Okay, now I agree. My tag of "Cassandra" could be Kaitlyn Osmond. Subsequent video clips show a doppelganger resemblance.
 |
| "Marnie, Meryl and Charlie are far from unbeatable if the game isn't rigged, but the game is rigged. We're coming in second. If we're LUCKY." |
 | |||
| Tessa: "it's like" Kate: "You're in this insane world." Tessa: "yes". Kate: "And you're never good enough." Tessa: "Never." Kate: "I bet sometimes you want to kill yourself." Tessa: "Yep." Kate: "Because it's like - you're just this worthless piece of shit." Tessa: "Um hmm." Kate: "Mommy loves you baby." |
 |
| "I was so relieved the free dance went well I rewarded myself by upchucking breakfast and lunch. Call me bulky after that, bitches." |
 |
| "It was one of those nights where Scott needed to get away, get home and relax, help raise money for the ISC, which is more important than me, our career, our daughter, our reputation, our chances in Sochi, and our integrity." |
 |
| "It was so weird being abandoned by Scott. I kept trying to talk to the empty space beside me. It's a struggle to realize I'm just a stain wipe to him and he'd rather be with coSONdra. I can hardly remember the events I've been to without him. Well, okay, Much Music 2009, my French Family's wedding, Monaco 2009." "I am working to accept the fact that I'm a non-hot loser nobody would hang out with unless their Olympic prospects depended upon it, or unless they were 40something going through a mid-life crisis, or humoring me. I'm a boner-shrinker cluster of tedium. I'm not attractive and I have the personality of a clenched anus. I have no talent, I choke, I'm annoying, I'm exhausting, I torture everything until it dies, and if you've had a rough week GOD do you need a break from me. If I have a daughter some day, I certainly hope she never takes after me because I'm the WORST." |
And Kate - congratulations!
To be continued.
P.S. - I just want to take a second to say that the gleeful, misogynistic hatefulness of this program makes it almost impossible to digest. It's with Tessa's full cooperation, as well. How fucking dare she. How fucking dare she. How fucking dare Scott. Kate, you fucking SUCK. And I hope Little Moir finds other role models as fast as she can before she's throwing up her animal crackers and slamming her head against her bedroom mirror because she's an imperfect, boring, useless, pathetic, insecure, talentless waste of skin like her mother.
________________________________
P.S. May I offer a HUGE congratulations to Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam, who trained for half of this quad in the shadow of Skate Canada's contempt, and nevertheless never compromised their integrity as ice dancers. They're a beautiful team who have only been skating together since 2009 and yet they use every ounce of what they have. They've never ducked ice dance - they've always tackled ice dance head on.
They have never skated inside their comfort zone - they've always worked right to the edge of their considerable ability, and thank God it's paid off.
Congrats on the move to the DSC. The people at the DSC seem to have convinced P/I to skate without apology. They're not only worth it when they're perfect. They're worth it, period. They have so much content in what they do. The DSC move was the right move at the right time and I couldn't be happier for them.
I LIKE Gilles/Poirier's programs this year, and Piper has improved her skating. However, P/I have improved their competitive steel, and at this stage they're clearly the stronger team. I am so happy they're going to Sochi, so happy they've outright earned their spot, and I'm thrilled for their supporters.
________________
P.P.S. I do have some thoughts about Virtue Moir this weekend but I want to process them a little bit.
Last time they competed at Canadians before the Olympics, they didn't give a shit how anyone else skated, or how the crowd reacted to anyone. They came on that ice and they threw it down, particularly Faruccus. They were warriors. They were also on the radio prior to Canadians and Scott said what we were going to see at Canadians was pretty much what we'd see at the Olympics.
What's happened to that? "OMG we were rattled by the W&P audience response!" Since WHEN? "It would be worrying if we weren't still fighting for our programs, if we were perfect already."
No it wouldn't.
It's like they can't stop outsmarting themselves. Yes, even if they'd blown the roof off at Canadians it might not have made a difference. All indications are DW have already been crowned Olympic champions and Scott and Tessa's performance won't matter.
But, this reality show is full of them running themselves down - particularly Tessa. They pander, pander pander. They figure out where the lowest common denominator is among the likely viewers and then aim considerably under that, and it feels like it circles back and bites them in the ass, not us.
"Oh their programs suck. Oh they could be in trouble." That's the takeaway from the reality show.
The fundamentals of their skating are there, the programs are there, but psychologically they seem as fragile as hell - for them.
It's ridiculous. They did it to themselves. It's arrogant. "We're doing this Olympics 100% different from last Olympics, we're going to front front front and lie lie lie and try to talk reality around even though that has never EVER worked for us, nor has piling agenda after agenda on top of our actual job, which is skating". It's NEVER worked, but reality is always what they decide it is, until it catches up to them. It did in 2011 and it certainly looks like it's doing the same thing here.
Especially when the agenda fucks with their heads, their energy, and their integrity.
The golf event Scott attended technically wasn't for the figure skating club but the Ilderton hockey team: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ilderton-Jets/109356705813643
ReplyDeleteGotta spread Scott Moir-local celebrity around to benefit any Ilderton skating enterprise.
It was a great excuse to play along with the show's story-line, that's all.
I'm not even finished and this reality show's misogny is revolting.
ReplyDeleteOC 6:22
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
Doesn't it look like Moirville knows the writing is on the wall and DW are going to win in Sochi? They can't complain about the ISU - Moirville is in the skating business and needs to kiss ISU ass.
ReplyDeleteSo they're throwing Tessa under the bus. This whole series is set up to portray Tessa as an exhausting drag on Scott, the Jessica to his Bryce, tons of talent but more work than she's worth, unable to skate to her potential because of her neurosis and self-obsession. When they lose in Sochi it will be because of her.
I don't give a fuck if they're doing this because Tessa is just that much of a grandiose martyr willingly throwing herself on the sword. It's all of a piece with the grotesque sexism in this series. Tessa is portrayed as lower than dirt. She's a beautiful girl who was featured in a sportsnet layout and we have to hear her saying she's not hot. She has to eagerly grab at attention from men twice her age - the grandfather dude at the airport and the d.j. guy at TIF. She can't skate her program at HPC without chucking up her breakfast.
You heard it from Tessa & Scott. When they lose in Sochi it's Tessa's fault. I can't fucking stand one more "I pity her" look from Scott paired with his controlling douche edit. They suck.
oc
I'm confused I thought this show was a vehicle for Tessa post Olympics. Two episodes in nothing makes sense. Tessa is obviously a trust fund baby. Did they really not consult a Pr person. Like what's the point of this. And can u please link sd and fd
ReplyDeleteOC, are you American? im shocked that you've had no comments on their sd or fd. I mean that's two performances. instead your obsessed with the obvious misogyny of their show. what about Canadian championship? what are your thoughts on the sd and fd? is it the same as in grand prix? any changes? why not focus on that for now. we get your point on all else.
ReplyDeleteOC is American. It already has been established. That is why He can not comment on CDN Nationals until put on the web.
Delete1:10
DeleteI have some Canadian friends who weren't able to watch when it was on TV and they also had to wait for youtube uploads as neither the network nor Skate Canada were providing video links.
Exactly, there wasn't some magical place that all Canadians could go and watch the programs. If we didn't have tv or weren't able to watch live, we were outta luck until someone uploaded the video.
DeleteKaetlyn Osmond looks much more striking than Cassandra.
ReplyDelete"Kaetlyn Osmond looks much more striking than Cassandra."
DeleteAbsolutely. Not only that, Kaetlyn seems like a lovely hard-working young lady. She doesn't come across famewhore like Cassandra.
Thank you for the shoutout to P/I and their fans, it's been a VERY happy day for us! P/I took it to another level this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI very much look forward to their growth in the quad leading to Pyeongchang. I am glad there will be a classical team to watch when VM retire. My only aesthetic nitpick is Paul's 'broken' wrists. Virtue is occasionally guilty of this, but Paul's is more obvious.
DeleteThe "broken wrist" is not my favorite aesthetic but apparently it's an aesthetic that became a hallmark of the Balanchine ballerina (I just did a little googling since it's a preference I've observed in other ballet-trained skaters). Elena Bereshnaya (2002 Olympic gold medalist in pairs) also had a pronounced broken wrist position and she had beautiful arms. Her position was just a bit contrived though, IMO.
DeleteBut as long as the energy continues to run through the hand and extend to the finger tips - as long as the hand is "alive", it certainly seems like a viable option to me, although I prefer an unbroken line through the arm to the fingertips with the hand relaxed but no break.
So it's not really a fault, even if it's not our own preference.
oc
I am so thrilled for Paul/Islam! Alexandra was just beaming at the press conference. Very well deserved!
DeleteThe more I watch their programs, the more obvious it becomes that this is yet another team who ought to be outpointing DW. It's not just about VM. DW are a complete hustle. Look at the highlight lift in P/I's fd and then look at DW's fetal ball "lift" or backpack sling.
DeleteInteresting development in US ladies - Ashley Wagner in for the Olympics and Mirai Nagasu is out...interesting how both of Frank Carroll's skaters (Gold and Polina..) out PCSed Wagner and Nagasu...politics is alive and well..
ReplyDeleteI understand the issue here but it seems to me the USFSA is punishing Mirai for underperforming in the last quad. When she's on, though, she tends to sustain it. She had a great Nationals last quad and finished fourth at the Olympics. It's stupid to leave her off when she's following that same pattern now. She's a proven Olympic performer and this just feels punitive - "she hasn't done anything for us in three years."
DeleteAnd now the US mens team won't be announced until later today. With only two spots - Jeremy Abbott is in...and well..just to make Gracie Gold happy...and the USFSA more macho image...Max Aaron (but really hoping for Jason Brown)...
ReplyDeleteHow about some two-footed, sexy-time posing? D/W's FD (the aforementioned posing is at the 2:30 mark):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9yX3S9VdtI
Did anyone else see the D&W Nationals fluff or had a link? I found it bizarre that some of the videos of them as kids looked professional, not home videos. In particular, a video of Charlie playing hockey and then being followed by a reporter with a microphone, as if he were a pro athlete. He was asked if he preferred hockey or skating, and acted put upon because he got the question a lot.... he looked to be no older than 12 years old. Why would a kid be followed around and interviewed that much???? The whole thing seemed pretty shady to me. I don't see what would have stood out about D&W over a million other ice dance teams with one partner who also does hockey. How rich exactly are his parents?
ReplyDeleteAs you describe it - the video asking young Charlie which he preferred, hockey or ice dance (wasn't his answer something like whichever he's doing at the time - "they're both real fun") was part of their Olympic fluff in 2010. Charlie and Meryl likely had lots of local media video banked by the time they made a name for themselves.
DeleteYes, he said he liked both sports. Hm, but why would local media be following them around all the time... money talks?
DeleteThey're a local story, that's all. Going back to childhood, they were a local story, and at different points, they would be filler on a news broadcast. Pretty sure that's where the hockey Charlie talking about ice dance and hockey comes from. Human interest.
