Saw this show at the stadium in Hershey, PA. Great performances of each and every skater there. Remember it to this day! How I appreciated Kurt Browning’s perfect skating technique and skill; the playful fun of Scott Hamilton; the delicate beauty of Ekaterina! Such very good memories! This was the true golden age of skating and ice dance. Today’s skaters can’t compare to these individuals. I used to NEVER miss Olympic ice skating and dance, having watched it since late 50s/ early 60s when they had to complete compulsory (school) figures on ice. Vaguely, I remember one figures judging was on an outside rink. I was a VERY hardcore fan, lol. Even had a Sonja Henie doll growing up, lol ! Yet when Tara and Johnny took over commentary, I couldn’t stand it any more. ( Dick Button was bad enough, but at least he was a famous icon of skating.) The commentaries and inane chatter by these two seem to become the focus of the competition coverage. I now catch the skating online without these bobble-heads blathering on about themselves. I really don’t care about Johnny’s gravity defying hairstyle or his glittery pantsuits or neon colored blouses. Sad to see the sport losing its popularity due to hosts who don’t know when to stop talking.
My favorite SOI closing EVER. I always feel so happy and energized when I see it and I love the transitions between skaters. THANK YOU for posting this.
Hey, remember when SOI used to be THIS AWESOME?! (Even Tara is tolerable in this number. :P But it was better in the Canadian version because Tara's part was minimized and the cast included Josee Chouinard, Bourne & Kraatz, Brasseur & Eisler, etc.)
Also! Who did Steven Cousins sleep with/blackmail/pay off to get to be part of both the American AND Canadian SOI casts amongst such great talent for so many years?!
SRPDirector TM but actually him and Scott are really good friends and if you watch a lot of his other performances he actually isn't bad at connecting with the audience and you'll hear a lot of skaters say he's like the personality of the group. Obviously in my biased opinion I've known him for like 3-4 years and he's really funny and entertaining. A lot of the way the shows work though are like he's a part of the company that does all these shows and they grab whatever skaters are willing to do it bc it obviously takes up a lot of time. He also choreographs a lot of the modern shows so I guess maybe he needed experience? Idk tho. He really likes performing though so that's probably why they kept him so long
