you don't rethink your approach when this sort of pattern emerges, you bull your way through because your force of will can bend reality. That's what it looks like to me.
Take an Olympic year and for the Grand Prix simultaneously conduct a fake reality show and it's showing in your skating and in what you say of your prep, but no rethinking happens.
Honestly, part of me wonders if they agreed to do the reality show as Moirville's great big pay-off so Moirville backs off from Canadians (fat chance) through Sochi. If so, what a monstrous situation, but it really seems to stem from the belief they can pull this off, when history shows they can't pull it off. They didn't win in 2009. They didn't win in 2011. They didn't win last year.
Shows I would rather watch than this abortion of a Virtue/Moir "docu-drama" (or what I like to refer to as "Tessa and Scott's Olympic Silver Lining's Playbook").
ReplyDelete1. Any show about the Shibutanis. SOMEONE GIVE THEM THEIR OWN SHOW, DAMN IT.
2. "Survivor: Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband Edition"
3. "Up From Our Detroit Bootstraps - The Meryl Davis and Charlie White Story of Survival, Determination, and Success"
4. Honey Boo Boo
5. I Didn't Know I was a Pregnant Hoarder Who Likes to Go Antiquing and Drive Trucks Down Icy Roads
3. That should be "Up From Our Prada Bootstraps..."
Delete2. I'd watch that, just to see Igor savoring his victory, having left Marina for dead at the bottom of a cliff, only to see Marina emerge from the jungle wearing couture, fluffy dog under one arm, champagne in hand, having reached base camp two days prior to Igor getting started.
Delete1. Would that show really be popular? What do we know about them? We know they're warm, engaging and funny, with a wonderful sibling dynamic, but I don't know who they're dating. I haven't seen their parents cry. In fact I haven't seen their parents. This was why Michelle Kwan never caught the public imagination either.
"I'd watch that, just to see Igor savoring his victory, having left Marina for dead at the bottom of a cliff, only to see Marina emerge from the jungle wearing couture, fluffy dog under one arm, champagne in hand, having reached base camp two days prior to Igor getting started."
DeleteHahaha. It's funny because it's true.
Tessa's "when you spend that many hours together it's something on a different level" was particularly eye roll-inducing.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's a different level, you're fucking MARRIED TO EACH OTHER and CREATED ANOTHER HUMAN BEING THAT SHARES YOUR DNA.
Impressive. I expected a figure skating documentary but oh, who was I kidding? It's a (fake) reality TV show. With the only difference that part of the background story happens in real life.
ReplyDeleteI had to stop the video when Scott talked about Tessa's potential future boyfriend.
I mean, not gonna lie, a small part of me did hope for some sort of revelation.
Clearly, this is a "documentary" that doesn't focus on the truth.
I am very disappointed, even though I didn't have high hopes to begin with.
interesting, who is the third person in the pool? http://25.media.tumblr.com/877135d3a45bac5fef72aa9076f7fc39/tumblr_mv26qckxU81qhf86vo3_250.gif i just saw a hand that is not neither tess or scotts. Maybe it belongs to our beloved Cass? ;ddd
ReplyDeletePossibly, because Scott is looking everywhere but at the person to whom the hand belongs. That would fit.
DeleteMaybe Tessa is crying on the phone because she misses her daughter that she can never be with in public.
ReplyDeleteWell, it was Tessa and Scott's choice not to be seen in public with their daughter. No one forced them to be that way except them.
DeleteLying does not come without consequences. It has to be mentally exhausting for them. Maybe it has caught up with them and that's why their skating is messed up.
DeleteShe was crying? That didn't look like crying. Furthermore, who puts on a full face of make-up for a behind-the-scenes of their training environment. Her mascara wasn't even damp.
Delete11:25 for all the world it looks as if they take their SKATING for granted, despite what the past couple of seasons has shown them. We're trained, we're better than the competition, all we need. No, you need to go out on Olympic ice feeling serene, feeling more than ready, skating to win it, knowing you'll win.
DeleteNot to mention they've got a kid this time who wasn't in the picture last time. It would be odd if for all the hubris, the arrogance, the warped perspectives, they suddenly started losing respect for what it takes for even them (who are the best) to win the Olympics. To actually lose respect for the skating.
Anon at 11:25 am and OC - I think the skating is there but the extracurricular activities and keeping up appearances can be exhausting. We saw it at Worlds last year. It just looks that there are too many hands in the cookie jar. Sometimes you just need to keep things simple and create a serene environment. Don't get me wrong the judging is an issue and has created the additional pressure to be perfect - but at one point in time - you need to say no. Your coach can give you advice but as an athlete you need to assess what works best for the two of you and be honest about it. If you have chewed off too much - simplify. Skate for yourselves. At the last Olympics I remember Tessa mentioning that Mary Brannigan was a great sounding board. She also had her sister around. I have faith in them but I agree that they need to build their confidence...
DeleteWhen they do so much talking it means something is amiss. That's their pattern. Convince us, convince themselves, say it instead of doing it. That's how they're coming off.
DeleteP.S., yes, the skating is there but it takes much more than the skating to win the Olympics. You have to be in a zone where when you take the ice you have peace of mind. Not where you're leaning in, bearing down, determined to quell doubt or to overcome. The stuff you're shoving down or trying to climb over pops back up. Your mind has to be clear. They keep saying it, but then when they take the ice they don't show it. Their skating isn't in question but what does it matter if they don't execute?
DeleteScott's "Screw everyone else - let's destroy this place!" last year for the Worlds free was dramatic but that's not usually how wins happen, through force of will and attack. They happen as the natural progression of having prepared properly, of letting your body do it and trusting it. Especially if you skate like Tessa and Scott. They are coming off like people who in Sochi will skate not to lose, while unnaturally overcompensating (an example of that is the start of their free in 4CC's 2011, for example, where it was all from the neck up and their bodies didn't have the miles and they were fronting). They are coming off like people who have find tuned their self-consciousness to a point where they can't get out of their own way on the ice.
P.S., and furthermore they've said it several times - we have to trust, we have to get out of the way, and yet they don't do it. It turns out to be lip service. How come? They were always able to do it before.
DeleteAnd no matter how frustrating the DW score inflation is, I also think that if everything else were in place they have enough pride to skate as they know how to skate and let it be on the judges if the judges are going to be unfair. Let the judges try and deny what VM put down. Instead they keep giving the judges opportunities, and I just don't think DW is the whole reason. It's like they take themselves for granted, aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing, KNOW it, rationalize, and refuse to change course, and it keeps kicking them in the teeth.
Yup.
DeleteThey've blown it for this season. I think there's an opportunity there with DW skating like they are, but I don't think VM are in any position to be able to take advantage of that. They've already wasted time and energy that needed to be spent on mental and physical prep for the season and will continue to do so. I never thought I'd see them behave this way with the skating of all things. In a lot of ways, this leaves me more disappointed in them than I've ever been over the sham.
At this point, I think if DW were to manage to blow it to the point that the judges are no longer willing to put them in first, then it'll be a team like PB that is able to step through the door--not VM. They're not VM, but they're better skaters and dancers than DW. They've worked hard and are focused. They've just needed the opportunity.
I agree with 2:41... this is more disappointing than the sham, because I'm a skating fan first. With the team event, they had the potential of an unprecedented 3 Olympic gold medals, and I can't think of a more deserving team.
DeleteAnon at 2:44 pm - to be honest the team event will be a crapshoot. On paper every country has their weaknesses and for a lot of these skaters/teams - this will be their first Olympics. It's hard to predict how they will handle pressure. Basically for me the team event is a bit of a farce - so I don't think we need to put additional expectations...
DeleteThere's a difference between Virtue and Moir saying what they mean, and just putting up a front. They gave an interview to a London radio station just before Canadians in 2010. Scott especially emphasized they'd just had six weeks of incredible training, and what you'd see at Canadians was pretty close to what you'd see at the Olympics. He said they root for Davis White to be their best but want to go on the ice and beat them. There was no embellishment when it came to stating what they meant. They said it and left it there.
