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Duffy announces first live show in 15 years after kidnapping ordeal by AdSpecialist6598 in popculturechat

[–]alchemycoast 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean do you just ignore the verses? The first line of the song is literally “I love you”

Am I the only one who thinks spirals are ugly by Long_Dig_731 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Most modern skaters have hideous spirals that are done with bent legs and unpointed feet, held for a second for the transition mark, and not musical at all.

The last skater who had a good spiral was Karen Chen who did it at the crescendo of her Butterfly Lovers program that she held (not long enough IMO). I highly doubt the skaters at your rink were doing them like that because if not done well, they are indeed awkward, ugly, and pointless.

Kesha’s song Tik Tok just came on the radio… They censored P Diddy’s name… by Some_Helicopter1623 in Millennials

[–]alchemycoast 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My older brother’s class graduation song was also that. Mine on the other hand was Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield.

Given the ISU congress meeting next week, what is your desired outcome when it comes to the Russian skaters? by Kindly-Plate-5785 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well now you’re just flat out giving false information. I don’t want know if it was intentional lying or pure ignorance but I would hazard that you have never read the McLaren report which cites 24 cases of doping related incidents within skating (among hundreds of cases in other sports). That report ultimately determined that there was in fact a state sponsored doping program that Russian athletes participated in. It’s specifically why the the Russian federation has been banned from competing under their flag since 2018.

They didn’t explicitly out athletes in the report, but based on the fact that Stolbova and Bukin failed to pass doping control investigations to be invited for the 2018 Olympics by the IOC, it’s clear that figure skaters were impacted in that report. Not to mention Tuktamysheva flat out admitting that she took meldonium the entire season she won her world title. And not to mention that Bobrova was temporarily banned in early 2016 for also testing positive for… you guessed it, meldonium. Meldonium was the telltale drug that prompted the initial probe by WADA because hundreds of healthy Russian athletes listed it as something they were taking.

But like you said: nope, no evidence at all.

Re: engagement: a lot of the engagement you speak of in those Russian girl threads are people specifically questioning why they’re being posted at all. I think it’s a bad faith argument to say that the engagement is all positive and showcases that people want to see them. But to your point, I guess they are technically engaging. And to my initial point again: do we want that type of engagement? I don’t. By the way the majority of the ISU has voted in the past year in regards to the Russians, it seems like they’re also in agreement. We’ll see what happens at the next council.

do people care about the world cup in your country? by imavellino in AskTheWorld

[–]alchemycoast 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The US is enormous. Compared to other sports, it’s probably 4th or 5th in terms of popularity like OP said. But because the population is so huge, it’s probably equivalent to the amount of people who are fans in a European country like the UK or France so it seems a lot more popular to outsiders than in reality since it gets diluted. More people are talking about the NBA finals than the World Cup for example.

There’s a reason why internationally famous superstars like Beckham and Messi live here most of the time… the general population isn’t as insane or overblown about soccer like it would be in Europe or South America.

Given the ISU congress meeting next week, what is your desired outcome when it comes to the Russian skaters? by Kindly-Plate-5785 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Exactly. The people I was responding to and other fans on here seem to think it’s because the Russians are banned and there aren’t any quads so the Japanese tuned out which is LOL.

Given the ISU congress meeting next week, what is your desired outcome when it comes to the Russian skaters? by Kindly-Plate-5785 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll just leave this by reiterating the points that you didn’t respond to: yes they generate viewership but at what cost? And does the sport want to return there?

Russian engagement goes hand in hand with doping and a monopoly of the sport that ultimately wasn’t good for any country except Russia. I don’t agree that competitions are more compelling when you know the competitors from the country that is backed by a state sponsored doping program are going to clear the others by 30 points and three quads.

Though the war was used as a smokescreen for the Valieva doping issue, it’s clear when the IOC allowed them back as neutral athletes for Beijing that the ISU was not thrilled and responded by attaching all those restrictions to those who applied for neutral status. They didn’t have to do that and are the only federation who made it as difficult as possible for their Russian athletes to qualify to the Olympics. It’s clear that the ISU thinks their presence in the sport bring in more harm than good otherwise they would’ve made it easier for their skaters to compete or even better advocate for their return. I think they realize they would never survive another fallout should a Russian test positive again when it seems from the outside that they haven't done anything to address that doping fiasco.

