SShaste
12-30-2002, 09:06 PM
I wasn't 100% sure if this was the right section to put this in so if I picked the wrong one I apologize.
I transcribed the Game Faces episode that Elvis Stojko was featured on so I thought I'd post it on here for all those interested. It aired on CBC on December 28, 2002 and from what I can tell they do not have transcripts available for sale. Enjoy!
TRANSCRIPT FROM GAME FACES
Terri Libel is the interviewer = T.L.
Elvis = E.S. (obviously, lol)
T.L. – Good afternoon everyone, welcome to another Game Faces. I’m Terri Libel and of course a familiar face to figure skating fans, 3-time World Champion, 2-time Olympic Silver Medallist, Elvis Stojko. Elvis great to see you again.
E.S. – Thank you
T.L. – Well before we get into our conversation just to backtrack ever so slightly this past March Elvis announced that no more Olympics in his future but that didn’t slow you down one little bit as you embarked on a very busy professional tour.
(Clips of SK8 with Elvis – playing music “Who is Elvis?”
Voice Over – There once was only one answer to that question until a kid from Newmarket, Ont. was crowned king of Canadian figure skating. But for years that question, ‘Who is Elvis?’ baffled the world skating judges.
(Clips of Elvis at ’94 Olympics and ’98 Olympics)
Voice Over – Here was a skater with big jumps and new ones like the quad. He had incredible speed, strength, and power. No frilly and sequined costumes, no skating to piano concertos. Instead Elvis used powerful soundtracks often from his favorite films; his moves inspired by his off-ice passions such as karate. At the 1994 Olympics Stojko skated a program called ‘Dragon’, a tribute to his martial arts hero Bruce Lee. Many felt he skated the best overall program but he placed second. The gold went to Russia’s Alexei Urmanov and his classical ballet style. But Elvis kept doing it his way. Four years later, the Nagano Olympics, during his long program he felt a pop as his groin muscles tore. Stojko sucked up the pain and put on a performance fans will never forget and won silver again.
(Clips of ’02 Olympics)
Voice Over – It would be four tough years before the Salt Lake games and another chance for gold. Elvis was now 30 in a field of much younger skaters with quads to spare. Stojko finished well back and decided he was finished with amateur competition.
(Clip of Doug Leigh)
Voice Over – Who Elvis is, is no mystery to the man who coached him for 14 years. Doug Leigh now works with Canadian women’s champion Jennifer Robinson. He feels Stojko’s legacy was courage, the courage to stay true to himself.
Doug Leigh – Everybody as an individual has their own style and what you saw about Elvis was just totally real. It was simply him, nobody else, nobody putting on some kind of show, no gimmicks, no fluff, nothing. Just simply pure him.
(Clips of SK8 tour)
Voice Over – These days Elvis is a headliner, the star of a professional ice show that just finished touring Canada. He’s a shrewd enpresareau putting together a team with star power in mind including the hottest pair on ice, Olympic gold medallists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. And he’s still a rebel and proves it by showcasing a skater also known for her gutsy style and unusual moves (shows Surya Bonaly). And most of all Elvis is still about changing the rules. This show will not be mistaken for the Ice Capades. He wanted it to have a dance club feel, mixing electronica and techno music. Who is Elvis? Well he’s pretty busy. Before the show Stojko tapes a scene for a CBC variety program airing January 27th (they are referring to the SK8 tour).
(Shows Elvis taping some bits that will be shown during the airing of SK8 Tour)
Voice Over – Beverly Smith covers figure skating for the Globe and Mail. She’s followed Stojko’s entire career and believes he’ll always be competitive, a fighter, even on the pro circuit.
Beverly Smith – Say you’re Elvis Stojko and you’re known for doing the quads and you’re known for doing these rock star kind of high energy kind of things. You can’t go out there and schlep around the ice, you just can’t, the tour won’t continue, you won’t have a tour the next year.
