How important are wins to popularity of US skating?

[pointyourtoe]

blonde, Hollywood beauty All-american sweetheart subconsciously is still America's image of the perfect figure skater

Ugh, the fact that someone can repeatedly parade this with pride around the forum in 2014 is gross

You're obviously proud of the fact that middle America doesn't consider nonwhites to be American.

 

[Alba]

Maybe I talk to too many V/M shippers but he seems generically attractive enough to pull that off.

Well, Elena seems to think Scott is a strong man and a perfect partner.

 

[Mathman]

Hollywood beauty All-american sweetheart subconsciously is still America's image of the perfect figure skater

I think you are living in the past. I bet if you took a poll of Americans and asked them what they picture as the ideal figure skater it would come out a composite of Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Yuna Kim and Mao Asada.

 

[moviechick]

I feel like most people don't even know who Mao Asada is or really, any of the recent crop. The sport has just fallen off the radar completely.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

blonde, Hollywood beauty All-american sweetheart subconsciously is still America's image of the perfect figure skater

I (unfortunately) don't disagree with your statement. However, I think she lacks the artistry and ease of movement necessary to excite casual fans. Also, I don't think she pays attention to her looks and costuming enough. That bun on her head makes her look like a grandmother, and her costumes are not elegant enough if she is trying to become America's sweetheart. Yuna, Mao, Caro and Sasha would be good examples for her to look at as far as costuming that effectively enhances the performance.

 

[Mathman]

This would be an interesting experiment to try. Show this picture to a cross section of Americans and ask, "Which one is the figure skater?"

http://socalnetwork.org/files/girls/GM-Photo-1.jpg

 

[Barb]

I think Gracie can to be very popular but not because her looks, she is beautiful but she is not prettier that the others figure skaters. Yuna is popular because she is beautiful, she is cute and mainly because she won everything, Mao is popular because she is beautiful and she is super cute, she has gold world medals, silver olympic medal and has a triple axel. The personality is very important, Gracie has not a personality very charismatic, as Mirai, Shibs, Michelle or Johnny. So her only atractive thing is her skating, if she win consistently and just a plus being pretty (not super beautiful like Korpi, Gracie is just pretty) will help it too. So if she wants to be popular, Taylor Swift is not the way, she should be looking for two better programs, new costume designer and practice, practice and more practice.

 

[moviechick]

Yuna and Mao are popular in their respective countries because the audiences are actually into FS there. Even with all their wins, they're not at all famous in the US and the challenge for Gracie or any other American skater is overcoming Americans' indifference to the sport.

 

[hyperinflation]

she had a private sushi dinner with Taylor Swift, that must have meant something

lmfao this is my favorite comment ever

 

[Barb]

Yuna and Mao are popular in their respective countries because the audiences are actually into FS there. Even with all their wins, they're not at all famous in the US and the challenge for Gracie or any other American skater is overcoming Americans' indifference to the sport.

yes, but the americans love win, I know she wont be like Serena Williams or those football players, but she can be enough popular. And Korea is not a country very into figure skating, it was more Yuna winning every competition that attracted their attention. And of course Mao and Yuna are not popular in the US, and I dont understand why they should??, they probably would be popular in there if were rivals of a great american figure skater.

 

[Ladskater]

I don't know about other countries, but here in Canada Figure Skating has been a long standing traditional and popular sport, whether we bring home medals or not. We love it when our skaters do well of course, but most Canadians would sign up for figure skating lessons and go see a skating show just for the joy of figure skating. Since ice and snow are an integral part of most of Canada (except here in lotus land - Vancouver area) and there are ice rinks in just about every city, kids and adults will lace up their skates and hit the ice. Many of our great male skaters like Kurt Browning and Elivs Stojko actually learned to figure skate in order to play that other popular ice sport - Hockey, but soon learned that their calling was really figure skating. Although Kurt admitted he signed up for figure skating to meet girls (now there is a healthy Canadian boy). We don't tend to make our athletes into super stars out side of their sport in Canada like other countries (Japan and the US for instance) but we do love our Olympic and World champions just the same and admire what they accomplish in the sport. Names like Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Karen Magnussen, Toller Cranston, Barbara Ann Scott soon become household names when we talk about figure skating.

 

[moviechick]

yes, but the americans love win, I know she wont be like Serena Williams or those football players, but she can be enough popular. And Korea is not a country very into figure skating, it was more Yuna winning every competition that attracted their attention. And of course Mao and Yuna are not popular in the US, and I dont understand why they should??, they probably would be popular in there if were rivals of a great american figure skater.

A lot of foreign athletes are famous in the US. Federer and Nadal are household names, even for people who don't follow tennis. People also know Messi and Ronaldo even though Americans don't care much for soccer. But obviously these are much bigger sports worldwide than figure skating, which is more of a niche sport.

 

[Panpie]

FS is just not popular enough for anyone to be a real star in the US. Stars are people like Beyoncé, Jennifer Lawrence, LeBron James, Tom Brady, etc.

I agree. Gracie is pretty, and she's had some endorsements, most or perhaps all of which have been tied to the Olympics, but I don't see her becoming some huge star. Julia's youth, angelic face, and spectacular flexibility made NBC go nuts over her during the Olympics, and she certainly made an impression on Steven Spielberg. The general public in the United States seems to have moved on, however. I'm happy for Davis & White and wish them all success, but their Olympics aura will fade pretty soon. That's probably a good thing, since they probably want to continue with education, ice shows, and just getting on with their lives after their Dancing with the Stars stint.

 

[moviechick]

D&W unfortunately won in the discipline that Americans care the absolute least about. I mean, people here already question figure skating as a real sport.. ice dancing is like a joke for a lot of folks.

 

[fleeting]

Even around these parts - Lower Michigan, one of the coaching epicenters - figure skating's a four-year thing, unless you have a previous interest in the sport.
Why, today when someone asked why I looked tired and I replied I had stayed up to watch ice dancing and the ladies' long program and the gala, they asked what the difference between the Olympics and Worlds was. Didn't even know the difference or that Worlds was a thing - and that's the issue.

It simply doesn't have the exposure it does in other countries. Perhaps if NBC had actually shown Worlds live like they should've, it would have kept people's interest in the sport beyond the end of the ladies' event in Sochi.

 

[concorde]

I think a US ladies figure skater could become a start to the American public only if she were the "complete package." Meaning she must win an OGM, be good looking, and have a spunky personality. Without that combination, oh well ...

 

[moviechick]

Sadly, USFA discourages any kind of personality and prefers bland.

 

[pangtongfan]

Sadly, USFA discourages any kind of personality and prefers bland.

Well they can enjoy going bankrupt then. That they couldnt afford to pay Evan a bit behind scenes to help his comeback along in 2012 (and inevitably led to it never getting off the ground, and the U.S continuing their medal-less drought in mens since Vancouver) is probably telling to their current financial state, similar to the ISU struggles.

 

[moviechick]

lol, I think they saw a lost cause in Evan's comeback. Not really worth putting any money into that.

 

[centerpt1]

Evan had zero personality, a monotone voice and trite programs. (and no quad) He wouldn't be near the podium again. And if he was too proud to bother himself to skate with his peers-sad. He made lots of money off skating- then turned away and never even skated again in SOI. Not a class act at all.

Winning is important- but to be popular a skater would have to have an interesting back story, be attractive, and have something to say, or represent something of value.