# Figure-skating fans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156 "2007-10-26T20:14:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/1 "2007-10-26T20:14:29Z")
After disappearing from broadcast TV for the last couple years, NBC has picked up the option to carry various ISU competitions – starting with the ladies’ competition at Skate America, live, on Sunday afternoon. Woo hoo! twicks, who doesn’t have cable ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/2 "2007-10-28T01:32:25Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] After disappearing from broadcast TV for the last couple years, NBC has picked up the option to carry various ISU competitions – starting with the ladies’ competition at Skate America, live, on Sunday afternoon. Woo hoo! twicks, who doesn’t have cable [/QUOTE] I haven’t followed figure skating for years. Heck, I haven’t even turned on my TV since practically the last Olympics, but this is good to know. I should maybe get back into it. What’s going on nowadays? Who are the people to watch? Sarah’s little sister? The last skating I watched was during the last Olympics, but I used to have hundreds of videotapes that dated back to the mid-1980’s with all kinds of professional and amateur competitions/exibitions. I gave 90% of them away several years ago because I just couldn’t keep up anymore. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/3 "2007-10-28T02:37:03Z")
Thank you so much, **twickster**. Although I’m not sure if I want to watch the ladies. US champ Kimmie Meissner not only lost her worlds title last year, she finished 4th. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/4 "2007-10-28T13:18:48Z")
Since I don’t have cable, I haven’t been able to follow it at all since the Olympics – ABC didn’t air Worlds that year, and they didn’t air anything in the (winter) 2007 season. So I’m totally out of it on who’s who – hope to start getting reoriented this afternoon. (Luckily, I still get a monthly email newsletter from “International Figure-Skating,” to which I used to subscribe, which mentioned something about NBC, so I checked that out on their site.) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/5 "2007-10-28T14:57:17Z")
Figure skating isn’t the same since [Lutz Chat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTogm9SaeI4) went off the air. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/6 "2007-10-28T19:20:40Z")
I used to love figure skating, but just don’t see it much anymore. When I do, I always remember a scathing interview with one of the venerable skating coaches where she slammed the “new generation” of skaters (probably everybody since the early 1980’s) for a lack of technical ability, preferring “showiness” to actual expertise. Her prime example was spins- once considered the primary building block skill, nowadays skaters can’t hit them. This gal was saying that a spin must be stationary- the skater shouldn’t drift more than an inch or two. Sure enough, barely a single skater in a competition can stick a simple spin… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/7 "2007-10-28T21:40:39Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] …Sure enough, barely a single skater in a competition can stick a simple spin… [/QUOTE] Caroline Zhang’s spin was pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/8 "2007-10-29T02:01:22Z")
I’ve noticed that Dick Button in particular gets on a kick about something skaters aren’t doing well any more. A few years back, he picked on spins, and as far as I could tell everyone else started picking on spins, too, and lo and behold, the skaters’ spins suddenly got better. I appreciate good technique, but remembering the oooold days of watching skaters do mandatory figures \ and the tedium involved, I frankly prefer a bit more showmanship if it means more interesting TV. Although I’m sorry that it’s turned into _such_ a heavy emphasis on bigger and bigger jumps – I much prefer watching a beautiful routine skated beautifully and not having to bite my nails the whole time hoping they don’t fall on their jumps. The one thing I _really_ do not like is the insanity of some of the costumes, not to mention the guys all have the most Dramatic! Hair! ever. There’s a point at which the clothes and hair really _do_ detract from the skating. But that’s just old curmudgeonly me, I fear. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/9 "2007-10-29T20:02:09Z")
[QUOTE=Mama Tiger] Although I’m sorry that it’s turned into _such_ a heavy emphasis on bigger and bigger jumps – I much prefer watching a beautiful routine skated beautifully and not having to bite my nails the whole time hoping they don’t fall on their jumps. [/QUOTE] That’s how I feel about quads. Quads. Does anybody else remember the triple in _Ice Castles_ that blinded that girl? 😉 Although Suriya Bonali’s backflips were kind of fun… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/figure-skating-fans/424156/10 "2007-10-29T20:39:50Z")
I just love the name Dick Button. Is there a Dick Button like the Easy Button? Why didn’t he go into Porn, he has the name! DICK BUTTON, DICK BUTTON, its just fun to say!