I just got home from SA

[Stagebabe]

What do I start with... MICHELLE WAS AMAZING! Oh my God I can't tell you what it is like to spend hours a day watching her practice and perform. I was in heaven! I sat right behind Frank at the first practice and tried to take pictures and listen without really looking like I was :-)! Michelle and Frank are really great togther! The ice was really soft and Michelle was getting shaving on her skates. She skated over to Frank and picked up the large hardcover book he was reading, carefully folded back the dust cover, pulled out the stub of something and used it to get the shavings off. She just grinned at him impishly and wipped the ice off the stub and placed the book back on the table. It was so cute! The coach next to Frank gave him a pick that Michelle could use. Frank called Michelle back over and gave it to her, pointing to the coach that gave it to him and sorta' emphasing that she had given it to him. I think he wanted her to thank the coach. It was so fatherly and sweet! And he is a very kind man. He was sitting in my section and was more than willing to sign my skates and give me a smile! Other thoughts and stories available! Michelle is a wonderful young lady but I worry that she is too stressed out right now!

[Karin]

Wow!!!...thanks for sharing the story about MK and Frank!!! I luv their relationship. They are so cute together. I'm sure they luv each other so much! About MK and stress!!!...I'm sure she is really stressed too!!!...but she appears so strong to be a role model for children! I luv the girl...she is so amazing!!! I think as she adjusts to university, she'll know what to do!!!... I think winning SA has given MK a peace of mind...mentally...she will settle her mind down and realize that choosing school is a great choice and is not interferring with her skating career!!!...I'm sure it will someday throw her off once or twice...but for the long run!!!...it's great!!! Go MK...U R the best!!!

[littlepebbles1]

Glad you had a good time. Care to share your other thoughts and stories for us? :o)

[Stagebabe]

Let me see if I can do this coherently! I watched Michelle practice on Friday. She seemed rushed and didn't smile much even though practice seemed to go well for her. She landed almost everything, fell on a double axel and popped it once, but landed a big strong 3-3 and a number of nice double axels. When she was done she signed autographs and I ran over to get in line. It was a mad rush of little girls some of whom shoved and pushed and cut in line. I patiently let them and waited my turn. Two little girls were in front of me and just as they got to her she said "I have to go!" BTW, she is simply beautiful in person! I mean really, really lovely! I have a great pic if I can find somewhere to post it! Her face fell when she looked at the line and I could tell she felt badly about leaving. Oh we all groaned! She looked at the two little ones and said, "Oh I can't turn them down!" She signed one little one's book and the other one begged until she signed hers. Then it was my turn and Michelle looked up at the huge line and said, "I have to go!" She just stood there looking at the line and her face fell. She hesitated and bounced on her skates, she really hated to leave. I asked, "Will you be out tomorrow?" She lit up and smiled and said, "Oh yeah I'll be out tomorrow!" I wanted to beg her for my autography but I just said good-bye and let her leave. I was so disappointed, but I understood. That night she did her short program. I hate the music! I don't like to say this, but Michelle has picked music of the lowest common denomenator! It really grates. But if anyone can pull it off with something approaching decent it is Michelle! However my honest opinion is to drop it! I am afraid that it is so bad it makes her beatable because it is so grating! However that night she was unbeatable becuase she had almost the only clean skate all day! Sat. I watched practice much closer to my chance to get an autography. I was determined not be shoved out of the way on this day! Practice went about the same for her. Another huge 3-3. She looks so solid on those! I staked my place in line and got a lovely autograph from her! She is just so lovely in person! However I think she has lost some weight. Her arms looked thinner. Anyway I will post the long program and exh as I get more caught up with my schoolwork!

[Karin]

Stagebabe...sp awful???... I heard it was good!!!...something different!!!...isn't it outstanding??? I'm thinking if MK got a 6.0!!!...then it's not bad!!! I'll see for myself this weekend at SC...

