US Nationals Debrief
It was the best of times, it was the heartbreaking worst of times.
This time on The Nice Capades…
I need to process US Nats and the aftermath.
Three small luxuries to make you feel slightly posh.
What a weekend— the highest highs and some truly agonizing lowest lows.
Let’s start with the outcome. Here’s the Olympic team selections. (Which are basically the podiums, except in Pairs, where Alisa Efimova/Misha Mitrofanov won gold and Katie McBeath/Daniil Parkman won bronze, but neither can go to the Olympics due to citizenship issues)
There’s really just one surprise here: no Jason Brown. Otherwise, this is pretty close to what I predicted.
Here’s what stood out to me:
The Max Naumov Exploitation Tour: I am THRILLED for Max to make the team. Everybody is THRILLED that Max gets to have this experience. And NBC sure did make sure that every single person watching understood exactly why THIS IS SO BITTERSWEET AND WONDERFUL. They asked Max about his deceased parents at every turn, and the camera lingered on him for ages after he got his results and held up their photo. Max’s improved gritty performances this season? Finally placing above fourth at Nationals after stalling at the pewter medal for two years? Barely mentioned. It’s inevitable that people are going to talk about Max’s parents as part of his story, but I hope this doesn’t become more about them than about him. I saw someone online say they hoped that Max was consulted about how much he wanted to talk about them, and I agree. The focus on them felt exploitive and added to the pressure on him. I hope they leave it alone at the Olympics and let him enjoy what he earned.
Jason Brown’s free skate was a shocking surprise in the worst way. Just a total meltdown of jaw dropping proportions. I felt like I did watching Nathan Chen’s 2018 short program in Beijing. I don’t even know how much I can say about it except that I thought he must have been injured in the warm-up or heard terrible news right before he went on the ice. But he gave an interview afterward that seemed to suggest that his jumps just weren’t there, despite being pretty good in practice and warm-up. His triple Axel has been iffy all season; I think he missed the first one and just mentally shut down. Unfortunately for Jason, Andrew Torgashev had the skate of his life. I really think if Torgs had done a little worse and placed behind Max, they might have still given it to Jason. But you can’t put Max on that team and not the guy who placed in front of him. And they were never going to leave a Top Three Max off the Olympic roster. This is not to diminish Torgs or Max— they rightfully earned their spots. But Jason’s body of work might have been more powerful with different ordinals. I notice they feel just fine sending him to Worlds (he’s confirmed to be a Team USA entry), which they wouldn’t do if they really thought he was going to keep choking. Here’s hoping Jason goes back to an old free skate before Worlds because I think that “Say Something” program might have cursed him. (Is it too late to bring back “Sinnerman” for the short and do the full Riverdance free? Do kind of a greatest hits thing?)
While we’re feeling sad, pour one out for Caroline Green/Michael Parsons, who are Ice Dance Olympic alternates for the second quad in a row. Michael Parsons is 30 and known to have back issues. Caroline Green is 22, which is a tiny baby girl by Ice Dance standards. If he retires, I’m not sure who might be available at her level. This might have been her last big chance, given ice dance politics. Watching their post-season with interest.
But let’s not forget how great this Nationals was! My standout programs:
Shin/Nagy’s Moulin Rouge short program, complete with sassy Tessa Virtue expressions. (I can’t find this one any where online, drop a link if you find it.)
Amber Glenn’s basically flawless and joyful “Like a Prayer” short program. I texted it to so many people. If she does the same thing at the Olympics, she will be totally viral.
The Brown siblings Godfather free program. Most entertaining of all the free dances. And I love how she circled his body after “killing” him as part of their bows. I so badly want them to surge ahead of the other B-team players in the next quad.
Jacob Sanchez’s clean free skate and his thrilled reaction— there’s the future of Men’s skating! Here’s the last minute or so, where he knows he’s done it and is just so happy.
