BABILONIA-MANIA!
I'm a bit puzzled. For the past several days, a good half of the visitors coming to this site via Google have been searching for info on 1979 Pair Champion Tai Babilonia.
Now, Tai is a lovely person. I don't begrudge her the upswing in interest -- I'm just surprised by it. I presume it's due to her participation in FOX's Skating with Celebrities. But, the searches for fellow participants John Zimmerman, Kurt Browning, Lloyd Eisler, Jenni Meno, and Nancy Kerrigan have stayed steady. (Though I do wonder if Tai's partner, Bruce Jenner, has become equally fascinating to the masses).
If anyone has a theory as to why Tai seems to be receiving the majority of web-based attention, I'd love to hear it.
In the meantime, for those who are here specifically looking for Tai, here she is!
A "Where Are They Now?" interview I did with Tai last Winter.
Young Tai and partner Randy Gardner.
Tai and Randy as pro competitors, through the years.
Tai's pre-FOX TV work.
And more!
Now, Tai is a lovely person. I don't begrudge her the upswing in interest -- I'm just surprised by it. I presume it's due to her participation in FOX's Skating with Celebrities. But, the searches for fellow participants John Zimmerman, Kurt Browning, Lloyd Eisler, Jenni Meno, and Nancy Kerrigan have stayed steady. (Though I do wonder if Tai's partner, Bruce Jenner, has become equally fascinating to the masses).
If anyone has a theory as to why Tai seems to be receiving the majority of web-based attention, I'd love to hear it.
In the meantime, for those who are here specifically looking for Tai, here she is!
A "Where Are They Now?" interview I did with Tai last Winter.
Young Tai and partner Randy Gardner.
Tai and Randy as pro competitors, through the years.
Tai's pre-FOX TV work.
And more!
1 Comments:
At March 04, 2006 6:09 PM, Mary Colletti said…
Tai and Randy were magic on ice. They were beautiful together, beautifully matched, and our country hungered for that gold medal for so long - and they would have done it (barring soviet block cheating). They just thrilled you on ice, on TV or in person. The "hearbreak kids" really did break hearts, even ole Dick Button whom I remember in a fog trying to think if they just "walked" through the short, maybe they still could make it. I cried (as a young adult at the time) for weeks. I ALWAYS think of them when seeing a show or TV program on ice. The only other pair, in my estimation, that were as good, or perhaps better, were Gordeeva and Grinkov. And how heartbreaking was it when he died?
So yes, I am guilty of rambling around the web, etc. trying to find some late info about them. And thrilled when I see one of them either skating or choreagraphing (is that a word?) like Randy. And with Celebrities show, Nicks got it right - "we are all watching Tai" - can't take your eyes off her. Same thing for Ekaterina. And for that matter, as I write this, I am thinking of all the pairs I have loved, the Protopopovs, Barbara Underhill and I forget her partner's name. They all were beautiful "the two shall skate as one", and the aura of two being in love and celebrating that in this beautiful sport is mesmerizing - and it only happens with pairs. Yes, and the combination with tragedy, such as injury before Olympics, a child dying, a husband dying, breaks your heart. I could watch pairs forever, the good ones.
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