Jeremy Abbott Is More Awesome Than All Of Us

Now that the Olympic men's figure skating short program has aired both live and in primetime yesterday, I'm assuming that everyone that wanted to see it has seen it. And if you haven't seen it... well, you missed something out of the Twilight Zone. I swear, it was incredibly fitting that I made popcorn right as it was starting. (Yes, that was at around 8 a.m. MT, but when you have breakfast at 5 a.m., three hours later is definitely snack time. Don't judge.)

The craziness began right at the start of the second group of skaters, as four-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko landed a jump awkwardly in his warm-up and immediately grabbed his back. He was the first skater in that group set to perform and, instead of skating out to center ice, he skated over to the judges. Next thing you knew, he'd withdrawn due to injury and was taking a goodbye bow, his Olympic (and skating) career officially done. What?! He'd been having some issues since the team event long program, but I still felt like I'd been clubbed over the head with a frying pan. Complete and utter shock. In all my years of Olympics-watching, nothing like that has ever happened.

via

But anyway. This post is not being written so I can talk about Plushenko, but just... I'm still shocked. Moving on.

After that, we were all lulled into a false sense of security, assuming that there's no way anything else shocking could happen. I mean, one shocker like that is rare enough, but two? Nah. No way.

And then Jeremy Abbott took the ice.

If you haven't been following U.S. or Olympic figure skating, here's the dealio: Jeremy won U.S. nationals in 2010 (ahead of future Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek, no less) to make the Olympic team, but had a disaster of a short program and finished ninth overall. He finished second at nationals to make the Olympic team for 2014 and, in the team event, had another bad short program to finish seventh out of 10. The hope going into the individual event was that he'd gotten his nerves out and could now skate cleanly. In his own words, he'd now already gotten his Olympic disaster out of the way.

Well, homeboy fell on his first jumping pass in his individual short program. And not just any run-of-the-mill fall, either. I'm talking total wipe-out, right on his hip, careening into the boards, and not immediately getting up. He was down, and he was clearly very badly hurt.

via Yahoo images

I was, first of all, very afraid for him, and I also assumed that was it. Can you medically withdraw in the middle of your program? I don't even know, but that's what I thought would happen. He'd hobble over to the judges and tearfully bow out.

But no. Oh, no. After an agonizing 10 or 15 seconds that felt like it took an hour, Jeremy collected himself, stood up and continued his program. According to good ol' commentators Johnny Weir (literally just typed "Weird" instead of Weir, hahaha. #freudianslip) and Tara Lipinski informed us that, despite his significant time down on the ice, he hadn't missed any of his program's required elements (i.e. jumps, spins, etc.), just some choreography. So he caught up with his music and kept going. I was so nervous as he approached his second jumping pass, I was about ready to vomit... but lo and behold, he landed it. And he landed every other jump he executed.

He was like a different person! Before his program, he was taking deep breaths and visibly trying to get himself mentally ready. But after his fall, you could see in his eyes that he was pissed and determined and ready to raise some hell. And he did.

And guys, I cannot even tell you how completely overwhelmed I was. The amount of respect I have for this guy is unreal. It was so inspiring to see him fight back from what could've (or, really, should've) been utter devastation. This is his last Olympics and he wasn't going to just let it end like that.

It should be a lesson to us all: our flops should never be death knells. Jeremy Abbott went hip-first into the ice and face-first into the boards at the Olympics and got up and finished with his head held high. Didn't accomplish what you wanted to? Well, bummer. Brush the snow off your pants and hit that triple lutz-triple toe combination because, damnit, you can!

As Jeremy was waiting for his scores, I think it was Tara that said, "It may not've been the Olympic moment he'd been hoping for, but he inadvertently created an Olympic moment." Heck yes, he did.

(And then he returned for his long program today and delivered like a CHAMP. Ended his final Olympics on the most positive of notes. I may or may not have gotten a little misty-eyed. You go, Jeremy.)

Blogtober(ish) Day 31: Kristi Yamaguchi

Yesterday was awesome. It was full of awesome costumes, games, pumpkin decorating, sugary deliciousness and some Twitter fame, and it deserves a blog post all its own (which it shall get!). So I skipped home from work, all ready to hunker down and finish off Blogtober with a bang, and then I discovered... THE INTERNET WAS DOWN. AGAIN. For the second time in ONE WEEK! Except this time, I'm 99% sure it wasn't because of scheduled maintenance. >.<

It's one thing to stay up until 2 a.m. to blog on a Saturday night, but Thursday night? With work the next morning? After staying up far too late the two previous nights? Uh, fat chance. I passed out at about 9 while watching DVDs of 1980 Olympic hockey (!!!!!!), woke up at 11 to see if the internet was working, and crawled into bed when I realized it wasn't. So much for that "going out with a bang" thing. I'm SO MAD that the ONE DAY in Blogtober that I failed to post was the FINAL DAY and it was because of TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. I was sooo looking forward to being finished yesterday! As much as I've adored this month and the feedback I've gotten on it, I'm in desperate need of a few days off. Seriously, how do some bloggers post every day ad nauseum?! No wonder so many blogs I follow are getting rethought or revamped or are on hiatus! Sheesh. Take a break, folks!