And the biggest high for me— the Women’s Event, or the Eras Tour on Ice. No, none of them skated to Taylor Swift. They don’t have Jenny Han money and they can’t afford it. But I got the same Eras Tour electric feeling of watching someone perform at their best and the same glow of female friendship buzzing in the air. Amber Glenn really has used her powers for good, cultivating a friendly atmosphere amongst the women skaters. And it didn’t hurt that Alysa Liu came back with her “skating is fake, friendship is magic” attitude. Between their hilarious press conference (“No, we’re Blades of Glory”), barely being able to take Andrea Joyce’s questions seriously, and cheering each other on from the sidelines… this group of Women is special. You get the sense that their support of each other only makes them that much stronger, which is incredibly refreshing in these times. Can’t wait to see them charm the world in Milan, which is desperately needed to sage the Women’s event after the horror of four years ago.
Some other quick odds and ends that caught my attention:
The standing ovation for Bradie Tennell was lovely; I’m so glad she got that moment after putting down two basically clean skates. What an incredible comeback; maybe she’ll get one last moment on the World stage if one of the Olympic girls skips Worlds.
Gabi Papadakis is hilarious because she doesn’t give a f*ck about broadcast timing. Terry and Johnny had to cut her off more than once because she was going on and on. And she is so clearly supporting her bestie, Madison Hubbell, by continually talking about how CPom have improved so much since the start of the season. I wonder how they will handle her commentating on GuiLo at the Olympics, especially since her memoir is rumored to go scorched earth on him.
That one guy wearing a red sweater and glasses, sitting in the front row, just vibing to all music and enthusiastically reacting to skaters? I’m thrilled for him that he had such a great Nationals.
Jimmy Ma knew exactly what he was doing when he switched to disco songs for his free skate. It didn’t matter that his jumps were messy; that crowd was in love with him and dancing along. He got a great Nationals send-off, if this is is last season.
Nothing but love for Maia Shibutani. But I just can’t help but notice that Alex “Be a Champion” Shibutani is the one who fouled their twizzles. I wonder if Maia could skate with Caroline Green?
I have so many more thoughts (The guy who skated in white women’s skates because he got called up to Nationals at the latest second and needed last minute skates for some reason! Starr being an actual star! Tanith Belbin in no-nonsense boots and a high ponytail, looking very don’t-eff-with-me following news of Charlie leaving MIDA! Dorothy Hamill, originator of a viral haircut, cracking a joke about Alysa’s hair!!), but I have so little time before bed. Please share your own standout moments and thoughts in the comments! Especially those of you who were in the audience. What did we miss on the Peacock feed when they forced us watch commercials instead of the skater reactions?
Three Non-Figure Skating Things: Three Small Luxuries
If you go to the Whole Foods cheese area, you can usually find a basket of “ends” that are just small portions of cheese. They’re typically $2-3, so you can try fancy cheeses without committing to pricey full sizes. I like to buy one and cut a few bits to snack on while I make dinner that week. It makes me feel like I’m Ina Garten.
Lolling in bed one weekend morning. I recognize this is not a luxury you can afford if you have small children or impatient animals. But if you can swing it, lingering in you warm bed for a little longer in the winter is a true luxury. I particularly like it when my dog knows I’m awake and gently settles her head across my neck. It’s her way of saying, “I also don’t want to get out of bed, but maybe you could pet me instead of messing with your phone.”
Flaky salt. Hear me out. Put it on grapefruit. On brownies. A very tiny amount in your lemonade. A light dusting on your roasted veggies. On top of a piece of buttered bread. A very little goes a long way, and it makes your food feel gourmet.
What’s Next: Planning to be back early this week with a collection of links to help with that post-Nationals hangover. Plus, we’ve got Europeans next weekend, where a few interesting Olympic storylines will play out. I know this audience is mostly American and mostly fixated on the American skaters, but it’s fun to go on a side quest.
That enthusiastic fan is named Dan. He's at every US event in the front row. I sat near him at Worlds, and he was the nicest. He handed out pride flags for us to wave for Kevin. He told me skating is his favorite thing, and he's been a fan for 40 years.
Yes! “Sinnerman” short and full “Riverdance” free! Go in glory, Jason!
I would love a Caroline Green/Maia Shibutani partnership almost as much as I do the Browns’ “Godfather.”