DeleteWhen they talk too much, they're lying. It's so lowest common denominator with them and the way they deceive. If they articulate things like - oh, we're doing this, that and the other thing, but we really should be doing this instead, and we learned that lesson, and now we're going to be the way we should be - they're full of it. It's VMsplaining. It's suspect always.
You can't say it. You have to live it. And you have to live it before competition day. The reality is they have to be foot perfect to beat Davis White, because that's the standard the judges have set even though in terms of skating VM should have a substantial cushion. If they want Sochi gold it doesn't matter if they actually respect DW's skating, if we respect DW's skating, if DW fakes their skating. It doesn't matter what the Moirs think of DW's skating. What matters is how VM skate, and they have to skate so they can't be denied, not because they think DW aren't deserving. I don't know what's happened to them in terms of skating and I don't know why, despite consistent evidence to the contrary, they act is if they can throw everything they know about preparation out the window, TALK the preparation (mental, focus) instead, and it'll work. It's themselves they have to convince, not us, and so far they don't seem to be doing a great job.
Looks like the know they won't win in Sochi and are trying to put their names out there for post-Sochi business deals before they embarrass themselves in February...
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the boyfriend quote was taken out to context to rile us up, like the actual quote is "in high school, if tessa had a boyfriend..." blah blah blah. The best thing they could do to attract new non-skating fans is to reveal couple status before the olympics. No one wants to watch an "unique" relationship with a media-whore-model-want-to-be third wheel of a "girlfriend" in Cassandra.
Yeah, I seriously doubt that line was taken out of context. They have no plans to reveal.
DeleteIn a fair world, V&M would have a big cushion and D&W would be fighting for the podium.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. They/we already took a journey to Ilderton and the unique in their book. They are so impressed with themselves and their unique false public personas they simply had to do it again. This time on video, with fake drama. Images and movies have a much greater impact than a mere book. Intensify the lies. Yup. Just the thing leading into the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't talking about a bubble this time. I might have laughed about their bubble but going to this other extreme is the worst possible scheme when they're supposed to be mentally focused on the Olympics. It shows their lack of sensible management of both PR and skating. There's a time to dial it back as far as spreading themselves too thin. This documentary is a terrible decision.
In spite of including some stuff about skating, the personal content is already too much just in this clip. It looks to be nothing but trashy nonsense. IF it were real maybe (maybe!) it wouldn't be so bad, but knowing it's all for the purpose of continuing to promote those fake personas is just...I have no words. I'm embarrassed for them. And as a fan I feel manipulated and mocked.
I don't believe in karma because I don't believe in previous lives. However, Christianity has the same principle in its teachings. Scott wears a cross so supposedly he lives by Christian principals? Such as not lying. Oh yeah, and that other one I've seen in the Bible, that says, "you reap what you sow."
Well said, 6:43 am.
DeleteI agree with your assessment that even if they weren't lying, this show looks completely trashy. Whatever went on off ice, their skating was always classy. This show reflects badly on their skating too.
I'm disgusted that they've thrown away the chance for another OGM on a stupid, trashy show in which they lie their asses off.
I suppose I'm just going to have to call the time I spent as their fan a piss off.
Good points anon at 6:43 am. It also shows that VM are totally independent of Skate Canada. If this was a real sports documentary and if it was aired after the Olympics - it wouldn't be so bad. Was the money that hard to resist to do this...I mean it's the W network for lords sake...We all knew they had bad PR before (from a lack of it) but whoever advised them on this - just failed them...Here I will say it...their agent, families, skating federation, Canadian Olympic Team etc just missed the boat completely...I am still optimistic about their skating but the time and energy wasted on this scripted show - for what?
DeleteLol, Tessa in full makeup and matching earrings for a pool party. Yeah right.
DeleteHer hair is styled as well. The side ponytail has that sprayed-within-an-inch-of-its life artful disarray where the core of it is hard as a rock.
Deleteand the full make-up lying there wiping an invisible tear at Arctic Edge, where she puts her face on before showing up every morning.
