I was a very weird child.
I already told you about how I was a late bloomer for most things but that really is not even that half of it.
Back in the early 90’s, specifically 1994, I was obsessed.
Now, you are probably nodding your head because what young girl just beginning her teens, was not obsessed with all things pop culutre.
What young girl didn’t squeal with delight when ‘New Kids on the Block’ or ‘All 4 One’ came on the radio?
What young girl didn’t drool over Keanu Reeves in ‘Speed’?
And what young girl didn’t swoon when Zach Morris came on TV in ‘Saved by the Bell’?
Well, I will tell you what girl didn’t… me.
That’s right. When all my friends were going boy crazy and acting like idiots over the guys on TV, I was downstairs in my basement practicing doing triple axles. You know, the super difficult jump that most Olympic women’s skater’s tried to land to ensure themselves a gold medal?!
I was certain that I was going to nail that jump and become a famous figure skater like my idol… Nancy Kerrigan.
Of course, I needed to try it on actual ice and probably learning how to ice skate would have been a good idea. But I continued to practice on the carpet and thought I was hot stuff when I did my jump turn in the air and landed on my feet keeping myself and all the furniture intact.
But no matter what, I was going to be a figure skater.
That’s right back in the early 90’s I was obsessed with figure skating. I couldn’t get enough of it and watched each competition religiously.
Well thankfully, there was a huge event that would take place in the winter of 1994 to feed my obsession… the winter Olympics. And my idol, Nancy Kerrigan was looking like she was going to take the gold.
I was so excited. I loved Nancy. I felt like her little sister and when I found out that her birthday was three days before mine, I knew that we were meant to be. I wrote her a letter and told her of my undying love for her and that we had almost the same birthday. She sent me an autographed photo and that photo became my prized possession.
In fact, that photo started my shrine to Nancy Kerrigan.
Much to my mom’s distaste, I took one of the walls of my bedroom and filled it floor to ceiling with photos of Nancy. Much like this collage only on a much, much larger scale.
I just loved to look at Nancy and dream of skating like her.
Then something terrible happened to my beautiful Nancy. She became the center of a terrible, terrible plot that tried to end her skating career. A jealous and evil skater had her husband and body guard whack Nancy’s knee to try and stop her from competing.
I was devastated. And when Nancy cried, “Why why why?! Why me?!” I cried it too. Oh, I hated Tonya Harding and what she did. I followed the news coverage of this story like a hawk. I made people save every single magazine and newspaper article about it. Why? So I could add more pictures to my bedroom wall.
Tonya was just so mean and I laughed when she cried because her boot lace got caught making her skate poorly in the Olympics and unable to complete her infamous triple axle.
Oh stupid, Tonya. Your boot lace didn’t make you fail at figure skating, the fact that you are not Nancy Kerrigan did. She is the winner. And besides, figure skating is not hard, I can totally do it… in my basement on the carpet.
See, I told you I was obsessed and knew every detail.
Well the Olympics came and my beautiful Nancy Kerrigan didn’t do as well as everyone had hoped and won silver instead of gold. Then she mumbled some words about an other skater being too whinny, my mom made take down my ‘Wall o’ Nancy’, I found boys and that was the end of that.
But every now and again, I bust out one of my half carpet axles, usually fall and sprain my ankle, and remember what could have been. I was almost the next Nancy Kerrigan.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Take you and make it the early 80s instead of the early 90s. Replace figure skating with downhill skiing. Replace Nancy Kerrigan with Cindy Armstrong. Put that shrine in your closet instead of your bedroom wall. Now. That’s me. We must be weird soul sisters.
I won’t even start with my Miss Universe scrapbook.
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I thought we agreed on NKOTB. All I remember about Nancy is that my mother was incredibly annoyed by her eyebrows. In related news we just this minute finished watching Zookeeper. Donnie Wahlberg was in it. I was very impressed that my husband walked in and said “Oh Look! NYTOB!” Wrong letters, but a valiant effort to make his wife happy.
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Okay a few things here:
My name is Kerri and I used to pretend it was short for Kerrington.
My brother is competetive figure skater and Tonya is from our home city and he has seen/met her a handful of times. She is not nice, she is just as ghetto as she makes herself seem and he says she is a poor skater.
Lastly, I have an entire story about me doing a triple axel on the carpet, only I did fall and landed on my back and knocked the wind out of me – my parents sat there and laughed. I never “skated” again on the carpet.
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I remembered this whole thing as well! I wouldn’t say I was addicted to Nancy or practicing jumps in my basement, but I remember the whole thing going down. You definitely could’ve been the next Nancy!
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Oh I remember it well. Take it a few years back and there I was I’m sunny snow and ice- less South Arica dreaming if skating with Torvil and Dean.
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Nancy was pretty cool. Tonya Harding was not. She’s a commentator on this show I watched called World’s Dumbest. She’s supposed to be funny on it but she’s so not. She sucks. They should replace her with Nancy.
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I’m sort of speechless right now with the vision of you perfecting your triple axle. Thank you for that. I may or may not be giggling all day.
In 1994 I think I was obsessed with tequila. But 1984? I distinctly remember watching Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano. That was before Scott got all weird and flamboyant.
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I heard all the best figure skaters get their start triple axle-ing on carpet.
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I can’t tell you how happy I am to read that I wasn’t the only one who did this. I still think I could nail it.
It must be the Olympic/America’s sweetheart thing, because I also developed a severe obsession with Mary Lou Retton and was convinced I could be a gymnast after watching her win in 1984. Nevermind that I’m built more like a linebacker than a gymnast…that wasn’t going to stop me.
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that was an excellent E true Hollywood story…
and that’s so cool she actually wrote you back! I wrote a letter once to the love of my life, Jordan Knight, but nothing…sigh
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This seems perfectly normal. I had Boy George posters all over my wall. Analyze them apples.
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I didn’t know who Nancy was until she got taken out with that bat…or whatever it is they used to bust her leg. And then after that my brothers and sisters and I spent our afternoons mocking it. Every time something went wrong we would cry, “we’re out of mayonnaise? We’re OUT of mayonnaise?? WHY!?! WHY ME!?!?”
I think you and Nancy would have made a lovely couple.
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I almost forgot about all of that. And I never really got into any of those boy bands or even TV shows or actors- I was just weird I guess
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Bah-haha-haha! I love it!
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I remember all of that! I was glued to the drama as well. I wasn’t obsessed like you, but it was all so fascinating!
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I remember when all of this happened. Granted, not in this much detail, but I do remember.
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ooooh, I always just KNEW I would be a famous figure skater some day! Sure I had only ice skated 2 times in my life (probably a total of 3 currently) but I KNEW IT! It is still my favorite part of the olympics!
I remember Nancy being so beautiful! And I thought Tonya was the worst, ugliest, person EVER!
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I adored figure skating too in my earlier years, except replace Nancy with Kristi Yamaguchi.
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I just googled Tanya Harding yesterday!!
That was crap what happened to poor Nancy!
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Oh I sooooo needed to read that. You made my day. Especially you figure skating in your basement on the carpet!
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