The latter is one of the reasons why I have a bit of an amateur interest in contemporary figure skating. So much so, that I've already once defended my Russian compatriots in this discipline in a (heavily edited) letter to Time magazine years ago.
Needless to say, I was shocked by the 2010 Olympic men’s figure skating results and disappointed by the ice dancing competition. In the former event, three-time world champion and 2006 Olympic champion Evgeniy Plyushchenko’s (Rus) risk-taking performance lost the gold to Evan Lysacek’s (U.S.) painfully average routine. In the latter discipline, judges, the media, and the public were more interested in Oksana Domnina’s and Maksim Shabalin’s (Rus) “offensive” costumes than their skill level. If this is the status quo in the world of ice skating, then Western cultural decline is worse than I imagined.
Sports are supposed to progress: athletes break records in timed events and take greater risks in judged competitions. Not anymore. Canadian skating legend Elvis Stojko equated Lysacek’s gold medal with the murder of figure skating:
Sorry, Evan Lysacek. You’re a great skater and all. But that wasn’t Olympic champion material. In Thursday night’s men’s free skate, Lysacek skated slow and his jumps weren’t close to the technical ability of defending Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko. [...] ...the judges’ scoring was ridiculous. Because of it, the sport took a step backward. Brian Boitano did the same thing, technically, in 1988. There are junior skaters who can skate that same program."
My own opinion regarding the Russian figure skater is not a result of zealous patriotism. Admittedly, this year Russian athletes did not perform up to par in a number of their usual strong suits, like biathlon or cross-country skiing. Northern Europeans were simply stronger, faster, better. But, Russians outdid themselves in a number of unexpected venues (women’s parallel snowboard slalom, for instance). I can only hope that my compatriots push themselves harder on the home front at Sochi-2014, but I will cheer for them, no matter what.
No, Plyushchenko's silver was not a result of a massive anti-Russian conspiracy, though much of the Western media has been noticeably gloating since. Rather, the new judging standards in this discipline have become a systemic affirmation of mediocrity. Lysacek's well performed routine without truly difficult acrobatics was a solid average, no more. Elvis Stojko argued that:
The naysayers believe the quadruple does not need to be included to succeed at these Olympics [...] However, this is a sport where the element of risk is needed. Boring is the program without the challenge."
More important, the Winter Olympic Games are a competition, which, by and large, exhibits European prowess (with due credit given to East Asians). As such, it has been one of the last venues in which Europe’s culture hasn’t been continuously clobbered over the head by the establishment.
Up until now, that is. 
But, should we really be surprised? In an environment, where the Hollywood Assembly Line churns out expensive, boring remakes and sequels, why shouldn't a polished, uninteresting 20-year old figure skating remake of a routine be rewarded? In a society where nurses spend more time in Tolerance Camp than a chemistry lab, why should we bother with the ice dancers’ physical training?
Contemporary North American culture not only caters to, but also -- promotes the lowest common denominator through that winning combination of bread and circuses. (Though, unlike the late Roman plebes, we are a whole lot more emotionally delicate. So, I guess, there’s been some progress after all!) Women, who get famous through deliberately leaked home-made porn, are designated "fashion icons". Barely literate rappers are called great "artists". And, why pick on rappers, when college graduates everywhere seriously lack grammar, syntax, and spelling skills? Basic historic facts that were taken for granted just a few decades ago -- like, when the Mona Lisa was painted -- are no longer common knowledge. Even when it comes to the modern Olympic tradition specifically, there has been a gradual decline of the official musical themes chosen over the years.
We all know this. We know all of this. And, because we know it, we deserve it. But, let us continue toning down our costumes and let us forget the quadruple jump altogether. Carry on.
