I must say, all the media coverage I am reading about the US Team for the 2011 Worlds I am reading is making me SO angry.
I'm so TIRED of reading articles about how next year the US will likely not have three spots in any discipline.
I'm tired of hearing about how Davis and White are the only strong skaters we have left.
I'm tired of hearing about how realistically the US can't hope for more than one medal.
I'm tired of everyone counting out our skaters.
Quite frankly, I think three spots are quite possible in all four disciplines. Here's my math:
DANCE - I think it's pretty safe to say Meryl and Charlie will win the gold. I also think that the Shibutanis will likely place in the top ten.
MEN - Both Dornbush and Miner are consistent, and when Ryan's on, he's hard to beat. I think Ryan will work extra hard for Worlds and if he does his two quads, he SHOULD be on the podium. One of the other two will probably place in the top ten.
LADIES - Alissa's proven this season she should never be counted out. If she can skate at worlds like she did on the Grand Prix circuit she SHOULD get a top five finish, maybe even a podium finish. Rachael is pretty consistent and should place in the top ten. It will be close with both ladies and men but I think both fields can do it.
PAIRS - I'm trying to be optimistic here, but this is the only field I don't know if it can happen in. I'm hoping for a 6/7 or 5/8, that's the most likely scenario. Caitlin and John have beautiful programs, but I don't know if they'll get the marks they deserve (see next paragraph).
Unfortunately, US skaters do not seem to get much love from the judges in general. Competition after competition, American skaters are underscored. For instance, at the Olympics, I thought Mirai Nagasu, Johnny Weir and Belbin/ Agosto all skated medal-worthy performances, but were left off the podium in favor of skaters from favored countries. (I feel several Japanese skaters are overscored.) Take the Grand Prix too. Patrick Chan falls four times in each of his events and STILL qualifies for the GPF? Also at Worlds last year, I felt Meryl and Charlie deserved the gold and that Jeremy Abbott deserved better in the short.
This is just something that's on my mind. I'm sorry if this post offended anyone, but negative thinking leads to negative outcomes. If people and the media are always talking about how the US will lose spots, the skaters will feel discouraged and most likely won't skate well.
Let's get behind Team USA!!! :1st:

I am Japanese and I don't think that Japanese skaters are overrated. They have actually good skating skills and performing abilities. :skating:
At the Olympics, I thought that Tanith and Ben deserved the bronze, but I don't think that Johnny was better than Takahashi and Lambiel, though I like him and I felt he should be given higher score than Patrick who made many apparent mistakes. But these are my impression just on TV. If you watch competitions at live, you can see how their skating really is.
As for this coming Worlds, I think that ice dance and ladies have pretty good possibility to get three spots. Men have also a possibility if two of them skate as well as or better than US Nationals.
There are many good skaters in the States, and I want them to get as many spots as possible. In particular, I hope US men get 3 again for the time when Evan returns. :cheer:

I made a post about this on my figure skating tumblr. This post isn't directed at anyone here, just the people hating.

First of all, Ryan skated at Worlds last year on broken bones. That was not only brave of him, but he was probably in A LOT of pain, and he was strong to still skate. The fact the got 15th is irrelevant because of that. Just like the fact Josh Farris got 22/23 or 21/22 in the Mens discipline @ Nats is irrelevant. BOTH were/are injured.

Second of all, I can tell you Ryan is working hard. From what I've heard from my friend, who used to skate at the Broadmoor himself, he's working hard. You guys saw his SP, if he's on, it'll be amazing. Just shut up about Ryan and give him a chance. What if this is his year? Let's just wait and see.

Miner and Dornbush don't have SENIOR international experience, yeah, but maybe that'll WORK for them. The fact they can skate without being under pressure may work in their benefit. Plus, Dornbush is JGPF Champion. Both have had good showings JGP wise. We'll just have to see.

I don't care about our stupid spots. If we lose them, alright. I hope then at next Nationals, all the men who have worked hard will skate and work THAT much harder for one of those two spots so we can send 'our best' to Worlds 2012, and get our spots back. If this was an Olympic year, I'd be worried. But it's not.

And even if we have to settle for 2 spots next year, it's not like we have a slump in our Mens skating. I'm pretty sure we'll get them back.

In regards to Ladies and Ice Dance, I'm not worried. D/W are likely to win the title and I am pretty sure the Shibutanis have an EXCELLENT chance at making the top ten, maybe even top 5. Czisny has had a breakthrough season and judging that she didn't crack under pressure at Nationals, I don't expect her to now. Rachael's programs don't usually go well with International judges, but we will just have to wait and see. Rachael can be pretty consistent though.

In Pairs, I'm not sure what to expect but honestly, I'm going to root for them anyway. Our Pairs teams haven't been strong but I'm pretty sure once we get Cain/Reagan to the Senior level we may be able to get some medals again Pairs wise at Senior events. C/R blew away the Junior Pairs field at Nats so I'm still not too concerned... we may have an off year but I'm not worried for the future.

