Harding-Kerrigan 20 years later

[gpw]

Jan 7, 2014 14:30:27 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Jan 7, 2014 14:28:41 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Voldemort had the grace of a gnat and looked like the lost triplet of the Olsen Twins so all that made me hate her.

I don't have hate for Sarah Hughes even though she too beat Michelle; Sarah was likable.

She also sucked on Y&R as an actress.  Sarah Hughes was endearing, I liked her.  Tara Lipinski was just irritating.  

Also, is this where I confess that I love the movie The Cutting Edge?  BECAUSE I DO.

OMG, ME TOO!!!!  "Honey, where I come from we stand for the National Anthem."

[zelda25]

Jan 7, 2014 14:51:32 GMT -5 @historychick79 said:

Jan 7, 2014 14:37:04 GMT -5 eclaires said:

I remember watching Ice Castles with my mom because it was her favorite skating movie - I guess it came out when she was in college (1978 per imdb) but I liked it a lot too.  And I also love Blades of Glory.

We sang the theme song in middle school chorus (early 1990's) and I was in looooove with that song. "Please, don't let this feeling end..."

OMG--ICE CASTLES!

I was an impressionable 7yo when that came out. Love. Any time it's on TV, H will leave it on: "*sigh* I know you have to watch this..."

LOL

[Velvetshady]

Jan 7, 2014 16:04:09 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I'm old and this is my ice skating heroine.

Team Katharina!  But, I do believe Debi is the most awesome post-skating career role model out there.

[pantsparty]

Jan 7, 2014 14:35:19 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Maybe this is where I should confess that I love "Ice Castles" and "Blades of Glory". Yes, the Will Ferrell movie.

One of the greatest movies of our generation! Capture the dream!

[mcsangel2]

Jan 7, 2014 16:04:09 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I'm old and this is my ice skating heroine.

I am old, too, and I didn't think anyone remembered her!!! Olympic skater AND a doctor! I remember that her license plate was "SK8G4AU".

[pinkdutchtulips]

Jan 7, 2014 14:30:27 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Jan 7, 2014 14:28:41 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Voldemort had the grace of a gnat and looked like the lost triplet of the Olsen Twins so all that made me hate her.

I don't have hate for Sarah Hughes even though she too beat Michelle; Sarah was likable.

She also sucked on Y&R as an actress.  Sarah Hughes was endearing, I liked her.  Tara Lipinski was just irritating.  

Also, is this where I confess that I love the movie The Cutting Edge?  BECAUSE I DO.

toooeeee pppiiiccckkk !!!  i love that movie .. the slapshot to end all slapshots !  

[gpw]

Jan 7, 2014 16:04:09 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I'm old and this is my ice skating heroine.

OMG!  I remember this routine!

[Deleted]

I'm late to this party but here goes:

1) I will never forget the whyyyyyyy meeeeee from Kerrigan. You know that bitch thinks it should have happened to someone else. She's the Julia Roberts of the figure skating world.

2) I'm a true Tonya apologist. I truly don't believe she had the grand idea to whack Kerrigan in the knee. I think she didn't think he'd do it but kind of hoped that he would. Like, "wait, he's not serious, is he? Oh, he is. No, no, that's crazy. He wouldn't . . . oh shit, he did. GOLD FOR ME!" Jeff totally strikes me as a lot of talk, no action so I bet she just didn't think he'd get it together. Also, given the way the figure skating world treated her? Yeah, don't care, ain't sorry.

3) I didn't like Tara because her heart wasn't in it. No one likes the little upstart who doesn't even care about sport or artistry and doesn't really have to work hard at it coming in and blowing up your spot.

4) I will not tell you how hard my little teenage soul cried when Grinkov died. I still think of them when I Will Remember You plays. And I may have cried a little every time Gordeeva took the ice afterwards and every time you saw their little girl. I had their book, people. For real.

5) I don't care that Surya Bonaly was surly. Surly all day, honey, you do you boo.

6) I hated ice dancing. I never understand how pairs skating looked more dance-y than ice dancing. Don't know you people, don't care about you people.

7) TOE PICK 4 LYFE!

[starlily]

Regarding current US skaters:

Ladies - Ashley Wagner is a longshot for bronze, and would need the Japanese (particularly Mao Asada) and Russian ladies to majorly screw up in order to medal. Gracie Gold is an up and comer to keep an eye on for the future.

