I was originally just going to do a list of my favourite programs and performances of this season, but since I have nothing better to do, I figured it'd be nice to look back at the whole season in a little more detail.
So, for me, the season began at the Nebelhorn Trophy way back in September. I was mainly there to see Lambiel skate after his recent announcement that he would be making an Olympic comeback, and despite the fact that it wasn't clean, his performance of his fantastic William Tell SP was one of my very favourite moments of the whole season. The way that the tiny rink absolutely filled in anticipation of his skate, and the electric atmosphere as he did so, was just magical.
Another brilliant debut was that of Davis/White's now-legendary OD. I am so glad that I got to see that live. It was clear right from the off that Charlie and Meryl were going to be serious contenders this year, despite their fourth place finish at Worlds the season before.
As well as the big names, this competition also gave me some of my lesser-known favourites of the season, mainly because of their off-ice presence around the rink; one of the most interesting things about the Nebelhorn was getting to see all the skaters really 'up close and personal'. The big one was Ryan Bradley, who I'd liked at Worlds in 2008 and not seen since. Obviously, I fell completely in love with his free program, but I also loved the way he was constantly around the boards. He'd always pop up to support the rest of the Team USA members, and he was just generally extremely charming and completely won me over.
I also became something of a Viktor Pfeifer fan, although granted this was mostly because he and Priscilla Hill sat next to us at almost every event and I liked the way he showed up to watch everything. Although Cheltzie Lee did not have a good competition here, I liked her energy and her off-ice attitude, and Miriam Ziegler, too, was an almost constant presence around the rink and was so bouncy and happy that I immediately became a fan. Alissa Czisny was also around a lot, looking very friendly and approachable, and despite the fact that she got a lot of under-rotations on her jumps, she was absolutely beautiful to watch on the ice.
Finally, we have the break-out story of the season in Michal Brezina. The only reason I really paid him any attention at first was because he was constantly wearing this pair of red basketball shorts and running up and down the stairs in our block, but, like Bradley, I loved his FS and was, of course, delighted to see him have the season that he did. He actually only got the bronze medal, behind Ivan Tretyakov, who was great in the FS and who I haven't seen at all since then. I'd like to see these two compete now and see who would end up on top; I'm thinking Brezina.
All in all, the Nebelhorn Trophy was my favourite of the three competitions I attended this year. Like I said, I loved getting to see all the skaters really close up; there is definitely something kind of surreal about watching Priscilla Hill buying fish and chips from the fast food seafood place in town, or stepping out of the bathroom to almost be decapitated by Kiira Korpi practising off ice jumps, but it was a whole lot of fun and I would definitely go in the future.
As for setting up for the season, at this point I was still optimistic that Stéphane would get all his jumps clean and was fervently hoping that he could get Olympic Gold. My preference of Davis/White over Virtue/Moir was cemented, and although I'd liked Brezina, I don't think I ever would have imagined that he would beat the likes of Jeremy Abbott to finish just out of the medals at Worlds this very same season.
One thing that is kind of weird is that I seriously do not remember anything about Savchenko/Szolkowy's performances; all I remember is that Tatiana always wore the exact same, all-white outfit around the rink, and that she spent a lot of time warming up at the boards. I guess that shows just how fast they won me over this season, given that by Olympics and Worlds, I was desperately hoping they'd get the gold.
Next up, I'll look at the Grand Prix Series as a whole. It's fun to think back to who the main contenders were for Olympic medals at different points over the season, and especially how things changed since then!
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