I wasn’t sure whether I was really looking forward to Skate America in Pittsburgh. The positives: I already knew and liked the city (which features a great department store and no tax on clothing!), we had a suite at a very reasonable rate, and I’d see two skaters I’d previously missed (Eric Millot and Oleg Tataurov) and a couple of my favorite Americans (Eldredge and Nielsen). The bad news: I hadn’t done a major skating event since 1994 Nationals in Detroit (from which my health never really recovered), we were paying for more room nights than we needed to (since the Wednesday open practice at the Civic Center never happened), and I really couldn’t afford another trip. Oh well, at least the last one’s never stopped me.

Practices started bright and early on Thursday. Once we were able to find the proper entrance (as always, up a steep incline), we had no problems getting in and grabbing good seats. (Liz and my actual seats were meant to be in a corner, but more on that later). At long last, men’s practice came along, and with it our only chance to see the short programs before that evening’s competition. Much as I liked Todd’s "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" OP at the Goodwill Games, I liked it even better in Pittsburgh, although we saw little of it in practice as he skated first of the group in practice and wasn’t warmed up sufficiently to do a complete run-through. It’s stylish and snappy, with a breeziness I’d not before seen from him. But the big surprise was Aren’s new program. As the strains of "Stray Cat Strut" started, we all turned to each other and exclaimed, "How perfect!" We had privately voted for "C’est Moi" for him, but this was just as good. (He was introduced as "Arien Nelson," who Karen decided was Ozzie and Harriet’s lost son, the one they never mention.)

I don’t remember much else of OP practice because of what followed: the men practiced their free programs. We thought Todd was keeping "Chaplin," since he had used it in St. Petersburg and had a new OP (not to mention that he was wearing that costume’s pants), but when the music started we realized our error. "Gettysburg" is the kind of moving, powerful program that Todd’s lacked since "Man of La Mancha" (I thought "Les Mis" never lived up to its potential). But unlike the 1990 program, the power in this one comes not only from good line, strong music and excellent jumps, but also beautiful flow, great edges (Igor’s input?), and superior expression. All week, I got goosebumps every time I saw the program. (I have a theory about men’s freeskates: programs can be beautiful, or original, or artistic, but unless they’re also powerful, it’s difficult to win with them unless they’re skated perfectly--and it still helps if someone else messes up. Aren’s "Rocketeer" is a case in point. It’s quite lovely, but when he misses the jumps, there’s not enough left to carry it.)

My other favorite new program belonged to Viacheslav Zagorodniuk: the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, skated in a close-fitting bronze mesh top and matching velvet pants, with a metallic headband accenting his striking face (he’s getting to be exceptionally good looking as he matures! Those cheekbones could cut paper). Of the other guys, I was amazed at how much less attractive I found Marcus Christensen on the ice as opposed to off-ice. When he’s skating, his face loses all animation, his mouth often hangs open, and he generally looks half-witted. Misha Shmerkin looked much stronger than he had at the Olympics; several times I thought he might pose a real threat, if not to the leaders, then to the third- and fourth- place guys. To return to the cheekbones department, Oleg Tataurov is another one not done justice by television: he’s incredibly attractive (okay, so I’m shallow!).

I was glad when the actual competition got under way. After a full day of En Vogue on the practice tape (and I used to like "Funky Divas"), I was ready for different music. Not to mention testing, under real competition pressure, my new note-taking device: a microcassette recorder. With there being only the one day of practices before that evening’s start of the competition, somehow Liz and I never got around to checking our actual seats (although we did look at the section). We regretted this omission later. In the first of a series of moves that made us wonder whether the organizing committee was new to figure skating, they only allowed people with practice passes to attend the compulsory dance. (Huh?) And at that, they kicked us all out of the seating area -- hour before the event to clean (which was acceptable in theory, but left a large crowd of people jammed together between the front doors and the turnstiles) but then didn’t let us back in until the first warm-up group was on the ice (which was not acceptable). By the time we got to our seats, and found them replaced by a camera well, compulsories were starting. I had heard about the missing seat syndrome, but this was my only first-hand experience. I went from annoyed to angry to ballistic as we were first given the run around, eventually sent to the right person, then had to wait while they took approximately 20 minutes per person to exchange the tickets (even though the arena was at least 60% empty). Since the man ahead of me was reseated on the opposite side form that we had asked for, I threatened the life of the entire committee if they didn’t keep me on the judges’ side of the arena. But it’s amazing what you’ll forgive when you’re given front row center seats, and from our eventual perch immediately behind Judge #6, Liz and I felt quite magnanimous (despite missing the compulsories). We also were seated with a great group of people, and became the Todd Eldredge cheering section.