Ice Dance: Barring a major upset, Davis & White should win gold. They've beaten Virtue & Moir in every head-to-head competition in the Grand Prix.

Mens: US men are totally outclassed by the Japanese men (particularly Yuzuru Hanyu) and Patrick Chan. No chance at Oly medal. Most of the top US guys are inconsistent, so it's anyone's Nationals to win. Contenders are Max Aaron, Jason Brown, and Jeremy Abbott.

Pairs: lololololololol So not happening

[Deleted]

The last time I really watched figure skating, Ilya Kulik was just a red cheeked little baby and now he's married to Ekaterina Gordeeva and I will not forgive him if he dies on her.

It just occurs to me that I was never a rah rah USA figure skater watcher. I liked people or I didn't like them. And I was ridiculously fascinated with Russian last names.

[NewOrleans]

Jan 7, 2014 17:49:11 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

I'm late to this party but here goes:

1) I will never forget the whyyyyyyy meeeeee from Kerrigan. You know that bitch thinks it should have happened to someone else. She's the Julia Roberts of the figure skating world.

2) I'm a true Tonya apologist. I truly don't believe she had the grand idea to whack Kerrigan in the knee. I think she didn't think he'd do it but kind of hoped that he would. Like, "wait, he's not serious, is he? Oh, he is. No, no, that's crazy. He wouldn't . . . oh shit, he did. GOLD FOR ME!" Jeff totally strikes me as a lot of talk, no action so I bet she just didn't think he'd get it together. Also, given the way the figure skating world treated her? Yeah, don't care, ain't sorry.

3) I didn't like Tara because her heart wasn't in it. No one likes the little upstart who doesn't even care about sport or artistry and doesn't really have to work hard at it coming in and blowing up your spot.

4) I will not tell you how hard my little teenage soul cried when Grinkov died. I still think of them when I Will Remember You plays. And I may have cried a little every time Gordeeva took the ice afterwards and every time you saw their little girl. I had their book, people. For real.

5) I don't care that Surya Bonaly was surly. Surly all day, honey, you do you boo.

6) I hated ice dancing. I never understand how pairs skating looked more dance-y than ice dancing. Don't know you people, don't care about you people.

7) TOE PICK 4 LYFE!

In the Oksana clip I posted, he is there toward the end cheering with Katya.  

[decemberwedding07]

Jan 7, 2014 13:44:10 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Yes!! 80s/90s figure skating fans represent!

I ALWAYS hated Nancy Kerrigan. I always thought she was a stuck-up chipmunk. Hated. Her.

Tonya Harding won my heart when she landed a triple axel in competition. They still don't do that, you know. I will always be sad that she turned out to be true to her white trash roots.

Do y'all remember the shot prior to the Olympic medal ceremony where the camera caught Nancy legit whining about things taking so long? The officials were scrambing to find the Ukrainian national anthem, but Nancy thought the hold up was because Oksana was freshening up.

I hearted Oksana so much. She was beautiful.

Tara Lipinski was so meh and I hate her for taking Michelle's gold away. Michelle = probably the awesomest skater ever. I will never forget the post-competition exhibition where she skated to something like "Going for the Gold", and there were tears streaming down her face.

Speaking of hot messes, do y'all remember Nicole Bobek?

YES!!!  All of this!!!

[starlily]

Jan 7, 2014 13:54:52 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

why do you hate Tara Lapinski-- reasons other than cockblocking Michelle Kwan?

I have no opinion on Tara, but I could be easily swayed, lol.

No commitment to artistry, or the sport. She basically broke her body down in her quest to be a jumping bean, which kind of set a bad precedent for the skaters of that generation. Who cares if you need a hip replacement at 20? Land a triple-triple dammit! She recently did return to the skating world, as a commentator, only because her acting endeavors were a total failure. I do have to give her credit as a commentator though; she is good in that aspect.

I personally think that neither Tara Lipinski or Sarah Hughes would have won under the current scoring system, despite their triple-triple combinations, because they were both known for under-rotating jumps and for using the wrong edge to take off on lutz jumps. The 6.0 system allowed that type of stuff to slide, but under the current COP system they'd have marks downgraded due to a poor grade of execution. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Kwan at the reception for her induction into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. She is every bit as classy and gracious to her fans in person as she appears to come across on television. Her handlers kept trying to swoop her away, but she stayed long after the official end time came and went to make sure every fan that was waiting to speak to her or take a picture with her got to do so. Also, Michelle Kwan basically named my DD, since I asked her for a suggestion and she gave me a really great one we hadn't thought of!