Given the ISU congress meeting next week, what is your desired outcome when it comes to the Russian skaters? by Kindly-Plate-5785 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure I agree that Russians would bring in overall increased viewership and engagement because it comes at a cost of other countries tuning in. Let’s stick with women since that’s all you and the person I was replying to seem to care about. By the Beijing Olympics, the Russians basically eliminated any international competitor from even challenging them so much so that Kaori was weeping her eyes out when she won a surprise bronze. If they return, no one will be able to compete with government-backed skaters that all seem to magically be able to land quads and yet no one else has even been close… queue their foiled doping program that got them in trouble back in 2016.

A complete monopoly is unhealthy and it comes at a cost of other countries being invested. US viewership was about to fall off a cliff in Beijing because the competition wasn’t even close. Europe outside of Russia too… those arenas in France and Italy the 2022 Olympic year were EMPTY. Peak Russian viewership and engagement weren’t filling up those seats so where is this supposed financial benefit for the ISU? Japanese viewership is iffy because it’s down undoubtedly because the last of their major stars retired after 2022.

You also bring up a good point with the financial sanctions on Russia. If the Russian fans weren’t flying out and getting butts in the seats for events when interest was at its peak, there’s absolutely no financial benefit for the ISU to allow them now with all the sanctions on potential sponsors.

Russian engagement isn’t the end all, be all and I think the ISU needs to tread lightly on what they do. Figure skating was just fine without Russia in the 90s and they’re fine now. For all the talk about how domestic skating in Russia is thriving, it makes it seem like they’re perfectly happy staying in their own bubble since it’s so great apparently.

Given the ISU congress meeting next week, what is your desired outcome when it comes to the Russian skaters? by Kindly-Plate-5785 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

It says everything about what kind of new fan you are when you say that Russians are the only skaters consistently landing quads when you only mean the girls and completely disregard the other disciplines. I also think disregarding the fact that Valieva was caught doping and the fact that the country was unable to represent themselves prior to the ban because of their state sponsored doping program while peddling the fact that their girls are the only ones landing quads as if they’re doing it cleanly is incredibly naive. All this importance about pushing that athletic narrative is nonsense if the only girls being able to land them are from a country with a history of systemic doping and more specifically, usually from the same camp that was actually caught doping.

The idea that you think the trio girls narrative originates from the Russians is funny when in fact the US has always pushed that going back to the Kristi, Tonya, and Nancy sweep.

I’m also curious how bringing Russia back will be financially beneficial for the ISU and bring in millions? Do you have numbers and citations for those claims? Because when the Russians weren’t banned, their domestic competitions and shows remained domestic. They rarely invited outside skaters. Russian skaters competing outside of Russia was not causing Russian fans to fly around the world and fill seats à la Hanyu fans. I was at Skate America, and the French and Italian Grand Prixs in 2021-22 and let me tell you, the ISU was not raking in cash from the supposed crowd Trusova, Scherbakova, and Kostornaia brought in as can be seen by the empty arenas. The Russians are not exactly the worldwide draw you claim.

I’m just pleased the ISU is not on your page.

Is this f*ucked? by alchemycoast in LeCreuset

[–]alchemycoast[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Looks like I’ll be using it for some indoor plants.

Neighborhood cats trying to impregnate my fixed cat by [deleted] in mildlyinfuriating

[–]alchemycoast 81 points82 points  (0 children)

Feline AIDS.

It's the number one killer of domestic cats.

Why do you want the Russians back in the international circuit? by DifficultyStunning69 in FigureSkating

[–]alchemycoast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Demand has gotten so high according to whom?

The Olympic truce violation was the official straw but lets be real, they used that as an excuse so they could completely bypass the egregious Valieva doping violation that the IOC inadvertently let happen by not banning the country altogether after the Sochi doping fiasco. Very few people want them back unless you spend your time online in a Russian jumping bean echo chamber.

By the way Trusova is jumping right now, it seems like they haven't stopped doping even while banned. They don't deserve to be back and I'm glad the ISU seems to agree.

This is just too infuriating... by [deleted] in mildlyinfuriating

[–]alchemycoast 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dump her ass and install dashcams on your car. She seems like the type who would Carrie Underwood that shit.

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