WOW!! what a competition! Who would ever have guess it would end in a tie!!!! Talk about a plot twist, LOL.
All that being said...I cannot see how Evan got the gold medal.
what with all those wobbles and bobbles on landing his jumps. Give me a break! While I'm no huge fan of Johnny's I'm not waving any flags for Evan either, lol. Johnny's jumps, for the most part, and execution were better than Evan's. Johnny's edges are better, he lands smooth, quiet jumps. It was very evident that Evan was attacking his jumps; they were very in-your-face but sloppy on the landings. He had to fight for every one of them and, in comparison to Johnny's secure landings, I cannot comprehend how Evan could get bonus points for what he put out there on the ice--that gave him enough points to win the FS. In contrast Johnny's jumps and landings were effortless; he took off, sailed through the air with the required revolutions, and landed into deep knees on secure edges. Evan's edges weren't secure. Every one of Johnny's elements were finished to the "nth' degree--right down to the finesse in his arms, fingertips, and pointed toes; his movements were flowing. Evan's arms reminded me of Plushenko's "windmill style", lol, which I couldn't stand then and I can stand even less with Evan doing it now.
I found the expressions on each of their faces was interesting when the TV cameras did the tight, closeups the very second that each skater finished his program. Johnny burst into tears, relieved that the whole thing was over and satisfied with his performance. Evan, on the other hand, wore an expression of gritted teeth and intense eyes. For a few seconds I thought he looked as if he could have bitten through and ripped out the throat of a pitbull dog, LOL. That's taking method acting a bit to far, LOL, and especially on such an unusual stage, LOL. Looked like a scene straight out of "Blades of Glory." LOL
I have to hand it to Johnny---I can only imagine what must have been going through his mind, sitting in the K & C, wondering what the hold up was with the posting of his score, and only to find out it was a dead tie with Evan! Then, that sinking feeling when he realized that Evan had actually won the National title (again) and not him. At that point I just wanted to hug him. Poor guy! What impressed me was how quickly he shifted mentally from wanting to cry in frustration and, instead, sucked up his bottomless disappointment, and faced the waiting media in a calm, collected manner. He ought to get a gold medal for that alone!
On a different note, it's drama such as this that could draw those used-to-be fans back to figure skating. There was as much emotion and nail-biting today as in any good movie, LOL.
Mary C.
....as long as they don't show a fluff piece with Johnny curling I'll be fine...
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