Forgotten pleasures remembered

[kitchen_kink]

I had very nearly forgotten how terribly much I enjoy watching figure skating.

It's one of those guilty pleasure things, I guess, but I adore it. I love the ridiculous costumes, I get caught up in the personal dramas, the falls make me gasp and the programs of perfect beauty, when they come, move me tremendously.

Last year, trowa_barton was awesome enough to record the Winter Olympics of '06 in Torino onto DVDs and give them to me. It's only now that I'm getting around to watching them, while I'm sick with an ear infection. Tonight I have the added bonus of watching them while on Percoset.

Wheeeee!

My favorite dramas so far:

-The Chinese pair who tried a quadruple toe-loop throw that landed the woman on her knees on the ice at full speed, but went on to finish the program and get the silver medal, no less.

-The Italian ice dancing couple who came out of retirement to compete in their home country. After doing a perfect compulsory program and getting first place, he dropped her on the last lift of the original dance. The glare she gave him was unforgettable, and they didn't speak or touch until the free dance. The free dance was perfect, passionate and angry, and at the end she finally broke down and embraced him as the crowd went wild.

-The couple who came back to pairs competition after he fell during a complicated lift, landing her unconscious on the ice. They skated a beautiful program, if cautiously, and you could watch the bond of trust strengthen before your eyes.

-The U.S. ice dancing couple that almost wasn't, because she was Canadian. An act of Congress gave her citizenship 50 days before the Olympics. He turned down a chance to compete in the previous Olympics because he wanted to skate with her, and his patience paid off - they won the silver, only the second medal ever won by the US in ice dancing, the first of which was a bronze, 30 years ago.

I am such a nerd.

Comments

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

I had forgotten what a dramatic competition it was. bex77 and I are figure skating fans of long standing and have gone to a bunch of competitions. We should get together to watch some of Nationals in January.

[cycon.livejournal.com]

No need to feel guilty about that pleasure. Besides, we all need something to amuse us when we're stuck home sick.

Hope you get well soon.

[jasra]

I love watching ice skating. I haven't seen it in ages though, so thank you for sharing this glimpse into it.

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

You pretty much had the same feeling I had when I saw the competitions for the first time in '06. The Italian ice dancers were powerful and intense. I sympathized with the figure skating ladies from Italy and Turkey.
With the exception of the ice dance pair and Evan Lysacek, I didn't care about the U.S. team. They reminded me of the arrogance associated with the 2006 Olympic team and fall from grace (Jacobelis, Cohen, Weir, Miller, etc.).