Biggest fanbases in figure skating?

[eppen]

Although Adam Rippon's skating fanbase might be limited, he is the one who seems to have crossed over to the awareness of those not following the sport at all with force that seems to shadow even Hanyu's fame in the West.

Rippon is the only skater eg my colleagues at work have heard of, meaning those who barely know what figure skating is. The numbers of IG followers for the ladies posted earlier are small compared to Rippon's 858k.

E

 

[Rissa]

Although Adam Rippon's skating fanbase might be limited, he is the one who seems to have crossed over to the awareness of those not following the sport at all with force that seems to shadow even Hanyu's fame in the West.

Rippon is the only skater eg my colleagues at work have heard of, meaning those who barely know what figure skating is. The numbers of IG followers for the ladies posted earlier are small compared to Rippon's 858k.

E

That's fascinating how popular Dancing with the Stars can make somebody in the USA.

But yeah, Adam Rippon does seem to have fanbase that is completely separate from his skating career.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

I would put it this way. Michelle's fame and fortune was rooted in the American tradition of producing a Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill or Kristi Yamaguchi every few years. When Michelle won a world championship, this was America sending out their champion to conquer the world.

I think that Yagudin was more at home in the role of international performer and athlete. Plus, Michelle's peak of popularity was 1998, while Yagudin's was 2002. Those are he very years that the Internet was becoming a vehicle for wide-spread fandom across national and regional borders.

I think the story media create played a big part, not only the skaters performances. We couldnt see every competition/yotube back then like we can now, you didnt have a possibility to really witness something and choose cause what you were seeing is only what is created and served by the media. I was a little child during 90 and somehow my first memories of USA skaters (maybe also of skating in general - Bonaly came close as second) is Nancy Kerrigan. I cant remember Kwan or other skaters that much. I guess it was dependable of which skaters were more interesting for the media (or for my perception back then). I think in new millenium Pluschenko was definitely the most popular skater in the media across the Europe. Johny Weir was there as well as a person whose scores (and judges who gave them those scores) public in the arena booed even at two Olympics :thumbsup: ladies, pairs, dancers - not so much.

 

[kwanatic]

I really do think it's all relative to where you live and who you're talking to.

In the US, I'd bet a very small percentage of people on the street could name more than 5 figure skaters...and the percentage shrinks even more if the skater would have to be someone who competed in the last 15 years or so. Most people say "Michelle Kwan...Tonya Harding...Brian Boitano...Kristi Yamaguchi..."

It's sad how tiny our little figure skating world is in this country

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Although Adam Rippon's skating fanbase might be limited, he is the one who seems to have crossed over to the awareness of those not following the sport at all with force that seems to shadow even Hanyu's fame in the West.

Rippon is the only skater eg my colleagues at work have heard of, meaning those who barely know what figure skating is. The numbers of IG followers for the ladies posted earlier are small compared to Rippon's 858k.

E

Yeah. But he also performed the jump with different arms position which when i saw i thought it was the most interesting/original thing in FS, like ever (maybe after Bonalys backflip). So i became an instant fan and i think - its a technical movement which made him popular in my eyes :agree:

 

[el henry]

A few points:

1. Adam:

Since we were (I thought) talking about current skaters, and I am convinced that Adam Rippon is not competing again, I did not mention him.

He is far and away the most known skater in the US of A today. It's not only related to Dancing with the Stars, but to his life story, his activism, and the fact that he is an engaging and witty speaker.

That said, "number of fans" is not an equivalent for "Golly gee my skater must be the absolute bestest, look at all his or her fans!" It's an equivalent for "They have a lot of fans"

2. Ladies skaters from days of yore:

It is hard to imagine, if you weren't around then, but Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill were *famous* in the US of A. Like Adam is today. Beyond skating fans. Tonya and Nancy may have been in the news, but they were never famous, the way that Peggy and Dorothy were. (I guess I'm thinking of famous as a "Q" rating, not just "Who knows your name". You know, fan bases ) It wasn't simply a media creation, although media helps. Short n Sassy shampoo helped a lot.

