Say it out loud, Scott! This is exactly all the fans think for a long while! NO matter you win or lose, you are the champion! Damn the politics and damn the chosen one!
Honestly, skating fans can't have it both ways. Either this is a sport or it's not. Are V/M great champions? Obviously and terrific innovators for ice dance. Are they the most natural movers and performers in the event? Very likely. Are they entitled to win by default as a result of that greatness? Absolutely not. Cheer for your faves till the cows come home, but the actual competition must be judged with an unjaundiced eye. What is done on the day is what counts, not reputation. At least if this is to be a real sport. Please learn to issue some sort of constructive criticism which observes actual facts in the competition at hand rather than devolving into unquestioning fandom. It waters down any substantive arguments that you make.
Scott is entitled to think that he and Tess are the best both technically and artistically. They have earned the right to be that self-confident. But remeber he is also speaking from an emotional place and with lots of adrenaline still coursing through his veins and while having his feelings validated by partial fans and media figures. As outside observers, we should exercise more sober judgment (which is what the actual judges are doing). Using one narrow assessment of what is artistic would be a disservice to the other teams. They can't all be Tessa and Scott, nor should they try. They should be the very best version of themselves they can be. Similarly, the programs should show off the very best qualities of the skaters performing them. Meryl and Charlie are bubbly people with energy and joy bursting out of them when they skate. This program channels that perfectly. V/M's greatest strength lies in their on ice connection and their portrayal of romantic moods. This programis more playful and coy than romantic. That may account for the slightly lower PCS they are getting relative to D/W. (Although I would hardly call 9 10s poor marks.)
In all honestly, Scott is venting obvious frustration. It's perfectly natural. Look an any great rivalry and you will see one half express similar irritation. Federer routinely does when he gets passed by a younger rival (1st Nadal, then Djokovic and lately Murray). He makes the same sort of subtle and more blatant digs Scott is famous for delivering. Evert actually distanced herself from Navratilova once Martina began maximizing her talent. (Things actually got somewhat frosty between them once Martina became number one after years of Chris being relatively unchallenged.) They were a very successful doubles team for several years in the 70s. Then Chris dropped her and stopped practicing with her for a time. In skating, a very similar circumstance existed in the late 80s and early 90s in the Dubova camp. She coached K/P, U/Z and G/P together for a few years. They even went 1-2-5 at 1990 Worlds. K/P eventually got frustrated on two fronts. First they were losing ground to the Ducheynays outside Russia and second they felt Dubova favored U/Z over them. They felt she was holding them back intentionally. True or not, the loss of their world title in 1991 and even cries that they should have been behind their training mates was the last straw They were barely speaking to Dubova by that time despite being their official coach. They left her and eventually moved to Tarasova who showered them with her usual ego boosting attentions. The result of feeling freed from all the tension was their magical season in 1992. BTW, Dubova's camp was drama central for years, what with all the bed hopping and infighting that went on.
What Scott is expressing is what many observers have expected would happen eventually if D/W came up to challenge them consistently. B/A left Canton after 2008 Worlds b/c the writing was on the wall. They knew they needed more attention to just them and to get out of the super intense Canton camp (though they ironically ended up training with another rival). Sometimes a change in venue or perspective is what is most needed. It's pretty normal to make such changes or to lash out when threatened.
ETA: Clearly rivals of this caliber can see past their competitive differences to maintain a friendship, which can even be enhanced by such competition. Evert and Navratilova certainly have. So have Borg and McEnroe and even McEnroe and Connors. Belbin and White had perhaps the trickiest job in that she left their coaches to train elsewhere but maintained ties to Detroit, eventually dating Charlie. She then had to deal with the frustration of being passed by her own boyfriend during her final season while also maintaining her relationship on a healthy level. (check out her facial expression and read her lips in the fall of 2009 when getting GP marks that are consistently behind D/W and V/W; not a happy camper) Yet by 2010 Worlds when she called the event, it was clear she has come to terms with the reality. Happily they are still together.
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