Europeans 98
in Milano
Intro
I'll start by saying that I originally wrote my review
as part of my little website dedicated to Philippe Candeloro (see
in the links) so it was a totally Philippe-centric piece... then I
decided to create this pages, but I liked the idea of keeping that
text and the that spirit alive... after all, he was definitely the
reason why I had decided to attend the championships, thinking "ehi,
I'll do this once in my life, I'll even splurge on some good tickets"...yeah,
ok, I was just a little naive... once you start seeing skating live,
there's no way you'll ever be happy by seeing it only on tv... This
was just the beginning of a whole different life for me, filled with
ice, music and lots of emotions. Milano 98 will be forever special
to me, because it was my first ever skating competition seen live...
I can't even imagine how my life might be different if I had not heard
the announcement of them being held in my city, and decided to attend...
I wouldn't have probably met lots of friends, taken lots of trips,
and lived so many emotions...
So here it comes my little commentary of Euros 98 in my hometown,
Milano.
Figure Skating is one of the most unknown sports in Italy. Sometimes
I really ask myself how could I fall in love with it - where did I learn
about it ? Once it was rarely seen on tv - now there's not even trace
of it (ok, we had like ten seconds on the news when Barbara and Maurizio
became World Champions, but it was more a curiosity than a great sports
event). This is just to give you an idea of what a nightmare following
it can be; my story of I got to Euros is equally complicated.
It all began with a little note of the commentator during the gala of
Worlds 97: "hey, and next year they'll be in Milan"... I remember it asit
was this afternoon.. I almost missed it, as I wascoming back from the
kitchen where I had gone to make a cup of tea during a resrfacing... ten
seconds later, anf I wouldn't have heard it! From there it was hundreds
of calls to the Federation of Ice Sports, even a visit to the CONI (the
national version of CIO) and even more calls to the banks & ticket agencies
to book them... by the time I had them I was almost best friends with
the girl at the federation's office! Before and during the event there
were almost no ads around: just a few posters for the gala (and the competition???),
and the national tv reserved for this event 20 minutes around 2am to summarize
more than 8 hours of daily competitions... aaargh! Anyway, I was there,
and Philippe too (only later I learnt about the possibility of him not
being sent!) so... here's my story!
Parterre, Place 13, Row 3, Section A4, Center Ice
There were no qualifying rounds
that year (a missed occasion of seeing Philippe once more) so the competition
started on Tuesday, January 13th, 1998. For me that was a quite busy
week: I used to woke up really early to get to my university for the
first lesson of the day, then I had to rush to the underground and then
to the bus station to catch the bus which would bring me to the arena.
I usually got there early, because the next bus would have been to late
(anyway: more time to look for Philippe!). Then I sat all through the
late-morning/early afternoon competition, have lunch with my newly met
friends, look around for Philippe, watch the late afternoon/night competition,
rush out to find my mum outside waiting to drive me back home. It's
not strange that by Sunday I was more than tired! Anyway, I don't think
that a review of the whole championship would be of much interest here,
so I'll go straight to the point: the times I managed to saw Philippe.
Tuesday: no chance. I spent my day trying to figure
out the map of the arena, where to go for everything, etc. And there
was no men's competition, just dance & pairs.
Okay, let me interrupt my old self speaking.... dance was actually
a revelation! I had never cared much for this discipline, but after
seeing it live, it shot to the top of my preferences. Yes, maybe starting
a relationship with this beautiful discipline with two compulsory dances
was not the best way ever, but by the end of the week I was hooked.
Okay, it's also confession time: though now I totally love them, at
the time I totally, completely ignored my friends Barbara Fusar Poli
and Maurizio Margaglio. Really, I can't remember a thing of their competition,
and I don't even have a picture of them.. I have found them in a blurry
photo of Pasha and Evgeny in the warm up of the OD... if you look closely
enough, in the upper left corner of that photo, there's Barbara's unmistakeable
fuchsia dress.... if only I think of the miriad of memories, emotions
and photos I owe them through the last few years, this is quite funny...
Re: pairs, I can't say much.. I am not a big fan of the discipline today;
but I can't say it wasn't a good show.. seen live, lifts and throws
were much more impressive.
Wednesday: Men's short pr. this afternoon!! I
was extra happy, and even more when, going out of the bar where my friend
& I had had a late "cappuccino and croissant" to warm up from the outside
cold, I spotted Philippe talking to a bunch of French fans in front
of the entrance. I immediately dropped my bag & anything else I was
carrying (my friend would guard them for me) and grabbed my camera -
then proceeded to stop one of the French fans to ask him to take my
picture with Philippe (as you see the pic is not a great one - but now
I've learnt a valuable lesson: have someone else take your pics only
if you really really trust their qualities as photographers!) and approached
Philippe -he was almost leaving, but he stopped to pose for the pic
(very nice - a lot of other skaters would have left!) and I was already
sooo happy...