It just is and was.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

^^^
Well i've never had a chance to expirience some of those moments. Like a lot of people started to follow FS from Yuna-Mao days, and some only after Sochi. We are falling in love in things we are able to 'witness', and thats how we become fans, dont we.

 

[el henry]

^^^
Well i've never had a chance to expirience some of those moments. Like a lot of people started to follow FS from Yuna-Mao days, and some only after Sochi. We are falling in love in things we are able to 'witness', and thats how we become fans, dont we.

Absolutely! and I am in awe of *all* skating fans. We are a dedicated bunch, to want to get together and talk about this like-no-other sport.

And develop fan bases

 

[lesnar001]

Short n Sassy shampoo helped a lot.

Dorothy Hamill haircut :luv17:

 

[Corwin]

Plushenko..always been and will be))

 

[maggieanne]

In the US Adam is without a doubt the most famous, but I wouldn’t say he has the biggest fan base. Many Americans think he is funny, but they aren’t dedicated enough to watch a competition he competed again or make any sort of fan content. They aren’t really fans, just casual Instagram followers, they likely know nothing about his skating accomplishments.
(That isn’t to say that Adam doesn’t have actual fans, I just wouldn’t say that they rival Yuzu’s)

 

[plushyfan]

I forgot to mention Johnny has big fanbase in China and Russia! I believe he has bigger than Adam has anywhere.

 

[mysticice]

So even though she was the dominant skater based off her world titles (and she definitely competed outside of North America for those), she might still have been less popular than other skaters because she didn't do enough GP events outside the US?

I'm from Europe and in the 1990's Michelle Kwan was always an afterthought for me in WCs because I never saw her anywhere else. No disrespect, I just always forgot she existed after watching European and Russian girls in other competitions during a season. It was like: "Who's the new girl? Oh wait a minute, I know, she is the what's-her-name from North America." It wasn't until 2002 Olys that she became a name for me. There was no social media and newspapers didn't write much about fs so if/when her programs weren't instantly memorable I forgot about her and watched the ones I liked/was more familiar with.

 

[narcissa]

Speaking of fanbases... https://twitter.com/YuzuruHanyuMuse/status/1043772031005687808

 

[Mathman]

I forgot to mention Johnny has big fanbase in China and Russia! I believe he has bigger than Adam has anywhere.

And speaking of Johnny Weir, did anyone catch him on the Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid on U.S. TV the other evening? He was up against gymnast Gabby Douglas. (she was all glammed up, too.

They tied, but Gabby won the tie-breaker. Johnny quipped, "It took me three hours to get my hair like this, and I lose?"

 

[Jeanie19]

And speaking of Johnny Weir, did anyone catch him on the Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid on U.S. TV the other evening? He was up against gymnast Gabby Douglas. (she was all glammed up, too.

They tied, but Gabby won the tie-breaker. Johnny quipped, "It took me three hours to get my hair like this, and I lose?"

No. I want to see it. Do you think it will be shown again?

 

[jenm]

Def Yuna, Yuzu and Mao by the sheer amount of business they rake in. Not only are the fans so dedicated to buy anything that has their face on it but also support any cause they participate in or advocate. An example is Yuna fans donating money to Unicef on Yuna's birthday.

In social media, Evgenia has quite the following. I would say a big part of it is because of Yuri On Ice and her obsession with different fandoms (anime, Kpop, animated films). Also Evgenia is a very charming and fun person.
In the cases of Yuzuru and Evgenia, social media as a network blew up at the time they're still competing. People are obsessed with social media and their dedication to follow just about anything and anyone they like have exponentially grew. Supporting or "liking" something or someone online has become part of life nowadays. This is also why I'd say Yuna's fanbase is very strong because she rarely posts anything and everything in her IG is either advertising or promoting Oly's, unicef, thanking fans. Her posts aren't personal or a peep into her private life but she still has the second most following in IG.

 

[plushyfan]

And speaking of Johnny Weir, did anyone catch him on the Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid on U.S. TV the other evening? He was up against gymnast Gabby Douglas. (she was all glammed up, too.

They tied, but Gabby won the tie-breaker. Johnny quipped, "It took me three hours to get my hair like this, and I lose?"

I like Johnny.