Official 2010 Olympics Thread
Out of context: Reply #159
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- juhls0
Analysis regarding men and figure skating:
"If hockey is considered the most anticipated sport at the Vancouver Games, and curling the least exciting, then figure skatinghas to be the most divisive.
That's not to say all women hold their breath when Russia's Evgeni Plushenko goes for a quadruple jump or that some men aren't mesmerized by the athleticism and artistry it takes to pull off a flawless routine.
But the sport does have a lopsided fan base, and the reasons go much deeper than sequins and Lycra. It's the absence of black and white scores, objective decisions and clear-cut rules that turns many men off.
"When I'm watching figure skating or when I'm watching the snowboard half-pipe or I'm watching any of those that are fully judged sports, I have no clue as I'm watching along who's winning and who's losing," says Dan Cook, who lives in Minneapolis, Minn.
Mr. Cook, an avid sports fan who writes a blog called the Sports Take, says he respects the abilities of figure skaters, but that he can't get past the subjective scoring.
"It becomes too involved a process or just an impossible process. I don't get a whole lot of enjoyment out of watching it."
Some men take the argument one step further by declaring that that figure skating is more art than sport and should not be included in the Olympics.
"Nothing done to music is a sport. And anything involving costumes (especially with sequins) is not a sport. Sports have uniforms, not costumes," columnist Ken Herman wrote in the Austin American-Statesman last week.
Experts say that many men are simply too uncomfortable with the flamboyant outfits and seemingly feminine behaviour of some skaters - such as Johnny Weir of the United States, hailed as the Lady Gaga of figure skating - to kick back and enjoy it."
If you care, more here:
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure…