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redfiona99My somewhat late comments:
So I set off for Sheffield at 9 in the morning, and for once it wasn't the rail network that caused the chaos, no, I did it. In a move which should shred any belief anyone had in my competence as an adult, I forgot to get the phone number of my friend with the ticket. She did e-mail it to me, but I forgot to check my e-mails on the Friday night.
So I arrive in plenty of time, but have no ticket. By the time the full level of my foolishness became apparent and I'd bought a ticket, the first group of the men's free had already been and gone. Thankfully, I was in time for the second group
Which you know, given that Kim Lucine was only in the second group, and from Monaco, a country not renowned for its ice skating, may tell you more about everyone else, rather than his performance. That being said, it's still awesome and fun. I was up in one of the corners and he was one of the few whose choreography seemed big enough to include everyone - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2wshOKvFWE The poor dear looked out on his feet by the end of it.
I seem to recall he had a huge jump in positions.
Other than that, there was the third Russian who managed to have less artistic merit than Plushenko, something which I believed was humanly impossible, and Zoltan Keleman of Romania who looked immensely pleased with his season's best. Him, I like. The group was rounded out by Paolo Bacchini (Ita) proving that it is not possible for a single skater to dance to the overture to Rossini's Barber of Seville (you know the one, the one that goes 'laaaa, la, la, la, la, la, la, laaaa,' or, if you're me, the one from Bugs Bunny - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YQs2H7vop8&feature=related), not that he didn't give it his all - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzLBrCNyMJA
Poor Kevin van der Perren was too injured to skate, then Joubert skated, managing to land his quad but fouling up a lot of everything else. He still got a heroes welcome, mind you. And once he was finished I thought to myself, 'well, that was plenty nerve-wracking enough, while I'd never wish injury on Plushenko, it's probably just as well that he's too injured to compete'. Those who want to point and laugh can do so now.
Samuel Contesti who was in this group came out looking like, well, I have no idea what, Italian Communist circa 1930 is my best bet, but he pulled it off - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGVGOP0z-YM
Being as I had not been following the skating news closely enough, and missed that it was just the Worlds, and not the Europeans and the Worlds, that Plushenko was missing, you can imagine that I was somewhat nonplussed to see his name come up. Somewhere between confused, elated and terrified. I mean, he's my favourite, my absolute and utter favourite, but I'm sure there are people who have favourites who don't make their hearts soar while their stomach sinks (or vice versa, my internal organs wish I'd chosen someone else).
The funniest thing was watching him and Gachinski skate in the warm up, because while I may joke about Mischin having a whole clone army of erratic blonds, it's only funny if it's not true. When he starts sending out two long, rangy, messy haired blonds in black and diamanté (thankfully, only one of them was wearing gloves), it becomes worryingly accurate.
Thomas Verner went first. It's probably a good thing I didn't meet up with the people I was supposed to be sitting with since there were several Verner fangirls and I don't get it. He's not bad, but he's nothing special either. Apparently he has charisma (what's the shoulder shrugging emoticon again).
Then came Evgeni - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ngQgDVwqP8 (as an aside, I want to steal the Russian commentators again)
I joke about his artistic merit, or lack thereof, but this was worse than usual. You know how he normally skates at whatever he's skating to, rather than with it, this doesn't even manage that. But, oh, the technical merit.
I'm making it sound worse than it is, because it's still a solid programme, just very much in the style of Plushenko.
In an odd sort of way, I think the injury helped, because it meant he had to cope with just being good rather than trying something ridiculous to be brilliant.
The score he got was that far ahead of everyone else to that point that the woman in front of me laughed. That was how bad some of the jumping was.
Anyway, him being second out meant I could breathe again.
Thomas Brezina (of whom more in part 3) went next and fluffed his jumps, then came Gachinski, who I can't help but like because he is my favourite's taller mini-me with slightly less tech merit but more artistic merit (also, I love it when turns on the ice, it's just pretty). I'm perfectly willing to admit his free programme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ywEbhH8_Y ) was probably better than Plushenko's but he fluffed a jump and these things also count.
Javier Fernandez, who I also love, forgot how to jump. Seriously. There is no other explanation. His legs, they were not obeying.
Florent Amodio skated last to a wall of sound from the crowd (in order of loudness it went French fans > Italian fans > Swedish and Finnish fan > Russian fans > everyone else). He was enormously pleased with his third place so I'm assuming he's back from an injury.
So yeah, that's how I unexpectedly got to see my favourite skater ever win his 7th European title live. It still makes me gleeful.
His interview before the medal ceremony was adorable. The interviewer asked how his knee was (he's done something to his meniscus) and he said it hurt and lot and he'd like to thank the crowd for giving him the inspiration to keep going. So the interviewer asked what his plans were after surgery, and he said that he hoped to be able to do the full season next year, and hoped to see us all at Sochi.
Now, logically, I know that he's unlikely to make it to Sochi. It'd be his 4th Olympics, and he'd be old enough to be the father of some of his competitors if he does make it. But there isn't an atom in me that doesn't want to see him get to Sochi.
