Misuse of unhappiness | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Misuse of unhappiness

Sugar Coated

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Vegas is a bit tacky and tasteless tbh, no offence to anyone who lives there or loves to go there, but it is.

I can't say I'm surprised it was more than a little cringey

Vegas is absolutely defined by being tacky and tasteless. I absolutely love visiting (didn't think I would the first time around), but I really only stay for like 3-4 days max before its starts to lose its novelty and appeal. Haven't seen video, but it sounds like a tacky illusionist who makes joke with his participants is completely on brand for Vegas. It is a shame if it was not the right thing for Keegan at the moment though.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Tacky or not - Vegas IS a great place to hold a skating competition. Housing can be inexpensive, food can be inexpensive, transportation to and from can be inexpensive and they're building some terrific venues. Flying in and out of Vegas again can be inexpensive. I say "can be" because if you do a little searching and don't need to stay on The Strip the town is very reasonable. It's set up for tourism and they want people to come ((for gambling, obviously) so they make it reasonable. As for inappropriate activities around the skaters - they can say "no" or the USFSA can say "no" - it just seems manageable. Keegan did put on a brave face and I can only imagine how difficult it was for him to be in the public eye while still grieving the loss of his brother. BUT - he did attend Skate America and had to have thought about what it would be like before he got there. More power to him.
 

Mishaminion

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
He looked mostly confused/bemused amusement at the card trick, like "wth is this crap? lol"

People do not just turn into a humourless "everything must be misery 24/7" kind of person when suffering grief. Emotions are up and down, and laughter is good medicine.
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
OT, but since it’s been mentioned, but I think this was a great venue for SA.

Smaller rink, entertainment and tourist setting in its own right, skaters liked it, easy to get to, hotels.

I think USFS should hold Nats there as well. :)
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
I actually thought the illusionist was good. The card (and money) tricks were very clever and well done. It's just that they needed the right watcher (I'm trying to come up with the right word: victim, sidekick, antagonist?).

Keegan fell way flat, C/P and the volunteer were both OK, Jason was really funny when he kept trying to grab the money (which would have totally spoiled the trick), and Tomono was exactly the reaction they were looking for. I'd have loved to see what Zach Donohue would have done with it.
 

TallyT

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 23, 2018
Country
Australia
OT, but since it’s been mentioned, but I think this was a great venue for SA.

Smaller rink, entertainment and tourist setting in its own right, skaters liked it, easy to get to, hotels.

I think USFS should hold Nats there as well. :)

Did they manage to fill the stands for any of the disciplines? Let's be honest, a small rink fairly full does look better than a big one... very empty.
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
Did they manage to fill the stands for any of the disciplines? Let's be honest, a small rink fairly full does look better than a big one... very empty.

I don’t know, but I agree with your comment. A small rink that is fullish has energy and atmosphere and the skaters can hear you, and covering the upper bowl in a larger venue looks like, well, covering the upper bowl in a larger venue ;)

And someplace like Vegas might actually get that mythical casual fan we all love: oh look honey, skating, let’s go watch, as opposed to a deliberate trek to Greensboro, where there are no tourists:laugh:

And you have magicians right there :biggrin:
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I doubt Keegan would have agreed to do it if he felt it was inappropriate. I think it is nice that he's being so brave and keeping his smile and sense of humour despite his tragic loss. Sounds cliche but I'm sure his brother would have wanted that.


It probably helped take his mind off of it. He had a few moments before, during, and after where he was definitely fighting emotion. To have even something as silly as the card trick to distract was probably welcome.

Keegan also goofed off at the end of the gala with Zach Donohue and it was the first REAL smile I saw from him that night, so :shrug: if he could find humor and joy in a moment of grief, good for him.


And I will say that the illusionist didn't have a whole lot of knowledge on who he was dealing with. He made a comment about Keegan not knowing much about deflate gate because he's "From Canada" - which yes it's a good guess considering he *skates* for Canada... but it's well known in the skating community where he grew up... doesn't mean the illusionist who has no real connection to skating is going to know - so he probably didn't know Keegan was dealing with a very new reality.
 

MGstyle

Crawling around on the ice after chestnuts
Medalist
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
That side show was completely pointless and irrelevant, I kept thinking they could have invited another skater or two to perform instead of this silly filler.
But picking out Keegan of all skaters was... really, seriously??? ... Keegan, the good sport that he is, bless his heart, played along - but it was cringe worthy.
But anyway, his performance was just so breath taking and heart breaking, in the end I totally forgot about it!
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
Keegan is strong, he could have pulled out of Skate America completely but he didn't. I'm not sure I'd be as strong as that.

His emotions are clearly all over the place and that's normal. It's okay to be sad and crying one minute yet smiling and trying to have fun the next. Keeping himself busy won't do him any harm either, although it's been hard for him to concentrate.

This reminds me of a well-known comedian whose son died tragically. He lived in NYC, where people were always greeting him with a laugh, a joke, a high-five, and so forth. After his son died, people would see him and immediately go sad-faced. He put out a statement that he appreciated it, but hoped that wouldn't continue. He was a funny-man, and that's how he wanted to relate.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
OT, but since it’s been mentioned, but I think this was a great venue for SA.

Smaller rink, entertainment and tourist setting in its own right, skaters liked it, easy to get to, hotels.

I think USFS should hold Nats there as well. :)

Everyone that I talked to while there said the same thing. I'd return without question to this venue.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
I was surprised that Skate America was held in Las Vegas in the first place. It just doesn't seem appropriate.

I haven't seen the gala yet, though.

Good luck finding the gala. Let me know if you do. NBC has it geoblocked here even though from what I can tell they are not showing it on any of their TV subsidiaries or NBC Sports Gold. Very very frustrating.
 
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