Timothy Goebel! Predictions?!

[Fliple Trip]

What do you think? How talented is he? Will he ever reach the regions of a Yagudin or a Plushenko? Or will he pursue his very own way? Will his presentation marks rise some day?

[Aaron W]

I've been waiting for 5 years for him to really impress me and I still haven't been blown away yet. His movement across the ice still doesn't look all that great. The shoulders tend to rise up and envelop his neck. I still don't see any real connection with his arms to the music and his overall body movement. He just doesn't paint the most enticing picture in my mind, particularly when it comes to line and carriage.

On the good side though is that his spins certainly look better than they did back in the late 90s. Choreographically his programs have progressed as well (I remember Malaguena being anything but impressive).

So I do think he's made improvements, but I'm not holding my breath for him to get to the level I'd love to see him at.

[haribobo]

Checking in to agree with Aaron about this...especially the "enticing picture" part. I think he will have a handful of American guys to deal with in the coming years, let along Plushenko and the rest. General consistency on the jumps helps him a lot, but if any of the other guys like Savoie, Weir, Delmore, Bradley, Pennington, Brauninger, Rogers, and Smith get their stuff together, they can overtake Goebel because they are more enjoyable!

[Skatingsarah]

Jump wise he had it all last year, but I was very surprised with him at the nats! I couldnt believe he was letting himself do those little minor mistakes. As for presentation, hes never been superior but you must admit that he hasnt gone backwards. I think its all about babysteps. I have this feeling that he was a little scared this season, there was alot of pressure on tim goebal and I guess USA expected nothing less than the Tim that they saw at the Olympics with his break through preformance. Also does he have a sports sicologist (SP) I really think that most of his problems are mental and they really hinder his progress in mens skating. All the young kids are coming up and they are just wiping off all the jumps and have such spark. I really dont want him to fade away like his teammate Todd E did in his last amateur years.

[duane]

i think tim's overall package is very good. i dont think he is in the same league as plushenko or yagudin, but not many skaters are.

i think tim's presentation has improved greatly over the years--and i think the marks he receives in international competitions show this--but i dont think it will ever be considered "great". i think his huge jumps and his consistency will continue to be what get him on the podiums, and that's okay.

[Gaela]

Apparently his low landings are harder on the body than the higher jumps. Which could be part of the reason he's having so much trouble this years--at any rate the guys who do the quads really seem to have a limited lifespan on the ice.

I hate to admit it, but Timothy really bores me--others have had similar comments about Todd Elderidge, whom I love. His jumps are thoroughly unexciting even when he lands them, and his presentsation is unremarkable. Of course all of this is just IMO. There are few skaters whom I will deliberately don't watch during skating (course if there was I wouldn't watch skating at all) but Timmy is one of them.

Nonetheless, he has earned his placememts fair and square by landing the quad, though I don't know if he will ever achieve what he did last season.

It bothers me that there is a double standard for men and women though--Timmy can earn medals because he lands the quad, placing above the more artistic Honda, Abt, etc. Yet I think it is harder for a lady with superior jump content to place above an artistic Cohen or Fumie. It is more acceptable for a guy to lack artistry than a girl. As I always say that FS is first a sport and technical should come first, I grudgingly accept Timmy's position (or past position as a medal contender).

This year during US Nats I was cheering for Weiss and couldn't believe what happened after hubby and I said "sure wish Goebel would miss all the jumps". Course afterwards we felt really bad.

[Overr8ed sk8er]

No, he'll never be in the league of those two Russians. But maybe'll reach the region of a Stojko; but I don't think this'd be a real improvement or achievement - neither to him, nor to men's figure skating in general.

[luckiest1]

Originally posted by Overr8ed sk8er
No, he'll never be in the league of those two Russians. But maybe'll reach the region of a Stojko; but I don't think this'd be a real improvement or achievement - neither to him, nor to men's figure skating in general.

Being a Stojko fan myself, I take great offense to this comment.....nothing against Tim, but 1) putting him in the same league as Stojko is a bit of a stretch, and 2) putting Stojko in a league "below the two Russians" is ridiculous. From 94 - 97/98 Stojko, at the top of his game, was an amazing skater. He won two Olympic silvers and 3 World titles! :roll:

Ok I admit it, this is the first thread in a very long time that has got me back into the "Elvis fanatics" posting mode......:oops: but some things are sacred. ;)

Good luck to Tim and all the guys at Worlds this year. My guess as to a podium would be Plushenko, Honda, Weiss. :lol:

Lisa
http://www.stojko.ca.tc
http://www.takeshi.ca.tc

[Gaela]

Well, I am a die-hard Elvis fan too, but I wouldn't put him in the same league as Yags and Plushenko. Simply because they mastered the jumps as well as he did, and Elvis's artistry wouldn't have compared (except for Dragon and Kodo). Even if Elvis had not been injured in '98 and had landed the quad, I think Kulik would still have won.

However, Elvis was landing the quad triples before they became more commonplace, and beat both Urmanov and Kulik numerous times. It is ridiculous to compare him to Tim. Elvis was explosive and exciting to watch, it was his pure power and determation that set him apart. He made an art out of martial arts, and I think Dragon was a masterpiece. It was never appreciated as much as it should have been. Elvis will never be forgotten, but I doubt that Tim will achieve the status of legend even in the US.

[duane]

Originally posted by Overr8ed sk8er
maybe'll reach the region of a Stojko; but I don't think this'd be a real improvement or achievement - neither to him, nor to men's figure skating in general.

another elvis fan who also takes offense at this comment.

elvis will likely be known for upping the technical difficulty in mens skating, but he also had amazing presentation, which IMO was always underrated because he had a style that was entirely different from other skaters. when i became a diehard fan in 94, elvis immediately became my favorite male skater because his masculine style stood out from the rest. elvis was very artistic--not in the classical sense, but artistic nevertheless.