Michelle to be on local talk show in Seattle

[michelle02olympics]

I won't be going to COI to watch her skate, but she will be on a local Seattle talk-show and I'll be seeing her live in person!

I've never seen her in person!

[WorldsGreatestMK]

Have fun, michelle2002olympics. Tell us everything afterwards

[Grace]

Make sure you take lots of pictures and come back here and tell us about your report

[michelle02olympics]

I will report as much as I can remember (eg. what was wearing)

I cannot take pictures or record anything....I want to bring a camera in so bad, but I don't want to risk it being confiscated.

Washington residents: The Show is NW Afternoon it airs at 3pm on KOMO TV 4.

I am a little shocked that I'm going to see Michelle.

[WorldsGreatestMK]

get her autograph if you can. maybe two

[Heather]

Can you (or hopefully someone in the area!) tape it? If you can't get it online, PM me and I'll be glad to help.

[Dolphine]

michelle02olympics - I live in the Seattle area as well. Can you tell me what show she's going to be on & when it is going to be taped? Thanks!

[michelle02olympics]

see above post Dolphine OR just look below

Washington residents: The Show is NW Afternoon it airs at 3pm on KOMO TV 4.

I am a little shocked that I'm going to see Michelle.

[Katty52]

According to KOMO TV 4 NW Afternoon website Michelle will be airing this Friday the 28th, at 3pm.

Please someone in the area tape it for us to enjoy.

[Dolphine]

michelle02olympics - Thanks! I got too excited by reading your first post and skipped the rest! LOL I checked the website. It looks like you have to be there by 9am to get in. (sigh) NO, I'm not going call in sick tomorrow... I wish I could...

[Nicki]

Thanks for the heads up. I usually just tape the first 25 minutes of NWA to watch the soap recaps, but I'll be sure to tape the whole hour tomorrow.

[Katty52]

Thanks Nikki for taping this. ALOT

[graciesfriend]

Oh, Dolphine; I'm so sorry you can't make the show!

[TwinnerA]

Geez, Dolphine, where are your priorities??? Ditching work on a Friday is one of the great American pasttimes!! Just kidding, I am sure you would if you could, but you can't so you won't.

We should all be keeping our eyes/ears open as it seems that there are more newspaper and TV interviews with Michelle lately. I am going to be like a bloodhound when Michelle comes to Phx trying to scope out where she may be!!

[Dolphine]

Sadly, I'm at work.... but I'll be rushing home to catch the broadcast this afternoon! Hope some MKFers are enjoing seeing the Kween live today.

[michelle02olympics]

i just got back but have class in 20 mins....it was amazing, she looked gorgeous will fill in late tonight 10 or 11 pm PST time...

[skatesindreams]

I'll be looking forward to your report!

[Heather]

If no one got the interview on tape or can't get it online, I have someone who can send me a DVD of the interview, so I can post it here for everyone to see. Please let me know, thanks!

Can't wait for your report, michelle02olympics

[ugogirl]

Thanks to this alert I caught this on TV. It was a very unusual interview. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Michelle in an interview like this, very impromptu and almost Leno-ish. She looked exhausted!! She explained that she had just come in from Spokane(a 5 hr drive east of Seattle) didn’t get in til’ 3am, went to bed at 4am, got up, swam, exercised, showered and came straight to the show(pointed out her hair is still wet!). A few interesting things:

• Asked the inevitable – “will you compete at the next Olympics”…”I’m keeping all my options open”
• She talked about school, the host Elisa Jaffe(awesome interviewer, clearly a fan, very very nice and complimentary) asked what she’s studying, she started saying “well I’m in the middle of tran…” then stuttered badly. The host helped out by saying “she’s a smart girl!” she laughed and said “I pretend to be…” I think she’s definitely moving to Denver.
• Elisa tried to get her to talk about her love life, she immediately changed the subject to talk about her incredibly crazy schedule after a 4-5 hr sleep, lol!
• The audience was really supportive and the host kept pointing out how much they love her.
• She talked a lot about her lucky charm, the string(she called it “rope” lol!!) got a little dirty so she changed it to the gold chain during the olympics, then the necklace broke during the tour luckily she saved the charm itself.
• Her parents read her mail and weed out all the nasty ones, she said she gets upset reading them so they try to protect her. She got some nasty mails after Torino for petitioning to go her parents didn’t let her read them.
• Says she’s a bit of klutz when on high heels off ice, she was tired this morning, got her heel caught and went flying, after that people on tour joked and tried to hold her hand when she walks…
• Host pointed out a cute little skater boy in the audience(forgot his name but look out for him!! Absolute cutie), asked Michelle for advice for him. She said to stay organized and dream big. Also praised his parents for all their hard work, and her own.
• Says the best thing about being Michelle Kwan is getting to perform for the audience, and when people write or tell her she makes them cry or happy with her skating
• She mentioned the tour a few times but the interview is really about Michelle the beloved skater/celebrity
• Elisa says she’s "truly a national treasure”!!

Anyway this was a LONG interview!! I’ve never seen Elisa Jaffe but I think I’ll start watching her show from now on. She’s the sweetest, nicest interviewer!

[GinnySmith]

Hats off to the lady who conducted the interview and to all of the skating kids and their moms and dads who stood and gave Michelle a standing ovation when she walked in. She was on for almost 30 minutes.

This is a total memory recall. All of the Michelle quotes are paraphrazed to the best of my recollection, not exact quotes.