(Clips of ’02 Olympics)
Beverly Smith – His legacy is going to be how he pushed the difficult quad jumps and his competitive mind. There are other skaters who have talents in every which direction you can think of but they don’t have this (points to head) up here. And this (points to head) can take you farther than your talent can.
Voice Over – And if you ask Elvis who is Elvis? Well he once described himself as a hunter, his prey, the best performance possible.
(Goes back to the studio)
T.L. – Back with Elvis Stojko and Elvis it continues to amaze me, here we are in the aftermath of Salt Lake City, the scandals, the very sport being called into question even threatened to be thrown out of the Olympic Games and yet it’s as popular as ever. Why?
E.S. – One word, controversy and unfortunately that’s sort of what brought skating to it’s highest peak in 1994 was a controversy between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, that whole attack and it ended up being sort of a positive thing in a kind of negative progression to get there. We had so many people come to watch the sport because of that and again in Salt Lake we have another controversy. This one however I think put a negative, more of a negative tone on our sport opposed to the one in ’94 because it was totally in regards to the way the sport in run.
T.L. – And knowing that you still get the crowds, you still get great attendance at amateur and pro appearances. How come the sport can endure?
E.S. – I think right now too because the people just love the personalities in the sport. They have their favorite skaters. They love to see the sport in its purest form and I know a lot of people do get frustrated with sometimes the way a competition is judged, the way a result is done and they do get upset with it and they say I’m never gonna turn this TV on again and watch figure skating and then they’re again watching it or going to a show. However on the down side what we’re noticing especially down when I’m training in Philadelphia, there’s not a lot of kids starting skating so there could be a lull 10 years from now which I think might have an effect. You won’t see it right away but down the line I think you will see the effect of what this has done cause a lot of kids, a lot of girls are going into hockey and it’s huge, it’s running rampant everywhere.
T.L. – We’re gonna talk about the state of figure skating a little later in our conversation. I want to talk about you’re state though and we all are familiar with 1998, Nagano, the Olympics games, you battling through your groin injury to secure the silver and then after that you appeared to be a man who was in turmoil. What was that?
E.S. – It has been a long haul since ’98. I look at my career post and pre ’98 because of that. It was a difficult time because as I endured through that, and it was an unbelievable victory for myself, something broke inside me doing that…
T.L. – What?
E.S. – I paid the price for doing that…
T.L. – What?
E.S. – and it…
T.L. – What broke?
E.S. – My will. Something inside had broken and I had to rebuild it from the inside out. My body healed within about a year and a half and I was skating but when I finished the competition, finished Olympics in ’98 something broke inside me and I didn’t realize it until later, not until maybe a year or two later. That the will to go on, that drive wasn’t the same. I knew something had changed, something was different because of pushing myself to that point. I paid for it.
T.L. – Did you get counseling? Did you look to something or someone?
E.S. – My family, my coach. I had, I was searching, at the time I had left Doug, I needed something new, I started…
T.L. – Doug Leigh?
E.S. – Doug Leigh yes. I worked with Doug for 14 years and I needed something different, I felt very stale, I needed to go somewhere that I, um needed something to find the spark again.
T.L. – So are we talking about depression here?
E.S. – Um, probably. I know I, maybe a mild case of it and I really didn’t know until later because I was so strong in wanting to push myself I would just think oh if I’m down today I would just get myself out of it and I would just work hard and I would get, I was really tired, I was tired a lot, I wasn’t myself, I didn’t have the same vigor as I did previously.
T.L. – And when did it start to turn around?
E.S. – Well it started coming back after about the 2000 season, 2001, but then I started getting injuries again in the ’01 season but not overwork injuries just weird accidents were happening and that played a toll on me and then going to Vancouver, skating well in practice and then not skating well at all at competition really put a toll on me. So the only thing really that was driving me was that goal of going to the Olympic Games, that spirit of going to the Olympic Games, that’s what was driving me there.
