Embarrassing. Just embarrassing...for her, surely, but for everyone who had to watch it, too.
The end, where's she smiling and happy at the crowd's reaction, does make me a little sad for her. (Not that I have much pity for TL...only because I detest her personality. I recognize she was a great competitor. Great *skater* not so much....) She LIVED for attention and being in the spotlight. To see her so happy there, in front of a cheering crowd, and then to know that she had years and years of nothingness ahead of her...kind of sad, really.
Also, wait, wasn't this the program in which she was trying to "break new artistic ground" in figure skating? And then she complained that the skating world "wasn't ready" for her artistic genius?
You know, the choreography's not that bad. I think we see worse/more nonsensical choreography on the competition circuit these days. (The end is cheesy, but the rest...not so bad.)
As someone who is traditionally not a Kwan fan, I think I am in a position to criticize anonymous 9:28 AM. It is a little bit sick to post that. I know that some people, Aunt Joyce included, are rooted so deeply in their Michelle vs. Tara prepubescence, but isn't it time to move on and judge these skaters in their own terms?
I am glad that when Sarah Hughes won her gold medal as a teenager, she had enough sense to not go this route (although she may have had no choice since the Pro circuit died out).
The music, the "choreography", the costume, the atmosphere (Tara the teenager with all the 30- somethings competing in Ice Wars). It's all just a little embarrassing.
Tara could not help that she was "a little girl". The ISU rules were ridiculous and allowed 13 year old Tara to go to Worlds. Under the current age rules, Tara wouldn't have even turned Senior until 1999. It's almost disgusting that a 15 year old would be in a situation where there was "nothing left for her to achieve" in the sport. Tara never was able to develop her skating to it's fullest potential because she left as soon as she began. Thank goodness for the age rules now. Seriously.
In a way, she was lucky, though. With the hip injuries that came after the OGM, I don't know if she could have waited longer than she did. Age rules or no age rules, she might not have gotten the chance to develop her skating past this point.
she had hip injuries because she was doing six billion triples in every practice at 13 years old. There was no reason for her body to take that sort of pounding at such a young age.
I wish everyone would stop talking about Tara as if she was some sort of tragic case. How many skaters suffer injuries as bad or worse than she did any never accomplish a fraction of what she was able to? How many careers are ended by talented skaters in thier teens with olympic dreams without even having made it to nationals. Tara did it all, much as Yu-na has right now. Honestly i don't see anything much different between their two cases right now. Everything worked out wonderfully for Tara if you really look at it. Sure it would have been nice to stick around for another 4 years or more, but a World title, a national title and an olympic title? not bad.
I'm amazed Tara turned out as normal as she did being that she was the lone teenager on tour (and in this Ice Wars nonsense) with people double her age, some of whom were old enough to be her parents. Then she got so badly injured that she couldn't skate anymore, and she started up with the "acting" career. She could have really ended up screwed up, but it seems she kept her head on straight.
Tara won multiple GP Finals, went to multiple Worlds, won a World and Olympic title... It was a great career, it's just sad she had nothing left to do by 15 and had smushed everything in so quickly that it left her with major hip problems as a kid. By comparison, Yu-Na Kim is 20 years old, still has hope of returning perhaps as 2011, does shows with her peers, and is relatively healthy... She also got to mature on the Junior circuit before entering Seniors. It's just very different than what Tara was thrown into.
Tara has claimed that she had to turn Pro because her hip problem was that bad, probably from all those excess triple loop-triple loops she was chucking. (However, recently she downplayed the hip issue.) Then once she was Pro, she felt down and isolated from the rest of the Pro skaters who were much older (duh). She was also in major disputes with tour producers as she attempted to skate with reoccurring and serious hip injuries. All of this was happening while she was still a teenager. That's why people feel sorry for her a bit. It was like her life was in fast forward. She's the prime reason why the ISU needed new age rules.
Even more hilarious "November 19, 2010 8:18 am" is that a 11 year old performance would make you vomit. Not sure if its jealousy or it just makes you feel good to pick on a teenager. Im sure when you won your Olympic Gold Medal at 15 you were...oh wait, they don't give Olympic Gold Medals for owning 15 cats and one friend (your computer). You need to let it go, Michelle lost, not you.
Tara was a spoiled brat who skated like crap. It isn't jealousy it is fact. She cheated her hard jumps and had no presentation or artistry at any time in her entire career. The fact she has a gold medal at all just proves skating is a joke.
