Last night I stayed up well past what I planned watching the US Figure Skating Championships Men's Short Programs on Ice Network. Of course it's always fun to see Johnny Weir, Jeremy Abbot, and Evan Lysacek battle it out, with a little sexy humor from Ryan Bradley thrown in for good measure.
But, the highlight for me was Keegan Messing. I've watched this kid climb the ranks, and being a fellow Alaskan, it made me proud. We, sadly, don't have a lot of elite skaters up here... and so when one does make it to seniors and grabs the spotlight and people take notice, it makes me happy.
Keegan's been making waves since his days in the Novice, and now he's on the Senior stage skating against some of the best in the World. I was giddy with anticipation, hoping his senior nationals debut would be a good one...
He did NOT disappoint. It wasn't perfect - he didn't do the required combination - but other than a jump issue he was spot on. And he's turned the heads of skating fans who only follow the senior level. I was cheering from start to finish in my bed room watching an all too small screen as he blew through his program. He really does give off a young Scott Hamilton vibe. It was a solid start to a - hopefully - long and successful competitive career. Ralph and Rory have done an excellent job on his skating.
As for the top field, it's no surprise with teh results. Ryan Bradley is the biggest disappointment, after that fantastic openning with the Quad-Triple combination I thought we might have a real competition on our hands, but no such luck. Hopefully he can pull out all the stops for the Long Program and really show the world who he is.
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