Olympic Champion Peggy Fleming Gives Michelle Kwan a Replica of her Gold Ice Skating Medal

MSNBC ^ | February 22, 2002 | Lester Holt

[codebreaker]

MSNBC showed footage of a press conference and Michelle had two medals on her neck the bronze and the one given to her by Peggy Fleming.

She looked liked she was about to lose it..

[SupplySider]

I can understand the disappointment, but I still feel it is poor sportmanship to react to a Silver or Bronze olympic medal with grief. In fact, that overfocus on the ego satisfaction of being number one is the reason Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya lost, in my opinion.

In contrast, during her performance Sarah Hughes was refreshingly detached from all the self-image stuff and that freed her to win. The best woman won, without a doubt!

[lonestar]

And I think Sarah Hughes will do extremely well in the endorsement area. She has a freshness and innocence about her that is very appealing. She just needs a new haircut.

I was watching Sara skate, wishing she had a Hamill cut.

Sara won hands down without skipping a beat or falling on her rear!

She was like a breath of fresh air!

[Redleg Duke]

Yes, and I am afraid they were potent. Please accept my appologies. One should never accuse someone of being a libertarian unless certain. :-)

[Redleg Duke]

Well, I suppose you would have been happier if she would have said, "I hope that two weeks from now, nobody even remembers me."

If you set your sights low, you hit even lower. If you set your sights really high and hit lower than where you aim, you will still achieve greatness.

I wouldn't step on someone for wanting to be the best they can be...or are you one of those who think that those who succeed are just the lucky at life's lottery and need to pay.

[GussiedUp]

Yes, and I am afraid they were potent. Please accept my appologies. One should never accuse someone of being a libertarian unless certain. :-)

I am so conservative I have 2 right hands. ;)

[codebreaker]

I don't think the comparison is valid at all, Michelle probably will tie the ALL TIME record for World Championships with skaters now throwing quads at her-while she does triples .

The comparison with Michael Jordan does work on one level, Michelle has to do with artistry and precision to make up for what she lacks. (due to body type or age) When she wins a gold or two she can lay claim to that mantle

[codebreaker]

Michelle can say these things once she wins, so far she hasn't.

[virgil]

I heard the radio talk shows this morning. WLS Chicago, Don and Rona show. Don thinks that Michelle's losing was due to an internal conspiracy of her own. He said that Michelle's program was too simple and she had to make a mistake to make an excuse for losing. There was just too much to own up to with her being paid as a Chevy spokesman and everybody expecting her to win. Surprisingly a lot of listeners called in agreement.

[Illbay]

Let me try to simplify:

1) Figure skating is not a "sport" in the sense that there is very little objectivity about it. Take baseball for example. The greatest players in the game are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, in the end, because of their numbers. I don't just mean how many games they won--some of them played for also-ran teams--but things like batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, fielding percentage, number of home runs, total bases, runs batted-in, hitting with men in scoring position, etc. ad infinitum.

A baseball afficianado can argue these numbers back and forth, and opinions vary, but the numbers don't lie, in the end.

With figure skating, the only numbers are these fluffy, flighty things that this panel of judges puts up. And the screaming goes on and on about how the judges were "unfair", were "biased" etc. That kind of thing can go on rather easily because there are no subjective criteria.

2) Everything with figure skating is EMOTION. You can see it with the way its covered. It's the emotional reaction of the crowd, of the contestants, their coaches and the commentators.

That's the primary reason I make the analogy, "figure skating is to real sports, what 'chick flicks' are to legitimate cinema."

Sure you can have a fine, accomplished actress star in a "chick flick," but in the end it isn't about the depth and spectrum of human conflict--not just emotion but all the dramatic aspects of the human story--it's about rather one-dimensional emotions, evoking a tear-jerk response.

That's how I see figure skating. It's "how can I manipulate the emotions of the spectators and hopefully, the judges so that when they make their purely subjective determination (euphemistically called "scoring"), it'll be to my benefit?"

That's why all the controversy and, to the unpracticed observer, the totally confusing question of "how the heck did THAT person win and THAT person come in an also ran?"

In the end, I prefer something honestly, subjectively artistic, like ballet, where you don't go on the basis of some arbitrary system of scoring, but on the ADMITTEDLY subjective criteria of artistic merit.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

I think "sports" like figure skating and the like are silly. Look at the athletes. In figure skating and even gymnastics, it's the "Battle of the Teenagers." It's really absurd. A "sport" in which a person is over the hill at the age of 19. This chick that won the gold is SIXTEEN YEARS OLD! She can't even buy a damn beer (legally) to celebrate.

[codebreaker]

With this new judging system based on bonus points for quad jumps and other difficult moves, it is moving toward respectability.

It may be an athletic skill, but an extremely difficult one none the less.

[Illbay]

They tossed out the original criteria long ago, the actual skating of figures. It has become "Gymnastics on Ice."

[skeeter]

I would put Yamaguchi in the class of Sonjia Hennie, Dorthy Hamill, Peggy Flemming, and Katarina-she is that good.

Maybe so, but Sonya Hennie would never be seen with her arm around Gene Simmons.

[Republican Party Reptile]

<< here I was again, hoping for another USA teen to teach Kwan that nothing is your's for the taking dearie ... nothing! I kept my fingers crossed and just delighted in Sara's glory! >>

Uh, Michelle Kwan was (while she was still a teenager) USA Teen ... please don't tell me that you don't consider her American just because she is of Asian ancestry.

[The Anti-One]

Ya know. I must say. I have children that are professional ballet dancers. One thing that has been sweeping the ballet world is a huge influx of Asians into American ballet and while they are quite beautiful and good they are not our children. In addition the fact that they are quite beautiful and good does NOT in any way take away from the FACT that our children are just as beautiful and good.

I personally have never been a Kwan fan either. I am sick of a liberal press and their lemmings trying to shove down our throats every other culture on the planet but our own.

Michelle may well be a wonderful young woman. She is without doubt a very hard working and dedicated skater that deserves to be considered among some of the worlds best but just because she is of "Asian" descent (which is one of the main reasons the media becomes orgasmic everything she takes the ice in my opinion) does not mean she is better than those skaters that are not.

She is human and she should earn her accolades just like everyone else must. Her race should not be an issue. If she fails... To friggin bad.

At least this is my humble opinion.