Soapbox 1: Olympic Pairs Figure Skating

Okay, so I am pretty sure I will be eviscerated by everyone in the Western Hemisphere for saying this; I realize that not only am I a traitor to this continent but also to my blog, as this has nothing whatsoever to do with creating manga. (Though I could probably squeak by since I am taking about passion and artistry, but that is such a weak defense that I will not deign to use it.) But I feel like if I don't say this I will burst, so here goes nothing.

In 2002 Elicia and I had the rare and exciting opportunity to see some of the Salt Lake City winter games with our own eyes. What an experience that was, to be able to see what the Olympics are really like and the community that gathers there. Tickets were pricey but my dad and stepmother really wanted to come out and see some of the events, so they said they would pay for us to see an event with them if we took care of the tickets. My stepmother loves pairs skating, especially ice dancing, so we tried our best to get good tickets and wound up scoring four tickets to the finals of pairs figure skating. Which wasn't a big deal at that time, but was nevertheless quite exciting.

So I actually got to see the infamous routines of the Canadian and Russian skaters with my own two eyes.

The funny thing about seeing figure skating in real life is how different the atmosphere is when you actually see it compared to watching it from a box in your house. Not only is the energy quite different, but the TV people only show you the highlights of the evening; you see about maybe ten groups tops on TV when in actuality so many more perform. And while in terms of artistry and skill the groups they do decide to skip are agreeably not up to the standards of the main skaters, by watching all these groups perform I did begin to grasp just what separates the champions from the mediocre. It's just the littlest of things but the skaters who begin the evening and the ones who end it don't even compare. So by the time the final group performed and because of all the skating I have watched over the years I was excited to see what the Canadians and Russians would do.

The Russians were the first of the two groups to take to the ice. And while I expected a lot I was not prepared for what I saw.

The grace and power and sheer beauty of Russian skating, I have since learned, is something that has been admired and envied throughout the sport. The Russians have not been beaten in pairs for over twelve Olympics as I write this, and there is good reason for that. But I did not know all this at the time. All I knew was that I was watching the most beautiful skating performance I had ever seen or perhaps would ever see again. Nothing prepared me for the skill, artistry, and tenderness with which they performed, the connection the two of them had despite not being romantically together. As lovely as the past Russian champions must have been, Anton and Elena will always embody in my mind just what Russian skating can be. It was mindblowing. I finally understood what made this sport is so loved and admired throughout the world, what makes it so entrancing to so many. There were some technical mistakes to be sure, but they didn't hinder the flow of the piece, and since many Olympic champions make small mistakes in their routines but still win it didn't alarm me all that much.

So after that performance I was so excited to see the Canadians perform. I composed myself and eagerly watched as they began their routine, sure I would see the same passion and glory the Russians did so well.

And I was disappointed.

Their performance was clean to be sure; I could see no major flaw in any of the jumps or spins or see anything that hindered the flow of the routine. But it somehow lacked the same passion, the same rhythm and grace, the same finesse. It seemed especially odd to me that even though they were skating to the theme from "Love Story" that the emotions weren't there to match the sentiments of the song. It was as if they were just going through the motions. I figured, well, they could win since they were cleaner, but if the judges tonight rank the artistic skills as highly as the technical ones the Russians should be the rightful champions.

So when the Russians scores turned out to be higher then the Canadians I was ecstatic, I was absolutely cheering. Their performance had spoken to me far more than did the Canadians, and so I felt the marks were completely justified. I watched the Russians receive their medals with pride. I figured that if the Canadians questioned the ruling, as I believed they might, that the Russians would come out fine and vindicated and that everything would soon calm down.

But instead in roared scandal, and shame, and deceptions of the highest order. And so the ruling was questioned, the outcome unsure, and the Olympic committee gave out gold medals to two countries instead of one to cover their mistakes.

I am not playing the position of devil's advocate here, as I find the underhanded attempts to fix the games obscene. Any judge or country who willingly gives and accepts bribes dishonors themselves, and should be rightly exposed. That is not the issue here, at least not with me.

What does anger me is how the Canadian pair were suddenly lauded, deified in a way athletes often are and which I don't always agree with, and were done so at the expense of the honor and respect of the lovely Russian pair. Many announcers tried to claim that this wasn't the case but their words, especially on this continent, rang false. What Anton and Elena had accomplished was cheapened in the ensuing conflict, utterly tarnished, and for that I am still enraged to this day.

Elicia feels the same way I do. My stepmother, who has been watching this sport for decades and knows it far better than I do also felt that the Russians were the stronger team. And unfortunately the tapes of the event that were broadcast do not really help our view at all; I watched them afterwards and the emotions and energies that came from the rink were somehow diffused on the TV. I can't explain it, except that the same thing often happens, I find, when I see a concert or event and then watch a tape of it later. The emotions don't always translate for some reason to a TV screen, and I believe that is what happened with the Russian performance. Which is sad, because that means millions of people saw the performance differently than I did, and so there is no real way to show them just how great it really was.

