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Confessions of a figure skating fangirl
(I've been wanting to post this for a while, mostly for my own benefit. ;)
I've taken to watching figure skating regularly again... ^_^; It was one of my first fandoms when I first came on the 'Net, so I have a still soft spot for it... And it's been a very good season, so far.
I will admit, though... I only watch the men's event, these days. -_-; I've always preferred men's anyways, but I do have other reasons (apart from looking at the attractive, balletic men). This will sound horribly biased, but... Quite frankly, they fall less. XP I find I lose interest in a program if someone starts falling on their jumps (curse my short attention span!)
As aforementioned, it's been a while since I've kept up with figure skating... So much so, that all the skaters that I used to recognize by name, are now coaches. >.< (Ugh, I feel old...)
Now, I've always had a soft spot for Russian skaters, who tend to be both balletic and athletic... (As you might've guessed, my one of fave skaters was Russian: Alexei Urmanov, the '94 Olympic champion. ;)
Anyways, I was watching some random Russian guy skating at Trophee Lalique, and his name sounded vaguely familiar to me... Causing me to go, "Huh, isn't that the guy that Urmanov now coaches?" And of course, the next thing the commentator says is, "coached by former Olympic gold medallist, Alexei Urmanov."
*cue embarassing fangirl moment* I couldn't even watch the rest of the program after that; I was just looking forward to catching a glimpse of my former fave skater in the Kiss 'n Cry area. XP (To be honest, it wasn't that great a skate, anyways...) Still, seeing a glimpse of Urmanov (as cute as ever), sitting proudly with his student, totally made it worth it. XD
The other highlight of that event for me, was the absolutely awesome long program of one of the Canadian skaters (most Canadian skaters are traditionally inconsistant, which can make my being patriotic, depressing at times...)
But seriously, his skate had it all: artistry, technical difficulty, all well-executed... It was absolutely flawless... Until he fell at the very end, on a spin, of all things. XP (Even he had a "WTF was that?" look on his face, after he was done.) Still, he placed first in that event, and I'll definately be keeping an eye out for him at the World Championships. :D
So many different countries have such good skaters, these days... Japan has always had good artistic men, but they now have the jumps, as well... One of the top American men this season is being lauded for emulating the Russian style of skating (which amuses me, because American commentators have traditionally made fun of Russian skaters for their over-the-top arm gestures and costuming... Perhaps I'm just being cynical. ;)
Oddly enough, it's the Swiss guy that has the best long program I've seen this entire season (and arguebly, the best program I've seen ever, as well): it's flamenco-themed, choreographed by an actual flamenco dancer... And it shows. (Let me put it this way; I mentioned earlier that I tend to lose interest in a skating program once someone starts falling? Well, I can watch this one, even though the skater is falling all over the place... And I have. It's that well-choreographed.)
As you might've noticed, I watch figure skating for the dance aspect, of it (I suspect it might be because all the dance classes I used to take, as a kid). And I find myself falling in love with the sport all over again, because, quite frankly, the skaters are so good, these days...
Perhaps it's just been a stand-out season, but... Even if you take away the artistry, the jumps, spins and footwork seemed to have improved so much from when I used to watch figure skating regularly... (I guess all those rules they implemented back when I was still a serious fan, worked out after all XD). I am so looking forward to the World Championships, this season!
On a related note, I have just made an ice mage named Aleksei in World of Warcraft... I am such a dork. XP (Yes, I know my main is a mage, but I refuse to make Roymustang anything but a fire mage...)
I've taken to watching figure skating regularly again... ^_^; It was one of my first fandoms when I first came on the 'Net, so I have a still soft spot for it... And it's been a very good season, so far.
I will admit, though... I only watch the men's event, these days. -_-; I've always preferred men's anyways, but I do have other reasons (apart from looking at the attractive, balletic men). This will sound horribly biased, but... Quite frankly, they fall less. XP I find I lose interest in a program if someone starts falling on their jumps (curse my short attention span!)
As aforementioned, it's been a while since I've kept up with figure skating... So much so, that all the skaters that I used to recognize by name, are now coaches. >.< (Ugh, I feel old...)
Now, I've always had a soft spot for Russian skaters, who tend to be both balletic and athletic... (As you might've guessed, my one of fave skaters was Russian: Alexei Urmanov, the '94 Olympic champion. ;)
Anyways, I was watching some random Russian guy skating at Trophee Lalique, and his name sounded vaguely familiar to me... Causing me to go, "Huh, isn't that the guy that Urmanov now coaches?" And of course, the next thing the commentator says is, "coached by former Olympic gold medallist, Alexei Urmanov."
*cue embarassing fangirl moment* I couldn't even watch the rest of the program after that; I was just looking forward to catching a glimpse of my former fave skater in the Kiss 'n Cry area. XP (To be honest, it wasn't that great a skate, anyways...) Still, seeing a glimpse of Urmanov (as cute as ever), sitting proudly with his student, totally made it worth it. XD
The other highlight of that event for me, was the absolutely awesome long program of one of the Canadian skaters (most Canadian skaters are traditionally inconsistant, which can make my being patriotic, depressing at times...)
But seriously, his skate had it all: artistry, technical difficulty, all well-executed... It was absolutely flawless... Until he fell at the very end, on a spin, of all things. XP (Even he had a "WTF was that?" look on his face, after he was done.) Still, he placed first in that event, and I'll definately be keeping an eye out for him at the World Championships. :D
So many different countries have such good skaters, these days... Japan has always had good artistic men, but they now have the jumps, as well... One of the top American men this season is being lauded for emulating the Russian style of skating (which amuses me, because American commentators have traditionally made fun of Russian skaters for their over-the-top arm gestures and costuming... Perhaps I'm just being cynical. ;)
Oddly enough, it's the Swiss guy that has the best long program I've seen this entire season (and arguebly, the best program I've seen ever, as well): it's flamenco-themed, choreographed by an actual flamenco dancer... And it shows. (Let me put it this way; I mentioned earlier that I tend to lose interest in a skating program once someone starts falling? Well, I can watch this one, even though the skater is falling all over the place... And I have. It's that well-choreographed.)
As you might've noticed, I watch figure skating for the dance aspect, of it (I suspect it might be because all the dance classes I used to take, as a kid). And I find myself falling in love with the sport all over again, because, quite frankly, the skaters are so good, these days...
Perhaps it's just been a stand-out season, but... Even if you take away the artistry, the jumps, spins and footwork seemed to have improved so much from when I used to watch figure skating regularly... (I guess all those rules they implemented back when I was still a serious fan, worked out after all XD). I am so looking forward to the World Championships, this season!
On a related note, I have just made an ice mage named Aleksei in World of Warcraft... I am such a dork. XP (Yes, I know my main is a mage, but I refuse to make Roymustang anything but a fire mage...)