*****SEE PART 2 THREAD FOR CONTINUATION*****
I transcribed the Game Faces episode that Elvis Stojko was featured on so I thought I'd post it on here for all those interested. It aired on CBC on December 28, 2002 and from what I can tell they do not have transcripts available for sale. Enjoy!
TRANSCRIPT FROM GAME FACES
Terri Libel is the interviewer = T.L.
Elvis = E.S. (obviously, lol)
T.L. – Good afternoon everyone, welcome to another Game Faces. I’m Terri Libel and of course a familiar face to figure skating fans, 3-time World Champion, 2-time Olympic Silver Medallist, Elvis Stojko. Elvis great to see you again.
E.S. – Thank you
T.L. – Well before we get into our conversation just to backtrack ever so slightly this past March Elvis announced that no more Olympics in his future but that didn’t slow you down one little bit as you embarked on a very busy professional tour.
(Clips of SK8 with Elvis – playing music “Who is Elvis?”
Voice Over – There once was only one answer to that question until a kid from Newmarket, Ont. was crowned king of Canadian figure skating. But for years that question, ‘Who is Elvis?’ baffled the world skating judges.
(Clips of Elvis at ’94 Olympics and ’98 Olympics)
Voice Over – Here was a skater with big jumps and new ones like the quad. He had incredible speed, strength, and power. No frilly and sequined costumes, no skating to piano concertos. Instead Elvis used powerful soundtracks often from his favorite films; his moves inspired by his off-ice passions such as karate. At the 1994 Olympics Stojko skated a program called ‘Dragon’, a tribute to his martial arts hero Bruce Lee. Many felt he skated the best overall program but he placed second. The gold went to Russia’s Alexei Urmanov and his classical ballet style. But Elvis kept doing it his way. Four years later, the Nagano Olympics, during his long program he felt a pop as his groin muscles tore. Stojko sucked up the pain and put on a performance fans will never forget and won silver again.
(Clips of ’02 Olympics)
Voice Over – It would be four tough years before the Salt Lake games and another chance for gold. Elvis was now 30 in a field of much younger skaters with quads to spare. Stojko finished well back and decided he was finished with amateur competition.
(Clip of Doug Leigh)
Voice Over – Who Elvis is, is no mystery to the man who coached him for 14 years. Doug Leigh now works with Canadian women’s champion Jennifer Robinson. He feels Stojko’s legacy was courage, the courage to stay true to himself.
Doug Leigh – Everybody as an individual has their own style and what you saw about Elvis was just totally real. It was simply him, nobody else, nobody putting on some kind of show, no gimmicks, no fluff, nothing. Just simply pure him.
(Clips of SK8 tour)
Voice Over – These days Elvis is a headliner, the star of a professional ice show that just finished touring Canada. He’s a shrewd enpresareau putting together a team with star power in mind including the hottest pair on ice, Olympic gold medallists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. And he’s still a rebel and proves it by showcasing a skater also known for her gutsy style and unusual moves (shows Surya Bonaly). And most of all Elvis is still about changing the rules. This show will not be mistaken for the Ice Capades. He wanted it to have a dance club feel, mixing electronica and techno music. Who is Elvis? Well he’s pretty busy. Before the show Stojko tapes a scene for a CBC variety program airing January 27th (they are referring to the SK8 tour).
(Shows Elvis taping some bits that will be shown during the airing of SK8 Tour)
Voice Over – Beverly Smith covers figure skating for the Globe and Mail. She’s followed Stojko’s entire career and believes he’ll always be competitive, a fighter, even on the pro circuit.
Beverly Smith – Say you’re Elvis Stojko and you’re known for doing the quads and you’re known for doing these rock star kind of high energy kind of things. You can’t go out there and schlep around the ice, you just can’t, the tour won’t continue, you won’t have a tour the next year.