It's so tacky. Oh look, they're hugging! Oh the relationship is special and unique. They're looking at each other gushy. Tessa's husband says if she had a boyfriend he better treat her right or he'd be in trouble, his tenses and conditional clauses collapsing in on themselves as always. It's another have it both ways special using the connection as bait.
"They aren't talking about a bubble this time. I might have laughed about their bubble but going to this other extreme is the worst possible scheme when they're supposed to be mentally focused on the Olympics. It shows their lack of sensible management of both PR and skating. There's a time to dial it back as far as spreading themselves too thin. This documentary is a terrible decision."
DeleteHmm. If I were told that I have ZERO CHANCE to win the gold medal, then I'd know it would be a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND OPPORTUNITY to get into a bubble and focus on winning the Olympics -- BECAUSE I CAN'T WIN ANYWAY. Let's say that V/M do what everyone recommends. They stop everything except for focusing on their skating. They execute perfectly at the Olympics. Guess what will happen. THEY WILL NOT WIN THE GOLD MEDAL. So what the eff is the point???
A sensible way to manage PR is to TAKE ADVANTAGE of the opportunities you have now, instead of trying to market yourself as a silver-medalist loser, or worse, someone who tried to repeat gold and ended off the podium entirely.
Maybe you're on to something, 6:36, and they know the fix is in.
DeleteIt still doesn't excuse the hoaxing the public and disrespecting their child though.
"It still doesn't excuse the hoaxing the public and disrespecting their child though."
DeleteAgreed. *Nothing* in the world excuses those things. Nothing.
Whoever convinced them this was excusable is dead wrong. This will be very damaging to them one way or another. Dishonesty and deception never gave anyone a better life nor brought anyone satisfying rewards. Tessa and Scott are not so special as to be an exception to the rule. I have the greatest disrespect for their families for playing along and allowing it to go this far.
Sometimes I wonder if the proposition were put to Moirville - these two will win a second Olympic gold but Moirville has to back off completely OR these two will come in second at both Worlds and Olympics but Moirville gets to ride the Tessa and Scott pony til it breaks down underneath them - which one Moirville would choose.
DeleteBecause a small collision in the midline ss in the sd practice and a mess up in the SC twizzle and in a lift in the fd practice isn't how the best of VM ever performed in practice. They always had more left, not trying to get there.
I do think this reality show answers the question somewhat as to just how much of a martyr Scott is to Moirville. He signed on to be in a reality show during the GPS of an Olympic year, and so far the SC practice is looking like it.
I question a lot about DW but one thing I don't question is how desperately they want an Olympic gold. They'll do and say anything. Scott and Tessa are (hoping it's different in competition) practicing like they want it but don't think they should have to invest as much in the preparation as they did before.
oc
OC - this reality series must have been decided well over a year ago. You know what's ironic in the Procter Gamble mom spot - Alma Moir's advice to Scott has been just give it your all - try your best. How does Moirville then explain that taping a reality show during an Olympic year maximizes your giving it all. Scott and Tessa always had the drive to be champions - they didn't need outside help. Moirville has always wanted to be part of the equation (whether during the 2010 olympic games pre/post interviews, the Ilderton parade, worlds 2013, this reality show) etc rather than just celebrate the accomplishments without what's in it for me. Mentally that has to be exhausting. For me even if VM don't win - it's not the end of the world - but I think down the road when Scott has an opportunity to reflect - he is going to realize that although his family made sacrifices for him - in the end - they just milked him and Tessa as a commodity - moreso than Skate Canada ever did.
Delete@3:44
DeleteI just had a thought. If this series was decided over a year ago, then I'm seeing the Cassandra factor in a whole new light. Scott-Moirville had just ended the Jessica games and for all intents and purposes it looked like they were going to forget about needing that kind of shield around them. Not that Tessa and Scott would admit to anything real, just that they would stop pretending there were other SO's.
If they then signed on for this kind of series, they must have decided Scott needed another GF and this time from the home-town. It's filler for all the staged "reality" scenes where they still do not want to admit it's Scott and Tessa together. From the beginning of them acquiring this new GF for Scott I felt something was odd. There was no need for them to go down this road again. Not only that, I'm sure they know the fans know it's BS. Everything about this GF is identical to the Jessica sham. They haven't even tried hiding how fake it is. I think this time the GF exists for the sake of those cameras following them around everywhere. Tessa and Scott can still pretend to hide in plain sight, because "Scott has a GF!"
