He did, I was witness to it... he even kicked an ass or two.

​@@MattDaBonelessHe sure did Orser's.

That sounds like what Brian Boitano'd do.

When Brian Boitano travelled through time to the year 3010, he fought the evil robot kings and saved the human race again 🤩

Cuz that’s was what Brian Boitano do!

What would Brian Boitano do if he were here right now? He'd probably kick an ass or two cos that's WHAT BRIAN BOITANO'd DO !

justin Kassel yes

"I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two, that's what Brian Boitano'd do"

This is the best comment on KZfaq

justin Kassel like on SouthPark?

When Brian Boitano traveled through time To the year 3010 He fought the evil robot king And saved the human race again

Beautiful to watch, like floating on a cloud.

He was so incredibly perfect. Time has not diminished my appreciation for this performance.

@@anah3864 so right. When would cross pull it was perfect. The way he cut his line...refined and efficient.

Me too

@@gustavofernandez5650 And me.

Mhm, Yagudin was better 😏

@@rafearcher7882 no he wasn’t

Indeed, the gold standard.

Still my favorite performance of all time.

i agree best skater ever love him.......i remember watching this😺🥳🥳⛸⛸

I'd rather watch Tonya Harding.

@@baritonebynight um. Ok.

I don't think this is the best moment ever.

Agree. You know, I do not know how some of these posters arrive at the conclusion that Orser was more artistic than Boitano. ON THIS NIGHT, Boitano had it all -- technically and artistically, musically and visually (costume). I thought Orser's music sounded almost like circus music. His red costume didn't appeal to me. With all due respect to Orser as a skater and artist, it just was not his night.

Well stated. The way McKay intoned "Everything he had...." after Boitano finished was classic.

The way he did the split jumps and the death drop at THE END of the long program made the height and execution even more amazing. To get that height when you are at your most fatigued is amazing. Boitano was riding a cloud of adrenaline that night and obviously had amazing endurance.😊👏🏻

I still watch this from time to time. Brian is the GOAT. Nobody has compared since.

It still makes me angry that Brian B. only won by .1 point, especially since Boitano had a minor lead going into the long program. It just shows the corruption of the Olympics.😡 I was only 12 when I watched this live and couldn't understand why it was so close then. There's no way that it should've been that close. I'm not taking anything away from Brian Orser as a skater, but his performance was nowhere near as cleanly executed and as well choreographed. I also didn't care for Orser's red costume, and it was clear Orser was tired during the last part of his program. I understand why Orser would be tired. He had to wait to perform after Boitano's amazing performance. That nervous energy will wear you out, but that is ice skating. I rarely, if ever at the Olympics, have seen a whole package of choreography, costume, music, and execution come together as great as Boitano's did this night. There is a reason this performance has become iconic, and Orser's has not.

When Brian Boitano was in the Olympics Skating for the gold, He did two Salchows and a triple Lutz while wearing a blindfold 👌

Elaine Snow it fit his style of skating. The choreography maximized his strengths as a skater therefore it enhanced the program.

lotsabears this is one of the few times I have heard Dick be quiet during his commentary. It was if he was just soaking it all in.

Trying having him do the Russian splits over your head I was trying to get out of his way during practice back in the day thank god neither one of us were hurt he was always like a second big brother to me love brian

Well said! Boy, do I ever miss his heartfelt and informed commentary. I also miss ABC's coverage of these events. They did a wall-to-wall showing, unlike NBC's slice-and-dice coverage, peppered with commercials every few minutes, and leaving out the majority of the skaters. ABC covered Calgary live, while NBC covered Vancouver with their usual repackaged nightly coverage, leaving out all the lower groups, and selectively covering the rest. ABC had to cover all of each skating event in order to cover it live, and not slice and dice it with a skater here, a snowboarder there. In allowing us to see the early groups of skaters, we also were far more capable of appreciating the difference in the various levels of what was still Olympic level skating. But, I deeply miss Dick Button's commentary. His love of the sport was just utterly undeniable. I miss Scotty's commentary as well.

I never forgot that quote. How true it is!

Classy!!!

That comment was an annoying disruption to the program.

Jim McKay was one of the best. I grew up hearing his Voice on ABC. Really miss him.

as a general rule, this may help:always be on the look out for this performance to have been uploaded and available on the youtube channel by the person who I am almost positive is 3Axel1996. That person is far and above all others with regards to giving us the classic skating performances, and is the personification of resilience and being persistent in reloading each of these great ones every time his video has been taken down by whichever entity claims copyright infringement. I am forever grateful for his performance.

Elena Minakova his technique was completely amazing and the height he got in those jumps were incredible.

Boitano was stiff and only won due to errors made by Orser. While it was a valid victory, throughout their careers, when Orser skated his best and Boitano skated his best, Boitano finished behind Orser 100 percent of the time. Boitano being victorious over Orser, always depended on an Orser error. If Orser skated clean, there was nothing Boitano could do to beat him.

Elena Minakova it’s the best skater THAT day and Brian won fair and square.

