Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 13, 2014 10:02:04 GMT
Libby, you have got me seriously hooked on figure skating! I've even bought the music to a few of Charlie & Meryl's and Tessa & Scott's routines. I think the best thing about being neither American or Canadian is that I can like both Tessa & Scott and Meryl & Charlie without feeling like I'm betraying patriotic duties! Ha ha ha  I like the drama and excitement of Charlie & Meryl's routines, but I also like the romance and passion of Tessa and Scott's. Slightly devastated that I only discovered them before their retirement from competition! But do you think they will continue to skate - just not in competition? Like for entertainment shows etc? P.S I really like this performance of Virtue and Moir to Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 14, 2014 1:52:08 GMT
Hello Libby!  I did notice your little indiscretion, but gave the video the benefit of the doubt as it wasn't by Hayley.  Richard  Thanks, Richard, but I think I'll just leave it out of my post. I do remember posting a similar type of video of a Josh Groban song one time, but it was deleted. Maybe that time I might have posted it in a thread that was Hayley-related, or something. Jillian, which songs, out of curiosity? I would guess one is the Samson & Delilah song? I'm probably going to download it too, but sometimes there are songs that I can't help but listen to while I'm watching someone skate to it! Actually, Jillian, my favorite ice dance pair after Meryl & Charlie are Canadian! So the country doesn't necessarily make a difference. They're just not Tessa & Scott, that's all. It's more that T & S have been M & C's biggest rivals, and I just prefer M & C over them. It's not just about US vs. Canada. But before I reveal my favorite Canadian pair, I'll finish showing Meryl & Charlie videos. It's more fun to post videos when I know you haven't seen them yet.  Another thing is, when I try to remember their rivalry, I can barely remember it beyond the year before the 2010 Olympics. Part of the problem I think was that for a while I wasn't seeing as much skating because at the beginning of the 2008/2009 season, the ABC-affiliated sportsnetwork of ESPN suddenly announced they had given all the skating rights over to NBC, which has been the Olympic channel for quite some time now. And unfortunately, NBC at first would not show any Grand Prix skating events, only the Nationals and Worlds. Even now, when they show skating events, they only show it for 2 hours on a Sunday, which is hardly any time to show a whole skating event! After a while, we found an NBC sports network called Universal Sports, but eventually, the network was cut off to almost all cable subscribers. BUT thankfully, I live near Canada, so I get Canada's CBC network, and they show much better coverage of the skating events... except for Skate Canada, the Canadian nationals, and the Olympics, which are shown on a different channel that I don't get. So because all of this, it was almost as if Tessa & Scott just appeared out of nowhere and were suddenly one of the best ice dancers in the world. So, it's almost like I hadn't seen them enough to have a chance to start liking them. Now, today's video is actually the first program/season I ever saw M & C, or at least that I can remember, skating to “Prince Igor Polovtsian Dances” by A. Borodin (quoted from their website): |
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 16, 2014 1:13:07 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Richard on Mar 16, 2014 9:01:46 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 16, 2014 22:27:15 GMT
Yeah, thanks Jillian. Their Mahler program was definitely beautiful and elegant, so I wasn't too upset that they beat Meryl & Charlie. I can live with someone winning over my favorites if they skate a perfect, beautiful program as they did. Of course I can't deny that I was disappointed that Meryl & Charlie, after performing their "ninja" program, still couldn't catch them. But sometimes elegance is favored over athleticism. This time, M & C nailed both athleticism and elegance with Sheherazade, I think, anyway. Tessa & Scott's 2014 program annoyed me for a couple of reasons: First, the style of music seemed nearly identical to their 2010 program - soft and ethereal. Which is fine, but it just made it seem like they were trying to repeat their 2010 Olympics a little too much. Second, I never could figure out what the program was about! That was due largely to the fact that Tessa wore not only a different dress each time out, she wore a different color, too! First it was pink, Scott was red. Very nice. Then, the next event, she chose an emerald green! Next, white, and with hair up, looked almost the same as her 2010 Olympic outfit. Then, in the Olympic team event, she wore red, with a gold and red design on the upper half. I did not like that one. Then, for the main event, back to pink, though still slightly different from the first pink dress. This only served to confuse me more as to the theme of their program. I think during the Olympics they finally said it was supposed to be a celebration of their career together. Well, that's nice, but it was too late for me to care anymore. And then, when T & S won the silver medal and Tessa was actually crying on the podium, I became very annoyed with them, and I'm afraid there's no hope of my ever becoming a fan of them. I respect their quality skating, but despise their attitude about not winning a second time. You didn't see Meryl & Charlie crying when they won their silver medal last time!  Today's video is Meryl & Charlie's first ever short dance to La Traviata, from the 2011 World championships, which they won! This was the season the short dances made thier debut. The compulsory portion is the Golden Waltz. I love Meryl's purple dress!!  It may also be interesting to note that that year, the Worlds had been scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan in March. There almost wasn't a World's, but miraculously, they were able to hold it in Moscow a month later than usual. |
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 17, 2014 10:19:50 GMT
Libby, Reminds me a bit of this:  LOL I always actually thought that Tom Daley won the gold in the 10m platform the way that the UK media were carrying on! ha ha ha |
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 17, 2014 15:20:13 GMT
I must also confess that I have actually become a big fan of Tessa and Scott... although I do completely understand your perspective. lol Here's a nice picture of Charlie and Meryl as a peace offering! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 18, 2014 4:40:55 GMT
I think I'd be a fan of them too if I had had the chance to see them more before, and them not acting so silly about their second Olympics. I just remembered another reason I didn't see them very much. One season, I think before the Olympics, Tessa had to have knee surgery, and wasn't able to compete most of the season. I hope you enjoyed the Golden Waltz. I think you may have seen their World champion winning tango (as was the waltz above), but it's such an exciting moment for them, and a great program, that I just have to post it. |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 23, 2014 3:44:39 GMT
Here are Meryl & Charlie's Latin-themed short dance, which includes a Jennifer Lopez song, from the 2011/2012 season. This the 4 Continents competition (when in reality, normally only 2 continents, NA and Asia are represented).
