Politics On Ice In Figure Skating Galindo’s Comethrough Signals A Breakthrough In The Sport

Figure skating has grown up, became a real sport. Rudy Galindo won a national title Saturday, which meant politics had lost, surrendered to common sense and fair play.

It took a while. How often has an audience known one skater outperformed another, knew it as if a clock had monitored the action and spit out a time and a place? But then the judges would weigh in, reinterpreting every jump and spin in their own Sanskrit, flopping the order, as if to tell the rest of the world: “You can’t possibly understand.”

Sometimes, they were right. American sports fans weren’t, and aren’t, well-versed in the finer points of skating. Most of us could spot an offsides lineman without benefit of replay or binoculars, but detect the illegal use of two triple axels in the same program without one appearing in a combination? We needed Dick Button to explain.

But if the fans felt dumbfounded, it wasn’t always because they were dumb. Skating is rife with bias, carrying the inherent subjectivity of judging to extremes. Scores are routinely adjusted for personality, wardrobe and, above all, reputation.

Skaters and coaches will admit this, off the record. Say it for publication, and risk the wrath of the judges? Who can afford that? So after an unheralded skater has performed beautifully and been marked low anyway, they will all shrug. “Who knows what they’re thinking?” one said rinkside at the San Jose Arena.

“Politics” or “experience,” an athlete will explain, tacitly accepting a system that refuses to assess a single great performance on its own merits.

The message, delivered with the shrugs and the winks, is this: In figure skating, there isn’t much justice, and there are even fewer upsets.

And then came Rudy, floating elegantly on his jumps, soaring in his hometown. He had none of the prerequisites, no updated resume, no prior seal of approval. He and Kristi Yamaguchi won two national pairs titles together, but she turned to singles and Olympic gold. Galindo was left on the fringe of the sport, almost invisible.

If he did call attention to himself, he didn’t thrive in the spotlight.

Last fall, a monument to prominent skaters from Northern California was in the works, and Galindo was asked to submit an inscription for his portion of the statue. He wanted to say something about how tough it was for a Mexican American to compete in a sport that favored the “All-American” persona.

Apparently, his statement led to squeamishness. He changed his mind, backed down. He never said why exactly, but he had to be worried about the athletic repercussions. Discretion is part of the game.

But that wasn’t the biggest obstacle in front of Galindo on Saturday. Todd Eldredge, with a history and well-stocked portfolio, was. He had three national singles titles. Scott Davis was another impediment. He had two national championships. Galindo had none.

His best finish as a solo performer had been fifth in 1993. For him to beat the Davis-Eldredge cartel, he would have to do … well, nobody knew.

Eldredge and Davis had to make mistakes, personally roll out the red carpet for Galindo’s coronation. As past champions, they would get the benefit of every doubt. The judges know that an established U.S. champ will get more breaks at the world championships, which will take place in Edmonton in March. Sending Galindo off with the national title might weaken the case for the U.S.

The San Jose crowd balanced the predispositon somewhat. Galindo warmed up. He drew cheers. He was placed third in the short program on Thursday, and the crowd booed. Maybe the judges were being reconditioned. But in this mysterious sport, who knew?

But when Galindo won, so did figure skating. It broke out of its tea-party and caste-system mold, rewarding hunger and perseverance, as well as graceful artistry.

The Super Bowl should be so good.