Sour grapes from Orser. What a sore loser. Boitano skated better. He was the best. And he deserved the gold.

@@galileocan Boitano was "stiff"? ???? How can you plausibly say that when one does that spread eagle like that? That's flexibility and agility not stiffness. flailing arms movements by Orser don't constitute better artistic expression, either, IMHO.

Chava Ayanna I was 1 but remembered the music

I was 16yrs old in "88" too. Skating was so much better back then.

I was 12 and was spellbound watching this. I don't know if I even blinked.😂

I was the same way watching this live as a 12 year old girl.😂

I hid behind a couch!

I totally agree,the Russian pairs skating gold winners,still choke me up,, from this Olympic knowing the tragic happening later in there careers.there skating was so perfect,and the men's and women's programme was excellent as well I agree with what you said,yuna kim was a beautiful skater,of artistry as well

​@@redd605That Russian couple skated so beautifully together. They were mesmerizing. So sad the tragedy that happened.

@@thesandqueen2559 it was worth getting up late to watch it live , never seen such profection .in every element.

AmusedChild BTW. Applebees changes its menu every 3 months. Agree with you. I had much the same thing-my husband invited our friends over to play Trivial Pursuit and I had to keep the TV off. I VCRed it and turned on my television just in time to see Brian get the gold medal. So wonderful.

Yes, more artistic with the knee slap and ridiculous arm movements

@@metsdudenj Your triggered

​@@metsdudenj I really did not like that weird puppet-like movement that Orser did right in the middle of the ice during his performance. The "jazz hands" at one point, even back then, was cringeworthy, too. I watched it live and thought that after seeing it.

I was 12 and taped it on VHS. I watched it so many times through the years that the tape started getting static in it during parts of his performance.😂 Wore mine out, too.

Just an observation; but both Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano placed 5th at Lake Placid and Sarajevo, respectively, in their previous Olympics. Coincidence?

The lean on his spread eagle is the inverse of the cantilever. Though I think Paul Whylie also had a very good spread eagle. That was a different era before it was all about quads.

Josef Sabovcik does those spread eagles as high as Brian’s

Shockwave, check out Toller Cranston's skating.

@@pettytoni1955 Every time I see a skater perform the "broken leg" sit spin, I am reminded of him. R.I.P., Toller. ♥

@@pettytoni1955 Yes, Toller Cranston is magnificant but he fell when it mattered most. Boitano did indeed skate the performance of his life here!

Sandy Vale so very true. The pressure must have been enormous. Orser was so gracious in defeat (ditto Kurt Browning a scant 4 years later). I am very pleased he has become such a successful and important coach.

@@elainesnow326 I’ve often wondered if Orser would have become such a successful coach if he had won the gold medal at these Olympics. Probably not, his life would have taken a completely different path. I still get teary eyed when I watch Yuna Kim’s long program from the 2010 Olympics and Scott Hamilton says “If these scores are anything like what’s expected, Brian Orser finally has his gold medal.” ❤️❤️

Rick Mileske Never get tired of watching his performance, a masterpiece

i couldn't agree more. My favorite Winter Olympic moment ever!

I agree, this long would have won in 88, 92, 94, and 2nd in 98

Except for Hanyu, plushenko, yagudin. Brian was great but he can’t hold a candle to the younger guys

@@callystarr It actually won in '88! ¬¬ Not sure how it would place in later years. It is the proper technical content of the 80s.

Lol.

St. Thelonious the Monk Don't be ridiculous.

Thinking back to every celebrity representation on South Park, including the movie, Boitano probably had the most complimentary mention. He got a song where he's a superhero!😂 It doesn't get much better than that.

Northern Lights #5 what song is this supposed to be to lol

Kaila Karns What would Brian Boitano do? From South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut.

AY

X_X South park

by-e

he is not the goat if he was here he would agree along with Evgenia that yuzu is unreal the influence on the sport is on a diff level he like the mj of figure skating

@@recommended1782 do u notice i began my post with MY? Since you brought up Evgenia...to me gps cross pulls cam hooks a vanish candle to BB. I specifically phrased my comment so it reflects MY FELLINGS MY OPINION. Not to read responses like yours. You missed it...but it's ok. Now you know

