I saw a few replies in the Question of The Day for Jan. 16th asking about the Olympics where people replied that they like figure skating.
Thought I'd open a topic to discuss skating.
I've been a fan since the Harding/Kerrigan "whack heard round the world". I used to watch every single thing on tv and we still go to as many live events that come to Philly as we can. But, my interest has been slacking off because of a few things:
1) poor tv coverage (due to a dying interest in the sport)
2) I hate the new judging system
3) The faces/names I started loving the sport with are all retiring and moving on to other things in their lives
I've attended Stars On Ice every year since 1995....the show is not coming to Philadelphia this year so I'm pretty disappointed about that. I can understand why, though. It went from the show being sold out to the lower bowl of the Wachovia Center not even being 1/2 full. I also attended the Champions on Ice Show every year since 1995 until it's demise in, I think, 2007.
I also attended a pro-am event in 1995. Parts of the 1998 US Nationals in Philadelphia. Shows I've seen besides SOI and COI are: Scott Hamilton & Friends, Kristy Yamaguchi's Salute to American Music, Country on Ice and Fashion on Ice.
My favorite skaters still skating are Kurt Browning, Katia Gordeeva, Ilia Kulik, John Zimmerman.
There are many others I enjoy, but many of them have retired...like Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini.
It'd be a pretty long list if I listed all the skaters I especially enjoy, but I appreciate the work they all put into their sport. There are a few I just absolutely do not like, though.
I prefer the professional skaters over the eligible skaters, especially since this new scoring system went into effect. The eligibles who are getting ready to retire from Olympic eligiblility need to carve out a niche for themselves the way Scott Hamilton helped create the Stars On Ice show. There is little for the Pro's to participate in to showcase their talent and skills.
I've shaken hands with Kristy Yamaguchi, Jamie Sale, Elena Bereznyaya and Anton Sikhurlidze and Alexei Yagudin.
Even though I've attended some of the "skaters with musical guests" shows, I do not like watching them on tv because of the splitting back & forth between the musical guest and the skater. There is nothing worse than the cameras moving away from Kurt Browning doing his footwork!
Here's one of the best pictures I ever took at an ice shows, Sasha Cohen, one of my personal favorite skaters:
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