He looked a little bit tense, but it is understandable: those Euros
were a really crucial moment of his career, with the olympics so near
and the FFSG not really with him... I was already happy and looking
forward the competition - finally I would see Philippe skate live -
when I was lucky again and saw him outside the main door ( my friend
& I had gone out to wait for our Swiss new acquaintance), talking to
Olivia and his father, so when he finished talking with them I went
next to him again and asked for his autograph, and wished him good luck
for the short. He was quite in a hurry, because he had to get ready for
the competition, but he was very polite again and signed the paper I
gave him (the first thing I managed to grab: a sheet with the result
from the previous night's pair competition. I loved every minute of
the competition (it was, after all, my first time seeing skating live!)
but of course I as waiting for Philippe, the other skaters... well,
they had to be there, right? My seat was good: on the third row from
the ice (and was no space between ice & public!) on the second section
from the skater's entrance... I could easily control it, and as the
arena was still quite empty I could sneak to the first section to look
directly... so I spotted Philippe and took some pics again, off ice
and during warm-up until Brunet came over and (let's be polite) "asked"
to leave (he must have been afraid of me & the Russian girl at my side
disturbing Philippe, who was now concentrating for his performance.
I would never ever dream of disturbing him in such a crucial moment!!
i wanted him to be as focused as possible, and to do greatly!!!) Anyway
we left, and followed the competition from our places and cheered for
him from there... Unfortunately Philippe didn't skate a perfect program
but there was still the free to be skated...
Older me speaking again... I was so happy after seeing
and meeting such a wonderfully polite skater... I couldn't believe
how nice he was.
I can't remember a thing, though, of the Pairs' competition...
Thursday: It was the big night for the men's
competition and so I arrived at the arena really happy, hoping to
see Philippe around. Instead of attending my lesson I had visited
the toy store right next to my university, where I had bought a big
stuffed elephant with his trunk up to bring good luck, which I planned
to give to Philippe after his performance, hoping he would come to
get it personally from me - I really didn't wanted to throw it to
those annoying flower girls!
 Unfortunately I was not that lucky that day, as I never really
saw Philippe off-ice. Sometimes during the day my Swiss friend would
point somewhere on the tribunes on the short side of the rink and
would tell me:"There's Philippe again!" and I would run up all the
flight of stairs till the corridor which circled the outside of the
arena, sprint towards the section where he was sitting and re-enter
in the main area and look for him. Most of the times I missed him
completely, or (probably worse) caught a glimpse of him leaving with
Olivia . The closest encounter I had with a skater was when I bumped
into Alexei Yagudin in the bar/restaurant and almost made him fell
with his pizza... The funny thing is that I yet had to realize who
he was, and my friend and I actually had this conversation:
me: "Look at that guy... cute!"
she: "He's wearing a tracksuit! Maybe he's a skater!"
me: (this show how little I had noticed anyone else apart from Philippe
during the short pr.)"He's really young... probably he's one of the
skaters of the worst groups...".
she: "You're probably right..."
Alexei himself destroyed our wrong supposition, when he climbed on
top of the podium that night.
Another
bad case of me not caring for those who would later become favourites...
Alexei Yagudin, Sasha Abt... but I had eyes only for Philippe!
Re: the OD competition that afternoon, I don't have much memories
of it either... I was way too much waiting for the Men's Free to concentrate
on anything else!
When finally Philippe stepped on the ice for the final I was absurdly
nervous, and though I had found a place right behind the borders to
take some decent pictures on-ice, I never remembered to use my camera.
I stayed there, almost not breathing, with my fingers white for the
strength I was using to grab the barriers, and watched the first official
performance of "D'Artagnan"... I admit I could not appreciate the
program as it deserved, as I was so scared of seeing him fall, that
I concentrated on each jump, and lost a bit the overall effect. I
remember anyway the feeling I got from the program, and it was great...
the step sequence was breathtaking, there was such an electricity
in the air... When he finished the program I jumped on my feet and
grabbed the stuffed toy, and started jumping and waving the elephant
at him... AND HE CAME OVER!!! I was so happy when I realized he was
going right towards me! He was already quite loaded with the gifts
from the Japanese girls that were sitting at the other end of my section,
but he stopped right in front of me to collect my present. I wanted
to tell him how much I had loved the program , but I was so excited
that all I managed to say was "Bravo!" in a ridiculous pseudo-Frnch
accent, and gave him the toy, and then (my friends at the time just
couldn't believe I did this) I grabbed his shoulder as he was starting
to leave and kissed him (on the cheek)...The public adored the program,
and the 6.0 was received with enthusiasm...I was jumping with joy
and soooo happy! (later at home I discovered that the part when he
came to the borders had been covered by Eurosport with the slow-motion
replays... sigh! I would have loved to be able to watch it over and
over... But I was happy to notice that when Philippe leaves the kiss
& cry I saw my toy still in his arms)
Though
I am slightly less agitated today, I still retain a gorgeous memory
of that program... probably together with Alexei Yagudin's "Winter"
2002 SP in Lausanne, is one of the things I am happier of having seen
live, and in those particular occasions.. both programs, done in other
comeptitions, never managed to reach this level of emotion on ice
and in the tribunes. I get shivers down my spine only thinking about
that dueling step sequence, even after almost eight years...
