Olympic Figure Skating

Watching figure skating in Torino last night was bittersweet for me because it's a sport that I love more than any other, while also being a dream that I allowed to die. I always dreamed that 2006 would be my Olympic year, my last chance to glide across that glistening stage and show the world the beauty of my turns and jumps. However, once I started college, my priorities changed and suddenly 6am skating sessions seemed more like insanity than the hours that could make my dreams reality.

I was planning on boycotting the Olympics all together so I wouldn't be reminded of all the potential I gave up, but my mother taped the men's short program for me, and last night I built up the courage to watch. Those young men were so amazing. My new favorite is Daisuke Takahashi because he has so much spirit and the fastest spins and footwork I've ever seen. His jumps are not quite there yet, but he makes up for that with so much energy and style. He is my new love.

However, my long lasting love goes to Johnny Weir because he is so gorgeous, and he is the most eloquent skater I've ever laid eyes. He's even more graceful than the ladies. Plus, he has so much attitude and can have me rolling on the floor with laughter sometimes. They showed an old interview clipping of him last night where he said that his program was like a shot of vodka or a snort of coke because he didn't do very well. Such a comment definitely does not make him the wholesome, all American athlete we all expect our figure skaters to be and I greatly respect him for that.

And then we have the current leader after the short program Evgeni Plushenko, who is very talented pulling off an unbelievable quad-triple combination. However, I was not moved by his program. He just seems so overgrown and clunky that I almost felt sorry for the ice and thought that it might crack under all of his heavy footsteps. I do sympathize with his situation because he was a very lean teenage skater, but he has finally gotten his grown man's body and looks more like a skating cow than a world class skater. Although he doesn't have the grace of Johnny, he does have the jumps which is very commendable because consistently pulling off a quad-triple combination is no easy trick.

Anyway, I just wanted to make my peace with figure skating and end my boycott because I really do have so much respect for these skaters and all the falls their bones have to endure.