Naturally, thinking ahead to the fallout doesn't factor into things. Moirville is particularly tone-deaf to consequences. The focus is the here and now and they think that *now* Scott needs a social media GF to hide behind (cowards). And consequences of a reality series? Well obviously no one gave a thought to that either. We're seeing Tessa and Scott more ill at ease than we've ever seen them on-ice at this time of year. I blame that reality series (and Moirville, of course).
Well as an introvert and a private person - if you take a look at the majority of off-ice pictures - Tessa is very rarely in the middle - she is off to the side. That's her comfort zone. So if you are that self-conscious - I don't see how a reality tv show making you the focal point - helps. I always got the impression that it takes some time for Tessa to feel comfortable around people - cameramen, producers etc.
DeleteAnon at 4:04 pm - I am anon at 3:44 pm - the only reason that I am speculating that this tv show must have been planned a while ago - is that for a six episode series to be aired on TV - there must have been some planning ahead with their other commitments...my two cents...
I think there are two problems with 6:36's theory. Number one - V/M have appeared to take a huge amount of pride of what they put out on the ice, regardless of the results. I don't know why knowing 100% they would lose would make all that disappear. Why not retire then? And D/W have had their weakest programs and their weakest debut in recent memory. If V/M thought they had no chance for gold, I think they seriously miscalculated.
DeleteAnon at 5:12 pm - I think there is a combination of factors that may have played in VM's psych in the off season - a) the lack of support from Skate Canada in general and in particular at Nationals b) the lack of questioning the ice-dancing scores at last year's Worlds from commentators/coaches...in every other discipline skating skills were awarded - in theirs they were ignored...and obviously the overmarking of DW...right now DW are skating not to lose...and even though they have been consistent...ice is slippery...VM need to create an environment where they are skating for themselves period - not for family, not for friends, not for the country but for you.
Delete"Why not retire then?"
DeleteBecause who would watch a reality show about them if they retired?
"right now DW are skating not to lose...and even though they have been consistent...ice is slippery...VM need to create an environment where they are skating for themselves period - not for family, not for friends, not for the country but for you."
DeleteI agree, 5:40. DW are skating not to lose. They're also skating with all of their flaws on clear display. I know easier said than done, but they really do just need to let go and just skate for themselves.
Glitches aside, one of the things that struck me the most about VM today was their speed and power, especially in comparison to how DW have looked. Watch VM's FD practice from today back-to-back with DW's SA FD. It's like night and day.
I also liked the costuming for both programs. Tessa's SD dress is especially fabulous.
" I don't know why knowing 100% they would lose would make all that disappear."
DeleteIt hasn't all disappeared. Despite all the panicking, it's not like they're just falling on their ass everywhere all through the programs. Their SD is terrific. it's just that they (wisely) are not focusing on 100% on their skating, because they know there will be no payoff.
I don't think a production like this requires scheduling a year in advance. This is field producers/cameras filming Virtue and Moir on Virtue and Moir's schedule, not Virtue and Moir fitting themselves in to an existing show's production schedule and air dates. I don't know how this one was set up, I do know it wouldn't have been necessary to set it up a year in advance. Television is a whole lot more flexible than that.
DeleteAs to Cassandra, when we first met her she and Scott were immediately as in love as he'd been with Jessica, in the same way. She was also unveiled at the start of the skating season - got on twitter in August, Scott got off his fan facebook not long before or after, the drop happened officially in November.
I don't believe they considered going without a sham girlfriend. They've never spent a season without a sham girlfriend. Conveniently, his five year relationship with Jessica ended only after 2011-2012 season's end, after she'd, due to her partnership with Wolfe, been available to sham at the same events as VM, just as usual.