DeleteOC - in your pps section - I kind of agree with you. VM need to think positive and just control what they need to do and focus. Block everything out. Get back to business. With regards to Tessa, I really think in 2009-2010, although Mary Brannigan was her physio and the lady obviously did wonders - I actually think that she was also a sounding board for Tessa and helped her with her confidence if she was having a bad day. And most importantly, even though she was on VMs team - she was impartial and not judgmental.
ReplyDeleteSomehow - they need to relax and skate to win and believe it. At this level - it's 90-95% mental. The skating is there....
Here's the point: Tessa and Scott are bullshitting their asses off in the reality show. Tessa is not this no-hope, boner shrinker mess.
DeleteThat's her reality show persona. Why they calculated it this way, who knows. It's about as appealing as Scott's wannabe cool stud projection.
My point it, they're fucking with THEMSELVES. And that has to impact them psychologically. They think they're scamming us, but it's themselves they''re outsmarting.
To bad you didn't recap the end of episode two with Scott dumping Tessa for Cassandra and Tessa flirting with Jian ( didn't she just say she's bad at flirting ? ) and third wheel Patrick.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to hear your thoughts on this.
I watched a movie with Michael Cera today and it reminded me of how Scott said he would pick him to play himself in a movie. He seemed quite fond of him. And it makes sense to me that Scott views himself as the slightly dorky Cera type. Scott - when not acting out his mother's fantasies of manlyness - is a lot more than Cera than that Hugh Heffner guy he tries to be on the show.
And it makes sense that, if he really sees himself in that light , that this must freak out his family and they try to push him into that corner even more.
I wish I knew what happened that an originally bright young man became content with being his community's birch and even sacrifice his own career for it.
I really wanted them to win in Sochi. They deserve it more than anybody else but their show killed the last redeeming qualities they still had. I could care less about them now and the only reason I still want them to win is because DW's skating is a criminal offense.
I'm doing more recaps this evening.
DeleteAll I can think is that with all of his skating success, they really must have done a number on him as far as validating him as a man. And if Tessa Virtue being exclusively in love with you isn't enough to validate you as a man, what's it going to take. Ilderton and Scott's family is fucking TOXIC. He's not off the hook; he's 26. But it's still pathetic, what they want him to be, and how he panders to it.
DeleteWe, of course, are the scapegoats.
Basically the whole reality show reads as this subtext, subliminal hostility. Ilderton hostility to Tessa, Tessa pandering to it.
DeleteI'd describe the dynamic this way: Tessa is more independent (not co-dependant) and needs her space. Does this mean she loves Scott less than he loves her? No. Does his community and family interpret this as she's got Scott pussywhipped? I mean - a girl he loves who needs space! How gay!
DeleteShould Scott take it personally? NO! He's too smart for that. Does his community and family take it personally? YES.
Who's winning? Not Scott and Tessa.
It seems that they are still filming...pic of the crew in Ottawa from Instagram
ReplyDelete3:11
DeleteReally? Are those cameras going to be around till the Olympics then?
I HATE what they did to themselves this season with this reality-TV decision. Everything they do is playing to those cameras and the revolting storylines they created for that show.
There has not been a genuine, real moment between them off-ice the whole freaking season and now it looks like not even at the Olympics. After the first 2 episodes it's abundantly clear every GP episode will be full of faux angst and Scott the macho-man abandoning the lonely pathetic (but BFF!) skating partner to be with the gf.
I was looking forward to seeing the real Tessa and Scott--no cameras around, no more fanfiction acting out. If this series continues through the Olympics VM will have effectively ruined their entire season not to mention ruin what should have been a season full of fan-love and support. They've pretty much lost this fan.
They probably needed to keep filming because their GP and GPF were not ending on a high note. Nationals is a guaranteed win so they can do all their bullshit "now we can go into Sochi feeling complete and connected once again" maybe he'll break up with Cassandra and then after the Olys VM can "renew" their vows, have a baby and "adopt" a four year old girl.
Delete5:27
DeleteI think you're right. They keep extending this show in order to have a decisive win. It didn't happen at GPF so this is it. Hopefully.
I doubt there's any break-up narrative. Tessa and Scott are committed to doing whatever it takes to keep up the platonic shield, in spite of how foolish, ridiculous or grotesque it becomes. Not only that, it looks like Cassandra now owns a symbolic Christmas-gift-key-necklace that of course everyone is supposed to assume is from Scott. No break-ups on the horizon initiated by Team VM.
But if they were to get exposed in all their BS...then and only then would these gross narratives disappear.
Anon at 5:45 pm - I am wondering if the camera crew are there just as a nice let's tidy it up for the last episode and announce that indeed VM, Patrick Chan and Weaver Poje made the Olympic team. But who knows...but I do have to laugh that they keep on coming back for more...as fans we predicted that this garbage would be time-consuming...
Delete"There has not been a genuine, real moment between them off-ice the whole freaking season and now it looks like not even at the Olympics. After the first 2 episodes it's abundantly clear every GP episode will be full of faux angst and Scott the macho-man abandoning the lonely pathetic (but BFF!) skating partner to be with the gf. "
DeleteVM didn't seem to let the show get in the way of being themselves this weekend.
Also, Tessa and Scott being themselves this weekend didn't get in the way of the obliviousness of a good number of fans.
9:19 -- Can you elaborate? It sounds nice. Especially knowing the fake gf was also in attendance.
DeleteThis former fan as well. I will be cheering for Weaver/Poje and Paul/Islam. Screw these fakers.
ReplyDeleteI am beyond thrilled that Paul/Islam made the team. I'm so sick and tired of VM's antics and it's great to have other deserving teams at the Olympics to cheer for.
Deleteexcept w/p and p/i are nowhere near v/m in terms of skill
DeleteSo that means no one should cheer for them?
Deletethoughts on free dance changes? ending much better, but second and third lift are beneath thme. utterly
ReplyDeleteI saw the FD live at nationals. I previously felt the same about the second lift, but it is absolutely literally jaw-dropping live. The third lift is also a stunner. The last lift is perfect for the program, and the new choreographic lift and ending are also to die for. They perfectly fit the swell and intensity of the music. I had serious doubts about this program at the beginning of this season, but this is truly an OGM-worthy vehicle.
DeleteI have both programs and am going to do a Canadians/USFSA post I think, but I'm also going to finish recapping the episode 2 of the reality show, even though it continues to hit the sweet spot where incredibly annoying/tedious intersect. Lovely to realize the two skaters unloaded this on their fans and walked away without bothering to look at it themselves. You know the pvrs of the non-skating cast were working overtime though.
DeleteHello everyone - it appears that Rosie DiManno just wrote an article for the star indicating that the fix is in for DW for gold...okay let's see if there is any traction...
ReplyDeleteSomeone must have referred her to the blog - because seriously all the points that have been made here are indirectly referenced..
Delete5:38--I'm shocked. Didn't Rosie recently write an article praising DW for their superb skating that was so much better than VM's?
DeleteHere's the link:
Deletehttp://www.thestar.com/sports/sochi2014/figureskating/2014/01/12/sochi_2014_fix_could_be_in_for_ice_dance_champs_virtue_and_moir_dimanno.html
This really stood out for me:
"And it won’t matter that the Americans’ free program is nowhere as entertaining or tasking. This is a team that has done nothing innovative in years, not introduced a new lift since before Barack Obama moved into the White House. They do have superior speed. But that’s about it."
The blog has been around long enough that Rosie must have already been aware of it. I don't buy that she just discovered anything here but maybe she just now realized the skating discussions are for real.
DeleteThey don't have superior speed. VM are much, much faster.
DeleteIf she were working off anything from the blog, she wouldn't repeat bullshit like that. DW are much slower than VM.
Deleteim glad someone if finally saying this but given rosie's history people will just interpret this as canadians whining again. i wish more media outlets would pick up on this.
DeleteI don't think one needs to read the blog to notice that they haven't done anything new for 5 years.
DeleteActually, in the commentary at US Nationals, they were saying how D&W's lifts and music have been planned for 2-3 years... Terry Gannon sounded unimpressed at the first lift, then, he slipped and said this program had been in the making for 4, 5, 6 years, bwahahahaha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4mlnwD0i4g&feature=player_detailpage#t=320 (5:30 mark).
Terry also said D&W's perfect score was ridiculous (7 minute mark). God bless him.
I know, 6:19. It's an impossible situation. Russian media said all last year that Carmen deserved to win. The only media that can do anything is the USA, and they of course will not speak out, so VM are fucked.
DeleteIt feels, though, as if Ilderton knows the fix is in. And expects DW to win. But can't blame the ISU, because the Ilderton Skating Club needs to make nice.
DeleteSo, who to blame? TESSA? She goes along with it, the sainted Kate goes along with it, SCOTT goes along with it. How wonderful they must have made her feel all these years for her to go along with it.
Why are you so sure Moirville is behind this reality show? And why would Tessa portray herself a certain way just to please them? Maybe it's all Tessa's idea.
DeleteWho exactly is "Moirville" anyway? Marg, Alma and Carol? Scott's friends? The guy who runs the pizza place in Ilderton?
ReplyDeleteI'm having a hard time figuring out how any of these people can force Tessa to debase herself on national television. Are you saying they have somehow brainwashed her and she's nothing but their puppet?
No, in fact I explicitly didn't say that. If you're not going to comment on what I actually said about Tessa I can't start answering things people pretend I said.
DeleteNobody's forcing her; that doesn't matter. The misogyny and Tessa's self-degradation is revolting.
"Moirville" would be Scott's parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, "buddies" from the high school he attended for a time, many members of Skate Canada Western Ontario, many of Alma and Carol's skating students, other skating parents, skaters, neighbors and friends who have involved themselves in Scott and Tessa's lives and career to toxic levels. Not everybody that fits the description is a member of Moirville but that's where Moirville comes from.
oc
They're also portraying Cassandra not just as Scott's GF, but as BETTER than Tessa. Easier to be with. A relief for Scott not just from a week of training, but from his partner. She's so soothing compared to that nerve end he skates with.
DeleteAnd that's all there is to Cassandra too. "Cassandra, Scott's girlfriend." She's here on the couch or here on the bed just waiting for her man to call. (Yes, I noticed his ring tone was "Scott Moir" on the phone - that's what it looked like). What more do we need to know about her? Nothing. She's compliant, doesn't say much, doesn't make her own imprint, and apparently doesn't care what her boyfriend does with two condoms in Sochi. (Well, I don't think anybody cares what Scott does with two condoms in Sochi, including anybody going to Sochi. Even if he were actually going to do that.)
oc
"Yes, I noticed his ring tone was "Scott Moir" on the phone - that's what it looked like)."
DeleteLOL. My husband's full name appears on my cell when he calls me. Now I wonder if our relationship is fake also!!!
"All I can think is that with all of his skating success, they really must have done a number on him as far as validating him as a man. And if Tessa Virtue being exclusively in love with you isn't enough to validate you as a man, what's it going to take."
ReplyDeleteHmm, maybe a Tessa who is also willing to publicly say she's exclusively in love with you, instead of claiming that she's not? Maybe you, OC, would love to be married to a hot woman who loves you in private but tells all the world that you two are nothing but business partners, but I sure as hell wouldn't -- no matter how awesome that woman is.
