How many of your spouses analyze figure skating scores, huh?

We're big Johnny Weir fans in this house. Between his skating and his not really giving a crap about what people think of him, he's too entertaining for words.

Plus, if Johnny Weir didn't exist to skate to Lady Gaga, or Lady Gaga didn't exist to give Johnny Weir music to skate to, we'd have to invent one or the other.



We were hoping to see the now newly married Weir perform that routine during the exhibition at the Vancouver Olympics two years ago, but no luck. As my wife and I watched, we were convinced he got hosed by the judges, but she went out and did a statistical analysis of it. (I'll spare you the chart with the scores.)

"According to the scores:

In the short program, only Lysacek, Plushenko, Takahashi and Oda had more points in executed elements.  Weir’s only error was to go off on the wrong edge on his triple flip, which lost him 1.2 points.

In the long program, only Lysacek, Plushenko, and Oda had more points in executed elements.  And Oda was only slightly better (.02 points), and ultimately lost 3 points for losing his skate and falling down.   Weir’s only two errors were going off the wrong edge on his triple flip again, which lost him 1.2 points, and flubbing one spin, which cost him .54 points.

However, here is where things get interesting.

In the short program:

·         His choreography score was tied with Oda for last among the top 7 skaters. 

·         His transitions score was third from last among the top 7 skaters.  Only Plushenko and Oda were worse.

·         His interpretation score was second from last among the top 7 skaters.   Only Oda was worse.

·         His performance/execution and skating skills scores were last among the top 7 skaters. 

As a result, his artistic elements score was the second to last score among the top 7 skaters.  Only Oda was worse.

In the long program:

·         His choreography score was second from last among the top 7 skaters.  Only Oda was worse.

·         His transitions, interpretation and skating skills score were last among the top 7 skaters.

·         His performance/execution score was tied with Oda for last among the top 7 skaters. 

As a result, again, his artistic elements score was the second to last score among the top 7 skaters.  Only Oda was worse, and Oda ended up ultimately in 7^th place.

So if you looked at this competition on paper, without seeing the performances, you would conclude that Johnny Weir was an athletic skater with no artistic skills.  In nine out of 10 total categories in artistic elements, his score was worse than Plushenko’s – Plushenko, a skater who is constantly criticized for having no artistic skills.

Yet the criticism of Weir is always exactly the opposite.

Bottom line:  they couldn’t get him on technical elements, so they nailed him on artistic stuff, and denied him the bronze medal he should have won."

This is why I have the best wife.