I made this in response to all this. If you use it somewhere, please credit me. I'll give you a link to use. Thanks.

http://i54.tinypic.com/fc0mcm.png

Oh and by the way. Ice is slippery, and we don't know WHAT will happen in March. Just wait and we'll see.

The grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence.

Some Japanese fans say that North American skaters are overscored at competitions because their federations have influence over ISU.
We always tend to think our favorites are underrated. ;)

As I see from out side USA, I don't think Americans are underrated or negatively considered. But US media seem to be a little disappointed that some of their Olympic skaters couldn't make good results in this season. However, it proved the depth of US figure skating that many different members qualified for the Worlds. No other country is the same.

Well said casa!

I love ELFF because we respect each others opinions.

Personally I think there is a reasonable cause for doubt about the ability to hold 3 men's spots. But that's not necessarily a negative just a reality as I see it. There comes a time for rebuilding and perhaps this is it. The up-and-comers are very strong and will get stronger with experience. Should we not keep three, I don't think that will last very long. And surely will have them back by Sochi season.

The ladies are getting stronger and I sense a very real possibility that this team could get us that third spot back.

I've no doubt dance will keep 3.

And pairs also could be a "dark horse" with those two this season to capture a third spot. Evora and Ladwig do have experience and ever increasing confidence that comes with it. Yankowkas and Coughlin are riding a wave of momentum that might just be the difference for them. If not, the experience will bode well for the future. I think pairs are on the verge of that long awaited break through. The teams just need to stay together long enough be really become one on the ice.

For all of them it's a matter of who keeps their head in the game the best. No one is unbeatable, from any country. Team USA has just as good a shot at "13 or less" from the top two as anyone else.

Go Team!!

One more thing that I want to say is that figure skating is fortunately an individual sport and we can enjoy it without thinking about skaters' countries. Of course, at the time of Olympics, we often become very nationalistic. But usually, we can cheer skaters of any countries at other event. Being interested in various counties' skaters can increase your pleasure of watching figure skating. If I was interested in only skaters of my own country, I would have never been an Evan fan.

Bravo casa!! So much to admire in all of them.

I agree with everything you guys said. Again, let me say this post was NOT directed at ANY member of this forum. It was directed at the media coverage and I don't like the media's negativity. There are skaters in other countries I like (one of my all-time favorite female skaters is Irina Slutskaya, and one of my all-time favorite male skaters is Jeffrey Buttle) but I do feel that in a figurative sense I have bonded most with US skaters because I don't have cable and didn't get IceNetwork until recently and the broadcast channels mostly cover US skaters.

Andrea, is it okay if I use your photo of the men on my Tumblr? I will provide a link to yours if you give me the link and credit you.

I totally and absolutely agree about the media. Why they dwell and insist on negative - I know, it's to stir controversy, which sadly, seems to sell the best :( - is beyound me when they're in a position to really make a difference in a positive way. :rolleyes:

Yes, I will PM you the link right now :)

I don't have a lot of educated information to add here but I am enjoying reading and learning from everyone's opinions. :hug:. That being said, I will say that I 100% thought Tanith and Ben should have had the bronze in Vancouver. I thought the couple who won(German?) should have been disqualified for using those ropes on their costumes. But aside from that, I still thought Tanith and Ben skated better.

I'm not saying I believe judges are biased but we all saw what happened to Jamie and David. And JW was pretty vocal after the Olympics about only 1 North American male being on the podium.

I am really late responding to this post, but the team who won bronze with the move that is now illegal (holding his partner by her belt for a rotational lift) were the Russians, Domnina and Shabalin. I agree 100% that Tanith and Ben should have had the bronze medal.

Yes, Weir was very vocal. after the Olympics about a lot more than only one North American man, specifically US man being on the podium. His attitude was that he skated two clean programs, where as Lambiel and Chan, who placed ahead of him did not. However, neither he nor fans in the stands or watching TV were able to take into consideration that JW had an edge call on a flip, had lower components because of few transitions, weaker choreography and an overall less difficult program. It was ridiculous to think that he should have been on the podium instead of Takahashi, when Dai scored 90+ points in the SP. That is all I am going to say because this has been debated and debated and commented on in many articles and I also think in the book, Triumph on Ice.

I would like to also add that regarding our men going to Worlds, Richard Dornbush, I believe stands in a good place to do well. I have watched Euros and 4CC's and no one except for Takahashi has performed like a champion as far as I am concerned. Perhaps that is because he is the reigning World Champion? Chan did not compete at 4CC, but put up an immense score at Canadian Nationals. Of course he was overscored, but I watched both his SP and FS on Youtube and he was magnificent. He had one quad in the SP and two in the FS. However, he only did a 2A in the SP and only one 3A in the FS. So his 3A's are still not secure. Also, he never does as well internationally as he does on home ice. Joubert at Euros skated better than I have seen him skate in a long time, but he still has a long way to go. Amodio won but did an awful lot of standing around on the ice waving his arms and hands (typical Morozov choreography) instead of skating. I think any of our US men can match anything that I have seen from any of their competitors.