Tara isn't 15 anymore and I am sick of being acting like she wasn't a little asshole. Look at how she acted at Nationals in 98 and all the fits she used to throw when she didn't get her own way. SHE STILL ACYS LIKE THAT NOW.
OMG, the last few Anonymous posters are fricken awesome. To the other, angry Anonymous...it's gonna be okay, Tara's mom. Remember: Your little girl won an OGM, and no one can take that away from her!!
Awesome indeed! Seems like the Anonymous writer who can't spell and dropping the "A" word about someone who she's never met, is deeply affected by Tara's performance. So if you rewind, she did 7 triples including a 3L+3L in her 2nd half and 3T+1/2L+3S in the last 4 seconds. All clean. I would hate to see how these people would act if they actually competed but that would mean they would know how to skate.
And to the other Anonymous poster who thinks skating is such a joke, whatcha doing spending your time commenting on a skating blog.
I still detest Tara (I probably always will) but I don't hold anything against her. In terms of the battle b/w her and Michelle, Michelle won hands down, even w/o an OGM in her pocket. You can only mention Tara's name in passing when it comes to skating but in terms of legends in the past 10 years, Michelle stands at the top of that list, so in terms of that, I'm cool with it.
Sometimes I wonder if the judges regret giving TL the gold because really I think it was a mistake. It really could have gone either way and I would think it should have gone to someone who skated like a mature woman...anyone of the ladies.
Yes, Tara had a high technical jump content in her Oly program, but she had a bad flutz and probably under-rotated her second 3-loop in the sequence combo. Her jumps were also tiny. Aside from her jumps, she had nothing. I'm not even sure she did any footwork. If she did, it was elementary and forgettable. Her spirals were weak, as were her spins. About halfway through the program, she stood around posing for many seconds, doing nothing. As for artistry, there was none. Even if you concede that Tara deserved to be placed above Michelle on the tech marks, she should have been placed well below her on presentation. And presentation was weighted more heavily in the long program under 6.0. So Michelle should have won.
First off a 3Loop 3Loop is not called a sequence its either called a triple triple or a combo. Next you guys are still upset that Michelle lost the gold but its not Tara's fault ...Michelle even had another two tries at it and couldnt pull it off. This is not ballet this is an Olympic sport hence jumping and In my opinion Tara was the best competitor/jumper ever. You watch these girls now a days and a clean program is rare. Tara never missed most consistent skater! And if she did miss she didnt fall apart she maybe made 1 mistake. Slow down her jumps they were not cheated U might be confusing her with Sarah Hughes. Her opening Flip and Lutz at the Olympics were huge. She was done rotating and just floated down. I am a Tara fan and also a Michelle fan. You need to tone down your jealousy. I think u are just upset because she won National Worlds and Olympics and has a life maybe u would have wanted. Tara and Michelles rivalry made the sport exciting thats why ratings were so good. Now u can have ur ballet with Carolina Kostner landing cheated 3 sals. Secondly I hope these posts are by children, u talk abt embarrassing, if you are an adult this is down right embarrassing. She brought home a medal for the USA..at only 15 yrs old..If you are a young person writing ...take a moment to think of what u have done in your life so far.If u are an adult with a child what have your kids done so far? Take a breath I think we should be proud of both Tara and Michelle
Tara wasn't the most consistent imo. She usually falls once but she was up there. I think she was a great competitor but not the best skater. No one is jealous of Tara's life. Why would they be since she became so bitter because even a OG wasn't going to change her into the most popular skater. It wasn't going to change the fact that most people felt like Michelle was still overall the best skater. That most people still wanted to skate like Michelle and not Tara. I actually felt a little sorry for her. She got hit with reality after it was over.
However, I do enjoy some of her commentating and I'm happy that she's around for that.
Embarrassing. Just embarrassing...for her, surely, but for everyone who had to watch it, too.
ReplyDeleteThe end, where's she smiling and happy at the crowd's reaction, does make me a little sad for her. (Not that I have much pity for TL...only because I detest her personality. I recognize she was a great competitor. Great *skater* not so much....) She LIVED for attention and being in the spotlight. To see her so happy there, in front of a cheering crowd, and then to know that she had years and years of nothingness ahead of her...kind of sad, really.
Also, wait, wasn't this the program in which she was trying to "break new artistic ground" in figure skating? And then she complained that the skating world "wasn't ready" for her artistic genius?
That sound is me choking on my laughter.
