2018 US nats Experiences & Practice Reports

Having been to many events at the Shark Tank, seated in various sections, I can say with authority that there is not a bad seat in the house. We've got a great view of the entire ice surface from our spots in section 217.
And that's a good thing because my companion has two replacement knees and doesn't do well with stairs. I don't think we'll be trying to upgrade.

CoyoteChris said:

I am sick, my friends Andy, Evylen, Clarence, and Karyn are sick. I am not going to the breakfast so I won't be the one to give this crud to our skaters. Giving ticket to deserving forum member today.

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Get well soon, CoyoteChris!

TCAngel18 said:

I just had to rewatch that now! One of the best programs of all time. Love that Saint-Saens symphony! I think there’s also Jupiter from Holst and Pines of Rome there too. Such a terrific program! I think if he repeated those Nationals performances in Vancouver, he would have been Olympic champion.

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Indeed about the Olympics. I was rooting so hard for him to rise to the occasion - I think the judges would not have been opposed to making him the Oly Champ had he done so (and also Lambiel too). I still think he's the best US man ever up to this point all things considered. The only thing he didn't have was consistency. His musicality always got me.

Shibs practice :

https://twitter.com/ritardando16/status/949742254511423488

What a day! I was the harried-looking woman following the wheelchair after the men's program tonight. But did that stop me from drive-by fangirling? Nope. I was headed toward the elevator and Ryan Bradley walked by. Not breaking stride, I turned and barked "Ryan! You're awesome!"
In a quieter moment, I had the opportunity to fangirl on Rohene Ward for a minute. He seems like a real sweetheart!
Lastly, I have to say how grateful I am for the staff at the Shark Tank and their professionalism today. There were moments I wanted to pull out my hair, but all I had to do was ask for help, and they took care of us.
Hopefully I'll have more to report tomorrow night. And the energy to do so.

Ravyn Rant said:

What a day! I was the harried-looking woman following the wheelchair after the men's program tonight. But did that stop me from drive-by fangirling? Nope. I was headed toward the elevator and Ryan Bradley walked by. Not breaking stride, I turned and barked "Ryan! You're awesome!"
In a quieter moment, I had the opportunity to fangirl on Rohene Ward for a minute. He seems like a real sweetheart!
Lastly, I have to say how grateful I am for the staff at the Shark Tank and their professionalism today. There were moments I wanted to pull out my hair, but all I had to do was ask for help, and they took care of us.
Hopefully I'll have more to report tomorrow night. And the energy to do so.

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So jealous! Ryan is just amazing!

Hopefully you had a good time. Sounds like an interesting time, definitely LOL

TCAngel18 said:

So jealous! Ryan is just amazing!

Hopefully you had a good time. Sounds like an interesting time, definitely LOL

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I am having a great time, it's just been a bit more stressful than I anticipated. My friend is a wonderful person, but she's 20 years older than I am and really, really stubborn about her limitations...until she's in enough pain that she needs help. Lots and lots of help. I knew the job was dangerous when I took it. But hey, she got to see her first Nats, and I made it happen. Good for me (and Mr. Rant, who's been quietly keeping me sane all weekend).
Now Mr. Rant's SanHo experience has been really interesting. He picked us up last night and told us all about going to a Rastafarian church with a group of Sufi gang-bangers. Definitely one of those 'only in California' moments!

[EDITED TO ADD: I only approached Ashley at the bar because at that point the bar was basically empty and she was just waiting for her drinks. Beyond that, I was just a fly on the wall. I imagine that if I had gone around approaching people in conversation or if the bar were overrun with fans, it would have broken up the party. I would advise anyone at future events fortunate enough to land in my situation to use similar discretion—after all, they've just finished the most stressful event of the year, and they just want to unwind, not worry about fan service]

I hit the jackpot and ended up in the same hotel as a bunch of the skaters.
I was in the same elevator as Rafael Artunian, who's as intense in an elevator as he is by the boards. He caught me trying to take a creep pic of him, so some of that intenseness was directed at me and I thought my week was made (I got glared at by Rafael Artunian!)... until...
Then I went dowI n to the hotel bar to grab a late dinner with my boyfriend, and I ran into Ashley Wagner at the bar, and I thanked her for being the only US skater in Sochi who spoke up against the anti-LGBT laws there and for generally being "real". I wasn't surprised, but off-camera, she's super gracious and the sweetest person in the world (despite the "diva" persona she portrays on ice and is portrayed as in the media).
And then, that bar ended up being a who's-who of US figure skating to the point where everyone who passed by us looked at us to make sure they shouldn't say hi. Highlights included sitting across the bar island from Gracie Gold, with whom I kept on accidentally making eye contact while waiting for my pizza, and Mirai sitting with (presumably) her boyfriend who just seemed like a nice guy and a good fit for her (even though that's stupid because I don't actually know her)... although I think I was a bit too obviously eavesdropping on their conversation with Simon Shapnir that was happening right behind me (she accidentally bumped me at one point) and she went to the other side of the bar.
Anyhow, life made.