[Stagebabe]

Karin, The music is awful, not Michelle! It am afraid that that program makes her beatable, even if she skates clean. Just as Weiss had problems internationally when he used rock, I think Michelle will also. Her SP clean vs. Maria's SP clean and Maria will win, given the international climate of holding up Maria and Michelle doing rock-n-roll. The long program was simply unbelievable! I had tears in my eyes (when I peeked around my hands to watch her jumps, he,he!) I had brought a cute girl ghost but was unable to throw it as we were behind the judges and it wouldn't fly that far. Also we were in the middle of the row and I couldn't get out to run down to the boards like I wanted. I asked the woman behind me to throw it, which she kindly did. At the end of the program Michelle skated over and picked it up!!! I so wish I had had the nerve to just jump over people's laps and gone down to the boards, she might have taken it from me! I got to watch Sunday and I saw that Michelle kept the ghost with her all the way back stage! I was thrilled!!! I watched the awards and got some good pictures. Michelle looked happier then she had at any other time I had seen her that weekend. When she skated around a lady gave her a big, red, white and blue glitter cowboy hat. Michelle put it on and struck a sexy pose! I wish I had gotten a picture :-(. The exh was wonderful! That number really has grown on me. When she does that slow arm movements above her head it just sends shiver up my spine. Right in front of us the whole time was judges' school. 15 to 20 interntional and USA judges that were scoring as the programs went on and then meeting about them. Needless to say I tried hard to listen without really looking like I was trying! One of the judges sitting there was Joe Inman. He was the guy who Brennan quoted as crying at Michelle's '98 nats program. I must say that from listening and observing him for three days, making him cry must have been a bigger feat then I imagined! WHen he said he doesn't give out 6.0 I believe him now! I have new respect for what Michelle did that night considering how it effected Joe Inman! Christine Brennan stopped by as well. Say what you want about her, the woman can work a room!!! I have a few good pictures of Michelle if anybody knows where I can post them, let me know!

[Heather]

If you need a place to post your Michelle pics and already have your pics scanned in, you can e-mail them to me, and I can post them on my page. :-)

[KwanFan00]

Am I the only one who loved Michelle's short program music? I didn't like Kissing You... I liked her short. :o) Go Figure.

[kwanlover]

I LOVED Michelle's Short Program!! It will finally silence the critics that say Michelle only does classical pieces. I think it is a great departure for her, and shows versatility. I wish she would do more programs like this, and something fun for an exhibition. Something like "ROAM" by the B 52's! LOL! I dislike "Kissing You" immensely. Not the program, the music. It is horrible. The singing is Godawful and just not my style. This is my LEAST fave MK program.

[susan ba]

wow stagebabe: it sounds like you had a good time. would you be kind enough to indulge us and tell us some more about your trip? like what were some of the things that you heard joe inman say? and what was chritie brennan doing at this competition? did you put your name on the gift that you threw down? did you say wnything to michelle when she was signing your autograph? could you hear anything that frank was saying to michelle?

[KwanFan00]

I know exactly how you feel. :o)

[Rene]

I LOVED her short program music. I'm one of the people who would like to see her skate to only classical music, but I understand the need to change. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it so much.

[Karin]

I luv ADITL...I think it's a grea choice for MK!!!...IMO...JMO...ADITL tops FOC... I didn't really like FOC... ADITL is very OUTSTANDING...very different from everyone else... it gives you a different kind of excitement...

[Stagebabe]

I hate to say this but watching short program practice was miserable because Michelle's program music is bad, so irritating and then Sarah Hughes comes out with this sweet, beautiful lyric number and just flies and floats on the music. I couldn't help but long for Michelle to put something like lyra out there after seeing Sarah. Sarah is nice but I wanted to see Michelle do it justice :-) Sigh... I think the judges will not respond kindly to Michelle's new short up against Maria. I figured out at SA that the judges are more than willing to give the world champ any benefit of any doubt they can imagine (please don't misunderstand me, I love B&S but they were given third on the basis of their status, not on how they skated that night because Schwartz and Muller were clean and brought tears to my eyes with that program! Alexi "skated" by on his rep as well!!) and if they can find any little thing to fault Michelle they will. I shutter to think what will happen if she gives them more than just music to fault her for! Fourth will seem like heaven! I think she needs to branch out in her exh. numbers but as long as she wants to play the comp game she needs to stick to those old unwritten good-boy rules! I will answers questions next post!

[Karin]

that's why MK needs the flip...not allowing the if-they-exist-nationalistic judges any opportunity to mark her down!!!

[Googoo]

Stagebabe-- what ghost? Was she holding it in the K and C on TV? Anyway I do like the music a lot to her SP! I think the choreography to it is just great! I bet you will grow to love the music too. Even that weird part during the spiral is starting to grow on me. I think skating to the SP, because it is so fun, will probably make her feel carefree and less presured.