She showed she could still jump (but she still had a bad flutz) but that was about it. Artistry? Forget it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the choreography's not that bad. I think we see worse/more nonsensical choreography on the competition circuit these days. (The end is cheesy, but the rest...not so bad.)
ReplyDeleteI think she was going for a world record: can you spend 90% of a program skating on two feet? YES!
ReplyDeleteAJ, I want those 5+ minutes of my life back! :)
Did this girl ever straighten her leg? How did she get an OGM????
ReplyDeleteIt's as if the weight of her roller skates was still pulling her feet down.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is traditionally not a Kwan fan, I think I am in a position to criticize anonymous 9:28 AM. It is a little bit sick to post that. I know that some people, Aunt Joyce included, are rooted so deeply in their Michelle vs. Tara prepubescence, but isn't it time to move on and judge these skaters in their own terms?
ReplyDeleteI don't want to see a little girl out there on the ice - I want to see an elegant young woman. That is why I never liked TL.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that when Sarah Hughes won her gold medal as a teenager, she had enough sense to not go this route (although she may have had no choice since the Pro circuit died out).
ReplyDeleteThe music, the "choreography", the costume, the atmosphere (Tara the teenager with all the 30- somethings competing in Ice Wars). It's all just a little embarrassing.
Tara could not help that she was "a little girl". The ISU rules were ridiculous and allowed 13 year old Tara to go to Worlds. Under the current age rules, Tara wouldn't have even turned Senior until 1999. It's almost disgusting that a 15 year old would be in a situation where there was "nothing left for her to achieve" in the sport. Tara never was able to develop her skating to it's fullest potential because she left as soon as she began. Thank goodness for the age rules now. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, she was lucky, though. With the hip injuries that came after the OGM, I don't know if she could have waited longer than she did. Age rules or no age rules, she might not have gotten the chance to develop her skating past this point.
ReplyDeleteshe had hip injuries because she was doing six billion triples in every practice at 13 years old. There was no reason for her body to take that sort of pounding at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI wish everyone would stop talking about Tara as if she was some sort of tragic case. How many skaters suffer injuries as bad or worse than she did any never accomplish a fraction of what she was able to? How many careers are ended by talented skaters in thier teens with olympic dreams without even having made it to nationals. Tara did it all, much as Yu-na has right now. Honestly i don't see anything much different between their two cases right now. Everything worked out wonderfully for Tara if you really look at it. Sure it would have been nice to stick around for another 4 years or more, but a World title, a national title and an olympic title? not bad.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed Tara turned out as normal as she did being that she was the lone teenager on tour (and in this Ice Wars nonsense) with people double her age, some of whom were old enough to be her parents. Then she got so badly injured that she couldn't skate anymore, and she started up with the "acting" career. She could have really ended up screwed up, but it seems she kept her head on straight.
ReplyDeleteTara won multiple GP Finals, went to multiple Worlds, won a World and Olympic title... It was a great career, it's just sad she had nothing left to do by 15 and had smushed everything in so quickly that it left her with major hip problems as a kid. By comparison, Yu-Na Kim is 20 years old, still has hope of returning perhaps as 2011, does shows with her peers, and is relatively healthy... She also got to mature on the Junior circuit before entering Seniors.
It's just very different than what Tara was thrown into.
Tara has claimed that she had to turn Pro because her hip problem was that bad, probably from all those excess triple loop-triple loops she was chucking. (However, recently she downplayed the hip issue.) Then once she was Pro, she felt down and isolated from the rest of the Pro skaters who were much older (duh). She was also in major disputes with tour producers as she attempted to skate with reoccurring and serious hip injuries. All of this was happening while she was still a teenager. That's why people feel sorry for her a bit. It was like her life was in fast forward. She's the prime reason why the ISU needed new age rules.
ReplyDeleteEven more hilarious "November 19, 2010 8:18 am" is that a 11 year old performance would make you vomit. Not sure if its jealousy or it just makes you feel good to pick on a teenager. Im sure when you won your Olympic Gold Medal at 15 you were...oh wait, they don't give Olympic Gold Medals for owning 15 cats and one friend (your computer). You need to let it go, Michelle lost, not you.
ReplyDeleteLeonora, would you like to comment on this??
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSOy82z6CwE
Of course Scotty would be all over it, given his refined taste. *gag*
ReplyDeleteYou know, whenever I watch the big leagues I think, "Gosh, why don't they do some pop music or something?"
ReplyDeleteThen I see things like this and think, "Oh. That's why."
Hey Skate Mom, how those crushed dreams your living through your children going? They hate you yet?
