Like you I loved the 1988 Olympics. VCRs were finally affordable and this and 1988 US Nationals were the first things I taped beginning a collection that continues to this day.
Barbara Ann Scott was the first elite skater I ever saw (at an ice show). I was a little boy, but she looked so tiny on the ice, like a little doll. She was as pretty as the ballerina that spun around on the top of my sister's music box.
I am jealous. I had it all on tape (very very bad quality, but still), but then lost them in a move. Some of my lost collection I am really sad about - 88, 94 and Tall in the Saddle in particular
I must have watched before that (I was 18 at the time) but Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean pulled me in to remember things. Their Paso Double (still one of my favourite programmes ever) at the Olympics made me watch seriously. I must have watched before (I remember Diane de Leeuw getting a silver medal but not her programmes), but this got my real attention. Shortly afterwards the Pairs discipline started to move me more, and still does. But Chris and Jane were the ones who got me into becoming a fan.
Another thread got me curious. How long has everyone been a fan of figure skating? When did you first see it? What was the first event or who was the first skater you remember?