[Stagebabe]

When we first arrived at the arena we just walked in on pairs practice and since we had never been to anything like this before we just sat and watched. I figured out somewhere on Friday that I was walking around like a small town kid in New York city, gwaking and excited over everything. I aslo decieded not to apologize for it, I was having a blast! I know we provide some humor for fans who were old hands at this, but I didn't care! As we sat there mouths open, I looked over and who should I see but Alexi Yagudin! He was just sitting there! I was floored I walked over and asked if I wasn't disturbing him if I could have his autograph. He was very kind and signed my skate, love (I WISH!!) and best wishes, and smiled at me! All of the skater's I met were really nice about signing, the Harstell's, Tim Goebel, Matt Savoie, Michael Weiss, Michael Hopfes. I was lucky enough to be around when Carol Heiss Jenkins was waiting for Tim. I asked her to sign and she had just been asked by another coach to hold his cookie while he signed. I told her whenever she had a free hand. She said she was more than glad to and took several bites of the cookie she was holding. She grinned and said isn't that what happens when you hold a cookie? She ate about half of it (it was small!) and when she handed it back she said, "I ate some," "I can see that," he replied looking at the cresent shaped leftover. "Hey you asked me to hold it, so I get a bite!" She grinned at me and signed my skate, good luck. It was really neat to see someone you think of as a legend acting like a human being!!!! Elvis signed for me and also was kind enough to hold up a sign so I could take a picture, that said hi to one of my friends who is getting married and was having her bridal shower last night(she loved it BTW)! He was such a sweet guy to be patient with all those folks screaming for his autography to take two pictures for me! Brennan came by to talk to the judges school. She was chatting with Joe Inman. He tried to introduce he and blanked on her name, either intentionally as a joke or unintentionally. So she jumps in and says, "hi, Tonya Harding..." Then insued a long talk about Tonya comeback, some folks supportive, others who thought she had no right to be there. Brennan pointed out that Tonya had better double axel now then any women that would be on the ice that night. She laughed and joked and generally schmoozed with all involved! She can really work a room! Joe Inman struck me, just from listening to him talk, as an intelligent, educated, experienced, pompous and acerbic witted man. He sat down and held court. He had a number of funny stories to tell about other life experiences and frequently had strong opinions about what was going on on the ice. He spat a tirade about costumes after Michael Weiss' Carmen costume casued a stir for being too glittery and flashy (thought it was amusing that Michael's was over the top but Sarah's was "simply lovely.) Joe thought that all rules should be thrown out as skater's never abide by them anyway! All in all as I listened to him I marveled at how strong and wonderful those performances of Michelle's must have had to cause such an outpouring from Joe Inman. I said something dumb to Michelle like "You stopped with me yesterday so I am thrilled right now! Best of luck tonight!" She nodded at the first commnet but looked up and smiled and said thank you when I wished her luck. I wronte Michelle a letter and attched it to the Happy Halloween cards I had made with name and address on them. I was just giddy when she picked up the gift I had thrown and was so thrild to see it backstage with her ! The only clear thing I heard was Michelle complaining that the ice was too soft. I will be glad to answer anything more that anyone wants to know! Gotta' run schoolwork calls.

[Stagebabe]

Having sat in the arena and heard the music several times did nothing for me but irritate the heck out of me! Perhaps it was just on the blarring arena speakers that it sounded so bad (they had the sound turned up so loud the ABC guy came by and complained that you couldn't hear the appluase or the commentators speak!) because it sounded tuneless and Bill and Ted (The movie) screaming guitarish in the arena all three times I heard it. I shutter because I think of what happened to Michael Weiss and his rock number. He finally had to drop it to survive the European judges. We will see what happens! I don't know if comes up recognizable to everyone else, but the first thing Michelle picks up after her long program is this small white thing. It was my ghost! It was Halloween that weekend so I went with a Halloween theme, stuffed pumpkins, stuffed ghosts and stuffed candy corn toys are what I threw to the skaters. Hers was a really cute thing from Hallmark (I live in the town Hallmark owns...just kidding, but barely!)called Sparkle Ghost. She has the sweet smile and a glitter heart! We added flowers to the big orange bow around her neck. I really could have kicked myself. I was seated in the middle of the row and the row was packed so I didn't push past people to get to the boards. I should have beacuse she just might have skated over to take it from me as it didn't end up landing far from where I would have been standing! Dumb me! Oh well. When they went backstage and shot I could see SParkle's orange bow and flowers peeking out from under Michelle's arm. SHe still had her (Frank had taken charge of the LARGE white unicorn horse)! I was thrilled. Of course when I got home the tv station at home that was supposed to be airing SA threw it over to their affliate station (at least I guess that is what happened)and played golf instead! I am still looking for someone who would be willing, if I sent tape and postage and shipping supplies to dub it for me! I want a copy of her picking up Sparkle!!!!