|
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 23, 2014 10:21:53 GMT
I'm still kicking myself that I only discovered this just as Davis/White and Virtue/Moir are apparently retiring!! Although I think I saw that V/M are hinting that they will keep dancing for a few seasons more - but not necessarily to the 2018 Olympics. Are Charlie and Meryl still adamant that they are retiring?
I guess a fair bit of the year will be taken up with DWTS and the various Stars on Ice tours, so neither team will have to make a decision soon. I don't think the 2014/15 season starts until October?
|
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 23, 2014 11:32:26 GMT
Oh and I also checked out the DWTS videos.. I think I like Meryl the best so far. |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 24, 2014 5:04:37 GMT
After the Olympics, neither one was adamant about anything. But I've been so used to the idea that they were retiring, because that's what they said before! I will miss them, but now, again, because I was so used to the idea, I was ready to accept it and focus on the other team that I like so much. I love them, and am glad they've done so well, but they (or Tessa & Scott) can't hog the top of the podium forever. I think it's time to give other good teams a chance. It's time to move over and move on. They've both had great careers, and skaters can't go on forever, so that's why I'm sounding a bit harsh towards my favorite team now. LOL But I think what really has them second-guessing is all the fans and reporters who are asking them. But, in recent years, there have been several skaters that have won Olympic medals and said, "I'll come back next season... oh wait, next season. Oh yes, it'll be this season. Oh wait, not until Nationals, because I'm injured. But then, nope, not Nationals, either... Oh well, I guess that's the end of me". LOL They don't really say that last part, but I do. But then I guess for men's skaters who do the huge quad jumps, it's a different story than ice dancing, so it's not as hard to keep up with the youngsters as it is for the men's and women's single skaters. And pairs, for that matter, with the big throw jumps they do. Yeah, I liked Meryl best, too. In fact, because Charlie was scored over her, and I didn't have a lot of time, I only ended up voting for her. Luckily I discovered there's a limit of 12 votes per household! Oh yes, now I have to make that DWTS thread, don't I? I think Charlie's doing a tango tomorrow. Not sure what Meryl is doing. |
|
Jillian
Global Moderator
Posts: 3,050
|
Post by Jillian on Mar 24, 2014 10:34:22 GMT
After the Olympics, neither one was adamant about anything. But I've been so used to the idea that they were retiring, because that's what they said before! I will miss them, but now, again, because I was so used to the idea, I was ready to accept it and focus on the other team that I like so much. I love them, and am glad they've done so well, but they (or Tessa & Scott) can't hog the top of the podium forever. I think it's time to give other good teams a chance. It's time to move over and move on. They've both had great careers, and skaters can't go on forever, so that's why I'm sounding a bit harsh towards my favorite team now. LOL But I think what really has them second-guessing is all the fans and reporters who are asking them. But, in recent years, there have been several skaters that have won Olympic medals and said, "I'll come back next season... oh wait, next season. Oh yes, it'll be this season. Oh wait, not until Nationals, because I'm injured. But then, nope, not Nationals, either... Oh well, I guess that's the end of me". LOL They don't really say that last part, but I do. But then I guess for men's skaters who do the huge quad jumps, it's a different story than ice dancing, so it's not as hard to keep up with the youngsters as it is for the men's and women's single skaters. And pairs, for that matter, with the big throw jumps they do. . Regardless, I don't think that Charlie and Meryl, in particular, are going to vanish anytime soon. If either one of them wins DWTS, there will be a fair bit of publicity following that and people will want to see them skate... I don't suppose it's out of the question for them to keep doing shows like Stars on Ice for the next few years even if they don't do the competitive circuit? |
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 25, 2014 6:19:25 GMT
No, I think they should do Stars on Ice for a long time! Some skaters start coaching later on. One thing that may decide things is if Charlie ever decides to propose to Tanith Belbin (she's the one commentating in my recent video above). No, they won't disappear from the skating radar, but I think they've competed long enough. It would be fun if they continued, but not for other great teams that deserve a shot at the World podium.
|
|
|
|
Post by Libby on Mar 26, 2014 20:35:18 GMT
Here's their free dance to Die Fledermaus, a very elegant, charming waltz (I have no idea why everything's backwards): And here is my one favorite show programs they've done (their show pieces for some reason rarely excite me), to Adele's Someone Like You (also one of the few songs by her that I halfway like): It makes it appear that Meryl is saying that about Charlie and Tanith, but no. LOL I think Meryl is also attached. Anyway, I remember reading a tweet by Meryl expressing admiration for Adele's voice in this song, and not long after, they were skating to this. |
|
It may also be interesting to note that that year, the Worlds had been scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan in March. There almost wasn't a World's, but miraculously, they were able to hold it in Moscow a month later than usual.