Sunday, October 23, 2011
Marlie Mania: The Free Dance
Skate America was all about Marlie this year. Their free dance is positively stunning. It is exactly the vehicle they need to win another world title. One can only imagine what the program will look like by March. Most importantly, the program is very different from any of their other free dances. This is what will stretch them and put them in position to become a legendary team. Marlie's program has genuine charm. Even though Meryl's fat ass is weighing them down yet again, they look fit for a glorious season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I TOTALLY agree! Meryl is the fat ass. You would think that she would have some commitment to her sport by starving herself or doing a few lines to control her obesity. If she keeps it up, she is going to be trailer trash in less then a year.
ReplyDeleteGreat debut. Their FD was skated very well, but the music certainly helped them as it was easy to skate to. But they still look frantic at times and aren't very graceful imo.
ReplyDelete@ Anon 7:52.
ReplyDeleteI thought they looked very controlled as the waltz and polka seem to suit them well. And frankly, every team we've seen this year is skating to relatively easy music, except maybe P/B, whose music I actually find rather dull and unengaging. I wouldn't exactly call Funny Face difficult.
I thought they were fantastic and the dance was almost flawless. However, I couldn't help but be disappointed because I was more excited about this program than anything else at Skate America and, as wonderful as it was, I somehow expected...more. It reminded me too much of their golden waltz last year, and I wish they didn't keep reusing that one lift, as pretty as it is (especially since they also use it in the short dance). Anyway, I hope they make enough tweaks over the course of the season (and possibly change their costumes) that the program will really stand out by Worlds.
ReplyDeleteI see SO MUCH potential in Marlie's FD that I'm going to ignore all the negative responses that I'm seeing here and elsewhere, and really look forward to how they'll polish it up for the final stage at the Worlds, so there !!
ReplyDeleteI love how we're starting to look at Charlie more as well as Meryl this season.
ReplyDeleteThe irony is that Die Fledermaus is exactly the kind of program the Shibs could and should have used this season.
ReplyDelete@ Anon 8:17
ReplyDeleteThe last part was a bit frantic for me. Still, Die Fledermaus is catchy than most music choices and draws the audience in, letting the music carry D/W, just like with their previous programs.
I thought Meryl was pretty much perfect (except PLEASE cameramen, no more big close-ups on her face right before the routine starts!) but Charlie needs to tone down the hyper-ness, while he should be exuberant there still should be element of refinement that I'm not seein'.
ReplyDeleteI can live with the fluffy hair with a formal tux, but would rather he put it back in a ponytail or something.
But man, the SPEED with which those two skate is breathtaking.
lol Meryl's herp derp face
ReplyDelete@ Anon 9:12
ReplyDeleteOk, that's fair, but their Tango music definitely did not carry them.
Anon 10:10 I agree the Tango music was a challenge. And I think big music can be tricky to skate to. I've often seen skaters using big music that overwhelms them. M/C are never overwhelmed by their music. I think they lend this music sparkle and shine!!
ReplyDelete10:43 - That's because D/W don't connect to their music (or even each other)
ReplyDeleteMarlie were clearly the headliners of SA.
ReplyDeleteI love the criticism of Marlie. Meryl doesn't bend her knees enough, Charlie emotes too much to the audience, they let the music carry them, yet still can't connect to the music(?). I love both V/M and D/W, but the former's fans have some pretty incoherent criticisms and are pretty much just haters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment at 12:57. Meryl & Charlie were awesome this weekend, haters need to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteAm surprised AJ had no commentary yet on the sad state of affairs re: no US men's medal finish at this competition in a relatively weak field of men.
The way the US GP mens' team seems to be organized of late is that our highest internationally-ranked skaters get sent to GPs where it's much harder to medal, like Skate Canada (where, while we don't know exactly who will be there ahead of time, it's a lock at least one powerhouse Japanese man and Patrick Chan will be there, minumum), while having much less experienced, lower ranked-internationally skaters go to comps with much weaker fields, where nine times out of ten, they don't end up doing well anyway. Call me crazy but it seems to make more sense to send the strongest international skaters to the events that they are most likely to medal in, while still giving lesser ranked skaters international experience, only at the harder competitions. After all, if there are no real expectations for them to medal, what's the difference?
If the goal is to send the most US men we can to the GPF, USFS is really messing this one up big time. More than just US Nationals results should count when it comes to these assignments!
I never thought I would LOVE Marlie's program the way I did. I was disappointed they didn't keep La Strada but now I see they were right. It was just perfect for them. Their programs this year remind me of Tanith and Ben...the sense of fun. the speed, the rotational lifts with Tanith/Meryl in the split on his shoulder The way the program bulids and you get excited watching it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just V/M's fans who can be haters. Plushenko's, Kostner's, anyone who loves a Russian or European dance, etc. Skating fans can be ridiculously petty and fickle. Like 8th grade girls. Never able to give credit when their favorite messes up or their rival shines. Marlie was glorious yesterday.
ReplyDeleteanon at 10:43 Your comment doesn't make any sense. M/C don't get overwhelmed by their music b/c they don't connect to it or each other??
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to agree I think they definitely connect to their music and have a connection with one another.
Ok I meant "I have to diagree". lol I can't type!
ReplyDeleteI live for Phil Hersh's tweet in response to AJ: He doesn't mention the skate, but the fact that Tracy mispronounced "Fledermaus." Damn, what a snob.
