Champion figure skater Patrick Chan feels unappreciated
bootlegga @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:29 am
$1:
Canadian figure skating star Patrick Chan says he feels unappreciated in his home country and is becoming increasingly drawn to his Chinese heritage.
In an phone interview with Reuters prior to the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City, the world champion said the Chinese government is proud of its figure skaters, while the sport is overshadowed by hockey's popularity in Canada.
"Sometimes I feel we are not appreciated for how much work we put in," Chan said. "If my parents hadn't emigrated from China and say I had skated for China, things would have been very different. My parents wouldn't have had to make as much sacrifices as they have and there would be a lot more respect for what we do as figure skaters."
Chan said he has started to feel more Chinese because of the support he gets from the Chinese community in Canada. He said he would have liked to represent both China and Canada in competition.
"That would be the ideal situation ... in a perfect world," he said.
Skate Canada did not immediately respond to an email from The Canadian Press seeking comment.
In an phone interview with Reuters prior to the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City, the world champion said the Chinese government is proud of its figure skaters, while the sport is overshadowed by hockey's popularity in Canada.
"Sometimes I feel we are not appreciated for how much work we put in," Chan said. "If my parents hadn't emigrated from China and say I had skated for China, things would have been very different. My parents wouldn't have had to make as much sacrifices as they have and there would be a lot more respect for what we do as figure skaters."
Chan said he has started to feel more Chinese because of the support he gets from the Chinese community in Canada. He said he would have liked to represent both China and Canada in competition.
"That would be the ideal situation ... in a perfect world," he said.
Skate Canada did not immediately respond to an email from The Canadian Press seeking comment.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/world-champion ... 02583.html
DrCaleb @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:20 pm
Who?
No seriously, Kurt Browning, Kristy Yamaguchi, Sale and Pelltier - they are some of the reasons why Edmonton chose 'City Of Champions' as our motto. He's living in the wrong place is all. Come here!
DanSC @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:49 pm
He doesn't realize North America only cares about figure skating once every four years? Unlike China, we don't need to march out figure skaters to distract people from the coal dust they're breathing.
jeff744 @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:52 pm
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
Who?
No seriously, Kurt Browning, Kristy Yamaguchi, Sale and Pelltier - they are some of the reasons why Edmonton chose 'City Of Champions' as our motto. He's living in the wrong place is all. Come here!
No seriously, Kurt Browning, Kristy Yamaguchi, Sale and Pelltier - they are some of the reasons why Edmonton chose 'City Of Champions' as our motto. He's living in the wrong place is all. Come here!
Beat me to it, never heard of the guy.
Brenda @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:55 pm
I'm a woman and a mom, I feel unappreciated too. Boo-f*cking-hoo. Get a life. 
bootlegga @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:14 pm
DanSC DanSC:
He doesn't realize North America only cares about figure skating once every four years? Unlike China, we don't need to march out figure skaters to distract people from the coal dust they're breathing.
Sorry to burst your anti-China bubble, but it's not as bad as your picture makes it appear.
I've been to Beijing several times and it was more like this on SUNNY days;
China - Second 2GB 446.jpg [ 970.69 KiB | Viewed 284 times ]
Even if it were as bad as you make it out, lots of large cities have problems with air pollution like Los Angeles;
New York;
and London;
Just to name a few...
I'll admit that China has pollution problems (just like everyone else does), and they are working on them, just like we are.
Besides, the Chinese government relies far more on job creation and strengthening the economy to keep people happy (not unlike western governments BTW) than it does to use athletes to keep the citizenry happy. You're stuck in Mao-era thinking - today's China is all about MONEY, nothing else.
jeff744 @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:19 pm
The other factor is that China is still a developing nation, businesses that are well established will start going green but to get to that point current tech requires you to pollute the hell out of the area. Easy for the established first world to criticize a nation trying to reach that point.
Thanos @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:21 pm
I wasn't even aware that anyone who isn't either female or gay cared about figure skating at all anyway. 
Mark out moment at 1:29. I also wet my pants.
Caelon @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:00 pm
Boots,
I have also been to China more than once and can say you were fortunate to see Beijing as seen in your picture. I saw it that way on two days and other times the haze starts to obscure buildings after a couple of hundred meters. Shanghai has good and bad days too but the bad outnumber the good. The norm for larger centres like Beijing, Shanghai, etc are the high rise appartments will disappear in the haze within 1 km or less. Less poplulated cities like Guangzhou will be 2 km or more. Outside of Beijing I have seen a haze that floats across the fields to a height of 10 to 20 meters. This goes for many miles outside of the city. When the air is clearer the sites can be truly amazing.
