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What would Brian Boitano do? |
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Written by Rebecca LaPole
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Thursday, 14 December 2006 |
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 What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name “Brian Boitano”? It will depend on whether you are a true ice-skating fan, or a true “South Park” fan.
Brian Boitano’s Skating Spectacular comes to the Budweiser Events Center on Dec. 16.
Boitano gave a bit of insight about what to expect at the show: “We’ll have a cast of 14 skaters from Steven Cousins and Yuka Sato and Jason Dungien to David Pelletier and Jamie Sale, the Canadian team from Salt Lake with all the controversy. Also Celtic Woman will be singing live. I saw them on a PBS show and their songs are so lyrical and beautiful. They’ll be performing four songs at the beginning of the show. We’ll be skating to recorded world music.”
When asked what prompted him to choose Loveland for his upcoming extravaganza, Boitano had a couple different reasons.
“(The Budweiser Events Center in) Loveland is a new building and there haven’t been a lot of big acts there yet,” he said. “My niece goes to CSU and I’ve never been to Loveland. We did this show for 10 years in Las Vegas, and just thought it was time for a change. Colorado is beautiful and so is the building, so we want to bring attention to it.”
If you watch “South Park” or have seen the movie, the “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” song is most likely a persistent mental distraction while reading this story. This is what Boitano had to say about the impression of him seen in “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.”
“I think the impression they do of me is fine; I’ve never met (Trey Parker and Matt Stone), so I don’t know how they chose me. But, now a younger generation knows me. I started selling the WWBBD (What Would Brian Boitano Do) T-shirts on my Web site for charity. You can choose the style you want,” Boitano said.
The charity his cartoon catch phrase benefits is Brian Boitano’s Youth Skate Program, established in 1998. The nonprofit organization gives San Francisco inner city kids the chance to skate with Boitano and his team of skaters, and among other things, they receive a skate pass to use at the rink later on. “It’s just an attempt to keep kids off the streets.”
If you’ve never seen “South Park,” but know who Boitano is, then you probably know that in his professional career he invented his own jump, the ‘tano Lutz. “I used to do doubles with my arms over my head and decided to do it in competition to separate myself technically and get more points,” he said. “It’s hard because it makes you rotate really slow.”
He accomplished several other significant feats in his hey-day: He was the first American to land a triple axel in competition; he won an Olympic gold medal in 1988; he was the only male skater to appear alone on the cover of Sports Illustrated; he won 10 straight professional competitions, was elected to the World and U.S. Figure Skating Halls of Fame in 1996, is a published author and won an Emmy.
“It’s interesting when you list off all the accomplishments, but I think that the night I won the Olympics was my proudest moment,” Boitano said. “It was so difficult to go through all the pressure and come out and be victorious.”
Regardless of whether you like ice skating more than “South Park,” Boitano is a prankster who can relate to anyone. “I’m in touch with my little boy energy. I’m basically a clown who likes to play practical jokes. I think that will surprise people because I’m usually so serious in my work.”
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TO GO TO THE SHOW
• Brian Boitano’s Skating Spectacular
• 7 p.m., Dec. 16
• Budweiser Events Center, Loveland
• $45 and $55
• Tickets available by calling 877.544.TIXS or at ComcastTix.com, Budweiser Events Center Box Office, Fort Fun in Fort Collins, Colorado Eagles Office in Windsor, Woody’s Newsstand and Cafe in Greeley, Ikon Center in Cheyenne
• VIP packages available; call 619.4122
• Event to be taped and televised Jan. 1 on NBC.
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TO BUY A T-SHIRT
• www.brianboitano.com; all proceeds go to charity | Only registered users can write comments.
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