They introduced her with clips of her Torino withdrawal news conference, some clips of 2005 COI and Lyra. The audience stood and cheered. Michelle was beautiful and obviously touched and amazed.

The lady who interviewed her was awed and gushing but also asked great questions. During one of the first questions, Michelle mentioned how she is an emotional person and said she was a little emotional because she wasn't expecting to see the Torino clip.

When asked about her recovery, she said she was definitely not 100% physically recovered. When asked about recovering emotionally, she was very upbeat and said she felt so lucky.

The host remarked that many in the audience brought photos and they cut and showed them holding magazines and other stuff. Michelle took it all in and went, "awwww" she took in some more and went, "awwww" again. Then she said, "I'll sign them all after the show. I have plenty of time.." at which point uproarious cheers broke out!!!

Asked what she hates/loves about being Michelle Kwan, she said she couldn't find anything to hate. What she loves is the performing and sharing her emotions. She also loves it when somebody walks by and does a double take when they see her and recognize her--she got up and demonstrated somebody walking along and doing a double take...lol

She also is very touched when people tell her she made them cry or made their day brighter.

They showed a little young boy skater, I'd say he is about 10 years old, the Juvenile Naitonal champ--they showed clips of his skating and asked him what a typcial day was like. They had a split screen on Michelle and the kid, and when he mentioned he got up at 5 AM, Michelle started to applaud him.

When the kid finished describing his arduous day, Michelle said been there done that and good for you. Michelle said something about no matter what you do being focused and organized was the key to success.

The host said something about how tough it was to be a skater and all the sacrifices. Michelle quickly chimed in that the ones who really made all of the sacrifices were the parents. When asked what was so hard for them, she said, "Moving, traveling, living apart, money." She mentioned them and their sacrifices twice during the interview. When asked about what cost so much, Michelle again--travel, costumes, and especially coaching.

She talked about her dad driving 1 hour 45 minutes every day up the mountain to take care of them. It came up how her parents sold their house so she and Karen could skate and the interviewer asked what would Michelle give back and sort of prompted about a house, and Michelle said, "no--nothing material. Just to pass it on when I become a parent and have children of my own."

Somewhere during the interview, the mystery of the good luck necklace was solved. She was very emotional when she explained what happened. You could just feel how meaningful that charm was. She tried to remember how long she had been wearing it. The red rope was wearing out and Michelle put it on a gold chain, but she didn't even take it off when she switched chains. She put the other chain on first and transferred the charm from the red rope to the gold chain. Unfortunately, and this is where she really got emotional, some time during the tour, the gold chain broke. Michelle recovered the charm and still has it. But she said she feels bare without it.....

Then they had a mom and a bunch of her kids stand up and do a multiple choice quiz.

1. Which of the following does Michelle have:

a. video game
b. line of clothing
c. Barbie doll

The mom & kids looked bewildered as they talked amongst themselves and settle on the Barbie doll answer and Michelle chimed in, "Well, actually, there is a d---both a & c.--I have a video game and a Barbie doll. That was a trick question...lol"

2. In which of the following has Michelle appeared:

a. SNL
b. Will and Grace
c. The Simpsons

Again, Michelle said, "You can add

d. both b&c
e. all 3

Then she said she wasn't on SNL but was portrayed in a skit about the Olympics, and that she was mentioned on Will and Grace twice. But that she did the voice on the Simpson’s. "Homer and I are like this" as she crosses her fingers....lol

One of the kids asked her if she ever felt like quitting after losing an event. She thought for a second and said, "I never wanted to quit. That word is not in my vocabulary." (Right ON!!! Editorial comment added by me..lol)

Then she continued, "You'll always have bad days where you fall. I fall all the time and I get angry when I do. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep trying."

Somebody in the audience asked how Michelle named her dogs, Ginseng and Tofu. To my surprise, she said they just got a third dog, a weiner dog they named Miso.

She said Gingseng was so named because she was just like her mom (meaning Michelle) in that she was bubbly and jumps all over the place, "she jumps even higher than I do".

Tofu was just because Tofu is so cute and she thinks Tofu is a cute sounding word. Miso was chosen because it sort of fits into the mix of the other 2 names.

The final thing I remember Michelle saying when asked what was the greatest and the hardest moments in her skating:

"Being able to perform and share my feelings. The hardest moment, but also the greatest moment was at the 2002 Olympics when I skated my exhibition. I cried all the way through "Fields of Gold" but it was a wonderful moment. The audience showed me they understood what I was going through with their cheering."

[Heather]

Thanks for the awesome reports, ugogirl & Ginny!

[Katty52]

Wow you ugogirl and Ginny!!!!! I love both of your reports and it only makes me miss Michelle all the more. Thank you thank you thank you

I will keep surfing the MKForum Heather until I see this on the download I cannot wait. I think this should have been a national program for all her fans.

[TwinnerA]

Thank you for your wonderful reports, ugogirl and Ginny! Just one thing, what was she wearing????

[michelle02olympics]

i dont think i need to report the actual show but the behind the scenes instead. i'm going to write everything down and then type it up, because there so much and i was so in shock. and i actually felt like i was in a dream.

[CAROLB]

Those were such wonderful reports. I wish everyone of Michelle's fans could have watched it including myself.

Your reports made me feel like I was there. Thank you so much. You have put a smile on my face for the rest of the week-end.