"I don't give a fuck if they're doing this because Tessa is just that much of a grandiose martyr willingly throwing herself on the sword. It's all of a piece with the grotesque sexism in this series. Tessa is portrayed as lower than dirt. She's a beautiful girl who was featured in a sportsnet layout and we have to hear her saying she's not hot."
Delete^^This
Whatever the origin of this portrayal of Tessa, it's degrading. I do have to wonder where the hell a beautiful, talented, fiercely competitive girl got the idea she's worth nothing and not hot. Or if she doesn't in fact think that of herself, why is she willing to pretend she is. I am also extremely unimpressed with Scott's "hot-dude" portrayal.
Is this what the writers wanted to convey? Scott is such a douchebag his partner is full of self-doubts and insecurities? Oh, but if he would just pay attention to her instead of the cardboard-cutout GF then Tessa would be happy and secure? And as the blog already pointed out, there are a whole other slew of demeaning messages being sent out, let alone this degrading dynamic between Scott and Tessa.
The fans falling over themselves calling the show cute and adorable and so much other nonsense are stupid. So grateful for anything from VM even if it's nothing but crap. I'm embarrassed for Tessa and Scott.
Yeah, I don't know why some people perseverate on the idea that this entire production has to be driven by Tessa and Scott is just falling in line. Poor poor poor Scott.
DeleteMoirville is CLEARLY over the top, is clearly up to its neck in Scott and Tessa's business. There's more people leaching off Scott and Tessa's skating career than there are barnacles on a ship. Whatever the shortcomings of Tessa's family, and to produce some of what she displays as her mindset I think her mom fell down on the job here and there, the Moirville segment of it is Scott's challenge to deal with and he chose to appease them instead. There's a whole lot more circumstantial evidence pointing to that than there is Tessa refusing to acknowledge Scott in public, thus creating his insecurities.
oc
Apparently the USFSA is just as corrupt as SC. They will ship any favored skater no matter what they put on the ice. Some speculate it's because Ashley has already been put in all the promotional materials, and it would be embarrassing to not have her go. At least SC had the sense to have their ladies do a skate-off at 4CC. On a bright note, the Shibs are going.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like they are punishing Mirai for not bringing home the expected success after Vancouver. She has done nothing for them and therefore they'll do nothing for her.
DeleteAshley on the other hand has consistently worked for USFSA and now they reward her for it.
Plus Ashley is quite popular and very marketable. So was Mirai four years ago but she let it all go to waste. She didn't skate consistently, she didn't make it to big international competitions and had no success to speak of. Two clean skates at nationals don't undo it. The USFSA has no reason to believe that Mirai could fare well in Sochi.
Skating wise I prefer Mirai over Ash but I can understand the decision.
The Scott Moir instagram account is now private and unfollowed almost everybody.
I think the USFSA does have reason to believe Mirai could fare well in Sochi because she fared well in Vancouver after struggling for a couple of years prior to THAT. That's how it goes with her. She has a hot streak and then she stumbles.
DeleteI think they did have a dilemma. I'd prefer the USFSA send its ladies podium, just as I preferred that when Skate Canada was obviously dying to send Cynthia Phaneuf to Worlds instead of Lacoste. OTOH if for whatever reason Virtue and Moir had face planted all over the ice at Canadians and missed the podium, it would have been ridiculous to keep them off the team, so I do understand.
It's on Ashley now to skate well in Russia (top five or better) and I'm sure she knows it.
oc
Oh yeah, the reality show crew was there.
Deletehttp://ink361.com/app/photo/ig-632146603218415482_17864970
I think it's about time one of the hundreds of pictures that would settle the issue of VM's lies got publicly released. The thought of 5 more episodes of relationship CRAP and made-up personal issues CRAP is the worst way for VM to be heading into the games.
8:17 here again. The network are the biggest assholes continually playing up the Tessa-Scott "relationship" in their promos but then in the show turning it upside down and instead Tessa and Scott whine about needing time apart and Scott runs to the GF to get away from Tessa. Another fine example released today:
Deletehttp://ink361.com/app/users/ig-809512455/photos
It's already known Cassandra was in Paris and everyone knows to expect "romance" in Paris to feature Scott and Cassandra, not Tessa. After 2 episodes why continue this kind of tease? It's Moirville at its finest. These are the same games Alma played on her facebook (Monaco anyone?).
They're treating the fans like crap.
VM must feel reasonably sure that anyone who possess those photos (if they even exist) won't release them or they wouldn't be doing what they're doing with the show.
DeleteIn my wildest dreams I never expected they'd try to present Scott as a smooth stud. I figured Tessa would be self-effacing but didn't realize it would go not just as far as degradation would be tied to insufficient attention from/neglect from Scott.
DeleteThis program is extremely revealing about the ways Scott's family must perceive his relationship with Tessa if they set out to frame a scripted, fictious version of Tessa and Scott that puts her down and sets him up as a stud. They think his love for her makes him look weak? She's too talented and therefore too much power and unrelatable? Fiction is one thing but the specific narrative here is sick.
OY CANADA< PLEASE can we discuss the free dance??? we get it, the show totally sucks and makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteHre's the link the to the FD:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foUo3dfj_Hg&feature=youtu.be
OYCANADA
ReplyDeleteFOR THE LOVE OF SKATING CAN WE PLEASE HEAR about the SD and FD? what are your thoughts????!!!!! we value that more than the bashing, really. please!
I don't have an embed for the short dance yet but my thoughts are as follows:
DeleteI thought the power and speed they showed in the sd was mind-blowing. It almost appeared as if the rink were too small. The run of blade and depth of edge were extraordinary. I wasn't too bothered by the rough spots - both of the notable rough spots had the appearance of "boy, I don't know my own strength", particularly from Tessa. What powerful strokes from that woman. They appeared to cover the length of the rink in two strokes.
Her skating was huge. She also hit her key points in the Finnstep. I don't know what the protocols showed but they better show she hit the key points.
Here, in the sd, is where the fix is in - it's a mirror of last year where the skating in Carmen was extraordinary so the judges decided to give those points to Notre Dame. The skating in VM's short dance crushes any and every outing of My Fair Lady and makes DW's stroking seem even more stunted. So naturally, give VM's points to DW. It's an audacious form of denial - invert the proper results where VM's superior skating is most egregiously obvious. And it's infuriating.
The fd I actually felt was skated with slightly less commitment than the sd, so that distracted me. Their skating was still huge, but IMO felt a bit cautious and, on occasion, out of time with each other - just fractionally. The straight line "swan" lift was a bit cautious. The combination of huge, powerful skating and (somewhat) cautious performance made it challenging for me to assess the impact of the changes. I was mocking Tessa's costume/hair when I only saw stills, but I liked the dress and the hair in video. The lean in the curve lift from Scott was stunning.
oc
"Her skating was huge. She also hit her key points in the Finnstep. I don't know what the protocols showed but they better show she hit the key points."
DeleteNope, two Level 3s. Unfortunately, Canadian protocols don't show the Y/T/Ns.
http://results.skatecanada.ca/2013-2014/2014CDNS/2014CDNSSrDanceShortsegJudgesDetails.pdf
In the arena for the sd. Tessa did miss one keypoint for each Finnstep patterns. The calls were correct. No question about it, the calls were correct.
DeleteThey definitely needed a bigger rink, and I'm still not sure that rink wasn't a bit on the small side.
They were cautious in parts if the FD, but not all of it. It was still a gorgeous, enthralling skate though. Video just does not adequately capture this FD. It's like taking a still photograph of a mountain landscape. It makes a pretty picture, but it just doesn't capture the vastness of the actual view. It's just this continuous flow of beautiful movement.
It's not bashing and quite a few here are very much interested in discussing the show and their off ice shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteAnd considering that this is exactly what VM want us to do there is nothing wrong with it.
OC, I agree the show sucks, but I disagree with your assessment of nationals. I was there. They were not having to fight for either of the programs. I can't stress that enough. I think the delay in getting to see video coupled with us nationals inflation extravaganza led to completely uncalled for panic on the various boards and other places fans converse. These were two fantastic skates. I can't stress that enough. People are behaving as if they had two disastrous skates and that couldn't be further from the truth. I also think you may be reading more into vm's statements in sc's post FD press release. I think Scott was simply saying that skating after a standing ovation was a good trial run for Sochi. I thought Tessa's remark brushing off the twizzle mistake was fine too. It wasn't a horrific error, and it ultimately did nothing to take away from a breathtaking performance, which IMO did blow the roof off of the place. That FD cast a spell.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to keep in mind is the fact that Marina was not there with them this weekend. This was the first time that she hadn't been to nationals with them. Actually, I can't remember the last time, if ever, that she wasn't at a competition with them. VM may be seasoned competitors, but you don't think that didn't throw them for her not to be there? She has been a constant for them the past decade. I don't see how it couldn't have affected them.
It was fine and dandy that things went a particular way in 2010, but I don't put much stock in the fact that things aren't playing out exactly the same. Afterall, they were certainly not perfect at either nationals or 4CC in 2012 and they won worlds that year. Every season is going to play out differently. Yes, I've had concerns about the show and Moirville, but this also isn't 2011. From what I saw this weekend, I have no doubt they'll be ready for Sochi. Everyone else I talked to felt the same.
As a FWIW comment because I've seen this comment come up in several places. I know that the film crew posted a photo from ottawa on instagram, but the film crew did not appear to be following vm any of the times I spotted them, including off ice.
I put stock in the fact that this season is choked with agenda and off-ice agenda has negatively impacted them in the past.
DeleteNot surprised to read that Scott and Tessa claim not to be watching the show. Hit and run and leave the mess for others is how they have always handed the sham. And this way they don't answer questions about it because their official position is they're not watching it until after Sochi.
Aside from the small bobble in the FD, I think they skated well too. The step sequences were amazing & the changes fit the program better.
DeleteI too was in Ottawa to see the FD, and it was absolutely stunning; the effortless speed, quietness of their blades and control of their upper bodies was on another planet from the rest of the field. I wasn't too surprised at the twizzle mistake, they didn't do them cleanly in the warm-up, and the first lift looked a bit tight, only because it looks like they ran out of room (actually, I felt the ice surface size was generally tight, I was really nervous watching some of the pairs and single skaters get too close to the boards).
DeleteThe footwork sequences were stunning, especially the diagonal at the end; they were FLYING across the ice. Loved whatever changes they made to the last cut of music, it sounded grand and epic.
Hated Tessa's costume, too Mahler-like, hoping she wears something similar to the pink dress she wore at the GPF but in a complintary shade of blue to Scott's navy, and hoping she wears her bair in braids again.
@10:29
Delete" (actually, I felt the ice surface size was generally tight, I was really nervous watching some of the pairs and single skaters get too close to the boards)."
Thank you for bringing this up because I also thought something seemed off about the size of the rink. It was like it was too narrow in width and it threw the dimensions off. I also thought some of the singles jumps and pairs lifts were frighteningly close to the boards.
Those step sequences were jaw-dropping. Every edge, every turn was spotlessly clean and the speed and power... Wow. It's not an exaggeration to say they were flying out there, but nothing was sacrificed for that speed nor was any of it faked.
