I take credit

I take credit for Johnny Weir's success of late.

Last year, at this time, I stated that I thought that Johnny had lost his way. He had announced that he was "changing his image" to become more "masculine" (and I say again, whatever that means). His programs were more "stark" and his costumes less expressive. He was undertrained and busy doing other things. It was my opinion that he was trying to be less than himself, and he suffered for it. He lost the National championships to Evan Lysacek and struggled throughout the season.

This season, though, he's come back. He won gold at both Grand Prix events he entered. At Cup of China, he beat his personal best in both his long program and combined scores. At Cup of Russia, he was only .34 points behind Stephan Lambiel after his short program (also his personal best).

He's better trained this year, and from my perspective, he's returned to his former greatness. His programs are fluid and beautiful again. He's changed coaches--the great Galina Zmievskaya, who also coached his idol Oksana Baiul. Personally, I think that was a good move because it parallels his love of Russia and the Russian language. (She trains him in Russian.) I also think that his previous coach simply gave him bad advice.

Evan Lysacek said, after losing the gold at Skate Canada, that if he had nailed his quad in his long program like he had in his short program, he would've won instead of Johnny. That's probably true. I think that due to Evan's commitment to the quad, he'll suffer for it in the short term. Evan believes that the quad is crucial for success in the coming years, especially at the Olympics in 2010. I agree--if Johnny is to continue this success, he's gonna have to gain the quad. What's impressive is that at the current time, without the quad, his other elements are superior enough for him to earn high enough points to compete with the guys who have the quad.

At any rate, I loved how, during his interview at the end of Cup of China, he said, "I love making people eat their words." Well, I have one thing to say about that: Johnny, hear that noise? It's me, eating my words. And I'm very happy to do it. I'm pleased more than I can say about being wrong about you. Well, let me take that back. I maintain that I was right--you had a miserable season last year because you stepped away from who you are. It looks like you listened to me, and went back to being true to yourself. Thank you for taking my advice.

Even Johnny's haircut shows that he took my advice:


So here's my prediction about this season, and I'm sure that I'll be right again. Johnny Weir will regain his National title.