But anyway, I truly didn't want to start this final fan letter off with a two-paragraph annoyed rant. Because if there's one person in the world that meeting would more or less complete my life, it's this person right here.

I'm pretty sure I fell in love with Kristi when she portrayed Jasmine in Aladdin on Ice. (Hey, I was four years old. Don't judge! :P) Eighteen years later, that four-year-old still makes herself known every now and then; Kristi was hanging out with Jim Craig earlier this week and I literally don't know how I contained my excitement. Pretty sure I didn't, to be honest.

But enough of my childhood fangirling for now!

Kristi started skating when she was a kid as therapy for her club feet. She began as both a singles and a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo (another childhood favorite of mine!); they won the U.S. junior title in 1986 and 1988, and the U.S. senior title in 1989 and 1990. Separately, Kristi won the U.S. junior title in '88, and Rudy won the world junior title in '87. They did better as a team because they were both accomplished singles skaters, jumping and spinning in opposite directions and doing side-by-side triple flip jumps (which is more difficult than side-by-side jumps done by top pairs teams today). But in 1990, Kristi decided she wanted to focus on singles skating. (Don't feel too bad for Rudy, though. He won the U.S. championship and bronze at Worlds in 1996).

As a singles skater, Kristi won three straight silver medals at the U.S. Championships ('89-'91), and then gold in 1992. She won gold at the World Championships in '91 and '92; in 1991, she, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding became the first national ladies team to have its members sweep the podium. Kristi won gold at the 1992 Olympics... on the exact day of my first birthday. It's destiny. DESTINY, I tell you!

Kristi is the awesomest. She won Dancing with the Stars in 2008 (side note: OMG how was it that long ago?!?!?!?!), has worked as a skating broadcast analyst, is still pretty heavily involved with the USOC, and started the Always Dream Foundation that provides "funding for after school programs, computers, back-to-school clothes for underprivileged children, and summer camps for kids with disabilities."

But she etched herself into my heart forever in 1996, when I wrote her a fan letter and she wrote back. :) She sent an autographed picture that's still displayed in my room, but she also actually responded to my letter.

I was five and my hero was writing back to me. Life was great, dude.

It's kind of funny; I left Kristi for last this month because she was my first and greatest favorite, but I didn't even think about how appropriate it would be to end my month of fan letters with the Olympian that I actually wrote a fan letter to. Perfect. :)

And with that, Blogtober is officially FINITO! *throws confetti*

Blogtober Day 28: Michelle Kwan

True story: my first Olympic memory involves Michelle Kwan and bitter anger. It was the night before my seventh birthday, Tara Lipinski was screaming her annoying head off after beating Michelle for the gold medal, and I was SO STINKING MAD. I'm still not entirely over that, to be honest. *grumbles*

Essentially, Michelle achieved everything a figure skater could possibly achieve except winning Olympic gold. She won five World Championships (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003), tying her for most wins by an American. She has won nine U.S. Championships (1996, 1998–2005), tying the record for most wins; her eight consecutive titles is a U.S. record, as is her streak of 12 consecutive medals. She is the only woman in figure skating history to reclaim the World title three times (1998, 2000, 2003). In her career, she received a total of 57 6.0s (perfect scores) from her at nationals and worlds. At the U.S. Championships alone, she holds the record for most 6.0s. And, since figure skating is no longer scored on the 6.0 scale, nobody will ever overtake her.

And then, of course, is the Olympic silver medal from 1998 and the Olympic bronze medal from 2002.

Can you say flawless?

Michelle the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, and is widely regarded as one of the best figure skaters of all time. She was on top of the figure skating world for over a decade, which is kiiiiiind of ridiculous. She's also one of the most beloved American athletes, uh, ever.

She's MICHELLE FREAKING KWAN, that's why you should care!

*drops mic*

Blogtober Day 22: Peggy Fleming

You want to know how well-planned this month's bloggy endeavor was? There are six figure skaters on my list of people to write fan letters to; two were done in the first half of the month, and four were left for the final week and a half. Hah, whoops?

The Grenoble 1968 Olympics were the first ever to be televised in color. Clearly someone saw Peggy's ballin' chartreuse skating dress and was like, "AMERICA MUST BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THIS IN ALL ITS GLORY!" Boom, color broadcasts.