Regarding Tonya and Nancy, the whole thing was such a shame and SO unnecessary. If Tonya had stayed in top form like when she won Nationals, she wouldn't have felt so threatened. And if Nancy hadn't had such a complete and total meltdown at '93 Worlds, the US ladies would have had three spots available for the Olympics, not just the two, which is also why Tonya worried about her chances of making the team. Remember, a 14 year old Michelle Kwan made her senior debut that year and was already nipping at Tonya and Nancy's skates! IMO, Nancy basically got lucky with her silver medal performance. She was always inconsistent and I never considered her a lock for gold. I was surprised that anyone did really. 

I have so much I could say about skating, but I'll stop for now.

[Deleted]

Oh and every time I hear Melissa Etheridge sing I'm the only one, I see this in my head:

[eclaires]

I remember that about Michelle Kwan. She technically qualified for the Olympics but they took Kerrigan instead because she couldn't compete - Michelle was the one who was really screwed that year.

[starlily]

Jan 7, 2014 17:55:43 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

The last time I really watched figure skating, Ilya Kulik was just a red cheeked little baby and now he's married to Ekaterina Gordeeva and I will not forgive him if he dies on her.

It just occurs to me that I was never a rah rah USA figure skater watcher. I liked people or I didn't like them. And I was ridiculously fascinated with Russian last names.

This was back in 2011. He was so shocked that my friend and I actually wanted to take a picture with him - like he thought people forgot about him! He's still so cute!

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2014 18:43:40 GMT -5 starlily said:

This was back in 2011. He was so shocked that my friend and I actually wanted to take a picture with him - like he thought people forgot about him! He's still so cute!

Soooooooooooooo jealous!!!

Look, this thread needs to carry on forever. Can I be 16 again? I watched all of the figure skating and ice hockey my little eyes could carry. Plus Law and Order and gymnastics.

Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen pretty much made no impression on me. They struck me as bits of cotton candy. That's about when I stopped watching.

[gt7301b]

Jan 7, 2014 18:41:54 GMT -5 eclaires said:

I remember that about Michelle Kwan. She technically qualified for the Olympics but they took Kerrigan instead because she couldn't compete - Michelle was the one who was really screwed that year.

Michelle Kwan was also given a spot on the 2006 team, even though she was injured at Nationals.  When she determined that she wasn't going to be able to compete she withdrew and her spot went to Emily Hughes.  I think a lot of other skaters would have tried to compete at the Olympics even if they weren't in top shape.

[raynajames]

Totally just went down a Kerrigan-Harding rabbit hole. Thanks, y'all.

Can you imagine is this happened now with social media? It'd be insanity.

[mmp]

My sister is a former professional skater. She would skate with the Olympians of the 70s and 80s. They would come off the ice and play Fisher Price toys with me while they waited to go back on. I hated skating so I would hang off the ice playing.

Dorothy Hamel would make the sheep from the Fisher Price barn skate for me.

[decemberwedding07]

Jan 7, 2014 14:30:27 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Jan 7, 2014 14:28:41 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Voldemort had the grace of a gnat and looked like the lost triplet of the Olsen Twins so all that made me hate her.

I don't have hate for Sarah Hughes even though she too beat Michelle; Sarah was likable.

She also sucked on Y&R as an actress.  Sarah Hughes was endearing, I liked her.  Tara Lipinski was just irritating.  

Also, is this where I confess that I love the movie The Cutting Edge?  BECAUSE I DO.

There are people who don't?  That movie is where I learned the term "foreplay."  I turned to my older sister and said, "What's 'foreplay?'"  And she said, "Don't ever say that word to me again."  She looked so disgusted that I knew this was a word that I needed to remember and look up in my trusty dictionary.  I think I used that thing to look up dirty words more than I used it to look up spellings of words or the meanings of non-dirty words that I didn't know.

[mcsangel2]

Jan 7, 2014 17:55:43 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

The last time I really watched figure skating, Ilya Kulik was just a red cheeked little baby and now he's married to Ekaterina Gordeeva and I will not forgive him if he dies on her.

It just occurs to me that I was never a rah rah USA figure skater watcher. I liked people or I didn't like them. And I was ridiculously fascinated with Russian last names.