Caelon @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:40 pm
Brenda Brenda:
I'm a woman and a mom, I feel unappreciated too. Boo-f*cking-hoo. Get a life.
According to this interview the Chan's comments were taken out of context from an interview 3 months before the article was published.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskating/ ... anada.html
Brenda @ Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:13 pm
Caelon Caelon:
Brenda Brenda:
I'm a woman and a mom, I feel unappreciated too. Boo-f*cking-hoo. Get a life.
According to this interview the Chan's comments were taken out of context from an interview 3 months before the article was published.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskating/ ... anada.html
Doesn't change anything for me. He chose a sport (or was born with the talent, which ever suits your fancy) that is not popular here (in the West), as opposed to in his native country, Korea or Japan(and I mean that in the most positive way).
Everyone knows that being a mom is the least rewarding, yet very hard job. Appreciation is something you never get. You don't get a medal when your kid does great and shows to the world you did your job well by raising a responsible adult. Only if they do not show that, you get bitched at and are solely responsible.
So, boo-f*cking-hoo, we all deal with less appreciation than we deserve.
Hyack @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:02 am
Patrick, if you really love skating and want to feel appreciated what you have to do is learn how to skate holding a hockey stick, shoot a puck, take and throw a body check, beat the other guy in the faceoff circle and above all manage to score more than 100 points per season. If you can get your shit together and manage to get a starting position with the Montreal Canadiens and then manage to score the 100 points in a season I guarantee that you will feel appreciated.
PublicAnimalNo9 @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:25 am
Hey man, Jeff Skinner in Carolina is putting his figure skating skills to good use in the NHL.
Actually, for a young player with aspirations of making the NHL, learning some figure skating skills might not be a bad idea.
As for Patrick, someone should point to a map and gently remind him what country he lives in.
bootlegga @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:21 am
Caelon Caelon:
Boots,
I have also been to China more than once and can say you were fortunate to see Beijing as seen in your picture. I saw it that way on two days and other times the haze starts to obscure buildings after a couple of hundred meters. Shanghai has good and bad days too but the bad outnumber the good. The norm for larger centres like Beijing, Shanghai, etc are the high rise appartments will disappear in the haze within 1 km or less. Less poplulated cities like Guangzhou will be 2 km or more. Outside of Beijing I have seen a haze that floats across the fields to a height of 10 to 20 meters. This goes for many miles outside of the city. When the air is clearer the sites can be truly amazing.
I have also been to China more than once and can say you were fortunate to see Beijing as seen in your picture. I saw it that way on two days and other times the haze starts to obscure buildings after a couple of hundred meters. Shanghai has good and bad days too but the bad outnumber the good. The norm for larger centres like Beijing, Shanghai, etc are the high rise appartments will disappear in the haze within 1 km or less. Less poplulated cities like Guangzhou will be 2 km or more. Outside of Beijing I have seen a haze that floats across the fields to a height of 10 to 20 meters. This goes for many miles outside of the city. When the air is clearer the sites can be truly amazing.
I never said that Beijing doesn't have air pollution - I just said that the several times I was there - that my experience was clear skies. I even admitted China has air pollution problems, but so do lots of other large cities.
Basically, my point was that smog isn't unique to Chinese cities - it's a common occurrence all over the world.
bootlegga @ Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:33 am
Brenda Brenda:
Doesn't change anything for me. He chose a sport (or was born with the talent, which ever suits your fancy) that is not popular here (in the West), as opposed to in his native country, Korea or Japan(and I mean that in the most positive way).
Sorry, but you couldn't be more wrong on this Brenda. When Elvis Stokjo and Kurt Browning did well at the Olympic and world championship stages (consistently too), they were feted as national heroes and got tons of press and accolades. I know it's before your time here in Canada, but in the 90s, figure skating was HUGE because of their successes.
It's not that he chose a sport that isn't popular, his problem is that he didn't win a medal in the 2010 Olympics. If he can get a medal in Sochi in 2014, as well as rack up a couple more world championships, then he'll get the kudos he feels he deserves. Until then, he's just another guy in the sport.
BTW, his heritage is Chinese, not Korean or Japanese.