I just filed my petition to adopt Nobunari Oda! He is the cutest, most cuddliest skater I've ever met, and after speaking with him, you just wanna take him home and make him some soup. Nobu (he asked that I call him Nobu) was in Danbury, Connecticut on September 26 to perform in Stars, Stripes and Skates. This is the 8th year that Tara Modlin (Johnny Weir, Jeremy Abbott and Rachael Flatt's agent) has put on the show and it benefits the Heritage Foundation of 9/11.
Nobu brought the house down with his Charlie Chaplin freeskate. Oh my gosh, did we witness an Olympic gold medal-worthy performance? He may have been outdone very slightly by Johnny Weir's exhibition number to Poker Face by Lady GaGa. I'd never really heard Nobu in an interview (in English anyway) so I was looking forward to meeting him. His soft-spoken nature belies the unbelievable powerhouse of a skater that he is. The 22-year-old reigning Japanese national champion said that his idols growing up were Elvis Stojko and Takeshi Honda, and that his Grand Prix assignments for the 2009-2010 season are Trophée Eric Bompard and Cup of China. And he had a special message to his Japanese fans. I don't know why I always ask the Japanese skaters to send a message to their Japanese fans. I stopped myself from doing that with Miki Ando, who is coming up next!
Susan, thank you SOOOOO much for taking these high quality videos and sharing them! I'm loving watching them and reading your articles. :D
Posted by: hk | September 29, 2009 at 07:57 AM
He looks great. Really got into the program
Posted by: Ann Pettey | September 29, 2009 at 08:39 AM
Susan, thank you for permitting me to translate your article into Japanese. My readers are really happy with it and enjoy these videos and his photo which I am far gone on.
Posted by: temarri | September 29, 2009 at 08:05 PM