In general, vm's speed and power is nothing short of impressive. It's like they would be in front of me one second and on the far end of the rink the next. And they don't need many strokes to accomplish that either. Maybe 2 or 3. In comparison to vm, everyone else looks like a weakling in the power department. As good as Chan is, he doesn't even match them on power.
I loved Scott's new FD costume, but I'm hoping for a different dress for Tessa in Sochi and for them to go back to the old sd costumes.
I also noticed that they changed some of the transitions from the GPF, in particular after the spin, they added some footwork so that they are no longer at a standstill; just before and after the diagonal ss, and the arm movements coming out the twizzles as well. There is essentially no posing or breathing points in the entire program, just fluid movement throughout the whole FD. A total contrast that to the ridiclious pose and stop fest of D/W's FD.
DeleteSpeaking of D/W's FD, I saw the ridiclious sexy touching just before the spin. Somehow, that was worthy of 60 points in PCS. Outrageous.
Can someone gif the sexy time touchingks? I don't want to watch that garbage program again.
DeleteI keep reading that the step sequences were incredible, but they looked a bit sketchy to me. I was watching live on tv, which I know isn't a substitute for being there live, but... I thought it looked like they were using their upper body or something. This is all relative to perfection, not others, of course.
DeleteWasn't there a competition or two when only Igor attended with V/M? Sometime in their early days as seniors?
Delete2:02 again, maybe it was just a different camera angle than we've had before, but something just didn't look as smooth to me in the step sequences as at the GPF, but I'm having trouble putting my finger on it.
Delete2:02 and 2:32,
DeleteI assure you, live in the arena, those step sequences were perfect. I had my eyes on their blades the whole time and they were smooth as silk and clean and clear as could be.
"I loved Scott's new FD costume, but I'm hoping for a different dress for Tessa in Sochi and for them to go back to the old sd costumes."
DeleteI loved Scott's FD costume too. I have mixed feelings about Tessa's FD dress. I like the way the skirt moves, and I love the ice-blue color and the sequined bodice but I don't like the tube top style on her.
Also, Tessa needs to wear her hair down. The best was the long loose ponytail with some side braids. That elaborate bun is too fussy, it looked like an 80's prom queen.
I liked the old SD costumes better but these aren't bad.
where's oc's comments on vm fd and sd? I don't see it. can you repost. I mean, we get it, they suck the show sucks, can we talk about THE FREE DANCE
ReplyDeleteSomeone sure has their panties in a twist. The free dance has been discussed - see above. You might also want to check out FSU or Fanforum if you just want to talk about the skating. The rest of us here are happy to have a place where we don't have to censor our talk about the show or face the wrath of the moderators.
DeleteGo right ahead, @10:18. We're waiting to hear you talk all about it in your comments. No one is stopping you. Or do you need OC to tell you what to think about the programs and performances because you aren't capable yourself?
DeleteThese latest attempts to shift the topic back to what you want and away from what you don't like reading are almost as funny as when you make your sloppy efforts to randomly inject how much D/W suck into every discussion here, even ones that have nothing necessarily to do with them, their skating, PR, or connections to V/M.
Get better at trying to redirect conversations or stop trying.
Can you read? People *have* been talking about the skating on this post. What's the matter with you?
Delete@10:18 and 4:18, your desperation to control discussion is really starting to show if you're resorting to name calling and complaints about "something new." Get over yourself.
DeleteI'd say breaking down the show's stupidity and saying "it sucks" many times over is appropriate since V/M are seeing fit to hit the public over the head with their bullshit lies every week leading up to Sochi. They may not control how the ISU operates but they sure as hell control the message they want to send about themselves heading into the Games and the one they've chosen to send is asinine, contemptuous, and callow.
But wait, you value more than "the bashing" and "1000 comments saying same thing" right? That's what you screamed about up above? Tell us that again next time we have to read your one millionth post repeating the same tired bitching about Meryl Davis and cultural appropriation or how the D/W ubers on FSU are just soooooo ridic look what they wrote this week OMG lol.
I know, 4:18. Talking about misogyny is such a yawn when it's V/M that are fostering that cultural attitude. But if it's somebody else doing it - OUTRAGE!
Delete^i didnt know v/m were also the editors of their own show.
DeleteWTH is with Marnie McBean making a joke about the girls not eating at Sochi? Some unscripted misogyny just to top it all off!
ReplyDeleteFor all Virtue and Moir's touting of Marnie McBean as this uber mentor, I didn't find her contribution especially notable. She's speaking in generalities anybody can offer. Do athletes who reach the level of a Virtue and Moir really need such elementary aspects of a competition spelled out in such basic terms? They've run simulations of every possible competitive condition and they need to be told you're not going to be able to block out distractions? This seemed like novice level wisdom or lower. I'm really not sure what Tessa was going on about saying that she's prepared to be second but knows she'll be pissed if they are. What the hell can Marnie do about that? For that matter, given the circumstances, what the hell can Scott and Tessa do about where they're placed?
DeleteThe eating thing is just recycling the usual stereotypes about athletes. Many female skaters are (obviously) extremely conscious of their weight and we can see from the fandom that many fans pick over the weight of a female figure skater (while some dump truck looking guys get a pass). However, there are plenty of female figure skaters who work with a nutritionist and eat like healthy athletes, but "Tessa & Scott" seems bent on promoting every unappealing trope about female figure skaters, and, in Tessa's case, female athletes. She may be an Olympic champion but don't worry fans, she's on the rag 24/7.
oc
"I'm really not sure what Tessa was going on about saying that she's prepared to be second but knows she'll be pissed if they are."
DeleteWell, she was dressed like a silver medal at Nationals so I guess Tessa is really, really prepared.
Based on the first two episodes, it seems like the message being sent is that they know everyone is against them and they'll probably lose in Sochi. If that's the narrative they want to highlight going into the Games, all right I guess. But where does the Tessa Virtue who can't deal with any of this and keeps screwing up and the Scott Moir who is so tired of her whiny bullshit he's fleeing to the arms of his fake girlfriend fit in? We can't take the pressure! It's all falling apart around us!
How inspiring.
They can't get out of their own fucking way. They aren't focusing on their actual journey because that would require them to tell the truth, and they won't do that. So they have to invent all of these false or totally exaggerated realities they're trying to combine with actual challenges they're facing from the system and the result is a bipolar, clusterfuck of a show.
Bipolar is a great description of the show. Of course, they're DRIVING the roller coaster. It's bipolar on PURPOSE.
DeleteIsn't it?
You're right, they can't get out of their own way. They keep looking for ways to outsmart themselves.
Yes, I think it's on purpose if we're defining bipolar as trying to drive the roller coaster when in reality the fucking thing runs on a track. The only other direction it can go in is reverse.
DeletePerhaps I am naive - but I am waiting to see when Tessa actually gets a winning edit. Perhaps episode 4?
DeleteThere's no winning edit for Tessa on their show. She's married to Scott and they have a child, but they've chosen not to share that reality. Because everything they do on and off the ice validates their real existence with one another and they know that, they've fabricated a false narrative of asinine lies that centers on persuading viewers that Scott isn't with Tessa, not because he's gay (DEAR LORD NO, WE CAN'T HAVE PEOPLE THINKING THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE) but because he's this super macho, hot-headed, chick magnet. Tessa's somewhat self-effacing nature has been bastardized into one in which getting out of bed in the morning is a traumatic experience and she's desperate for the attention of her partner who finds her cute in a sisterly way but totally exasperating all the same. Basically, in order to cover up the truth, Scott has to be made into an uber masculine caricature to ensure people don't think he's gay and Tessa's reality show existence is to validate that construct. It's grotesque and VERY, VERY revealing of, among other things, an underlying fear of being associated with "gayness" that seems to haunt the PR efforts of Canadian skating (and skaters) in particular (though it's not limited to Canada by any means).
DeleteI think this WAS her winning edit. This is it. She's abandoned by Scott, trots off to TIFF all by herself, VOs that she can't date as long as she has a skating career because as she's living in Canton and London it would be long distance seeing as how there's no men in either place, then Jian (a fortysomething journalist who interviewed her and Scott when Tessa was pregnant) decide to hang, because basically skating journalists and skaters are social friends when not doing the niceties of "interviewing" and it all made her feel great and truly look forward to after her career when she can have a real relationship with someone and not this un-relationship with Scott.
DeleteShe felt a little positive. That's her winning edit.
In a recent "Secrets of Scott Moir" interview, when asked what he wants to do after he's finished competing, Scott said he used to think about law enforcement but then he was arrested and that experience changed his mind.
ReplyDeleteWHY OH WHY would anyone bring that up in a fucking pre-Olympic video interview? Oh you know, I love being a Canadian athlete and representing this great nation. What do I want to do after I compete? Well, for awhile I considered law enforcement but then I was arrested and boy, cops are fucking assholes! But any who, back to how much I love this country and am proud to represent it with class. This interview isn't being shown to school children who consider me a role model, is it? Oh well, this is the REAL ME! The macho guy who is DEFINITELY NOT GAY and is taking two condoms to Sochi and AGAIN, NOT GAY and who needs time away from his neurotic, whiny partner and REALLY GUYS, NOT GAY. I'm off to screw my girlfriend now on the only piece of furniture our fake relationship exists on my reality show - the couch in my model home.
So gay people are never arrested?
DeleteI wonder what he was arrested for? Human trafficking his daughter into the sex trade to get rid of her?
DeleteBigamy? Is he married to Cassandra too?
DeleteYeah, that "I was arrested and I changed my mind about law enforcement" - there you go. That's them. Was it an unjust arrest, or did they just arrest HIM and you don't arrest Scott Moir? Or did they kiss his ass insufficiently?
DeleteIt came across exactly as you describe it 2:44.
It's nice to know Moirville raised this guy to be a champion skater but have no respect for himself as a human being, to be twenty-six years old and inventing an entirely new persona for this program because they don't trust the one he has is manly enough - for THEM. Not us - THEM. It's their insecurities.
Charlie White plays the violin. Can you IMAGINE if Scott played a musical instrument? What a pussy!
5:02pm, people are mocking the Moir mindset. Gay = weak. They can't make it any clearer. Anything Scott does to project that he's "macho" - hot tempered, a guy so virile it takes him three weeks to use up two condoms, his partner mooning over him while a (supposed) lookalike lounges around waiting for his call to coo into the phone, a guy impatient with girl shit like nerves and moods and emotions, a guy SO manly that women's PERSONALITIES alone make him impatient. I mean Marina is expressive and has opinions - that just tries his patience. A guy carefree and rude who leaves people waiting for him but you know, that's how he rolls.
DeleteThis is all commentary on the the attitudes displayed in this reality show, not how things actually are.
Scott also reiterated that he thought Sale & Pelletier CLEARLY won in 2002. I hope he's prepared to believe the same about DW when they win in Sochi because the difference is just as great and quality of skating an level of difficulty and choreographic complexity is supposed to be able to absorb a bobble on a 2 axel landing. There is no comparison between S&P and B&S, anymore than there is between V&T and a full on MTM. I'd be very surprised if Scott has re-watched that competition (2002 pairs) since he was fourteen years old, but if he has and still claims the winners were S&P he's a hypocrite and has no business expecting to be rewarded for what he and Tessa put on the ice.
