Figure skating - blast from the past.

I watched Pandora Unforgettable Moments of Love on Ice this afternoon. I saw a commercial for it during nationals and was kind of like, "What kind of cheesy figure skating crap are they airing now?" But I happened to be at the TV right when it started, so I thought I'd give it a try, and it was actually kind of cool because I got to see a lot of people I thought I'd never see again. Including Ilia.

I've always felt kind of torn about exhibitions and shows because you don't get to see skaters at their technical best, but on the other hand they tend to be more fun and mistake-free. I also hate the shows they do with famous singers because then the cameras focus on them like half the time and it's like do I really want to watch the person singing or swaying with a saxophone when someone is skating? But anyways.

It was fun. It's one of those things, you know, every now and then you stop to wonder what happens to these people after they get their medals. Nancy Kerrigan and Kristi Yamaguchi were announcing. And they had Kurt Browning and some old pairs (?) champions, plus some newer names like Joannie Rochette and Miki Ando. (It's weird to think I last really paid attention to figure skating two years ago, so I don't even know how fresh these names are anymore. Or who went pro and who didn't.)

And Ilia, of course. It was kind of exciting to see him again. He still has those beautiful, feather-light landings that I fell in love with. No more rosy cheeks, but there's still something in his smile that is very boyish. His second skate was to Usher's "Make Love In This Club" and was very cute. Taking the shirt of... well, I will count that as one of his "cheesy but irresistible gimmicks," along with the yellow giraffe shirt.

Ilia was one of the Pandora sell-outs, bringing his family on to talk about how this snowflake charm represented their vacation to Mammoth Lakes. I don't know if I caught all of the blatant Pandora plug "bio" segments, but I know Kristi had one, too. A lot of aspects of sponsorship of these things boggle my mind, from the perspective of any of the parties involved, but I suppose it must work.

I'm always nostalgic when I hear about or see Kristi Yamaguchi. I don't really remember the 1992 Olympics, but I remember that I watched it with my mom, and we were both cheering for Kristi and I felt a sense of kinship because my mom told me she was born in Fremont, just like me. That was the start of my long and erratic figure skating fandom.

Anyway, I'm just free-associating now. Suffice to say I'm glad I got to see Ilia and all the other people whose programs I paid attention to. (I was testing out our new iron and ironing board and sometimes got more engrossed in that with the music in the background.) I liked the first guy's program -- the one who did Muse's "Feeling Good," I think -- but I didn't catch his name. I thought it was Kurt Browning, but I don't think he was bald.

And on that "whaa?" note, I will end. :P