AnalyticalMind said:

I hit the jackpot and was in the official hotel.
I was in the same elevator as Rafael Artunian, who's as intense in an elevator as he is by the boards. He caught me trying to take a creep pic of him, so some of that intenseness was directed at me and I thought my week was made (I got glared at by Rafael Artunian!)... until...
Then I went down to the hotel bar to grab a late dinner with my boyfriend, and I ran into Ashley Wagner at the bar, and I thanked her for being the only US skater in Sochi who spoke up against the anti-LGBT laws there and for generally being "real". I wasn't surprised, but off-camera, she's super gracious and the sweetest person in the world (despite the "diva" persona she portrays on ice and is portrayed as in the media).
And then, that bar ended up being a who's-who of US figure skating to the point where everyone who passed by us looked at us to make sure they shouldn't say hi. Highlights included sitting across the bar island from Gracie Gold, with whom I kept on accidentally making eye contact while waiting for my pizza, and Mirai sitting with (presumably) her boyfriend who just seemed like a nice guy and a good fit for her (even though that's stupid because I don't actually know her)... although I think I was a bit too obviously eavesdropping on their conversation with Simon Shapnir that was happening right behind me (she accidentally bumped me at one point) and she went to the other side of the bar.
Anyhow, life made.

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SUPER jealous But super happy for you!

shine said:

Indeed about the Olympics. I was rooting so hard for him to rise to the occasion - I think the judges would not have been opposed to making him the Oly Champ had he done so (and also Lambiel too). I still think he's the best US man ever up to this point all things considered. The only thing he didn't have was consistency. His musicality always got me.

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Well other than the fact he had a severe sinus infection while in Vancouver in 2010.

AnalyticalMind said:

I hit the jackpot and was in the official hotel.
I was in the same elevator as Rafael Artunian, who's as intense in an elevator as he is by the boards. He caught me trying to take a creep pic of him, so some of that intenseness was directed at me and I thought my week was made (I got glared at by Rafael Artunian!)... until...
Then I went down to the hotel bar to grab a late dinner with my boyfriend, and I ran into Ashley Wagner at the bar, and I thanked her for being the only US skater in Sochi who spoke up against the anti-LGBT laws there and for generally being "real". I wasn't surprised, but off-camera, she's super gracious and the sweetest person in the world (despite the "diva" persona she portrays on ice and is portrayed as in the media).
And then, that bar ended up being a who's-who of US figure skating to the point where everyone who passed by us looked at us to make sure they shouldn't say hi. Highlights included sitting across the bar island from Gracie Gold, with whom I kept on accidentally making eye contact while waiting for my pizza, and Mirai sitting with (presumably) her boyfriend who just seemed like a nice guy and a good fit for her (even though that's stupid because I don't actually know her)... although I think I was a bit too obviously eavesdropping on their conversation with Simon Shapnir that was happening right behind me (she accidentally bumped me at one point) and she went to the other side of the bar.
Anyhow, life made.

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oooh, tell us more about Mirai's BF!

That sounds almost unreal, haha. You'd think they'd be going to other bars, but maybe if it's a high end hotel...

Miss Ice said:

oooh, tell us more about Mirai's BF!

That sounds almost unreal, haha. You'd think they'd be going to other bars, but maybe if it's a high end hotel...

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I’m assuming it’s either the Fairmont or the Marriott in San Jose, which are both 4 Star Hotels.

Deleted.

I meant to come in here all week and post observations but was having a tough time with my phone and my fingernails. (don't laugh....) My friend and I deliberately went to all the Junior shorts and longs to see who was coming up. VERY impressed with two of the Junior Men - Camden Pulkinen got the gold and he's our future in men's skating. Mark my word. The other little darling was Dinh Tran. Lives in SF and has to walk through a really bad part of town to get to his rink. Very exciting to watch. Pretty small guy with a huuuuge personality and some great jumps. Quite an entertainer. The winner of the Junior Ladies was Alysa Liu and I swear she could give some of the senior ladies a good run. She's only 12!!! Her Dad sat in front of us at the gala and was almost in tears he was so proud of her. She throws triples like they were nothing. Jumps high, rotates fast, and skates clean.

