Worst Commentating I've Ever Heard

[Skatekwan6]

Has anyone watched Debi Thomas's free skate from the 1986 Worlds, on youtube or on tape if you have it..or if you remember it? Anyway, the commentating was horrible. I have no idea who the people were, but I watched the version on youtube that was from ESPN classic. The guy went on and on about her height and weight like she was a boxer, and out of the blue the woman said "And she has not sacrificed any of her femininity to do these triple jumps." I was like "Where did that come from?" They were just talking out of their....It was really annoying. Who were those people???

[iceman]

I really didn't find the commentating that bad----the vid I watched the man did not go on and on about her ht and wt----he said one time that she was 5'6" and weighed 115 and his female cohort said she was a powerhouse but had not lost her femininity. But to Debi's skating----that impressive split jump into a 3/2 combination jump and the spread eagle into a double axel, both quite difficult and beautifully done. And she had such speed. IMO she was a much better skater than Witt.

[Skatekwan6]

Yeah, I was exaggerating when I said he went on and on about it. He only mentioned it once :) But I was just caught off guard that the woman just came out with the femininity thing..slightly inappropriate in my opinion.

[electrictroy]

Why's it called "commentating"?

Should it simply be..... "commenting"? As in, "The commentators were commenting on her beauty."

[modern_muslimah]

The version I saw had Japanese commentary so I couldn't understand what was being said.

Have any of you ever found that Witt's artistry was compared to Thomas's athleticism (sp?)? I watched both of them but honestly, I didn't really find Witt's artistry better than Thomas's and Thomas's athleticism better than Witt's. Before I watched them on video, I thought I was going to see a something like a Kwan/Slutskaya match but it wasn't like that at all. Anyone know why Witt/Thomas were compared in that way?

[TMC8802]

I agree...I didnt see a HUGE difference in artistry...though i still wouldve given witt the nod...but technically i thought debi was much better...she had innovative MITF and she did a 3-3...i think debi was the better skater with a better overall package

[berthesghost]

The version I saw had Japanese commentary so I couldn't understand what was being said.

Have any of you ever found that Witt's artistry was compared to Thomas's athleticism (sp?)? I watched both of them but honestly, I didn't really find Witt's artistry better than Thomas's and Thomas's athleticism better than Witt's. Before I watched them on video, I thought I was going to see a something like a Kwan/Slutskaya match but it wasn't like that at all. Anyone know why Witt/Thomas were compared in that way? Debi had better jumps, could do a 3/3 and had a more consistant 3loop. Debi was also in better hspe, taking less "rests" in her programs. She skated to music. Kat was a clutch skater who could pull it off when it counted most, but otherwise kinda inconsistant and did only what she needed to do to win. 87 worlds Kat needed that 3loop to win, and it was the only time she ever landed it.

Kat considers herself the inventor of the character based program, where she was suposidly portraying Maria or Carmen or whoever vs just skating well to good music. Debi openly rolled her eyes at the idea of playing Carmen vs. skating to Bizet's music.

Personally, Lillehamer were the only Witt eligable programs I admired. From 80-88 she was so OTT it turned me off. I'm always shocked how often people write things like "She wasMaria!" She definately played to reach the cheap seats.

[emdiaz]

...and out of the blue the woman said "And she has not sacrificed any of her femininity to do these triple jumps."

I believe that it's Canadian ESPN and featured Canadian commentators. Actually, I kind of have to agree with your feelings about commentators' remarks seeming inappropriate, but you have to remember that that was 20 years ago. The women of the sport have come a long way in terms of their jumping abilities. I would argue that that have come a long way in terms of being respected as athletes too. I doubt any commentator would ever make a statement like that today, but you'd be surprised how many times I've heard that mentioned in 1980s broadcasts... watch the Denise Beillmann video on YouTube and you'll here a similar comment. On second thought, we might still hear remarks like that by some of the sport's older personalities, after all didn't Dick Button praise Shizuka Arakawa at the end of her Olympic Long Program by saying something to the effect of "that's a lady skater..." I don't know if it should be considered sexist, but I know of at least one student at UCLA that has written a research paper criticizing figure skating commentators for employing subtle techniques to subjugate women and deminish their athletic accomplishments.

I really hope this made sense... I am going to go ahead and upload videos from the 1987 NHK Championships. That event included Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, Midori Ito, and Katarina Witt. The commentating is very interesting and relates to this topic.

[iceman]

Katarina "posed" for one minute and 16 seconds in the middle of her Carmen----which Dick pointed out was not skating. There was not one single jump in that period of time.

[modern_muslimah]

Katarina "posed" for one minute and 16 seconds in the middle of her Carmen----which Dick pointed out was not skating. There was not one single jump in that period of time.

I read in an editorial she wrote a few month ago criticizing CoP that period like that were "rest periods" where she could really "sell" the character of the program and appeal to the audience whatever that mean. I don't see why a skater can't have a "rest period" and still skate. She was upset because she said if she had did that under CoP she would've been penalized.

[Rene1999]

IMO she should have been penalized, under 6.0 or COP. I've always thought of her as an "Emporer's New Clothes" type skater. But she was a great competitor, you've got to give her that.

I've always thought Debi was a much better skater than Kat. Talk about "Olympicitis". Debi's LP was one of the most difficult skates for me to watch. But hey, it turned out great for them both. They seem to have great lives and be very happy:)

a bit OT but....I was always perplexed about how people would go on and on about her beauty. Not that she's ugly, but this devastating beauty thing really lost me. I never really got it.

[Skatekwan6]

On second thought, we might still hear remarks like that by some of the sport's older personalities, after all didn't Dick Button praise Shizuka Arakawa at the end of her Olympic Long Program by saying something to the effect of "that's a lady skater..." I don't know if it should be considered sexist, but I know of at least one student at UCLA that has written a research paper criticizing figure skating commentators for employing subtle techniques to subjugate women and deminish their athletic accomplishments.


I think Dick just meant that she was a mature skater with the complete package.

[iceman]

Why's it called "commentating"?

Should it simply be..... "commenting"? As in, "The commentators were commenting on her beauty."


A regular person like me comments, pundits like Dick Button commentate---I believe that is the distinction.

[Rene1999]

I think Dick just meant that she was a mature skater with the complete package.

That's how I took it. A LADY, not a teenybopper who weighs 5 lbs.