I was mentioning Richard Dornbush. He has had a lot of international experience on the junior level, having won many junior gp's and last year won the JGP final. He has the similar experience Evan did when he went to World's for the first time, and Evan won a bronze medal. Now that had not been done since the 1950's, so I am not saying that it is an easy thing to do. But I think Dornbush has a very well crafted program to Sherlock Holmes that I think the judges will like, and he appears to be a consistent skater. So I am betting on him to do a good job. And I don't think Ross Miner is small potatoes either.

I think we can expect to see a lot of quads flying at Worlds since the rules have been changed. How many will have clean landings and receive full credit will be interesting. Not that many have so far. Interestingly, Brandon Mroz is one who did receive full credit for a beautiful quad/toe combo at one of his gp assignments, but I don't think it helped him very much because he messed up other parts of his program. That is the trick about the quad. It is a big point getter, but those points who't help if you don't skate a clean program. It is exciting to see, but a let down if the skater skates really sloppy after that one element.

After all the waiting, I am really looking forward to Worlds next week. It is the best competition. If you haven't yet, read Tara's "From the Boards." She gives a really good preview of each discipline going into Worlds.

I'm looking forward to Worlds myself and may actually be able to see some of it on Canada's CBC which my cable carrys even though it doesn't carry Universal.

I agree about Dornbush being able to do well and am so hopeful for Ryan who skated with an ease in the SP at Nationals that I've not seen from him often in competition. He skated that program for fun with few expectations for placement and was as smooth as silk. Tensed up a bit in the free when he realized he had a shot at winning his 1st Nationals. From what I'm hearing about his training for Worlds, the fun is back so I'm looking for both Ryan and Richard to do well and maintain the three spots.

Am so hoping for Alissa to do well too and repeat the ease of her performances in Greensboro. If Rachel can hold it together, that 3rd spot is a possibility. Sure do wish Mirai had made the World team, but not making it may turn out to be better in the long run.

Really hopeful for Yankowskas and Coughlin and Evora and Ladwig, who did really well in Vancouver. It's not outside the realm of possibility for those teams to regain a third spot, if not this time - maybe next.

No doubt about Meryl and Charlie for the podium. Virtue/Moir are a bit of an unknown with Worlds being their first complete - we hope - competition of the season. The judges do seem to really reward them though. And my heart is fully behind the Shibutanis as well. TeamUSA looks to do really really well.

2010-11 season was a building season for all skaters. Will be fun and very interesting to see who rises to the top at this delayed worlds. Bring 'em on!!

I am glad you will be able to watch on CBC. I found a web site yesterday that is a blog, World Figure Skating, that is offering free broadcast from Russian TV for those who can't watch. I found this blog by going through Tara's, From the Boards. Anyone who doesn't have access to Universal Sports for Worlds may be able to try it.

I'm with you on each discipline. I am really rooting for Meryl and Charlie but I agree it seems that Tessa and Scott are favored. I think it was Tara's blog but I also read that Tessa/Scott's full long program is incredible, a samba. I'm sorry I will miss seeing them live this weekend in Ottawa. If Tessa/Scott do win the Gold again, I am selfishly hopeful that this may provide Evan with some more motivation to step back into the competition in the Fall, showing that it is very possible to continue to do well after an Olympic Gold. IMHO.

I do hope the US men and women medal as well. Everyone sounds really confident in their interviews. I am also curious to see how Yuna does as well, being this is her first competition of the season.

Mary--I'm jealous that you have CBC! That means you can watch Battle of the Blades as well right?

Heather - are you going to Ottawa? Lucky you. I assume you'll take your flip. :thumbup: Please let us know if they keep On Golden Pond.


RE: BofBlades. Probably - I just never remember that I even have the channel :wallbash: never mind checking for programs. :rolleyes: I feel very lucky to have it - will try to do better about using it in future, that's for sure.

Yes, I'm going to Ottawa. I bought my ticket late last year before I lost my job. I've always wanted to see CSOI since Jamie/David don't really perform in the US anymore and since Evan was in this year's tour as well, I went for it. I will bring the flip but can't promise that I will use it--I kind of want to see the line-up first and then decide. Of course I will blog about the experience though nonetheless.

:lol: maybe you should "Like" the BofBlades FB page so you can get the schedule updates. I heard they are in the process of casting Season 3. Sounds like a really fun show that you'd love! It's a shame that their website doesn't allow us to view the show outside Canada. :cryoutloud:

Good idea about the BofBlades facebook. I'm sure that would be a BIG reminder.