SamaraiKike, I’d like you to bookmark your post and go back to it 30-40 years from now. You’ll have had the experience of seeing this sport develop and evolve, but will likely still fondly appreciate what you’re seeing these days.
As someone well-heeled in that group of ‘older fans’, I can say I have seen skating brilliance, drama, and intrigue in every era. If you had watched the World Championships in the quad leading up to 1988, you would have seen these rivalries unfolding, volleying in title results, then culminating in the (okay, well-hyped) Battles of the Carmens and Brians. And for us who watched this series play out in ’85-‘88, it was an exciting lead-up with outcomes in Calgary not necessarily as expected or predicted.
I’m glad you enjoy today’s skating, and hope it still pleases your palette decades from now!
Haha, you were first in responding. Every sport develops over time, so of course the battle of the Brians is blah compared to the current level of skating. That's not really the point. I was fascinated at the time, and had a lot of discussions with friends who should have won. Like 'Off my rocker' I was intrigued by what what would be the outcome. Then, I was also intrigued in 1980 when Robert Cousins won. And, naturally, the level of skating (and jumps) was different and less complex compared to nowadays, I don't think that's the point. I've got two favourtie skates, one is Rudy Galindo in 1996 at his Nationals with no quad, but technically pretty awesome at the time. And so joyful, despite what Rudy was going through. And my second is Alexei Yagudin in 2002 which did have a quad. Perhaps the programme wan't up to the standard of t0day, still very enjoyable to watch. Not blah at all!