Tag Archives: Olympics

Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir too gay for that super-heterosexual sport of figure skating

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Three-time national figure skating champion Johnny Weir is too gay for that super straight sport of figure skating. The other two team members are regularly referred to by their titles. I’m the first write to refer to Weir as “three-time national figure skating champion” since the Olympics have begun.

Rather than three-time champion, NBC reporters regularly refer to him as “flamboyant Johnny Weir” or “over-the-top Johnny Weir.”

Earth to NBC: HE’S FIGURE SKATING. Let’s see you do a triple axle followed by a triple lutz and then we’ll listen to your homophobic slurs.

Current TV did a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek piece about the coverage of the wonderfully talented skater.

—  David Taffet

An inspirational moment

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Joannie Rochette of Canada tries to fight back the tears as she completes her short program in the 2010 Olympics
Joannie Rochette of Canada tries to fight back the tears as she completes her short program in the 2010 Olympics

Who watched Canadian Joannie Rochette skate her short program last night at the Olympics? I did, and I admit, it made me tear up.

For those who aren’t familiar with the story, Rochette is a Canadian figure skater who lost her mother unexpectedly to a heart attack less than 48 hours before skating last night. In a situation where most people would have been too overwhelmed with grief to even compete, Rochette stayed true to the dream she and her mother shared. She took to the ice and turned in the performance of her life. She earned a personal best score and is in third place going into the long program.

As she skated, the cameras showed her father in the stands, tears in his eyes. As she finished her program, the crowd rose to their feet as Rochette bent over, tears splashing onto the ice. It was a moment that, to me, encapsulated the spirit of the Olympics: Athletes defying the odds and doing their best, inspired by — and inspiring to — the people who worked and sacrificed alongside them to put them in that moment of potential glory.

Kim Yuna of Korea was near perfect in a dazzling routine and has a huge lead going into the long program. Mao Asada landed a triple axle (!)  and was nearly as perfect as Kim. She is in second place at the moment. Both deserved their scores and both deserve their places in the standings.

But it was Rochette who won people’s hearts last night and who I will remember long after the 2010 Olympics are over. Because sometimes, technical perfection isn’t as important as effort and emotion. (Read more about it here.)

—  admin

Not just offensive, but boring to boot

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I have always enjoyed watching figure skating (like the Olympics and the world championships type figure skating; not Barney on Ice type figure skating). I used to know a little bit about how they judged the competition, but since all the judging changes were made, now I just watch for what entertains me personally in a routine.

Last night, watching Russian ice dancing champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin perform their original dance routine in the Olympics, I was neither entertained nor amused. And neither were a lot of Australian Aboriginal leaders.

See, this year’s theme for the original dance portion of the ice dancing competition is “folk dancing.” For some reason, the Russian pair decided to “pay tribute” to the Aboriginal culture with their routine. To me, it looked more like “make fun of” instead of “pay tribute to.”

I thought the costumes were stupid. The “funny faces” the two made throughout the routine, and the way Shabalin “dragged” Domnina by her ponytail in parts of the dance looked like something out of a bad Vaudeville routine. Their moves did not seem particular difficult, nor was their footwork impressive. And to top it off, it all seemed badly skated to me.

Since I am not of Aboriginal descent, my complaints about the dance being offensive don’t count for much. But the complaints of Aboriginal leaders do count. And here’s what Aboriginal leader Bev Manton, chairwoman of the NSW Land Council had to say about it: “I am offended by the performance and so are our other councillors. Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people — whether they are from Australia or Russia. It’s important for people to tread carefully and respectfully when they are depicting somebody else’s culture and I don’t think this performance does.”

—  admin