Zago skated first of the men, not a good draw for one of the favorites. I liked his "Sixteen Tons" program, and the costume of short-sleeved red shirt, black pants, and black and silver suspenders. Unfortunately, he checked out of his opening triple axel combination, fell, and went into the boards. It took him a while to recover, and he doubled his next jump as well. Although he still looked a little distracted, the footwork section was great, and he finished strongly. It’s nice to see Zago finding his own style; he looks less like Viktor Petrenko with each passing day. He had a lot to prove here in his first major event since his World medal, and the 4.5-4.7 technical scores can’t have been what he had in mind. The 5.4-5.5 artistic marks still showed that he is considered one of the top skaters, and has improved his presentation skills. (I’m still torn about that bronze medal: happy as I am that he won it, I still think Alexei Urmanov outskated him in the free and should have taken third at Worlds).

Marcus Christensen, attired in black short-sleeve t-shirt and pants (a la Kurt Browning) skated second. In practice and warm-up, he’d showed a tendency to keep getting worse as he went along--markedly worse when his music was being played. He ran true to form by falling on his first jump (a triple toe, I think) in the OP. I thought the program, again a la Kurt in that it was bright and breezy with a hands-in-pocket section, should have been skated with casual flair, but was instead performed ploddingly, and did very little for Marcus. He looked sluggish and unsure of himself, and the program came off as quite boring. I decided that Marcus suffers from a total lack of on-ice charisma (or at least he did at this event).

Misha Shmerkin skated a program reminiscent of Danny Hollander with its self-deprecating humor and easy charm. But again, the opening axel combination was his downfall (literally), and he had a very embarrassing fall during his footwork section. That the judges aren’t yet familiar with him was reflected in the wide range of his technical scores, from 4.3 to 5.0. Artistic marks were 5.1 to 5.6.

Eric Millot, dressed in black shirt and pants with a black-and-white diagonally striped tie, also fell out of his opening triple axel. (He has absolutely the slowest axel entry I’ve ever seen. He practically comes to a dead halt.) His program had a casual elegance that only a Frenchman could carry off. The extremely fast, intricate footwork that had tripped him up in practice was beautiful, then he fell out of a flying spin right near the end (looked like a lapse in concentration). I thought his technical marks of 4.5-4.8 were a little lower than necessary, but his 5.2-5.7 artistic marks were dead-on.

The second group of guys featured a lot of potential fireworks, as well as being an incredibly good looking group. (In fact, we remarked that all 9 guys made an exceptionally beautiful field.) In warm-up, Aren kept wiping out in his usual corner on his usual lutz (and glared at the ice in his usual manner). The usual mind games that occur when a bunch of the top guys warm-up together happened here: carefully-timed triples to elicit crowd reaction. Todd, as always, kept practicing the axel even when it wouldn’t come as a triple for him. Oleg hadn’t been practicing well all day, and didn’t look better here, and Ronny Winkler was popping his jumps, so it looked like the dogfight would be between Todd and Philippe Candoloro. While Philippe’s jumps seemed consistent, he looked to be pushing harder. Todd was light as a feather, and made almost no sound on his landings. (Todd rarely falls any more in practice, after the calamity in Phoenix. Instead, he pops. I’m not sure that’s good, but he does seem to pull out the stops in the actual competition now.)

Candeloro was first out with (what else?) "The Godfather" in the usual cream shirt and striped pants. Although I was an early fan of Philippe’s (dating from "Conan" in Oakland), and had not seen this program in person before, I was still tired of it. His opening triple axel (double toe combo) was huge, but so was its set-up. I hadn’t noticed before, but he is one of the least "easy" jumpers I have ever seen. Some guys make it look easy, Philippe doesn’t. But he skated pretty cleanly (if you don’t count some sloppy spins) except for a triple lutz that was nearly a "Midori" as he stumbled out of it and almost went through the cut-out section of the boards. I thought, like I had in St. Petersburg, that both he and the program looked tired, and the 5.2-5.4 technical marks reflected that. (He got two 5.7s and the rest 5.8 in presentation.)

Todd followed immediately, not a bad position considering Philippe’s sloppy skating. Although he’d been loose all day, he looked tense when he took the ice (in his usual yellow, black and red print shirt and black pants). He got into the program immediately, though, and pulled off his opening triple axel/triple toe beautifully. (There’d been some debate in my section about whether he’d attempt this, but Liz and I never doubted.) His first spin was fast and clean, and he came out of it looking in complete control of his program. The change camel was textbook, the next triple was huge, the footwork was crisp, and the final spin saw the crowd already coming to its feet. It was a pleasure to see him look so happy with the way he skated. If the 5.4 to 5.9 technical marks were all over the board, they still left him solidly in first. (Artistics were in the same range, with more at the high end.) Even nicer than seeing him win was seeing him sell the program to the crowd, and watching them respond to him.

Ronny Winkler had a tough act to follow, but his long line and elegance was showcased in an ice-blue-shading-to-indigo velvet costume, and his opening triple lutz combo was completed, if not perfect. I loved his moody, dramatic music. Several smaller glitches were capped with a step out of his triple jump, putting him well down in the pack.

Oleg Tataurov proved that Alexei Urmanov isn’t the only Russian with terrible clothes. His green costume, dubbed by Fran "The Lizard Suit," was truly horrible. But far from being the jinx color it’s reputed to be, it didn’t seem to hurt his opening triple axel/double toe combination, which was very high. His program emphasized his strength less than previous programs had, and I feel he’s still adjusting to this more-balletic approach. (As his training partner Urmanov had to do a couple of years ago--I find it amazing the way the Russians try to develop their skaters technically AND artistically at the same time. That so rarely happens here; some, like Elvis, Kurt and the Brians, develop from jumpers into artists, and others, like Paul Wylie, Sebastien Britten and Aren, are strong artistically and develop technically later). A fall in the footwork marred an otherwise pretty strong skate, and left Oleg in third (behind Todd and Philippe).

Aren’s costume was almost identical to Marcus’, but this time it suited the skater as well as the program. We had wondered how Carol Heiss Jenkins’ absence would affect him (he was accompanied by his other coach, Glyn Watts). Although he fell on his opening triple axel, he kept right on going and never lost the mood of the program. His lutz was clean, his footwork quick and cocky, and his double axel not very high, but completed. The self-assurance he’s gained from Carol is standing him in good stead apparently, and he finished the OP still in contention in fourth place.

Friday morning began with men’s practice, and our first look at Zago’s freeskate costume (described above). I was so impressed by the look (and the cheekbones) that I spent a great deal of time during his group just taking close-ups. Philippe again looked tired and his practice didn’t go well; Todd looked perfect except for continuing problems with the axel. (Don’t you just want to drag him off the ice when he keeps trying it over and over?)

Nerves were at the breaking point by Saturday. Having all four finals in one day is way too intense. I spoke briefly to Todd’s parents that morning, and found out that "Gettysburg" was a very new program, not yet totally worked out, still "rough." Wow! I can hardly wait to see it in Providence!

The men’s final got off to a good start, despite a rather lackluster warm-up which saw Misha and Zago landing most of their triples, and Marcus and Ronny missing most of theirs. Misha was up first, in purple with white fringe, and landed his opening triple axel, and a triple lutz soon thereafter. A triple toe completed the jumps in his opening section, and he also got his triple/double combination. The program also featured one of the better spirals of the men’s event. By the middle he was looking ragged, and he did finally fall on a triple flip around the three-minute mark. He got it back together enough for a triple salchow, almost fell out of a flying sitspin, and then just stood there for the last 10 seconds of his music, which was only 4:13 long as it was (shouldn’t there be a substantial deduction for this?) His technical and presentation marks were both mostly 5.3s.

Zago was next in his bronze. From the dramatic opening crouched low on the ice, to the Nijinsky-like steps and arm movements of the opening, it was clear that this would be another sort of performance entirely from Misha’s fairly strong, but pedestrian, program. Not that he wasn’t strong too--the opening triple axel was huge but controlled, and went right up into a double toe. No section was left unchoreographed; this program is a huge improvement over last year’s mishmash. A variation on the layback is skillfully woven in; every move flows into the next and fits the music and story. A couple of the triples, including the lutz, weren’t perfect--but they were completed. One loop was popped big-time, but he came right back to land his final triple. He stayed in character until the last second; even his obvious (but not excessive) fatigue went with the program. I thought 5.3 to 5.7 technical marks were okay at the high end (5.3??), and the 5.3 to 5.8 artistic marks (all 5.5 and up except for one, amazingly enough NOT the same judge who gave him the 5.3 technically) stood him in good stead. If only he hadn’t started the freeskate in 6th place...

Marcus was dressed in a burgundy velvet vest over a cream pirate shirt and black pants, and skated to "Don Juan." He doubled his opening axel/double toe, fell out of his next jump, lost his balance on a change spin--all within the first minute. He does have a lovely cross foot spin, which he unfortunately followed up with what Debi Thomas calls a "wowcow"- a majorly popped salchow. Even when he landed a jump, as he did occasionally, he had no expression on his face, and basically looked the same as on the elements he missed. His spread eagle into triple (something?) into spread eagle was nice but done by rote, and the fact that he landed most of his jumps in the last minute and a half was erased by a fall on the final jump. By his closing pose, with one knee on the ice and returning his sword to an imaginary scabbard, Marcus was totally defeated. His technical marks were 4.7-5.0, with 4.7-5.1 for presentation.

Ronny was in a blousy bronze shirt and black pants, and had more swashbuckling music. His first two triples were executed cleanly, if not spectacularly, then he doubled out on his flip. His slow section emphasized his good body line, and featured a beautiful double axel and more mock swordplay. The spirals, though, seemed too rushed (although the position was good). One change spin featured a layback, which I always love, then he double footed the opening lutz of a combination and finished without a lot of fanfare. His marks were 5.0-5.3 technically, with 5.1-5.3 for presentation.

Thank heavens for videotape, since I would else remember little from the second flight. Never before in the history of our little group have we all wanted the same man to win. Todd responded by ignoring the warm-up group fireworks from Philippe and himself warmed up slowly, calmly, and with precision. Actually, Eric looked about the best, as Oleg was very inconsistent (and looked tense) and Aren missed more than he hit. In the last 90 seconds, first Eric, then Oleg did clean axels, then Aren popped his into a single, then Todd landed his, then Aren tried again and fell, then again and doubled. We began to wish Carol Heiss was there...

Philippe skated first, in his traditional "Godfather" black with hair slicked back. The opening triple axel/double toe was ragged, but he kept the arrogant look in place throughout. The triple toe was clean, the death drop nothing to write home about, and when he fell out of his triple lutz, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing had changed since St. Petersburg--he remained more consistent than he had been prior to last season, but not up to the standard he’d set during the 1993-94 season. If his change spin wandered all over the ice, the audience didn’t seem to notice. They did notice where the Candeloro spin was meant to be--but were unsure as to whether he’d left it out on purpose, or just missed the entrance (it was deliberate). His technical marks of 5.6-5.8, and artistic of 5.8-5.9, definitely left a little room for Todd, but not much.

Eric Millot, in high-waisted black pants, vest, and white shirt, and string tie, opened his tango with his usual almost-coming-to-a-complete-stop triple axel, but it was high and clean. He added a triple toe to his triple lutz, and followed shortly thereafter with another triple/triple. The slow section was very expressive and very French, and featured a beautiful camel position very reminiscent of Robin Cousins, and another combination that didn’t come off as well as the previous ones. He got back on track with his beautiful footwork section, and followed with a lovely triple lutz. He doubled one of his closing jumps, but it still looked okay, and although he was visibly tired, he fought for the program until the very end. It was the kind of strong showing Eric’s been looking for for years, and I thought he should have finished in second place. Considering his success, 5.4-5.7 was low for technical, and the one 5.5 for artistic as balanced by two 5.9s.

Aren had a new costume for "The Rocketeer" which shaded from very pale purple in the shoulder area, to darker near the blouson waist, to solid deep purple pants. After the warm-up, we were none of us very optimistic, but the slow opening gives nothing away. He immediately went down on the first axel, then almost into the boards on the lutz. The triple/double combination was very shaky, and the second axel was popped in a big way. When he fell on his next triple--RIGHT in front of the judges--we knew it was over. I will say one thing for him--he did keep going, and landed his next jump. There was none of that defeatism we’d seen in earlier years. When he fell on his second triple lutz, and slid hard into the boards, he got quickly up and skated the end of the program just about as well as it could be skated, including a huge closing double axel. Somehow, he had a smile on his face at the end of it, and I’ll be forever grateful to Carol and Glyn for effecting this change. The marks of 4.9-5.2 technical were actually quite kind, but I thought the two 4,9s for presentation (amongst 5.1-5.5s otherwise) were too harsh.

If I breathed at all while Todd skated, I couldn’t swear to it. But I must have, since I distinctly remember screaming several times, and I have the audiotape to prove it. He wore his 1993 costume of red and green vest over white shirt and black pants (he hasn’t decided on a costume yet). The goosebumps came again with the opening poses and the extraordinary spiral, and only went away with the fall on the initial triple axel. Somehow I knew that wasn’t it, though. The next triple, as well as the death drop, was huge, and the triple lutz showed that he was again in command of the program. The slow section, with its beautiful edges and figure-like sequence, looked like Igor’s influence to me, and closed with another spiral. The triple/double was perfect, the footwork controlled and precise. I love the movements and edges in the "Dixie" section, and I especially liked the huge triple axel/double toe he closed that portion with. The ending is unbelievably strong (although the split flip either has to improve or be jettisoned), and I scream every time he completes the double/triple. And I don’t stop until the fantastic closing spin ends, and he takes his bows. The whole trip was worth the smile on Todd’s face as he acknowledged the standing ovation. Todd’s one 5.5 for technical was ridiculous, with the other 5.7s and 5.8s more in line, but we still held our breath. Some quick addition from Liz when we got the 5.7-5.9 presentation range gave us the answer we wanted.

We all felt sorry for Oleg (once we remembered that there was still another skater to go!), having to follow that emotion-laden performance. But everyone still seemed to want him to do well; we were definitely spoiled by the several great performances of the evening. Oleg’s teal costume (satin jacket, white shirt visible at throat and chest, velvet pants) WAS better than the OP costume, but not as flattering as the plain black he’d worn in practice. From his opening pose, you knew it was to be another classical performance, and he seems to have the ballet background to carry it off. But he always seems to fade in the freeskate, and despite his opening triple axel, he did so again here. The triple lutz was stepped out of, he fell on his second triple axel, and stumbled on another triple. I liked the broken-leg sitspin, even though it could be improved, and in fact several of his combination spins (while slow) showed some originality and interesting positions. He began to slow down noticeably in the final minute, and looked relieved when it was all over. His marks were 5.2-5.5 for technical and up to 5.6 for presentation.

We floated out of the arena to try to find something to eat in the 90-minute break. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, so all nearby restaurants were jammed. Thank heavens for the refrigerator in our suite! Karen and I also spent some time relaying the news to friends not in attendance. Then it was back for the balance of the finals.

I must admit to watching Todd cheer on his favorite as much as I watched Nicole herself, who looked stunning in a high-necked, highly-beaded royal blue costume with a more mature look highlighted by upswept hair (she seems to be "Nicole" rather than "Bobie" now). Her "Lara’s Theme" program was beautiful, if not beautifully skated. She certainly looks more fit than she did over the summer, and seems to be moving in the right direction. It remains to be seen whether the move to Richard Callaghan will pay off for her. (At least, she and Todd seem to be great friends, and that should benefit both. If he loosens up a little, and she trains a little harder...) At any rate, her spiral remains the best in the world. If she was disheartened by the marks of 4.8-5.3 and 5.0-5.4, the favorable commentary from Dick and Peggy on ABC should’ve made her feel better.

I left Pittsburgh feeling great, both about the American team, and the newcomers I’d seen. The Detroit crowd--Todd, Nicole, Jerod & Liz, all showed tremendous growth. I can hardly wait to see them at Nationals in Providence (in fact, I didn’t wait--I went to see Todd & Nicole at the Pro-Am in Philadelphia). Michelle is becoming a young woman of elegance and style, not just a gifted young girl. Both Ina/Dungjen and Stiegler/Travis show great promise in our depleted pairs field. Aren... Well, I love the new OP. And who knows? Lightning CAN strike twice, and he’s capable of anything and everything. Of the foreigners, Zago is looking great (not skating too badly either!), Eric seems to be getting his act together, and we hear that Philippe might be getting new programs, at last (yes, I know, they’re not that old, but it sure SEEMS like they are!). And with all the talented new dancers around, I can hardly wait for Edmonton (my next Worlds). And to think that just a couple of months ago, I thought dance would be uninteresting without Usova/Zhulin!