DeleteTo be fair, while I'm not S&P supporter, they at least had a semblance of edges and flow, and good mechanics on some elements, especially lifts, which puts them in a different stratosphere than D&W. S&P were skating, just not at the level of complexity and quality as B&S. D&W do not skate.
DeleteThere was a huge gulf between B&S and S&P, but that between V&M and D&W is much bigger.
I agree that Scott probably hasn't re-watched that video, and may think differently now.
Honestly Scott's answer for supporting Sale and Pelletier is probably two fold - a) there was some form of corruption and b) he is being patriotic - as a Canadian and especially to Moirville who probably were screaming murder. In that TEB interview with fans this year - Scott mentioned liking Lambiel, Yagudin and Grinkov. And he enjoys Trankov's friendship. He indicated that he looks at the skater and their skills and not which country they represent. I don't think this guy is as close-minded as Moirville.
DeleteBut I agree that BS should have been the sole gold recipient based on the actual skating. And not dissing SP - because they were good but they decided to skate an easier older program for the Olympics...
I think Scott's opinion has probably changed over the years. I can see why as a kid, S&P's athleticism would appeal to him along with the patriotism and media reports he must have seen. I think he had a little bit of that anti-Russian sentiment back in 2010, just a touch, when he said things like "the new system really rewards good skating." Of course, he was not as gauche as Meryl as to say it outright.
DeleteI think his perspective would have changed first and foremost as he matured and was able to appreciate other athletes for their skills, whether it's Buttle, Chan, or Grinkov, and he probably has felt the support that he gets from the international community, and sees what a farce the current judging is, and that Russians are not the only ones that can be held up, under ANY system.
I doubt D&W have matured that way.
2:44 r u insinuating scott's in the closet?
DeleteNo, what's being insinuated is not that he's in the closet. The point is that he's not telling the truth about being married to Tessa and to cover up why he's not with her in their fake narrative, he's painted as the tempermental bad boy of skating who loves pussy like a fat kid loves cake.
Deleteu know he can still be married and still be in the closet
Delete5:28 oh please dont even say that as a joke
Deletescott arrested??? for what?????? said me that is a joke!!!!!
DeleteHe might have been arrested but I doubt he was ever charged with anything. He'd have a hell of a time leaving the country/living in the US if he was. Knowing what I've seen of Scott's "buddies", he was probably just thrown in the drunk tank overnight or something.
Delete^yeah probably. i think it was for something small like drunk fighting
Delete"I think Scott's opinion has probably changed over the years. I can see why as a kid, S&P's athleticism would appeal to him along with the patriotism and media reports he must have seen. I think he had a little bit of that anti-Russian sentiment back in 2010, just a touch, when he said things like "the new system really rewards good skating." Of course, he was not as gauche as Meryl as to say it outright.
DeleteI think his perspective would have changed first and foremost as he matured and was able to appreciate other athletes for their skills, whether it's Buttle, Chan, or Grinkov, and he probably has felt the support that he gets from the international community, and sees what a farce the current judging is, and that Russians are not the only ones that can be held up, under ANY system."
If all this is true, then why would he make that remark in what's obviously a recently shot video? Especially during the year he's going to Russia for the Olympics? It's asinine.
I was going to say the same thing - this is a recent interview and he repeated their medal was fair. Either he hasn't seen it since he was fourteen years old in which case he should shut up until he takes a second look, or he has no business expecting that he and Tessa should be rewarded over DW when he just disregards what B&S did to deserve the gold medal over S&P. If that's what he believes then he shouldn't have won Worlds gold in 2010 because he wobbled on a twizzle and DW were clean. They won the short in 2010, B&S won the Olympic short in 2002. But one bobble in a free or long completely erases everything else you did both in the free and long and in winning the short, right Scott? Get the silver polish out, buddy.
DeleteHe sucks.
how did their FD choreo lift only get a .2 value?
ReplyDeleteChLi 0.20
It's the base value for all choreo lifts. Only GOE is evaluated. They had a 1.3 on the GOE. Max is 1.5.
DeleteDumb comment from FSU D&W thread:
ReplyDelete"I've always thought that this is sorely overlooked when they are praised (or derided for the same things...). They are so light. Meryl often appears as though she could float over the ice and never set a blade to it. "
And that's a good thing?!!?
"And that's a good thing?!!?"
ReplyDeleteFor D/W it is. If they weren't floating, they'd actually have to skate. That's why Meryl makes sure she doesn't eat anything other than 1 lettuce leaf per day.
Meryl is clearly underweight but I believe it's to finesse the dumbed down skating and the gauche mechanics and body lines. IOW, it's an aesthetic decision - a calculation, not an obsession.
DeleteFor me, the most interesting aspect of the Tessa & Scott show is the realization that what I thought were the real Tessa & Scott was nothing more than a brilliant creation by Marina Zoueva. That woman is a freaking genius. She had me thinking V/M were some kind of classy, cultured, kind, perfect human beings. LOL -- they're nothing of the sort. Scott's an idiot, and Tessa...you can decorate your bathroom to look like a Chanel box all you like, honey. You'll never have the sophistication you'd wish you have. No wonder you puke in bathrooms, poor thing.
ReplyDeleteI know - it's like the fandom is constantly trying to reconcile their douche baggery with this lovely, polite package.
DeleteI'm still willing to believe they're smart about the mechanics and technique of their sport but they have to be two of the stupidest people I've ever seen in public life and I'm not exempting the Kardashians. They lack empathetic instincts - that's another thing that startles over and over and over again, because they appear as if they'd be instinctively empathetic, because they're so in tune on the ice, so connected. And they're kind and polite in the physical presence of other people, it appears. But then a huge disconnect appears the second they're not accountable (when it's in person, you're accountable) and they become two of the most callous, intentionally malicious athletes out there as far as how they engage with the public. There just seems to be endless entitlement, resentment and contempt, all underscored by something terribly meanspirited. They're a really unsavory combination of insecurity and arrogance.
oh hell no. if you knew what i knew about marina you would'nt be saying this.
Delete8:09
DeleteWell, this is an anonymous place where all sorts of things "hidden" from the general public are discussed. Why not just say what it is you know?
8:09, are you referring to the rumor that basically everyone on Twitter now knows about?
DeleteWhat rumour?
Deleteyes lol. i do not trust marina after she did not go to nationals with v/m
DeleteI have a question, since that one point's been such a hot topic: on what basis are VM required to be held above Marina's other clients in the matter of competition attendance? What are the facts that make her skipping Canadian nationals a greater slight, objectively, than skipping U.S. nationals would have been for the Shibutanis besides DW?
Delete9:51. if you're a real vm fan, you know about it. it confirms marina is politicking for dw.
Delete"Outside the (Canadian) family, I wouldn’t trust anybody in Sochi." rosie's last line makes me think she knows about it
12:34 Then why don't you enlighten us ? If you know something just spill it.
DeleteJist saw DW's FD and as much as I want to believe that Marina favors DW, their program says otherwise. It's like Marina didn't even try.
And the so called sexy part in the middle was easily the most hilarious thing I've seen in years.
Many people here are huge fans but do not spend time on the other boards or websites so therefore may not know these rumors. This blog is a place where VM fans can openly discuss all issues concerning vm without being shut down by hyper moderators or jumped on by other fans so it seems strange that some here are talking of a mysterious rumor and not spilling the beans
DeleteI don't see what the fuss is about Marina going to US nationals; she had her two top dance teams, D/W and the Shibs, and I believe she had another team there as well.
DeleteHappy that the Shibs made the US team, and love the changes to their FD, but yet again, they got screwed and pushed down to third to make two inferior teams look good (make that one inferior team: D/W. I don't care for Chock/Bates, but they at least skate their programs, unlike D/W).
^^Make that she had her two top US dance teams at US Nationals.
Delete12:34 AM
Delete"If you're a real vm fan..."?
Are you serious? You make the VM fandom sound like a junior high clique. Sorry to disappoint you there are fans who are not part of your secret group. Get over yourself.
A real VM fan? Give me a break. I hate the secrecy that this fandom is prone to, with spreading things around via PM when it's not really a secret.
DeleteI'm not 100% sure where this came from in the first place but the story is that someone at Nationals was talking to Paul MacIntosh and he says that the USFSA is paying Marina's legal bills in the case with her versus Igor, so it would have looked bad if she went with VM instead of her US teams. Because the US is giving Marina a ton of money, she's spending more time with DW - Alma and Carol are very vocally pissed about it and Paul thinks it has to do with padding Marina's resume, she wants to have the first US gold medalists as well.
Basically everyone knows about this but no one can do anything about it because Skate Canada doesn't have the money to woo Marina back over to VM's side but Paul still hopes that VM can win in Sochi regardless.
Why would the USFSA cover Marina's legal bills for the Igor firing? That's between her, Artic Edge and Igor, I don't see why the USFSA should get involved and be seen as taking sides. So is Igor and Novi now in USFSA's bad books now? Doesn't make any sense.
Delete612 here. Thanks 837. I appreciate tthe straight forward answer.
DeletePosters who lord information take the fun away no matter which website is in question. I appreciate that one might not want to out themselves or their sources, but if that's the case don't say anything. I say this as someone who has given specific details over the last year + here regarding vm and some of the things that go on in Windsor/detroit
I doubt they would pay her legal bills but it doesn't sound too odd that USFSA would give her other benefits or simply pay her more.
DeleteI agree that Marina wants to pimp her resume. What would she get for another Canadian gold ? If DW become hold medalists Marina can rightfully claim that she can turn dirt into gold.
VM were always considered natural talents who could win with every coach. DW OTOH are considered her and Igor's work. Without them they would be nothing. How could Marina turn down such an opportunity ?
The American flag most certainly doesn't hang there for nothing.
I'd like for the "real V/M fans" (LOL) to give us an in-depth explanation of what led to the Igor/Marina split and a detailed breakdown of the lawsuit. Since they're so sure Marina is politicking for D/W because they heard that someone heard that someone heard Paul MacIntosh said this about hearing someone else say this or that and he's guessing it might have to do with something, and Scott's mom and aunt are vocally upset - those real fans undoubtedly have all the accurate and true info.
DeleteLOL. LOL. LOL.
I mean the American flag on her house, not at the rink.
Delete"The American flag most certainly doesn't hang there for nothing."
DeleteHang where? At Arctic Edge? Yes, it hangs next to a Canadian flag. In Detroit. Which is the USA, if you weren't aware. But probably you are. Just as aware of what thoughts go through Marina's head on a regular basis.
8:52
DeleteWithout outing anything/anyone is it possible to get a read on how people who know VM feel about the reality show? Do they generally support them in everything even the lies, or are they appalled at all at the mainstreaming of their fake narratives the way the show portrays them?
She lives in the United States. There are several times throughout the year when people hang American flags outside their houses. But some fans are taking this as a sign of Marina supporting D/W over V/M?
DeleteOf course they are. The "real fans," I guess? These conversations crack me up. Thanks for the laugh.
I saw Canadian nationals live and I actually think WP and PI are clearly superior to DW. More interestingly, some of the lower-ranked teams are far better dancers than DW, and some even better skaters. There was a team that finished close to last that were far superior dancers to DW. The lack of dancing and true skating in DW's skating has never been more obvious.