So I set off for Sheffield at 9 in the morning, and for once it wasn't the rail network that caused the chaos, no, I did it. In a move which should shred any belief anyone had in my competence as an adult, I forgot to get the phone number of my friend with the ticket. She did e-mail it to me, but I forgot to check my e-mails on the Friday night.
So I arrive in plenty of time, but have no ticket. By the time the full level of my foolishness became apparent and I'd bought a ticket, the first group of the men's free had already been and gone. Thankfully, I was in time for the second group
Which you know, given that Kim Lucine was only in the second group, and from Monaco, a country not renowned for its ice skating, may tell you more about everyone else, rather than his performance. That being said, it's still awesome and fun. I was up in one of the corners and he was one of the few whose choreography seemed big enough to include everyone - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2wshOKvFWE The poor dear looked out on his feet by the end of it.
I seem to recall he had a huge jump in positions.
Other than that, there was the third Russian who managed to have less artistic merit than Plushenko, something which I believed was humanly impossible, and Zoltan Keleman of Romania who looked immensely pleased with his season's best. Him, I like. The group was rounded out by Paolo Bacchini (Ita) proving that it is not possible for a single skater to dance to the overture to Rossini's Barber of Seville (you know the one, the one that goes 'laaaa, la, la, la, la, la, la, laaaa,' or, if you're me, the one from Bugs Bunny - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YQs2H7vop8&feature=related), not that he didn't give it his all - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzLBrCNyMJA
Poor Kevin van der Perren was too injured to skate, then Joubert skated, managing to land his quad but fouling up a lot of everything else. He still got a heroes welcome, mind you. And once he was finished I thought to myself, 'well, that was plenty nerve-wracking enough, while I'd never wish injury on Plushenko, it's probably just as well that he's too injured to compete'. Those who want to point and laugh can do so now.
Samuel Contesti who was in this group came out looking like, well, I have no idea what, Italian Communist circa 1930 is my best bet, but he pulled it off - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGVGOP0z-YM
Being as I had not been following the skating news closely enough, and missed that it was just the Worlds, and not the Europeans and the Worlds, that Plushenko was missing, you can imagine that I was somewhat nonplussed to see his name come up. Somewhere between confused, elated and terrified. I mean, he's my favourite, my absolute and utter favourite, but I'm sure there are people who have favourites who don't make their hearts soar while their stomach sinks (or vice versa, my internal organs wish I'd chosen someone else).
The funniest thing was watching him and Gachinski skate in the warm up, because while I may joke about Mischin having a whole clone army of erratic blonds, it's only funny if it's not true. When he starts sending out two long, rangy, messy haired blonds in black and diamanté (thankfully, only one of them was wearing gloves), it becomes worryingly accurate.
Thomas Verner went first. It's probably a good thing I didn't meet up with the people I was supposed to be sitting with since there were several Verner fangirls and I don't get it. He's not bad, but he's nothing special either. Apparently he has charisma (what's the shoulder shrugging emoticon again).
Then came Evgeni - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ngQgDVwqP8 (as an aside, I want to steal the Russian commentators again)
I joke about his artistic merit, or lack thereof, but this was worse than usual. You know how he normally skates at whatever he's skating to, rather than with it, this doesn't even manage that. But, oh, the technical merit.
I'm making it sound worse than it is, because it's still a solid programme, just very much in the style of Plushenko.
In an odd sort of way, I think the injury helped, because it meant he had to cope with just being good rather than trying something ridiculous to be brilliant.
The score he got was that far ahead of everyone else to that point that the woman in front of me laughed. That was how bad some of the jumping was.
Anyway, him being second out meant I could breathe again.
Thomas Brezina (of whom more in part 3) went next and fluffed his jumps, then came Gachinski, who I can't help but like because he is my favourite's taller mini-me with slightly less tech merit but more artistic merit (also, I love it when turns on the ice, it's just pretty). I'm perfectly willing to admit his free programme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ywEbhH8_Y ) was probably better than Plushenko's but he fluffed a jump and these things also count.
Javier Fernandez, who I also love, forgot how to jump. Seriously. There is no other explanation. His legs, they were not obeying.
Florent Amodio skated last to a wall of sound from the crowd (in order of loudness it went French fans > Italian fans > Swedish and Finnish fan > Russian fans > everyone else). He was enormously pleased with his third place so I'm assuming he's back from an injury.
So yeah, that's how I unexpectedly got to see my favourite skater ever win his 7th European title live. It still makes me gleeful.
His interview before the medal ceremony was adorable. The interviewer asked how his knee was (he's done something to his meniscus) and he said it hurt and lot and he'd like to thank the crowd for giving him the inspiration to keep going. So the interviewer asked what his plans were after surgery, and he said that he hoped to be able to do the full season next year, and hoped to see us all at Sochi.
Now, logically, I know that he's unlikely to make it to Sochi. It'd be his 4th Olympics, and he'd be old enough to be the father of some of his competitors if he does make it. But there isn't an atom in me that doesn't want to see him get to Sochi.