Peggy started skating when she was nine, and it didn't take long for everything to get flipped on its head. In 1961, when she was 12, her coach (along with the rest of the U.S. figure skating national team) was killed in a plane crash on the way to the 1961 World Championships. After the tragedy, she was coached by the legendary Carlo Fassi and went on to win five U.S. titles, three World titles and Olympic gold in 1968 before retiring.

In 1993, Peggy was named the third most popular athlete in America (behind Mary Lou Retton and fellow skater Dorothy Hamill), which kind of boggles my mind because the Dream Team was a thing in 1992. In 1998, Peggy was diagnosed with breast cancer, but it was caught early and she underwent surgery. She's now in remission and a huge breast cancer activist. She and her husband own and operate a winery, and the profits from one of their wines go to charities that support breast cancer research.

She's been a figure skating commentator for over 20 years now, and she was in Blades of Glory as a judge. Yes.

The plane crash that killed Peggy's coach wiped out the entire top level of U.S. figure skating. Think about it; these were the skaters and coaches going to the world championships, and suddenly they were all gone. Peggy came up in a skating world that was basically a vacuum. 1964 was the first Olympics in 12 years that had no American on the ladies' figure skating podium. When she won Olympic gold, it signaled America's return to figure skating dominance; an American lady won a figure skating medal in every Olympics until 2010.

But Peggy's gold medal meant even more to America as a whole, as it was the only gold medal won by Team USA at the winter Olympics in 1968. I can't even comprehend that.

You rock that chartreuse dress, girl!

Blogtober Day 20: Scott Hamilton

As I'm writing this post while watching Skate America (and keeping an eye on my fantasy skating team...), this is only fitting.

The better question is, why ISN'T Scott Hamilton awesome?

When Scott was a kid, he contracted a mysterious disease that caused him to stop growing. The condition eventually corrected itself, and he eventually grew to 5'4" -- as a fellow member of the short person club, I dig it.

In 1980, he placed third at the U.S. Championships to qualify for the Olympic team; he was voted to carry the American flag in the opening ceremony, and subsequently placed fifth. From 1981-1984, he won each U.S. Championship and each World Championship, and then he won Olympic gold in 1984. After winning worlds that year he retired, then co-founded, co-produced and starred in Stars on Ice until 2001 (perfect timing for me to obsess over it when I was a kid. But for real, though). He was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990.

He could also do backflips on ice, and frequently did, which is really why little Darci liked him so much. It was AWESOME!

(And right now [literally, right this second], I'm listening to him as a commentator while I'm sitting in the Olympic Training Center. My life has very bizarrely come full circle.)

Scott suffered from testicular cancer in 1997 and discovered he had a benign brain tumor in 2004 (that was surgically removed in 2010). He (obviously) survived everything and is still killin' it. He was also the Make-A-Wish Foundation's first ever Celebrity Wish Granter of the Year. And, basically, he just makes you want to smile when he speaks.

Scott Hamilton: proving that big (and awesome) things come in small packages since 1980. :)

Blogtober Day 14: Katarina Witt

I used to watch a ton of ice skating when I was a kid, and Katarina was in all of those pro shows I loved so much. But I didn't realize what a big deal she is until really recently. Embarrassingly recently.

When she was a kid growing up in East Germany, she attended a school for athletically gifted children. Is that, like, the jock equivalent of being a nerd? Well, whatever. She trained like a fiend and got onto a major podium for the first time in 1982, and so began her reign of dominance. She won gold at every East German Championships from 1981-88, every European Championships from 1983-88, and at four World Championships from 1984-88. She won Olympic gold in 1984 and then defended her title in 1988.
After winning freaking EVERYTHING in 1988 (seriously, I'm not even exaggerating), Katarina went pro, which was super rare for an East German athlete back then. Y'know, socialism and all. She toured with several shows, even selling out Madison Square Garden for her show with Brian Boitano, and acted in the film Carmen on Ice, which she received an Emmy Award for. Hah. For real.

Katarina made a comeback to competitive skating in 1994 and managed to qualify for her third Olympics, where she placed seventh. Not bad for someone who'd been out of the game for six years!

Remember how I said Katarina won Olympic gold in 1984 and won it again in '88? She's one of two ladies' figure skaters ever to defend her Olympic title, and was the first to in about 50 years. The only other name on that list is Sonja Henie, who won in 1928, 1932 and 1936 and is by far one of the greatest figure skaters ever. Katarina and Sonja also happen to co-hold the record for consecutive European Championships won. Basically, Katarina is right up there with the best ever.
She was also something of a revolutionary, not only in her skating abilities but in her... uh, creative choices? She consistently pushed the boundaries by wearing costumes considered by many to be too sexy, and then posed for Playboy in 1998. I can't say I personally give this particular decision a thumbs-up, but Katarina has said that she wanted to change the perception of skaters as being "cute, pretty, ice princesses," which I definitely can support. Do your thang, gurl!   And finally, after the dissolution of East Germany, Katarina found Stasi files showing that the secret police busted their butts to keep her from defecting, giving her cars, accommodations and permitted travel. In total, there were 3,000 pages on her life dating back to when she was eight years old. How bizarre must that have been? (EspnW made a Nine for IX movie about her called The Diplomat, which I'm still DYING to see.) People called her "the most beautiful face of socialism."   And to think I just liked her for her skating. Sigh

Blogtober Day 9: Dorothy Hamill

For such a figure skating icon, Dorothy's list of accomplishments is surprisingly short and sweet and to-the-point (which makes things incredibly easy for me, so yay! :P). She was the U.S. Champion from 1974-76, World Champion in 1976 and Olympic gold medalist in 1976. Pretty banner year, 1976, eh?