ReplyDeleteI too was in Ottawa to see the FD live, and I too think W/P and P/I are vastly superior to D/W. Loved W/P's tango, but P/I really stood out for me; I think they are going to rise quickly in the world rankings in the same way V/M did. They are an absolutely stunning team to watch.
DeleteLoved G/P's FD as well, but they are no match for P/I. Their footwork sequences were painfully slow in comparison.
Re the rumor - there are fans who dislike Marina and they view every situation with confirmation bias.
ReplyDeleteALL of the evidence about Scott and Tessa is they are hard asses. Marina wouldn't fuck with them. Nobody would fuck with them. To paint them as somehow manipulated or shortchanged by Marina, getting the butt end of the stick, is pathetic.
The reality show is proactively leading fans in the wrong direction. CLEARLY Scott and Tessa and their people have monitored the message boards, picked up on the stupidest, most inane theories, and played to those theories so as to deliberately lead the public in exactly the wrong direction, exactly opposite the truth of their lives. The theme of the reality show can be lifted from the fan fic of the biggest idiots in fandom. Oh poor re-virginized Tessa. Oh man's man player Scott. Oh dear, is Marina paying more attention to Davis White?
It's obvious bullshit. It's just one more way they humiliate fans. Take the theories put forward by the fandom and go - oh, you now what - it's all true! You nailed it! Tessa DOES completely lack confidence sexually and as a skater! Scott IS driven by testesosterone and doesn't see Tessa "that way". Things ARE barely civil at Arctic Edge - Marina seems to favor the Americans! Please, tell us more crap you made up in your head so we can pretend it's true and get you all as far away from us as possible while creating fame for our family and friends, making money off you, and making fools of you. Quick, tell us more embarrassing theories we can pretend are true!
Paul MacIntosh is their former coach. I don't know if he said it or didn't say it, but many of their friends/associates in Ontario are possessive of Scott and Tessa and don't like them belonging to outsiders, and America and Marina are outsiders.
The deciders are Scott and Tessa. Marina doesn't control them - at all. If anything, the reverse. Look at her playing into the pre-determined stereotype of her - the woman hauling her fluffy dog around, butchering English cutely left and right, respected and appreciated but also taxes the patience because she's a woman.
Scott and Tessa are using the fans to manipulate the fans away from the truth.
Furthermore, there is no such thing as an "edit" in the way some comments pretend - taking pieces of film and manipulating it to create a certain impression out of Scott and Tessa's say so. First of all, if you believe Scott and Tessa's control of the image/message wasn't agreed upon before filming started, I have a bridge with blocked access lanes to sell you. They are LYING. They claim this is an unscripted reality show where at least twice the interiors required multiple camera set-ups, not to mention re-takes, and everything out of Scott and Tessa's mouths is scripted. Most of the "I suck" and "Can't wait to grease my weasel!" conversation is what Scott and Tessa SAY in their talking heads. THEY are creating the framework.
Reality shows can of course be edited, but the sort of excuse-making here is the sort of thing some total assholes on their own reality show use to let themselves off the hook for the crap they pull, and it's just as bogus. They use the excuse so they can keep doing it and not be accountable.
YES. Scott and Tessa are responsible for their own edits. How they're coming across is strategic and intentional. Just as in the facebooks, it's revolting how this reality show panders to fan fic, using flattery to humiliate fans.
"First of all, if you believe Scott and Tessa's control of the image/message wasn't agreed upon before filming started, I have a bridge with blocked access lanes to sell you."
DeleteBahahaha. For the motherfucking win.
I wish more fans would understand that when it comes to Moirvillle, using competition fan gossiping sessions to spread around more of their fake bullshit is par for the course with them. They don't parade fake girlfriends around in concourses for no reason, just as they don't make it known they're upset/happy/worried about this or that without the clear understanding that it will be spread around the arena and telephone-gamed out to the message boards.
When you wrote that FSU ought to be given co-writing credits for the reality show you were right on the money. Almost the entire script has been lifted from the conversations of worried/misled fans who desperately want to come up with explanations for why V/M are not regularly defeating D/W - who is to blame? Someone is to blame, right? Someone we can see? Someone we know? Same with V/M's "platonic" relationship. Fans have spent years twisting up reality in their heads in order to try and explain how V/M function as a pair based on the lies they've spouted, and fans don't want to NOT believe them, so they go "oh, okay. It must work like this, then!" Bingo, V/M pick it up and turn it into fodder for their show.
It amazes me how easily the public can be manipulated by photographs/video/television shows nowadays. It's clear that even some of the fans here who know the truth about V/M's real status sometimes waver because of what they're being shown. That's the goal. Don't fall for it. Almost nothing on that reality show is true. Some of it is based in truth, but it's so exaggerated/modified/bastardized that it barely resembles the actual reality. Meryl Davis, Charlie White, Marina Zueva? All of them are in on the false narrative and what the public is being shown on the show. Don't let that fool you.
Same with DiManno. Suddenly she's changed her mind about V/M's results over the past few seasons vis-a-vis D/W and is questioning whether the fix is in? Never take her and what she writes at face value. She's in the media and we all know how much of a role they also play in fan manipulation.
DiManno also TWICE in her last article wrote they were a couple on the ice but not off the ice (drat!) - the drat is a barb at us, what we're meant to be thinking. She is obviously lying for them and embedding that sort of remark - oh the fans wish so much VM were a couple it has to be denied in everything written about them - shows her groupie ass.
ReplyDeleteMoirville is EXTREMELY cynical. And have that winning combination of insecurity, belligerance and arrogance that spells "small time" everywhere. They are smarter than you. They're smarter than everybody. Nobody can tell them anything, not about figure skating and, I think, to them, "fans" are part of figure skating and so the public can be easily understood. It makes them media experts, public relations experts, social media experts - all because they've been in skating for years and know everything.
They do remind me a lot of a defensive driving course where it's pointed out that for every drunk driver that gets home there's 40 people who helped him or her get home - stayed out of the way, slowed down, waited until he/her moved on. But of course the drunk driver just thinks they can drive drunk great. They think it's them. Fans enable them. The unwritten rules enable. them. The figure skating media (which has a groupie mentality and can thrive that way because figure skating doesn't get any informed mainstream coverage) enables them. People who like Scott and Tessa even if they think Scott and Tessa are also nutjobs enable them. The skating enables them - if they weren't as talented they wouldn't get away with their garbage either.
Why would Rosie know anything about their relationship status ? I don't think VM take their kid to media gatherings and at competition she'll be with the other Moirs. Skaters might keep quiet but a journalist would publish such a story. To discover such a scandal would be his ticket out of the figure skating niche and offer them better job opportunities.
DeleteJournalists from bigger sports might hold back stories to keep the athletes trust in exchange for other stories but this is figure skating we're talking about. Most journalists don't care about the sport and would gladly take every opportunity to get away from it.
And VM don't even offer something in return. No journalist would have a reason to play along with their games.
@12:44, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. You've got it all backward. The figure skating media and the skaters (and feds) work together. A large part of their function is to go along with the games because the media facilitates them.
DeleteI don't know where the public gets the idea that the media serves as watchdogs of celebrities/athletes. Maybe from watching too many documentaries about Woodward and Bernstein? The media is a not a "check" on athletes and celebs. It is the other way around. And yes, in a gossip-fueled sport, access is everything, no matter how niche the sport might be. In fact, the more niche, the more access matters to the small few who are sent to cover it.
Rosie has plenty of other opportunities. She's not stuck in figure skating and unable to move up in the world until she breaks something "big."
"Rosie has plenty of other opportunities. She's not stuck in figure skating and unable to move up in the world until she breaks something "big.""
DeleteThis. Figure skating "journalism" is one of the cushiest jobs out there. You get to fly to international locations, spend the week soap-opera gossiping, and then you can make up whatever you want and call it reporting. If she had "a better job opportunity" that would mean Rosie would have to actually work -- or be called out by fellow reporters on her sloppy style and absolute lack of knowledge. If I were Rosie, there's no way I'd give up a job sipping champagne in Nice for a real journalist job.
There's also such a thing as a handful of few legitimate skating journalists out there, and they have their own legitimate reasons for also wanting continued access and trust from the people they're covering. Sports at this level is not a field that makes it easy for its reporters to take on investigative duties even if they'd like to -- feds do a lot to control who gets to talk with whom and cover what event.
DeleteThere's also a groupie mentality and star fucking even among some legit journalists. We've seen that happen in areas outside sports - in politics. In the military. A lot of journalists just preen and glow under the attention and flattery from their supposed subjects. A lot end up politicking for their subjects in the articles they write.
DeleteLet me also understand what is being claimed about Marina.
ReplyDeleteSo, Paul MacIntosh, and Carol and Alma, all believe that Marina Zoueva, an individual coach, is responsible for the ISU's decision to score Davis White over VM and set it up so VM can never win against Davis White. That's all MARINA. It's not the USFSA, it's not the ISU, and if politics are involved at ALL, it certainly isn't in the least a consequence of the hubristic, arrogant, entitled, self-involved, blazing, toxic tire fire Virtue and Moir have made of their p.r. in and out of the sport since winning in Vancouver while struggling to put two clean programs together in any given competition.
Nope nope and NOPE. It's all Marina.
NO other coach has been able to purely politik their skater to a win over a vastly superior team except for - oh wait, it was Canada in 2002 with a big boost from the US media, and they actually had to end run around the ISU to get that done.
The power of the woman! It's all her. I hope she sets up a franchise and teaches her methods to other coaches.
If Moirvile is looking to scapegoat an INDIVIDUAL they are every bit as vile as they've shown themselves to be for years. They don't want to rock the patronage boat, they don't want to make waves with the ISU or Skate Canada because they do business with both. But their boy and girl look very likely to lose, in large part becasue of some of the off-ice decisions Virtue and Moir have made - one of which, the reality show, directly profits Moirville and Alma and Carol.
So of COURSE they're going to point fingers everywhere else. They take their cue from the message boards and scream "Marina!"
It's not the Ilderton swamp and this reality show gross-out that has occupied most of the run up to Canadian Nationals.
Can't be because Moirville benefits from that. It's not Virtue and Moir's attitudes over the past number of years, where the more belligerant they sound the less likely they are to deliver and the more likely it is they're lying. It's not their recent habit of being sloppy in the clutch (GPF excepted). It's Marina.
It's Canadians. It's not an international competition. Scott and Tessa are skating among their OWN. And Alma and Carol were supposedly pissed about WHAT? That Marina Zoueva wasn't there to politik with Canadian judges at a Canadian competition? Tessa overshot her skating a couple of times in the program because of Marina? Wait - but when Marina HAS been there VM have also been sloppy.
This is bullshit. Marina isn't down in the muck with them so she's the one they're going to try to throw under the bus for their own grasping, avaricious, self-serving, hubristic behavior. IF indeed this is the b.s. Moirville is spreading around- I'm not sure I trust the game of "telephone" on fan boards.
IF it's true that the Moirs are screaming and the gossip was flying about Marina, that is the best defense is a good offense, plain and simple. They'll try to throw Marina under the bus and they'll LOSE.
