I went out there and I did everything I could possibly do, and I knew going into it that a medal wasn’t in my sights. It was political. In figure skating, there’s this thing, there’s a way that you can say, "Okay, if you help this skater, our skater, and promote him and push him to the top of the podium and help him get there, we will help yours." There’s a lot of that that goes on, and America likes to try and stay away from that issue, but everyone does it. I skated great, Evan skated great, we probably both should have been on the podium somewhere, but you know, the team official came to me and said, "We didn’t know you were going to skate like that."
--New York magazine, "The Johnny Weir Spectacular" by Amy Larocca, August 15, 2010
True, Johnny skated great for Johnny, but he didn't skate great compared to the other skaters that placed before him. He can't think that just because for once out of the past three years he skated two clean programs (except for a mess up on a spin), and two programs without leaving anything out, that he should be handed an Olympic medal. He just simply does not have the difficulty of the those who placed before him, whether they fell or not. Does he think he was better than Takahashi or Plushenko. Come on Johnny get real. Your jumps can't match either of them, nor can your footwork. You haven't improved or done anything more exciting today than you did three years ago. If you want to congratulate yourself for completing two programs without falling or leaving anything out, fine. But don't expect to rewarded any big prize. You are a man full of talent who has wasted it away. I find you boring, boring, boring. If you are figure skater, then skate and keep your mouth shut like everybody else does.
ReplyDeleteWeir did the same jump content as Lysacek, and in fact came close to tying Lysacek in the Technical Element Score. Johnny had the 3rd highest TES (behind Plush and Lysacek). So his content was plenty difficult and his execution was much better than several guys who finished ahead of him. It was on the majorly subjective PCS (old artistic mark) that Johnny got robbed by the judges. He received the lowest PCS of the final flight, even though several guys who placed ahead of him had falls, step-outs, and other messy mistakes and uninspired programs. Johnny had a minor bobble on a spin (which still earned a Level 3) but the rest of his program was amazing. You may think he's "boring" but the Olympic audience in Vancouver obviously thought otherwise judging by the huge standing ovation they gave him (and the booing of his ridiculously low scores). Scott Hamilton, Elvis Stojko, Robin Cousins, Jeff Buttle, etc. all said that Johnny was underscored. Your argument is invalid.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you find Johnny so "boring, boring, boring" and wish he would "keep his mouth shut" what are you doing reading a blog about Johnny Weir QUOTES?