Friday:
I saw Philippe just for a few seconds and from far away, he was watching
the ladies' short but went away as soon as Surya had done her program;
I had seen him from my seat, but I saw him getting ready to leave
and did not try to get there because I knew it took too much time
and I would find just some empty seats.
Okay
let me say that I soon learnt in the afternoon that ladies live were
just as boring, if not more, than on tv.. yes there was my beloved
Surya, but overall the magic was gone... and it has never come back
since then.
But the Free Dance!!! OMG that was a great show... Pasha's haunting
program was simpy incredible... almost everyone in the audience was
captured by it, even my friend who was a die-hardKrylova fan... Everyone
was up in a standing ovation well before the end of it. I had definitely
found a new love!
I even adored Marina and Gwendal's "Romeo and Juliet"...
probably their best program... and everyine elses's... I couldn't
believe how incredibly beautiful this discipline was... on tv I had
never paid enough attention!
Saturday:
I watched frequently the area of the tribunes where Philippe had been
seating in the previous days, so I noticed him the second he came
into the arena. This time I decided to go, so I ran like crazy and
had to wait a few seconds to regain my breath before stepping in the
area where he was seated.
He was talking to Stéphane and Olivia was sitting next to him
with Tutti on her lap. I sat a couple of places from her, as the group
where Surya was skating was starting to compete. Probably it was because
of all the cats and dogs that lived in my house, but Tutti seemed
immediately interested and escaped from her lap to come near to me...
Olivia was taking good care of him, so she immediately moved to get
him back, but I took the chance and followed the dog that was now
licking and smelling the hand I had offered him. She apologized for
him but told her that it was not a problem as I was used to having
dogs and probably it was them that Tutti was smelling. We chatted
a little, but I avoided mentioning Philippe, as I thought that everyone
must be always asking her the same things; she was very nice to me,
even with the terrible French that I must have been using, so I preferred
to be equally polite and talk about something else than her fiancé.
Soon after Surya had gotten her marks, they all got up and prepared
to leave. At this point I said hello to Philippe and asked him for
a photo (I had already developed the first ones and I KNEW they were
horrible!) and he told Olivia to take the pic of us, but I told him
I preferred not to be in the pic so he posed with the French flag
he had been holding. I thanked him and then he left, while I went
back to my place to see the rest of the ladies' competition.
nothing
much to add.... Philippe was great and Olivia absolutely charming,
making small talk with a complete stranger about cats and dogs...
even the dog was pretty nice!
Sunday:Philippe
was placed 5th overall and only the first four were invited to the
gala, according to one of the official communications... aaargh! I
strongly hoped that they would call Philippe anyway, at least after
his 2nd placement in the free program...
I had yet to get my ticket (I had an all-event ticket, but it didn't
include the gala. For this I had another ticket booked - even better
places as I was now in row 1 place 1 of the same section) and I was
standing in line at the stand when my friend started calling my name
from the other side of the wire netting that separated those already
inside from us still queuing, and she was all excited... she passed
a piece of paper through the net and it was the program of the gala,
and YES! Philippe was skating in the first group! I was really happy
to ear this, and we were jumping with joy on the two sides of the
net... finally I got my ticket and we could get into the arena, that
unlike the rest of the week was now full, and we had to separate because
I had this great seat, while she had for the gala a very bad place
on the third (the highest) area of the arena, very very far from the
ice...
Thinking about it years later, I cringe at the idea
of how silly we must have looked... but it was the last day of the
championships, I was afraid it would be my last day at a skating event
EVER... I was a little over-excited!
I found terribly
boring all the numbers that came at the beginning, because I was so
much waiting for Philippe... Finally it was his turn to get on the
ice, and this time I remembered to take out my camera for my last
opportunity to get some pics of Philippe... He came into the rink
dressed all in white, and soon the music of "Saturday Night Fever"
started. I really, really loved the number, very funny... and those
white pants!! The arena was quite dark so I was afraid my pics wouldn't
come out at all, but I later found out that they were not even that
terrible... I almost had to fight to take a pic of him in the final
parade... thankfully I managed to take two
pics, because the first time my neighbor hit my hand just as I was
clicking, and the result was Marina's hair and Gwendal's nose! This
time I was not able to give directly to him the flowers I had brought,
it was like the organization had told the skaters not to pick up anything,
to leave the arena and let the flower girls do the job... Anyway,
I managed to get on tv while holding my camera, the flowers and calling
his name...
This is it...
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during the introduction
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in his number
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aargh why this photo???
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end of the gala..
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Of course this was not the end.. but only the beginning.
Later that year I got a pc and connected it to the web, and mets tons
of friends who shared this same passion, discovering a world of events
and competitions whose existence I never suspected. My passion stayed
on line and via satellite (I got eurosport later that same autumn)
for a couple of years (though I came really close to attending worlds
in Nice in 2000... if only I had not been on stage with my theater
group just that week!), until, on december 23rd, 2000 I was introduced
to Barbara and Maurizio... and a new adventure began!
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