ReplyDeleteThis is on them. It's on Scott and Tessa. They made the stunningly arrogant, stupid decision to run a reality show series concurrent with Scott and Tessa's GP run, and to embed a shitload of sham into it as well. They didn't look at last season's struggles, see some disconcerting signs and think - well, maybe we better not pile too much agenda onto the run up to Sochi. OH MY GOD. GOD FORBID they acknowledge reality, let alone adjust to it. They're Moirville!
They went ahead and green-lighted the reality show because they are constantly gorging themselves at the Scott and Tessa trough and this was their last bacchanalia.
It is absolutely insane how many fans can willfully ignore what VM have done this year, last year, the year before, to have it all on their terms and then expect it not to impact either their skating or the politics. Such a political sport and nobody inside the sport is going to have a negative reaction to their games and their attitude? And when it DID impact their skating nobody is going to take advantage, use it against them? It's all going to operate purely by the rules?
So of course, now they see the writing on the wall, they know it's likely to be seen as blowing up in their face, so they're going to take the cure from fans (because that's their meat and drink) and blame Marina. It doesn't have to make sense. They'll just pander.
In the past - as recently as before this season - I'd have sworn neither Scott nor Tessa would sell out Marina as a way to wriggle out of their own culpability for their own problems leading up to Sochi and possibly AT Sochi. I don't see them throwing her under a bus in this reality show so much as pandering to the gossip on the web, with Marina's full cooperation. And Scott's voice getting choked up when he talked of Marina pushing them for ten years is revealing of his true respect and his true feelings about his coach.
BUT, there is nothing they won't betray. Nothing they won't sell out. Nothing they won't reverse on if there's no longer anything in it for them (they won't need her coaching after Sochi), so I know longer expect them to honor what she's done for them over the past ten years once Sochi is over. If even Scott and Tessa themselves need to scapegoat her for their own incredible arrogance and its deletrious impact on their resume, they'll go there. I have no doubt. Everything else has been under the bus (to the point where I actually grimaced but semi lol'd at the dark remark that Scott's going to be arrested for getting rid of his daugther).
So you don't think it's the least bit plausible that Marina has been actively politicking for DW over VM and it involves money exchanging hands? I think there is probably some truth in there somewhere.
DeleteYou think there's some truth in there somewhere, based on what, 1:09?
DeleteI ask because usually the people who buy into the gossip about her already dislike her for other (usually irrational) reasons. Not that I'm accusing you of being one of them, but I'm asking if you can provide a reason that isn't coming from an "I hate her!" basis to begin with.
The Moirs and V/M leave trails of fuckery that are visible to blind men. No such thing exists with Marina. Only suspicions borne of anger over results.
Marina has made some questionable statements to the media about VM, most notably with Tessa around Worlds last year, when she first blamed Tessa's twizzle error on the dress and then basically stated she was having problems mentally since her injury at Four Continents. I'm not one of those people who has been raging over Marina but I also don't think she's entirely innocent in all of this. If her palms are being greased even slightly by the US and/or Davis&White's families combined with the added status of being the coach of both the first Canadian gold medalists AND US gold medalists, I think she might be willing to put in a good word here and there for Meryl and Charlie.
DeleteI get where you and OC are coming from because I also completely agree that their PR fuckery has also hugely contributed to the problem at hand and pinning this on Marina would be very convenient.
"Marina has made some questionable statements to the media about VM, most notably with Tessa around Worlds last year, when she first blamed Tessa's twizzle error on the dress and then basically stated she was having problems mentally since her injury at Four Continents. "
Delete*rolls eyes* Tessa has filmed a fucking reality show that focuses on how mentally unstable she is and has made sure it airs just before she gets judged at the Olympics. Marina's statements are a drop in the bucket compared to the crap Tessa herself has put out there about herself.
My point isn't what Tessa and Scott are doing with the show (which is fanFUCKINGtastic disaster) but that their coach has NO BUSINESS making statements about their skaters like that. Can you see Marina saying anything similar about Meryl or Charlie?
DeleteIt's obvious that some people will think Marina is a saint until the bitter end but I don't agree.
I'm actually dubious about Moirville being behind this one. This incident wreaks of fan agenda to me. The source of all of this seems to be a vm tumblr blog that no one is naming.
DeleteOnline fandom is largely a popularity contest riddled with its own politics. One way of being popular and powerful and getting attention is to have some sort of insider information.
To me, there are just too many holes and WTF's to come even from Moirville.
What I found amusing was the willingness of some who steadfastly refuse to consider that oc is telling the truth about vm were immediately willing to believe this rumor.
"My point isn't what Tessa and Scott are doing with the show (which is fanFUCKINGtastic disaster) but that their coach has NO BUSINESS making statements about their skaters like that. "
DeleteWhy not? It's not a lie. Besides, Tessa herself is extremely comfortable with the world knowing about her mental state -- so comfortable that she herself is making sure everyone knows it. I'm not saying Marina is a saint, but seriously -- how do you know Tessa herself isn't saying stuff like that about herself to judges? She comes off as stupid and arrogant enough to do so.
Okay, so who here can tell me why Tessa, who used speak out about hiding her condition pre-Vancouver because the judges will use that against her is now more than okay having it known that she's a whining, blubbering, puking mess? Are they intentionally trying to sabotage their chances in Sochi?
Deletebut why? why are VM self-sabotaging? whats the point? I don't see why they would sell this image. are they getting bad advice or are just stupid? the fan fantasy you claim is true would guarantee them money and success. if they are a couple and are honest about it, they would have gotten much more attn. and fame. this sham works against their interests, and you claim they are control freaks pushing this message, why? why would they do something so against their interests and instincts? it makes no sense.
DeleteIt's not a fan fantasy no matter how much you want to call it that. V/M are married with a child.
Delete"are they getting bad advice or are just stupid?"
Yes and yes.
"My point isn't what Tessa and Scott are doing with the show (which is fanFUCKINGtastic disaster) but that their coach has NO BUSINESS making statements about their skaters like that. Can you see Marina saying anything similar about Meryl or Charlie?'
DeleteMy GOD could you miss the point any more?
WHY do you think she'd never say such a thing about Meryl and Charlie. WHY?
THINK.
Here, I'll say it: Because Meryl and Charlie aren't FUCKING RETARDED.
The PROBLEM is Scott and Tessa, NOT Marina. Jesus. How much more obvious does it have to get? They are BEGGING us to see it.
Where on this planet did you get the idea that Tessa and Scott have one fucking brain in their head to share between the two of them?
I am AMAZED that you watch this reality show, which does nothing but reiterate poor pathetic loser low self-esteem no confidence-having, getting worse, pitiful Tessa, and still think Marina, totally randomly, came out with that remark about Tessa last year ALL ON HER OWN.
It just so happens to synch up with how Tessa has decided to present herself going back prior to last season's worlds, but it's Marina. She's not carrying water for them. She's not reinforcing their spin. NOPE. ALL ON HER OWN. The fact that this reality show harps on this about Tessa and beats it into the ground is pure COINCIDENCE.
WAKE UP.
What the hell is the common denominator in all this nonstop fuckery? MARINA? NO. Whose fault is it all? MARINA? NO.
TESSA AND SCOTT.
"Where on this planet did you get the idea that Tessa and Scott have one fucking brain in their head to share between the two of them? "
DeleteI guess they only have one when it comes to staying with Marina and training alongside D&W.
"I am AMAZED that you watch this reality show, which does nothing but reiterate poor pathetic loser low self-esteem no confidence-having, getting worse, pitiful Tessa, and still think Marina, totally randomly, came out with that remark about Tessa last year ALL ON HER OWN. "
It doesn't matter how or why she came up with it. She shouldn't have said it, even if it was borne out of Tessa's own behavior. Coaches are supposed to instill confidence, not blab about their pupil's confidence problems - no matter what, even if the skater is doing things as stupidly as Tessa and Scott do. If Marina saw that lacking confidence (or pretending to lack confidence because of sham stuff) was an issue, the right thing to do is NOT to make a blase comment about it to the press DURING A COMPETITION.
You have got to be kidding me, 5:43. Tessa is SHOUTING TO THE ROOFTOPS via a reality show airing in prime time all over Canada, weeks before the Olympics, that she is a self-esteem lacking, nervous loser. Before that, she was making the same insinuations in the book.
DeleteMarina makes a comment about Tessa not believing her legs were okay, even though she'd been told by her doctors they were, and it's THE MOST UNPROFESSIONAL THING IN THE WORLD OH MY GOD SHE'S RUINED THEIR CHANCES AT GOLD.
Here are two scenarios, you tell me which is the more egregious:
1. V/M attend a competition knowing they will (or probably won't) skate both segments but all of their people spam the internet with messages ensuring the public that they'll skate two programs. Two! Not one. TWO! Then they go and skate their FD in a closed session before judges and a select number of press, where it's reported they don't skate it fully but in parts. Then they skate the first segment of the competition and during the second, bail out of a lift and announce they're pulling out of the competition due to an injury. Marina makes no public comments about the competition whatsoever.
2. V/M skate an SD performance at Worlds where Tessa falters on the twizzles. Afterwards, Marina says that doctors told Tessa that her legs were fine but it's possible she might have still been a bit tentative out there, which might have led to the mistake.
Which scenario hurts V/M more in the minds of the judges, if at all? What's more unprofessional, if at all?
Marina is working with V/M every step of the way. She isn't sniping them behind their backs or killing their chances at winning gold by making comments to the press. They pay HER. She works for them.
Your scenario assumes that 2011 was faked. Is there a source for the story about them skating the FD in a closed session? I do believe Tessa had a baby, but nobody can mind read that she didn't intend to finish the FD (and this story about skating it in a closed session, if true, demonstrates that she was physically capable of it). Marina making no public comments about it is the appropriate thing to do, if she had nothing positive to say. She doesn't get brownie points for that.
DeleteIn scenario number two, Marina actually said what she said, so fans are free to opine on that. The first scenario is merely an undocumented assumption.
@6:27, forget the closed session part of that scenario. I seem to recall reading that in a tweet or something but I have no idea where to find that now so let's throw that out of the argument.
DeleteI'm not saying Marina should get brownie points for not saying anything. My larger point is that even IF V/M intended to skate both programs in Tapei, they did not. They pulled out with an injury. There's no telling if Marina wanted to say something or not, but she didn't make any public comments. They were all handled by Mike Slipchuk. It's the pulling out of a program with an injury, so soon after giving birth, that is damning. Not Slipchuk's comments or anyone else's. It's the action. They pulled out for what they said at first was a quad injury that was later changed to Tessa feeling tightness in her pelvis (naturally). It was pulling out of the FD that fit with the "they're the walking wounded" thesis.
In her comments from London Worlds, Marina said that Tessa had been told she was fine and needed to believe it, but that she might have let some mental doubt creep in on the ice for a moment. Fans went berserk AT THAT. How did Marina's comments reinforce the "walking wounded" thesis? They did not.
12:44 that's ridiculous. Rosie was in Vancouver. She's known at least since then. And "journalists" all over Canada know and haven't published the story. They don't want to be put in access Siberia. That's how it works.