I haven't read this thread so don't know if anybody reported on the Olympic kickoff party last night. My friend and I decided we had to go, paid our $100 each :shocked: and it was well worth it. To start with, all the past US gold medalists were there with the exception of Tara and Charlie and Meryl. So we had Dick Button (using a walker and looking really frail) Tenley Albright, Carol Heiss Jenkins, her husband Hayes Jenkins, Kristi, Brian Boitano and Peggy Fleming (not looking so good these days) There was an opening from Rusty Kath and then the 2018 Olympic team walked in and were introduced. Adam Rippon gave a speech that was kind of long, pretty funny, and very heartfelt. He calls Nathan and Vincent his "boys" as they weren't hardly born when he started skating. Told the story of seeing Nathan for the first time when he was 10 and hoping that he, Adam, would retire before he had to compete against him. Then there were formal pictures and then the skaters just walked among all of us, chatted, let us take pictures, etc. It was really, really fun. Other past competitors were there such as Paul Wiley, Ben Agosto, Jeremy Abbott, Tim Goebel, Simon Schnapir,and a current/past skater Polina Edmunds. All of the Oly team is very comfortable dealing with the fans with the exception of Vincent Zhou who is really shy and didn't seem used to being in crowds like this.

The money for the ticket goes toward helping the skaters' families get to the Olympics. Good cause.

The staff at SAP Center was very accomodating. Once they realized that the first thing we want when we arrive there is the skating order for the day - they made sure they had it. The food options were better than they were in 2012 but I still felt like I ate grease and salt for a week.

Forgot to mention the highlight of my week. I've posted here before that a good friend of mine took pictures 2 years in a row of Jason holding a sign that said "I am (my name's) biggest fan" and "I'm still (my name's) biggest fan!" The pictures are darling and I obviously value them. Jason was in the concourse taking selfies with fans and I walked up, asked him if he remembered taking those pictures and he said YES. I said "well, I'm (my name!)" He yelled OMG and gave me the biggest hug. Fortunately my friend got a picture of it and sent it to my son with the caption "here's your Mom going all cougar on Jason Brown!" Hmph. He's such a sweetheart though. After practice for the gala he was going around the rink thanking people, hugging and shaking hands, taking pictures with them. He truly, truly appreciates the support. I swear he got the biggest ovations of the week every time he stepped on the ice.

I'm back home and wanted to post some thoughts and thanks for the 5 days I spent in San Jose.

First of all, being an east coaster I was so fortunate to escape the deep freeze, and doubly fortunate to fly home to Newark, and not JFK, where they had flooding and all sorts of mayhem. Had a 90 minute delay leaving San Jose, but it could've been much worse. (And I love that the San Jose TSA doesn't make you remove your shoes, put your luggage in bins or use those invasive body scanners.)

The competitions were exciting and full of drama. I was ecstatic for Mirai, heartbroken for Ashley but also happy for Bradie and Karen. Same deal for the men, happy for the team but sorry that Max and Jason under performed. I felt Adam deserved his spot due to his stellar GP results, but regret that Ross got shafted.

Dance was a real nail biter, with the the top 3 so close. I was disappointed for the Shibs but they did make a mistake and H/D were able to capitalize on it and grab the gold.

The Knierims going to the Olympics was a foregone conclusion, IMO, but Alexa's emotional reaction really touched me. Really enjoyed the top 4 teams.

I want to thank all the GSers I met and re-met, Mrs.P, ice coverage, Ruffledgrouse, Hyena, CoyoteChris, nguyhm, Sjs5572, Itzme and others who I'm not sure what their screen names are! It was really fun to hang out, eat and talk skating with a bunch of passionate and smart people Thanks to Mrs P for giving me her EX ticket since she got Coyote Chris's who was under the weather.

I think the highlight was attending the FOFS breakfast where so many skaters showed up and mingled with the guests, with Ryan Bradley playing host. I got to meet Jason Brown (he really does hug everyone!), Max Settlage, Courtney Hicks, Karen Chen, Angela Wang, Brynne McIsaac, Grant Hochstein (and a very shy Caroline Zhang), Sean Rabbitt, Jeremy Abbott, Jimmy Ma, Alex Johnson, Ashley Cain & Tim LeDuc. I missed the chance to talk to Bradie, the Knierims and Mariah Bell, who didn't stay very long but it was nice to see them there. I wish Mirai had shown up but maybe she was doing interviews or getting some well deserved rest. And another shout out to Mrs. P for tag teaming with me while we mingled with the skaters and took pictures (when she wasn't talking to Jason's dad, that is!).

Many of them signed my Skate America t-shirt, so it's nice and full with signatures including a little drawing that Max S. did. He really is such a talented artist and I complemented him on his drawings.

It was also fun to see so many skaters in the audience cheering for their friends. During the men's FS, I was sitting in a section under a hospitality box that contained Michelle Kwan, her sister Karen Kwan-Oppegard, Frank Carroll, Evan Lysacek and Vera Wang!

I also loved that the SAP Center had a relaxed food policy so me and many others could bring in meals from Whole Foods, which was the hangout place for skaters and fans alike. The ladies rooms were also great with plenty of stalls, so the wait was never more than a minute or two. Since there were also sections in the lower bowl that had empty seats, I never wound up sitting in the upper bowl at all (which was my original all event ticket purchase).

apgold said:

I'm back home and wanted to post some thoughts and thanks for the 5 days I spent in San Jose.