It would have been more ridiculous than it already is if Scott had surfaced with another just as "committed" and just as social media-public relationship immediately after season's end. He needed at least a few weeks to fall in love and for Cassandra to get so thrilled she joined twitter for the first time to proclaim to the world about it. That took a bit of the summer.
Conveniently, the relationship had intensified enough to show off on social media just in time for the 2012-2013 season.
When I watch SC practice, I see two skaters in their prime in terms of skating. When they took the ice after the other couples, their skating was bigger, stronger, faster, easier - it was just as obvious comparing VM to the others as it was comparing Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov to the other pairs at Skate America. You could see how the program progressed. I loved the back end of the rotational, when Tessa changes into a split. Of course the fact that for years DW did a split rotational where Davis was hoisted up by Charlie and then her free leg extension pinned into place, and Tessa changes into the split position mid-rotation and manages her own body lines will be ignored by the sport.
DeleteI don't know if they're nervous or not, but Tessa made the same mistake on the fd twizzles that she made in sd practice at Finlandia. It happens between the first and second set and affects how over her skates she is in the second set. I don't know if she rushes the transition or exits the first set wonky, but it looks to me as if it happens in the transition and she's not focused there.
It's focus that will be the problem, if there's a problem. They're physically ready, they say all the right things, the programs are ready, but no matter what they say they're violating their own claims about the most effective way to prepare for an Olympics. If they've changed their minds about what it takes, let's see what the programs look like. Full power, speed, and sharpness, where the skating and the program are indistinguishable, can take a season to develop. But despite what Scott has said, there really haven't been "October mistakes" in the past where they mess up elements for now apparent reason. Up until 2012-2013, a twizzle mistake or other mishap were the outliers, not routine.
I agree that a bunch of things could be impacting their mental game. It doesn't seem to make sense for them to then deliberately engage in more distractions that could impact their mental game.
Frankly it also seems a little weird to me that they chose to do this hoaxed up reality show in the first place, considering they have a daughter they're ignoring for the purposes of this show, but it also seems a little weird to me that they chose to do this hoaxed up reality show, considering they have a daughter TIMEWISE. She can't be part of it, so that's time. Perhaps the reality show is aware and never will say that they're not married, and just let Scott's hypothetical conditionally claused confused tensed remarks about boyfriends, and Cassandra swimming around or hanging around on the periphery (or not on the periphery), lead us to believe they did say that.
She's also at the age where she might watch a competition practice minded by someone we don't know has any connection with Virtue and Moir, but she's at the age (and has been for a while) where a kid can start calling out to their parent or crying for them. So her experience is impacted as well. I do agree that Virtue and Moir have to be absolutely convinced they're protecting her, but they're protecting her from decisions they themselves have made that have nothing to do with her, and that's not really fair.
DeleteIt's so cowardly to not recognize a spouse or a child on public platforms. I don't believe that protects. On the contrary, it removes a layer of protection. In the end, not giving that public recognition is the most selfish thing anyone could do.
Delete7:11 I do agree with you but the Moirs feel the opposite. The less public something is the more control they have over it and the more they own it. I guess that now extends to child rearing. It's a shame her parents are so eager for the spotlight while keeping her out of it, though, because she'll see that her parents lie and act and fake things easily. One presumes she'll be told the documentary was "business" and not at all fun, otherwise she'd have been included.
DeleteWhat I like about the idea of karma is it honors balance and intelligence, wrong isn't just wrong morally, it's wrong in terms of functionality. If you start playing these kinds of games at this level, you're screwing up your functionality. If you stay on top of it in one area it's going to bite you in another.
ReplyDeleteBut I've never seen two people more oblivious to context and cause and effect off ice.
https://twitter.com/BillysSeafood/status/393154828236779520
ReplyDeleteShouldn't they be getting into their bubble and focused on fucking competing Friday and Saturday instead of fucking filming in a fucking seafood restaurant?
They are going to lose in Sochi and it's not going to be because of the monstrous PR and political effort of DW. It's going to be because their heads aren't in the fucking game and they aren't 100% focused.
This season is going to be a disaster.
Why do people think they have a kid ? I think its extremely disrespectful for people to disregard her pain from compartment syndrome.
ReplyDelete