I also find it incredibly endearing that Dorothy didn't have thick skin. At the 1974 World Championships in Munich, she took the ice after a German skater; the crowd booed when the German's marks were displayed, and Dorothy, thinking they were booing her, left the ice and burst into tears (and then won silver). At the Olympics, some of her supporters held a sign that said, "Which of the West? Dorothy!" in reference to who would defeat the East German skater to win gold; Dorothy misunderstood the reference and was hurt by it (but then figured it out, used it to calm her nerves, and won the gold medal). I mean, let's be real here -- nobody loves haters as much as they claim to. You have to respect someone that doesn't pretend to, and then turns around and wins anyway!

She's also credited with developing a new skating move, called the Hamill camel, which is a camel spin into a sit spin. Now, figure skating isn't like gymnastics where there are dozens upon dozens of moves, all of which are named after people. As far as I can find, the Hamill camel and the Biellmann are the only two spins named after the skater that made them famous. So, y'know, Dorothy's kind of a big deal.

And finally, Dorothy is a breast cancer survivor. Checkmate.

Dorothy was to figure skating what Rachel/Jennifer Aniston was to Friends, basically. Dorothy had a bob haircut? People ran out to get their hair chopped off. Dorothy wore giant glasses (because her coach wanted her to be able to see out of the corners for her compulsory figures)? People ran out to buy giant glasses. People also ran out to buy the Dorothy Hamill doll that was made in 1977 (for real), and the media dubbed her "America's sweetheart." I believe that's what they call Sandra Bullock nowadays, correct? Infer from that what you will.

She was also on Dancing with the Stars recently, and I was beyond ridiculously excited about it. But she had to drop out after two weeks because of an injury. I was DEVASTATED. But I think I'll stick with my long hair and regular-sized glasses. ;)

 

Again, I know I'm not writing these fan letters to get approval from the people I'm writing about, but this made me grin like a complete fool:

 

Dude. Between the responses from her and Todd, this is why I love pro volleyball players: because they really genuinely appreciate when you appreciate them. :) (Also, note how this five-time Olympian said I made her seem awesome. Uhh, didn't really have to work too hard to do that! haha.)

My Olympics Bucket List

1. Attend an Opening Ceremony. If nothing else, this one HAS to happen. I think I will be able to die happy if/when it does. It's what I look forward to every two years, more so than the two and a half weeks of competition that follow. I don't care if I get the worst seats in the house and pay hundreds of dollars for them. I AM going to an Opening Ceremony one day.

2. Live to see the Olympics return to America. This is entirely beyond my control, of course. But the last time the Games were on US soil was in 2002. Before that, 1996. And before that, 1984 and 1980. So now it's been ten years, and the USOC just recently announced that they won't bid for the 2022 Games. Now the earliest we can hope for is 2024. I'll be well on my way to my mid-thirties and from where I'm sitting, that seems like a lifetime away. But if that's what we've got to work with, let's make it happen, people!

3. Work for another Olympics. I know I've been pretty focused on working for the USOC, but now that I've volunteered for London 2012, a whole new world has been opened up to me. While I love cheering for Team USA, there's something really great about coming together with a group of people and just rooting for the Olympics. The Italians would be rooting for the Italian team, the Americans for the American team, the Canadians for the Canadian team, and the Brits for Team GB, but when it came down to it we were prouder to wear London 2012 gear. And that was awesome. It'd be an absolute dream to get to travel to another country, live there for a year or so, and be a part of another Games. Hey, it's why I'm starting to teach myself Russian. Sochi 2014 or bust!

4. Work for the USOC. While this dream now has an alternative, it has in no way disappeared. I can't even imagine how proud I'd be to put on a Team USA shirt and know I'm a part of it.

5. Meet one of the figure skaters from back in the day. Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano, Michelle Kwan, Sarah Hughes... I'd take any of 'em. I had the typical little girl dream of being an Olympic figure skater, and I watched pro figure skating like there was no tomorrow. That crowd of pros had such a huge role in my life and it'd be amazing to tell them that!

6. Take a picture with Apolo Ohno. Because I really should be in a photo with my future husband before we get married.