(Clips of ’02 Olympics)
Beverly Smith – His legacy is going to be how he pushed the difficult quad jumps and his competitive mind. There are other skaters who have talents in every which direction you can think of but they don’t have this (points to head) up here. And this (points to head) can take you farther than your talent can.
Voice Over – And if you ask Elvis who is Elvis? Well he once described himself as a hunter, his prey, the best performance possible.
(Goes back to the studio)
T.L. – Back with Elvis Stojko and Elvis it continues to amaze me, here we are in the aftermath of Salt Lake City, the scandals, the very sport being called into question even threatened to be thrown out of the Olympic Games and yet it’s as popular as ever. Why?
E.S. – One word, controversy and unfortunately that’s sort of what brought skating to it’s highest peak in 1994 was a controversy between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, that whole attack and it ended up being sort of a positive thing in a kind of negative progression to get there. We had so many people come to watch the sport because of that and again in Salt Lake we have another controversy. This one however I think put a negative, more of a negative tone on our sport opposed to the one in ’94 because it was totally in regards to the way the sport in run.
T.L. – And knowing that you still get the crowds, you still get great attendance at amateur and pro appearances. How come the sport can endure?
E.S. – I think right now too because the people just love the personalities in the sport. They have their favorite skaters. They love to see the sport in its purest form and I know a lot of people do get frustrated with sometimes the way a competition is judged, the way a result is done and they do get upset with it and they say I’m never gonna turn this TV on again and watch figure skating and then they’re again watching it or going to a show. However on the down side what we’re noticing especially down when I’m training in Philadelphia, there’s not a lot of kids starting skating so there could be a lull 10 years from now which I think might have an effect. You won’t see it right away but down the line I think you will see the effect of what this has done cause a lot of kids, a lot of girls are going into hockey and it’s huge, it’s running rampant everywhere.
T.L. – We’re gonna talk about the state of figure skating a little later in our conversation. I want to talk about you’re state though and we all are familiar with 1998, Nagano, the Olympics games, you battling through your groin injury to secure the silver and then after that you appeared to be a man who was in turmoil. What was that?
E.S. – It has been a long haul since ’98. I look at my career post and pre ’98 because of that. It was a difficult time because as I endured through that, and it was an unbelievable victory for myself, something broke inside me doing that…
T.L. – What?
E.S. – I paid the price for doing that…
T.L. – What?
E.S. – and it…
T.L. – What broke?
E.S. – My will. Something inside had broken and I had to rebuild it from the inside out. My body healed within about a year and a half and I was skating but when I finished the competition, finished Olympics in ’98 something broke inside me and I didn’t realize it until later, not until maybe a year or two later. That the will to go on, that drive wasn’t the same. I knew something had changed, something was different because of pushing myself to that point. I paid for it.
T.L. – Did you get counseling? Did you look to something or someone?
E.S. – My family, my coach. I had, I was searching, at the time I had left Doug, I needed something new, I started…
T.L. – Doug Leigh?
E.S. – Doug Leigh yes. I worked with Doug for 14 years and I needed something different, I felt very stale, I needed to go somewhere that I, um needed something to find the spark again.
T.L. – So are we talking about depression here?
E.S. – Um, probably. I know I, maybe a mild case of it and I really didn’t know until later because I was so strong in wanting to push myself I would just think oh if I’m down today I would just get myself out of it and I would just work hard and I would get, I was really tired, I was tired a lot, I wasn’t myself, I didn’t have the same vigor as I did previously.
T.L. – And when did it start to turn around?
E.S. – Well it started coming back after about the 2000 season, 2001, but then I started getting injuries again in the ’01 season but not overwork injuries just weird accidents were happening and that played a toll on me and then going to Vancouver, skating well in practice and then not skating well at all at competition really put a toll on me. So the only thing really that was driving me was that goal of going to the Olympic Games, that spirit of going to the Olympic Games, that’s what was driving me there.
*****SEE PART 2 THREAD FOR CONTINUATION*****