Another problem I have, but find hard to out into words properly, is that because the French judge was pressured to mark the Russians higher, people assume that means the Russians did not actually perform a gold medal performance, that those marks were actually undeserved. But in spite of the crooked deal, could they not have truly earned the scores the judge awarded them? Besides, one judge does not a medal make, though her decision was still important. Judges rule unfairly with both high and low scores all the time; that is why in the old system the highest and lowest scores were always discarded. Though I will concede that every judge's score matters when it is close, and is was very close. But an off score happens all the time in sports, and while it may be contested occasionally most people chalk it up to the natural occurrence of things. Sports such as figure skating, half-pipe snowboarding, gymnastics, and aerials will always be problematic in this regard because of their subjective and artistic nature; you cannot judge just on just who was fastest, strongest, or highest as you can with many other sports. For example, I thought that the Australian who performed in women's half pipe yesterday did a fabulous job, almost as good as the Americans, and that the judges shafted her with ridiculously low marks. Does that mean you should take those sports out of the Olympics? Absolutely not. But that does mean that people will always disagree on who really deserved to win based on the performance, as I am doing now.

I also want to state that my feelings do not reflect on Canada as a country in any way. We have a healthy rivalry with them as neighboring countries to be sure, but I have friends, family, and coworkers from Canada and I find them all to be lovely people. There is a good reason Canadian tourists are welcomed in other countries much more often than us Yanks. And I thought that Jamie and David were lovely and skated in a way to make their country proud. I just feel that they could have won the silver and the judges would have been completely justified in giving it to them, that's all.

The main reason I am bringing these old wounds to the surface is because of the pairs skating finals last night. Once again, the announcers on TV were dismissive and insulting to what I thought were some of the loveliest performances of the evening, particularly the performances by the Chinese and again the Russians; am I going to have to mute them next time just to shut them up? And while I was so proud of the Chinese pair who won silver—their passion and perserverance when all hope seemed gone was truly inspiring—they did fall, which was a far more serious offense than the the Russians' mistakes four years ago and which probably, if it had been performed then, would have been marked much lower by those judges, I hate to say. But it was lovely nonetheless and very deserving. And I think the only reason there will be no contesting of the pairs' scores this year is because all the main runners-up are Chinese, so except for the individual skaters' pride the country's officials have no real reason to be upset. In Athens I was so proud of Paul Hamm winning gold, but there was also a judging problem there that went unfixed because there was no scandal; everyone trusted the judge's rulings in spite of major upheavals and grumblings. When is it fair to contest and change the decision? That's what I want to know; the rules seem so blurred now.

Bob Costas said in his tribute to Michelle Kwan that she was graceful in a time when grace didn't matter all that much anymore. I believe this is as true for the world in general as it is for the Russian skaters and Michelle; in an age of better results we sacrifice artistry at every level and type of performance for the bottom line. No one questioned questioning the pairs results because technical skill is far easier for the naked eye to see than grace, so grace is ultimately the one questioned and trodden on. Last night the announcers said the skating world is worried that in the future, the sheer beauty of the sport will be lost in the pursuit of the flashier, technically correct program. I hope the Chinese silver medalists proved this downward tend wrong, but that remains to be seen I suppose. I for one will be watching.

Perhaps in the future others will come to see my way of thinking; unfortunately only time will tell. I probably never would have felt this way, and would have completely agreed with everyone else, if I hadn't seen the performances for myself. I completely admit that I am a novice to the intricacies of figure skating, as is most of the general public, so perhaps my humble opinion doesn't really matter all that much to anyone of importance and can ultimately be ignored. But if the pairs final in 2002 is to me as the English patient is to Elaine from Seinfeld, so be it; I will still hold my head up high and be proud of how I feel. But if I can be like the child in the story of the Emperor's's New Clothes, and reveal a kernel of real truth to someone else, than I will feel quite at peace. I have to tell you, I feel so much better even now for having gotten all of these simmering feelings out into actual words; blogging is really the best therapy. And perhaps I can even get a dialogue about my opinion going with someone on this site; now how cool would that be?

For anyone truly offended by what I have to say, just chalk it up to the crazy thinkings of a twentysomething-year-old kid, and let it go. But not before you comment to me on how my words have made you feel; that's all I ask. =)

And for anyone who actually likes my blog and finds my rantings amusing, thank you for putting up with my wild ramblings in this and many other posts. I appreciate your indulgence. Expect the regular style of postings tomorrow, with a couple of Olympic thoughts sprinked in for good measure if I feel like it. Post to you soon.