I agree that it would have been a different story if Lipnitskaia had won. Although she didn't win quite everything in sight leading up to the Games, she definitely had the momentum and the buzz even before her spectacular performance in the team event. Even the most casual of skating fans knew about the girl in the red coat. If Julia had won the individual gold medal instead of Adelina, Yuna Kim fans would have been disappointed but not horror-struck.
Erm no. They would've been similarly outraged, but readily outraged instead of outraged in a blindsided manner. People on these boards were betting and worrying whether Lipniskaia would be successfully hyped to an OGM as early as Euros. Even before the individual event people were uneasy and the outrage was already building.