Nathan Chen is Underrated

FIGHT ME IDC IDC

There’s a sizable chunk of figure skating fandom that would have you believe that Nathan Chen is overrated. The opposite is true. He hasn’t lost since February 2018. He’s a three-time world champion, a three-time grand prix final champion, and a five-time national champion. He holds the world records for free program and total scores.

He is one of the greatest American athletes competing right now. In any sport. No argument.

Nathan Chen should be a household name. When he’s competing, people who don’t watch skating should be Tweeting gasps and shouting awed exclamations.

Basically, non-figure skating fans should be watching him like I watch Serena Williams. I rarely watch tennis. Every time I do, I have to re-learn the order of game-set-match. But when Serena is playing, I’m watching. Because she’s glorious, and I don’t need to know tennis to watch Serena and know I’m watching greatness.

Nathan Chen is that kind of athlete. Even Serena knows.

Much to my dismay, he hasn’t achieved the recognition he deserves among the wider audience of sports fans.

There are many reasons why that is, and I won’t bore you beyond noting that certainly part of it is that figure skating in the U.S. is neither particularly accessible nor well-marketed. For example, I would love to litter this with highlights, but most have been scraped off the internet by sport governing bodies and broadcasters. And there’s also a lot of sexism in how people think about figure skating. A rant for another time.

What I really want to do here is celebrate the generational talent that is Nathan Chen. Because eventually he’s gonna retire and go be a doctor or an NBA statistician or something, and every moment you waste not basking in his greatness while it’s happening, is a tragedy.

Here’s why he’s the greatest:

1. He has the best arms.
   I’m Nathan Chen Arms Gang ‘til I leave for the big ice rink in the sky. I love everything about Nathan, but I love his arms the most. They are intentional but floaty, and just all-around perfect. If you’re a new Nathan fan, watch the whole big picture of his movement and performance, but then focus on what his arms are doing. They’re constantly enhancing the music, but are never superfluous as is a common choreography crutch for other skaters.
2. He has the most diversity in program style.
   I can’t think of a single other top men’s skater who embodies such different music and styles program-to-program and year-to-year. He’s great when he’s skating to classical music, leaning into some Benjamin Clementine drama, or making some weird hip-hop Elton John work. He hasn’t known a war horse in years. He seems to be eternally up for any challenge a choreographer presents— no matter how unique in the sport or different from what he’s done in the past that it may be. And there’s something magical about someone so great just handing over the reigns and trusting someone else’s greatness to enhance their own.
3. He has the best tech and it’s consistent.
   Nathan Chen has all the quads. He had all the quads before anyone else. They had to change the rules of the sport, so that he couldn’t do so many. He’s broken technical records for years with the kind of ease that tricks the untrained eye into thinking actually what he’s doing must not be that hard at all. Spoiler: it’s extremely hard. Nathan’s jumps are PRETTY. The form, the speed, the height. It’s all remarkable. And he is consistent in landing them while others who have tried to match his level are often more hit-or-miss. When you watch Nathan there’s no “Ehh his jumps are good but the artistry’s off” because his jumps are art (and also because he’s good at everything else too).
4. He wins. Like a lot.
   It’s not like Nathan is on some island in competition where no one can touch him. There are several incredible, talented skaters who pose good competition, yet he wins. Nathan Chen is consistent in his winning like no other skater I’ve ever been a fan of. I have never won so much. Maybe that’s why I’m publishing this even though I know people are going to yell at me on Twitter. Because with Nathan, I never lose. What does that winning look like by the numbers? In a sport that can be decided by fractions, Nathan Chen won his two world championships by an average of 35.04 points, and his five national championships by an average of 44.42 points (essentially blowouts).
5. He’s the most fun.
   Is there a more fun athlete than Nathan Chen? I can’t name one! With style and tech that constantly keeps you own your toes, you can never be bored. Watch this and tell me I’m wrong:

You live in the era of Nathan Chen. Act like it.

Cover photoshop by yours truly with photo of Nathan by Aude Mugnier on Wikimedia Commons.