ReplyDeletelol at the fluff. Sweet faced american girl takes on RUSSIA. Russia vs. the U.S. Russia vs. Good skating. wow. I thought the cold way ended 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteLike Anon of 9:59am, I am mystified by the "Meryl's fat ass" comment. This is some private joke we're not getting, right? She looks like she's made of lean muscle to me. Comparing her with the other female skaters, she seems actually skinnier than most! And I'm not someone who's forgiving when it comes to male or female skaters neglecting their weight!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's Charlie who gained weight? He certainly looked like it in his black outfit in the SD.
ReplyDelete@ Anon 9:14
ReplyDeleteNo, it's most certainly not a joke. Meryl and pal Alissa Czisny are widely known to be among the fattest girls in the Detroit metro area.
Russian dominance didn't end with the cold war. In fact, they even wound up getting more judges on the panels. Some of you are a bit dense.
ReplyDeleteDavis and White didn't claim that. Goodness. It is true that they reward skating now where it was less defined what the judges were looking for in the past.
ReplyDeleteI worry about those of you who don't get the obvious joke about Meryl being a fat ass when she is so ungodly thin. 'Lean muscle' is pushing it. I think all the girls in Canton (minus Tessa) have some seriously 'lean muscle' going on.
[Quote]
ReplyDeleteRussian dominance didn't end with the cold war. In fact, they even wound up getting more judges on the panels. Some of you are a bit dense. [/Quote]
Yes but the end of the cold war led to the removal of their coaches, and the collapse of their system. For awhile they survived due to the left overs of the Soviet System.
Where did all of the coaches go to the West, and this meant the coaches weren't coaching/developing young Russian skaters which is why the Russians aren't so competitive now.
The thing is while the US/N.America has had great success in ladies skating, our success is not due to the same coaches. Are success is pretty much due to coaches from the USSR.
so pretty much we went in, swooped in and took advantage of another figure skating federation's misfortune, and now we are gloating that we are so much better than they are, when they are just trying to recover from that disaster and rebuild the sport in their country.
I'm saddened we don't see that many great Russian dancers. I'm glad the US is doing well and in a lot of ways the expanse of knowledge IS good for the sport.
But I suspect if the shoe was on the other foot. And those Russian babies weren't coached, but were coached by Frank Carroll Richard Callahan etc. And because they were busy coaching them, they couldn't coach American girls and American ladies skating suffered.
Would you appreciate the Russian girls going on about what a great victory it is how now real skating is being rewarded etc. (Heck no).
The thing is the Russian wonder babies can gloat they are produced directly and pretty much slowly from the Russian system. Davis/White one can argue are using Russian coaches, Russian methods in a lot of ways and as such can perhaps lay off abit about how bad the Russians were and instead show a little more respect.
ReplyDeleteNotice how P/S spoke with a lot more respect towards the Soviet system/skaters. They knew how good those skaters were.
First of all, we heard Meryl and Charlie speak for about four seconds on the Russian dancers. It's not like they said that K/P sucked. And second, even a great team like K/P exemplify the old system, where teams had to "wait their turn" and results are pretty much predetermined. A rookie team like the Shibs could never have placed at Worlds, and that's what they were saying has changed.
ReplyDeleteBut who exactly could the judges hold up? Virtue/Moir Davis/White, for example benefited as well from certain factors. I.e Maxim's injury (DomShabs), no other competition from Russia to be frank, Isabelle's pregnancy. Pretty much there was no one in the wings TO hold up.
ReplyDeleteI mean this is the weakest European dance has ever been. And I actually DO think that there are some things the old system rewarded that are missable.
ReplyDeleteDom Shabs were help up for years and only stopped being held up once he was too crippled to move. 2009 Worlds was a giant joke.
ReplyDeleteWhat was in the clip was indisputable. Meryl Davis said that no russians were ever good athletes or ice dance was not a sport and now it is and americans are winning so it is all great and is a real sport now and all russians were horrible. That is what Meryl davis and charlie white said in the clip that was aired there was no cutting and pasting and obvious fraud on the part of the editors - they were continuous sentences not words pasted together
ReplyDeleteI think the real problem is that little feature was disappointing crap! Scratched the surface of the issue without giving any real explanation or context. No mention of Blumberg/Siebert, Wynne/Druar, etc., etc., let alone other NON-North American teams who were regularly screwed by an inadequately technical and overly political system (see Rahk/Kok, among others). I have a LOT of issues with the new judging system, but its effect on mobility in ice dance I can't deny. I wish they had explained that a little better and given credit to the great teams of the past, regardless of nationality.
ReplyDeletethe comments on domshabs are always clear. They were not good and had no talent and only won because of corruption and the only legit victory would have been B/A or VM or DW. D/S had no talent and were horrible and didn't do anything good at 2009 worlds and should not have medaled and had no talent anymore.
ReplyDeletethe only good teams of the past were north american teams but they could not win because russians had corrupted the sport and always won because of corruption and deals. forget about T/D they were european too and that was all apart of the corruption that prevented north americans from winning because they are the only good people in ice dance history
ReplyDeleteI don't think Meryl is fat at all. But I'm not American so maybe I don't understand your humor. However, I have seen them skating in person last season, and met them (more than once) off the ice. Meryl was really thin and small, compared to other female skaters I've met. Charlie seemed thinner than he was on TV as well. They were very nice and cute.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time we move onto a new figure skating topic.
ReplyDeleteI would like to present this question: how many falls will Patrick Chan need to win Skate Canada?
Fat ass = IT'S A JOKE!!
ReplyDeleteSpecifically- neither Meryl, nor Alissa, nor (really) any of the Canton ladies is fat.
IT'S SARCASM!
If you don't get it: Bet you think everything in the Old Testament is as written as well.....LEARN and DISCERN!
Refusing to have a battle of wits with the UNARMED!
(For those who don't understand that statement: STOP BEING WITLESS!)