ReplyDeleteWith you having children I would have thought you would be bigger than picking on a 15 year old, my mistake.
Tara was a spoiled brat who skated like crap. It isn't jealousy it is fact. She cheated her hard jumps and had no presentation or artistry at any time in her entire career. The fact she has a gold medal at all just proves skating is a joke.
ReplyDeleteTara isn't 15 anymore and I am sick of being acting like she wasn't a little asshole. Look at how she acted at Nationals in 98 and all the fits she used to throw when she didn't get her own way. SHE STILL ACYS LIKE THAT NOW.
ReplyDeleteI think I lost my breakfast.
ReplyDeleteOMG, the last few Anonymous posters are fricken awesome. To the other, angry Anonymous...it's gonna be okay, Tara's mom. Remember: Your little girl won an OGM, and no one can take that away from her!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome indeed! Seems like the Anonymous writer who can't spell and dropping the "A" word about someone who she's never met, is deeply affected by Tara's performance.
ReplyDeleteSo if you rewind, she did 7 triples including a 3L+3L in her 2nd half and 3T+1/2L+3S in the last 4 seconds. All clean. I would hate to see how these people would act if they actually competed but that would mean they would know how to skate.
And to the other Anonymous poster who thinks skating is such a joke, whatcha doing spending your time commenting on a skating blog.
That. Was. Painful.
ReplyDeleteI still detest Tara (I probably always will) but I don't hold anything against her. In terms of the battle b/w her and Michelle, Michelle won hands down, even w/o an OGM in her pocket. You can only mention Tara's name in passing when it comes to skating but in terms of legends in the past 10 years, Michelle stands at the top of that list, so in terms of that, I'm cool with it.
But this program? Ugh...gag, vomit.
Sometimes I wonder if the judges regret giving TL the gold because really I think it was a mistake. It really could have gone either way and I would think it should have gone to someone who skated like a mature woman...anyone of the ladies.
ReplyDeleteYes, Tara had a high technical jump content in her Oly program, but she had a bad flutz and probably under-rotated her second 3-loop in the sequence combo. Her jumps were also tiny. Aside from her jumps, she had nothing. I'm not even sure she did any footwork. If she did, it was elementary and forgettable. Her spirals were weak, as were her spins. About halfway through the program, she stood around posing for many seconds, doing nothing. As for artistry, there was none. Even if you concede that Tara deserved to be placed above Michelle on the tech marks, she should have been placed well below her on presentation. And presentation was weighted more heavily in the long program under 6.0. So Michelle should have won.
ReplyDeleteI personally despise everything about Michelle and Tara. I would have much rather had anyone else on the podium. Anyone but those two.
ReplyDeleteFirst off a 3Loop 3Loop is not called a sequence its either called a triple triple or a combo. Next you guys are still upset that Michelle lost the gold but its not Tara's fault ...Michelle even had another two tries at it and couldnt pull it off. This is not ballet this is an Olympic sport hence jumping and In my opinion Tara was the best competitor/jumper ever. You watch these girls now a days and a clean program is rare. Tara never missed most consistent skater! And if she did miss she didnt fall apart she maybe made 1 mistake. Slow down her jumps they were not cheated U might be confusing her with Sarah Hughes. Her opening Flip and Lutz at the Olympics were huge. She was done rotating and just floated down. I am a Tara fan and also a Michelle fan. You need to tone down your jealousy. I think u are just upset because she won National Worlds and Olympics and has a life maybe u would have wanted. Tara and Michelles rivalry made the sport exciting thats why ratings were so good. Now u can have ur ballet with Carolina Kostner landing cheated 3 sals. Secondly I hope these posts are by children, u talk abt embarrassing, if you are an adult this is down right embarrassing. She brought home a medal for the USA..at only 15 yrs old..If you are a young person writing ...take a moment to think of what u have done in your life so far.If u are an adult with a child what have your kids done so far? Take a breath I think we should be proud of both Tara and Michelle
ReplyDeleteTara wasn't the most consistent imo. She usually falls once but she was up there. I think she was a great competitor but not the best skater. No one is jealous of Tara's life. Why would they be since she became so bitter because even a OG wasn't going to change her into the most popular skater. It wasn't going to change the fact that most people felt like Michelle was still overall the best skater. That most people still wanted to skate like Michelle and not Tara. I actually felt a little sorry for her. She got hit with reality after it was over.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do enjoy some of her commentating and I'm happy that she's around for that.