Brian Orser (CAN) - 1988 Calgary, Men's Short Program

[mlc2005]

I felt that Boitano's program was much more of a "command" skate, and that EVERY element of Boitano's program was better, except for one: The footwork. Orser uses his whole body while doing footwork, whereas I felt Boitano was a bit stiff and upright.

Actually, Toller Cranston, who adores Boitano, mentioned the same thing at the 1988 worlds.

[victoriaindigo]

Sing Sing Sing (with a Swing)

[smokelean]

this was the program to beat it had it all i loved boitanos it was big and commanding i feel this program rocked n sizzled not just beacause of the music but the fire in the execution of the program still both wonderful programs

[premierrules]

One of the best Short programmes ever. Also the BEST head-to-head competition ever. Orser had the better short (slightly) and Boitano had the stronger Free but what a competition. We can still remember it now and I was 17 when this was aired. The 80's particularly 86-89 showed Figure Skating at its best. Bring back the old 6.0

[DaTallOne25]

@premierrules I agree!

[igorsinyutin]

LOVE LOVE him!

[HattieLovesCattie]

Brian's short program was something.

[salome7580]

This is when Olympic eligible skating was at it's best. Although I thought Boitano's program was better by just a tad, Orser was simply brilliant here. What impressed me most was not the jump combination, but I have not seen a footwork sequence that has come close to this. Sure you can throw out names like Browning and Yagudin, but Orser's wasn't frilly with unnecessary arm movements and leg kicks. He felt the music with every inch of his body. Plushenko and Lysachek cannot match this!

[BiGBANG0428]

orser lost 0.5 points loswer to boitano. SUCH a close game XD

i heard at the end, he made a mistake on his jump & that lowered his mark or something. :C

i like brian orser.. i think he really is in beat & flows with the music. (just like he taught yuna kim to be !) and i thnk boitano may be a bit cleaner but its a bit boringer also.. anyway, the battle of brians was so unique .. both very talented skaters :)

[Chutson353]

This is undoubtedly a great program but how it beat Boitano is completely beyond me - technically they are equivalent but artistically I don't think that this compares to what Boitano did - of course that's what makes judging in this sport controversial - the artistic mark is subjective.

[Zuranthium]

LOL! Hilarious how we can't seem to agree on anything...you thought Boitano had the better program in the SP but I believe Orser shined brighter there.

Thank you for your thoughts. We shall chat more later about other subjects. I look forward to disagreeing with you more in the future. :-P

[wooite]

wow, they still had the hockey lines :)

I think because of Brian, Canada is going to receive a lot of Korean Tourist and because of Yuna Korea is going to get more Canadian Tourist.

[Zuranthium]

Boitano didn't two-foot a landing, the free foot simply swung low on his second Triple Axel.

Orser had better presentation marks because in the past he was better. He was considered "due" to win in 1988 and that's why the marks were so close despite Boitano being so much better.

It's perhaps true that Orser had more fluid movement, but he didn't have better choreography. Boitano's program is one of the best ever. And look at HIS spread eagle sequence if you want to see awesome footwork.

[Zuranthium]

Orser didn't have greater variety, what are you talking about? Boitano's program was much more complex and filled with tempo changes.

I don't see Orser as coming out of his jumps any better, nor do I find your critique about Boitano just skating around waiting to jump to be valid AT ALL. Boitano had detailed choreography between all of his jumps and excellent transitions in and out.

Also, In terms of technical merit Orser's performance at Worlds was still inferior. He doubled out on the Loop.

[npe1]

@Zuranthium I totally agree with you. I could never understand why 1988 was so close. Orser was a great skater but Boitano was head and shoulders better in both the short and long. Boitano's 'Les Patineurs' short was a masterpiece of choreography. By the way, I'm neither American nor Canadian but British so I have no patriotic axe to grind here. Sorry Orser fans, the right man won in Calgary and should have won by a country mile.

[Zuranthium]

Everything in Boitano's program has a purpose and flows perfectly. The program continually changes tone seamlessly, has a staggering degree of nuance, and covers a wide range of emotions. Boitano deserved 6.0's across the board for presentation (and 10's for every Program Component if we are talking CoP).

Orser was a great skater for sure and had the better SP, but his LP doesn't reach the same emotional depth.

[Zuranthium]

I disagree, johnnyblack.

Boitano's LP was better and possibly the most complex and dynamic program of all time, delivered with gorgeous skating skills and ending with incredible excitement. It is a template for what CoP programs should be. You want transitions? His program is filled with them. Except they aren't all overt, such as "hey, I'm going to do a spread eagle before a jump, even if it doesn't go with the music, just so I can have more transitions in my program."

[moonbal]

wow the air he gets in those jumps is amazing

[premierrules]

Fantastic! Shame he fluffed it at Worlds later on that year otherwise he would have retained his title