ReplyDeleteChanging topics a bit, Miss CosSONDRA has a new profile picture and appears to no longer like "Scott Moir". Trouble in paradise?
ReplyDeleteIf they want to keep the fans guessing they aren't doing it very well because her instagram picture is still featuring Scott .
Delete4:43, Yep. And her facebook photos that are public still feature Scott-the-boyfriend. New couple-profile coming soon.
DeleteMarina SAYS WHAT SCOTT AND TESSA WANT HER TO SAY. What she said was a freaking advertisement for their reality show. That's words they put in her mouth.
ReplyDelete2pm - and other people can use Marina as a garbage dump upon which to offload all of their "issues" with VM, perceived and made up, but enough already. NO coach in my experience has had fans expecting the fucking coach to be responsible for everything the skaters do OFF ice, and I don't remember any coach EVER, ANYWHERE with talented skaters this determined to sabotage themselves as VM have been where drugs have not been involved.
With the degree of blame piled upon Marina, much of it for shit that's NOT HER JOB, what we obviously have are people wanting to feel how they want to feel about Scott and Tessa, but they can't if they hold Scott and Tessa responsible, so blame Marina. For EVERYTHING.
Except, you know, great skating and gorgeous programs - which IS her job. That's to other people's credit, right?
If these stories are going around, it's Scott and Tessa hangers on are making a grab to control the narrative and let themselves off the hook for being a bunch of insatiable, grasping leaches and for teaching Scott and Tessa that they can never say no.
"Marina SAYS WHAT SCOTT AND TESSA WANT HER TO SAY. What she said was a freaking advertisement for their reality show. That's words they put in her mouth."
DeleteLOL.
I don't believe this latest rumor and yes, you and other commenters are correct that some people are jumping on this rumor because they already hate Marina. Anyone can fall prey to confirmation bias, including the pro-Marina crowd.
So Tessa had a mistake on a twizzle, ran up to Marina, and told Marina she should say it's because of confidence problems, which Tessa had never discussed before, because Tessa knew she would be making a reality show next fall featuring confidence issues? Riiiiiight.
C'mon, that sounds at least as stupid as some of the anti-Marina stuff on here.
(And about that quote, as far as I'm concerned, it's like when a girl says she is ugly or fat - she can say it, but it's totally inappropriate for someone else to give an interview saying she's ugly and fat).
"2pm - and other people can use Marina as a garbage dump upon which to offload all of their "issues" with VM, perceived and made up, but enough already. NO coach in my experience has had fans expecting the fucking coach to be responsible for everything the skaters do OFF ice, and I don't remember any coach EVER, ANYWHERE with talented skaters this determined to sabotage themselves as VM have been where drugs have not been involved.
With the degree of blame piled upon Marina, much of it for shit that's NOT HER JOB, what we obviously have are people wanting to feel how they want to feel about Scott and Tessa, but they can't if they hold Scott and Tessa responsible, so blame Marina. For EVERYTHING."
I've never seen anyone say Marina is responsible for everything, especially off-ice. I have never seen a single person ever say Marina has anything to do with the sham or how V&M market themselves.
Some people might be OTT in their Marina hate, fine.
But is it REALLY stretching the bounds of credulity for someone to think, hm, Marina's bread is mostly buttered by American skaters/USFS, and it would be be a big deal for her to coach the first ice dance OGM for America (turning dirt into gold, as someone said), and with the sport being inherently political, that perhaps staying with Marina is damaging V&M politically? Especially when other skaters of the past have admitted they left their coach because they thought their coach wanted their competitors to win (Grishuk/Platov on leaving Linichuk) or their coach was giving their rivals too much attention (Denkova/Staviski on leaving Gorshkov)? When people are wondering if Mirai would have been left off the team if she had Frank coaching her and politcking for her?
Why is the opinion that Marina may be a cog in the wheel of many unfortunate circumstances for V/M (along with their own bad decisions, USFS politics, Skate Canada complacency) so disrespected around here? Is it just a reaction to a few diligent anti-Marina trolls?
"Except, you know, great skating and gorgeous programs - which IS her job. That's to other people's credit, right?"
Mainly Virtue and Moir. Their skating and programs under Marina look completely different from any of Marina's other dancers. Note, I didn't say Marina has done nothing for them, but she isn't the only person who deserves credit for their success, and we'll never know if it would have been worse, equally good, or better with another coach.
The crux of is that you seem to believe that Marina's work is the best that they can get, and that she is not damaging them politically because it is not part of her job description. Some of us believe that she is damaging them politically (even inadvertently, in cases like Nationals where she is forced to choose), and that as good as her work is, other coaches could do just as well while helping politically, since V&M have such a rare talent and work ethic.
The bottom line is what TESSA AND SCOTT think. The idea that Tessa and Scott are victimized by her and are unable to do much about it is a fan fantasy that infantalizes Tessa and Scott. The fans who obsess over wanting Marina out of the picture are partonizing Tessa and Scott every bit as much as Tessa and Scott patronize the fans. That's the one thing the fans cannot explain - their belief that Tessa and Scott have no agency in this. Like it or not TESSA AND SCOTT thoroughly disagree with you people and they do it while AWARE - and they have a hell of a lot more awareness than you do when it comes to what Marina's doing.
DeleteThere is no basis whatsoever to impugn Marina and claim she must be bribed. NONE.
The reality show is simply amplifying the message that is already out there and THAT is obviously what the blog meant when it said Marina is doing what Tessa and Scott WANT. Tessa has been plucking that string for over a year. Marina does not go off reservation.
There is no evidence WHATSOEVER, except stuff people have made up in their heads, that she spoke out of turn or against their wishes, about this or about anything.
This stuff about coaches being huge in what's going on politically right now is a farce. Only Marina has these magical powers.
Not only do I think Marina's work is the best they can do, I think it's the best almost anyone can do, because she's the best ice dance choreographer in the game, full stop.
Tessa's been playing the "I struggle with confidence, get really nervous, and worry I'm not good enough" game since her and Scott's book came out right after the Olympics. But Marina makes a much less innocuous comment about Tessa's confidence and people want her head on a stake. It's okay when Tessa rides that horse til it's dead, but if Marina talks about the confidence of her skater in one interview it's unprofessional and proof she's out to ruin her team.
DeleteGot it.
2:05 - save yourself the trouble or you're going to be spending the next two years fruitlessly trying to take the temperature of the facebook of Scott's fake girlfriend and getting nowhere. This happened ALL the time with Jessica. Oh - her status changed! Oh, her fb was offline for a day! Oh, she's hidden those albums!
ReplyDeleteDon't waste your time. With the sham, past is precedent and any type of fallow period is prelude to upping the ante and getting worse. Eyes peeled for a sex tape.
Maybe they've noticed fans become inured to it all, so they back off in hopes fans will start to HOPE so the next move has more impact. But spare yourself.
At this point, a sex tape is the only possible way that they can up the ante. The way I see it, there's nothing wrong with being hopeful. (Not for a sex tape, because gross)
Delete"Don't waste your time. With the sham, past is precedent and any type of fallow period is prelude to upping the ante and getting worse. Eyes peeled for a sex tape.
DeleteMaybe they've noticed fans become inured to it all, so they back off in hopes fans will start to HOPE so the next move has more impact. But spare yourself."
Bwahahaha.
When I read 2:05 this was exactly what I thought. Never think any facebook/social media sham move means anything except MORE is coming.
In fact, I'm expecting something very akin to a sex tape from the GP's attended by Cassandra. Especially Paris. What other freaking reason is there to feature the GF accompanying Scott to what amounts to HIS JOB except that hot Scott needs some release that poor virginal Tessa won't/can't provide? Just watch. Bedroom scenes.
And I wanted to agree with all the comments made upthread about Tessa and Scott's control over this reality series.
I can't get out of my mind how this blog and fan discussions about Jessica/sham caused them to shut down the facebook sites that had been in the business of regularly churning out a boatload of sham material. I have a very strong suspicion they are the ones who shopped around this type of show with the primary agenda of publicizing their sham. The producers may have originally thought it was a "skating documentary" but it looks like VM have made Cassandra part of the contract -- every episode must include Scott and the gf in some sort of couple-scene.
Can't you just see VM whining to the producers -- "Oh we're so misunderstood by our fans. If we could only make sure they understand HOW MUCH we're not a couple...you can help us!" And of course the W Network panders to that kind of story/audience. A match made in heaven.
Tessa and Scott have been looking for excuses and opportunities to up the ante. They got what they wanted. If the fallout turns out to be a lot more expensive than they bargained for (it contributes to the negative politics in their skating) they have only themselves to blame.
Please no sex tape. It'll be worse than the bad-on-purpose sex we see on HBO's girls.
DeleteAn engagement would rile up the fanbase much more than a sex tape, with the added benefit that Scott wouldn't actually have to fuck Cassandra. That would be a huge move in this game of chicken, with some fans fretting whether he'd actually go through with it and if he's really divorced from Tessa.
DeleteAlthough the media fully cooperates with the scapegoating of fans for VM's bullshit, that is an awful LOT of bullshit in this reality show. An awful lot.
Delete"In fact, I'm expecting something very akin to a sex tape from the GP's attended by Cassandra. Especially Paris. What other freaking reason is there to feature the GF accompanying Scott to what amounts to HIS JOB except that hot Scott needs some release that poor virginal Tessa won't/can't provide? Just watch. Bedroom scenes."
DeleteYes!!! Can't wait to see Cassandra fuck Scott with a strap-on.
I just wanted to add something else about giving fsu scriptwriter credit for the reality show, and how the whole thing panders to the fantasies fans have made up to explain Scott and Tessa's relationship/behavior and their coaching situation, since reality seems beyond their imagination.
ReplyDeleteDo we realize how SMALL an audience that is? That they're pandering to what amounts to DOZENS of people, even fewer than that really active in conversation about VM?
And how pitiful that is as an excuse?
are we ever going to get your thoughts on the revised FD????
Delete2:52 p.m - Are you a simpleton?? Scroll up and you will see OC's commentary on both the SD AND THE FD.
Delete"Are you a simpleton??"
DeleteI think that's a given at this point.
"612 here. Thanks 837. I appreciate tthe straight forward answer.
ReplyDeletePosters who lord information take the fun away no matter which website is in question. I appreciate that one might not want to out themselves or their sources, but if that's the case don't say anything."
LOL, sorta kinda like this blog refusing to reveal how it knows that Scott and Tessa are married and have a child.
WRONG, but nice try. This blog isn't the only one who knows the truth about V/M's real status.
DeleteNo one is lording information over others. V/M are married with a child. That is fact. You have been told that fact, over and over again. What you want is for people to give you the dirt on how they know it, and if they won't share that part with you - a stranger on the internet - you've decided that it's all rumour and innuendo. Congratulations. You are welcome to think that. You're wrong, but are free to bask in your ignorance. Do it gleefully! Laugh it up! It won't change reality. It also won't change the fact that you're the one who is actually being played and is being laughed at by Moirs and their ilk.
This blog has never said "I know something about V/M you don't know, but it's big. SO BIG! But I'm not telling you. But boy, if you knew what I know about them, WOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND." Nope. That's what the person spreading the Marina "rumour" was doing up above.