After watching the weekend’s worth of Skate Canada, I waited for a sort of recurring theme to come to me as a way to describe it. It didn’t take long for a couple of words to spring to mind: pretzel logic. That is to say… a way of making sense that doesn’t make ANY sense.
Now don’t get me wrong; by and large I was alternately as pleased and displeased with SkCan as you probably were. But then again a few things saddened me, intrigued me, and frustrated me more than usual—and I’m not talking about my sad track record on the predictions.
Wait, maybe I am—I only got ONE right out of 12, and that ONE shouldn’t have won! Ugh! See?? But we’ll get back to you in the next post, Patrick Chan…
+ Pretzel Logic, case and point… the stars of the pairs event—an event that seemed sorely lacking of such—were Dube/Davison’s replacements Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch of Canada. They vaulted from 6th place in the SP all the way up to a silver medal with a free skate that, while not perfect, whipped the home crowd into a frenzy. (Iliushechkina/Maisuradze of Russia squeaked out the win by less than a point.) Funny thing is, M-T/Mosco did at least as well here, technically speaking, as the team they replaced. If Dube/Davison had been competing anywhere other than Canada, that is.
(At this event, frankly, I think D & D would’ve won easily. Even if they phoned in their performances. From a control tower on planet Neptune.)
+ P-Logic’s most interesting surprise: bronze medalist Amelie Lacoste, who’s only in year two on the GP circuit and finished no higher than 6th in her debut season.
+ P-Logic’s most encouraging move: keeping the SkCan magic alive for Alissa Czisny, who won gold here for the second time in her turbulent career. For the record, I was very glad to get that wrong… but I think I got it right when I said she had a great music choice (music from George Winston), and her ocean-wave of a dress was divine.
+ P-Logic’s cruelest twist comes in a quote I saw from Canada’s Cynthia Phaneuf (who led after the SP but crumpled to 4th after the FS): "I don't seem to be at by best at Skate Canada. I don't think I'll be coming here next year." Tough to hear, especially after reading how relaxed and confident she was prior to this event.
+ Remember when I said Javier Fernandez was likely to get a Top 5 finish? Turns out I got that right… but over on Universal Sports, Terry Gannon and Michael Weiss voiced surprise at Fernandez’s progress. So how’s this for P-Logical advice: Terry, Mike… you guys obviously need to start reading State of the Skate :-)
More examples of the Skate Canada Pretzel Logic to come tomorrow.
For those of you already reading it, here’s Fernandez’s new SP (complete with bright pink bowtie!) as the Clip of the Day. I do kinda wish he’d started a new FS rather than continue with last year’s Pirates of the Carribean, but it’s still cool enough I’ll let it slide.
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