... I want to thank all the GSers I met and re-met, Mrs.P, ice coverage, Ruffledgrouse, Hyena, CoyoteChris, nguyhm, Sjs5572, Itzmel and others who I'm not sure what their screen names are! It was really fun to hang out, eat and talk skating with a bunch of passionate and smart people Thanks to Mrs P for giving me her EX ticket since she got Coyote Chris's who was under the weather.

I think the highlight was attending the FOFS breakfast where so many skaters showed up and mingled with the guests, with Ryan Bradley playing host. I got to meet Jason Brown (he really does hug everyone!), Max Settlage, Courtney Hicks, Karen Chen, Angela Wang, Brynne McIsaac, Grant Hochstein (and a very shy Caroline Zhang), Sean Rabbit, Jeremy Abbott, Jimmy Ma, Alex Johnson, Ashley Cain & Tim LeDuc. I missed the chance to talk to Bradie, the Knierims and Mariah Bell, who didn't stay very long but it was nice to see them there. I wish Mirai had shown up but maybe she was doing interviews or getting some well deserved rest.

...

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Thx for taking the time to write out your thoughts, apgold.
I enjoyed meeting and spending time with you and others.

And I enjoyed my first FOFS breakfast, although was angry at myself later for missing the chance to speak to some skaters who were there. For example, Nate Bartholomay initially was surrounded by other fans, so I intended to circle back later to catch him, but when the breakfast was ending, I realized that I hadn't spoken to him, and he appeared to be gone by then. (My fault, not his. Certainly not blaming him.)
Will mention a few other skaters: Logan Bye was a highlight for me. He was soooo sweet and charming. (Chloe was sick and did not attend.) Tomoki was very pleasant and sociable. I had met Jordan Moeller before, and he once again was super-nice.

My understanding is that at the same time as the FOFS breakfast, USFS meetings (perhaps one-on-one meetings??) were going on down the hall with Olympians (and maybe their coaches and/or families and/or agents?).
For example, Vincent did appear briefly at the FOFS breakfast (accompanied by David Baden, I believe) shortly after the other skaters had finished introducing themselves. Another fan and I were hoping that the organizers would give Vincent a belated turn with the microphone. But someone from USFS told me that she actually was surprised that Vincent was at the bkfst at all -- because he was supposed to be in a meeting. So I think he was just stopping by the breakfast on his way to his meeting? Same perhaps for Nathan, Bradie, Knierims?? In Karen's case, maybe she stopped by after her meeting?

I was able to congratulate Adam's mother (whom I admire a lot ) at the breakfast although he was not there (AFAIK). She was gracious as always. I got the impression that she was half-waiting to be summoned at any moment to his meeting.
Similarly, I saw Coach Tom Z kinda zip by ... woulda said Hello and Congratulations to him, but he disappeared down the hall before I had a chance.

One of my favorite moments during the Ladies FS was seeing Frank Carroll up in the hospitality suite standing up and applauding Mirai after her free skate.

Ravyn Rant said:

Having been to many events at the Shark Tank, seated in various sections, I can say with authority that there is not a bad seat in the house.

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Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised that the view was good pretty much anywhere you sat.

apgold said:

I think the highlight was attending the FOFS breakfast where so many skaters showed up and mingled with the guests, with Ryan Bradley playing host. I got to meet Jason Brown (he really does hug everyone!), Max Settlage, Courtney Hicks, Karen Chen, Angela Wang, Brynne McIsaac, Grant Hochstein (and a very shy Caroline Zhang), Sean Rabbit, Jeremy Abbott, Jimmy Ma, Alex Johnson, Ashley Cain & Tim LeDuc. I missed the chance to talk to Bradie, the Knierims and Mariah Bell, who didn't stay very long but it was nice to see them there. I wish Mirai had shown up but maybe she was doing interviews or getting some well deserved rest. And another shout out to Mrs. P for tag teaming with me while we mingled with the skaters and took pictures (when she wasn't talking to Jason's dad that is!).

Many of them signed my Skate America t-shirt, so it's nice and full with signatures including a little drawing that Max S. did. He really is such a talented artist and I complemented him on his drawings.

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apgold, I was standing there while Max S. crouched down on the floor and drew something on a t-shirt. I wonder if that was you I was talking to! He was also showing us his drawing of Mirai. I think maybe I met you and didn't know it!...I second your remarks on the arena. Restrooms, very friendly & professional staff, some healthy food options, relaxed food policy -- all good!

What is an FOFS breakfast? I will have to get advice from y'all next time I go, I went last year and did not see or meet a single skater. The closest I've come is walking past Javi at worlds when he was on his way to a press conference, and that wasn't very close.