WHAT. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???

[mcsangel2]

Jan 7, 2014 18:41:54 GMT -5 eclaires said:

I remember that about Michelle Kwan. She technically qualified for the Olympics but they took Kerrigan instead because she couldn't compete - Michelle was the one who was really screwed that year.

I totes remember her being there in Lillehammer. She was just a baby!

[mcsangel2]

Jan 7, 2014 19:19:03 GMT -5 mmp said:

My sister is a former professional skater. She would skate with the Olympians of the 70s and 80s. They would come off the ice and play Fisher Price toys with me while they waited to go back on. I hated skating so I would hang off the ice playing.

Dorothy Hamel would make the sheep from the Fisher Price barn skate for me.

OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME I WANT TO DIIIIIIIEEEEEE.

(Psst, it's Hamill).

Watching her in the 1976 Olympics is my first Olympic memory!

[starlily]

Jan 7, 2014 19:30:31 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Jan 7, 2014 17:55:43 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

The last time I really watched figure skating, Ilya Kulik was just a red cheeked little baby and now he's married to Ekaterina Gordeeva and I will not forgive him if he dies on her.

It just occurs to me that I was never a rah rah USA figure skater watcher. I liked people or I didn't like them. And I was ridiculously fascinated with Russian last names.

WHAT. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???

Shoot, a long while ago. I think they have a daughter who's like 13 or 14 years old. 

I remember all the gossip starting when they skated a super sexy number together ("Four Corners") on the Stars on Ice tour. A lot of die-hard Gordeeva & Grinkov fans gave her a lot of shit for trying to move on with her life. Eff them. 

[mcsangel2]

Jan 7, 2014 19:37:57 GMT -5 starlily said:

Jan 7, 2014 19:30:31 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

WHAT. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???

Shoot, a long while ago. I think they have a daughter who's like 13 or 14 years old. 

I remember all the gossip starting when they skated a super sexy number together ("Four Corners") on the Stars on Ice tour. A lot of die-hard Gordeeva & Grinkov fans gave her a lot of shit for trying to move on with her life. Eff them. 

No way.

How old is her daughter with Sergei?

Crap, I am oooooooold.

[starlily]

Jan 7, 2014 19:07:23 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Jan 7, 2014 18:41:54 GMT -5 eclaires said:

I remember that about Michelle Kwan. She technically qualified for the Olympics but they took Kerrigan instead because she couldn't compete - Michelle was the one who was really screwed that year.

Michelle Kwan was also given a spot on the 2006 team, even though she was injured at Nationals.  When she determined that she wasn't going to be able to compete she withdrew and her spot went to Emily Hughes.  I think a lot of other skaters would have tried to compete at the Olympics even if they weren't in top shape.

See also: Mark Mitchell (got replaced by a previously injured Todd Eldredge). I believe this also happened to Nicole Bobek in '02. 

[mmp]

Jan 7, 2014 19:37:25 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Jan 7, 2014 19:19:03 GMT -5 mmp said:

My sister is a former professional skater. She would skate with the Olympians of the 70s and 80s. They would come off the ice and play Fisher Price toys with me while they waited to go back on. I hated skating so I would hang off the ice playing.

Dorothy Hamel would make the sheep from the Fisher Price barn skate for me.

OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME I WANT TO DIIIIIIIEEEEEE.

(Psst, it's Hamill).

Watching her in the 1976 Olympics is my first Olympic memory!

Lol. Yea, I realized I spelled it wrong but my battery was low and didn't go back to change it.
Peggy Flemming was big in my house. Dorothy Hamill was about twelve, and I only met her that one time. My sister's coach was Richard Callaghan for a while. He coached a bunch of the Olympic people, but my sister wasn't a competitor. She was dance. She quit when she met the requirements to be pro. 

The coolest I met was a guy who worked with Charles Schultz (Charlie Brown) and played with his niece at their skating rink. I got a lot of Peanuts toys that summer. Also, the woman who invented the Barbie Doll. I  stared longingly at  the childhood playhouse of actress Dina Merrill one summer.  Big thrills for a five year old!!

[mcfelix]

This thread makes me remember how much I was into watching the Olympics and figure skating when I was younger. I remember all the skaters that have been mentioned - which is just crazy to me!

[Nonny]

Michelle Kwan got married last year, I had no idea. She looks so cute and happy here: