Did the HIGHLY TALENTED ice entertainer NICOLE BOBEK have a tendancy to get nervous around judges?

Question

I am a huge skating fan. I am also an enormous NICOLE BOBEK FAN and SUPPORTER.

When I would go every year to see CHAMPIONS ON ICE in the late 90's and early millenium Nicole Bobek was consistantly one of the most crowd pleasing performers in the show.

If just going out there for fun and getting down and funky to a great dance song were judged she would have BEAT Michelle Kwan every year!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!

Unfortunately when it was serious competition with medals on the line and judges watching it was a different story.

You could almost bet that if judges were involved there would at least be a 25 percent chance of Nicole falling!

Nicole did win her share of national recognition and indeed won titles

But I as a Bobek fan was always nervous. It was kind of like a roll of the dice!

Could one of the MOST FUN CROWD PLEASING ICE PERFORMERS of the last 15 years possibly have been a chocker?

Answer 1

Probably.  There are just some skaters who thrive during competition and others who live to entertain.  I also really liked Nicole and wish she still made some appearances. Remember she had a few coaching changes....I remember that.  She wasn't doing so well and then changed and seemed to improve.

I recently found her on Myspace.  She's got her own page, which is pretty cool to see what she's up to these days.  

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus...

Answer 2

Nicole Bobek was an EXCITING figure skater to watch . . . she was a natural "emoting" on the ice and bringing the audience into her program. . . having that extra spark to her skating that even the best of skaters today don't have (as you mentioned).  She had the most spectacular spiral of that time, and I remember (like everyone else) waiting to see that trademark move in all her programs!  

When she skated well, she skated really well.  And when she didn't, well, um, she'd fall apart.  

Nicole definitely had GREAT potential.  Besides being entertaining and having nice artistry, she had a lot of speed in her skating plus her jumps were springy and high (more evident when you see her skate in person rather than on tv!).  I was ALWAYS pulling for her too . . . hoping for the best for her when she skated.  Yet at the same time, if it wasn't going right, it sort of did not surprise me, as she was not a "consistent" skater.  You never could predict how she would skate.  I had wished so much more for her, and you just know she was perfectly capable of it . . . but, that's the way it goes.  

I had wondered if her somewhat troubled "personal" life had anything to do with it (wasn't she the "rebellious teen"?).  She also had sooooo many coach changes and they say she wasn't "disciplined" enough.  Even though she had the natural talent, perhaps total mental focus on skating was difficult for her.

Head games are a part of skating, no matter how good you are physically.  It's quite possible the nerves got the best of her in competition.  Most everyone gets nervous when they compete, but it's the ones that can overcome it consistently that will do well (and as a skater, I'll tell you that's not an easy thing to do!).  When she did those showy type numbers she was probably more relaxed and in her element.  THAT was definitely her "thing".  

In any case, I have always enjoyed watching her skate.  There are a few skaters whom I consider "great" natural performers, even though they may not have the top medals - and Nicole Bobek is certainly one of them.

Answer 3

Well she was human wasn't she.  Some of her contemporaries, Kristi Yamaguchi include, admitted to being too scared to even look at the judges sometimes.  I'm sure I would be dead nerevous too if I really wanted to win a competition and they stood between me and the prizes.