npe1: Completely agree. Boitano out-performed Orser in every phase of the competition, especially the LP where Orser fell out of the triple flip, downgraded his second triple axle to a double and had a hard two-foot landing on his last jump, not to mention that juvenile puppet-on-a-string choreography from Ushi Kessler. Orser's marks were a joke, especially in the LP. 6.0? Outrageous. Boitano did two triple axles, two triple flips and a triple-triple combo in his LP, none of which Orser did, not to mention his much more sophisticated theme and choreography, and that he was flawless in all phases of the competition. Any judge that scored Orser above Boitano, especially in the LP should have been sanctioned. Boitano has talked about how in skating, people got to take "their turn" at the top, especially back in the 6.0 system days. Because Orser was the favorite in 84 and didn't win (Hamilton was much better in compulsory figures and beat him), there was a LOT of sympathy working in his favor, not to mention the Olympics were in Canada in 88. I've always felt the Canadian skating federation is very corrupt, on the scale of the old Eastern block countries, and was gunning hard for Orser to win behind the scenes by any means necessary, no matter how he skated. No Canadian man has ever won Olympic gold, and he was to be the anointed one in 88. It was "his turn". The truth is that Boitano should have beaten Orser by a MUCH larger margin. In the end, he only won by 0.1 technical points. Ridiculous. The Canadians, and even Orser himself, touted for years that it was a "broken tie", when Boitano really crushed him in this competition. Interestingly, it was after these Olympics that the tie-breaking score in figure skating was switched from the technical mark to the far more subject artistic mark. In essence, the ISU made it even easier for judges to cheat by padding the artistic marks of their preferred skater, no matter how they performed. Even more interesting, check out this interview with Brian Boitano and his long-time coach, Linda Lever, Go to the 17:10 mark and listen to what Linda says about running into one of the judges from the Calgary Olympics 15 years later. THAT'S why the scores were so absurdly close. How many of those judges were compromised that night? Thank God one person had some integrity. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jsqFp9d7y7S1fJs.html

Back then, and now sadly re-emerging gain in skating, was the entire "reputation" based judging. Brian Orser went in as the favorite based on his world championships. But Brian Boitano's skating was really just starting to take off. He acknowledged after the 88 Olympics that he felt that he had to skate programs that were much more in the light and airy style of Brian Orser's (who was 3-4 inches shorter than Brian B, and with a much smaller frame), despite a significant difference in height and body build. He even acknowledged that he'd kept his weight to an unreasonably low level of 155 pounds at that time. The Olympics was the beginning of a big transition for him. By December of 88 (I think it was Dec., it could have been Nov.) Brian appeared at the Professional World Figure Skating Championships just outside of D.C. with a significantly larger amount of muscle mass. He'd begun to embrace his strengths in skating, and and was utterly jaw dropping to watch in person. Great amplitude and coverage of the ice with his jumps, which came out of the blue. No telescoping of the jumps. Such deep edges and astonishing speed and utter security on the ice. I feel blessed to have been able to sit back and just enjoy. His skating was so utterly consistent that a spectator was able to simply enjoy! He was a once in a lifetime skater, and blew his competitors away when after turning pro, he continued to do all of his triple jumps in pro competition and in exhibition. Until then, if a pro skater attempted a triple, it would be one triple, and would have been a triple toe. That said, I love true skating, and while as an American it was joyous to watch Brian B win the 88 Olympics, it wouldn't have felt that way had he not skated as he did. And I'll pull for the true skaters in any competition.

Oops. I meant to say that Brian B. was 4-5 inches taller than Brian O. Skating is an entirely different beast when you have that much more mass to move and to align head to toe in spins and jumps. It's much harder. Brian just needed to accept that his skating style needed to play to his physical attributes, which he was clearly starting to grasp and embrace by the time preparation for Calgary rolled around. But there were few skaters to look towards at that elite level in singles skating, of that height for examples of programs suitable to that physique.

Laurie: To me, Brian Boitano is the greatest all-around male figure skater the sport has ever produced. There are lots of other talented skaters for one reason or another, but he is peerless for me when it comes to all-around talent where artistry, strength, athleticism and consistency all converge in one skater. You are right in that all his professional routines were technically difficult enough to easily compete on the eligible circuit. Kristi Yamaguchi was the same way, too. Neither she nor Boitano rested on their laurels in their professional careers. They got even better after winning their gold medals. When does that ever happen today? Boitano was unique in that he always pushed himself and never skated safe. A perfect example is 1987 Worlds. Boitano was the defending champion and he knew the winner of that competition would go into the 88 Olympics with the momentum that comes with that title. In spite of that pressure that would have caused most skaters to play it safe, he opted to attempt a quad. His reasoning was that he'd always carry the title of World Champion since winning in 1986, and no one could take that from him. So, instead of trying to cautiously protect his title, he threw caution to the wind in order to keep pushing himself to be a better skater. Well, Boitano fell on the quad, and that was enough to give Orser the win, which would be his only world title. In truth, if Boitano had not attempted the quad, Orser would likely not have ever been a world champion. Even after winning the Olympics, when most gold medalists don't go to Worlds because they don't want to come down from their high and risk losing the last competition of the season, Boitano opted to go back to the 88 Worlds. Again, instead of playing it safe thinking, "I'm a gold medalist now, and Olympic champions don't fall", he opted to attempt the quad again. That time, he stood it up beautifully, although two-footed, it was a triumph for him, and he won his title back. His work ethic was second to none, because it was never about the titles for him. It was always about being a better skater, and the victories came as a byproduct of that. Orser, unfortunately, skated safely in 88; he didn't skate to win, but to "not lose". Big difference. Skaters who skate cautiously usually don't win: Orser in 88, Kwan in 98, Kim in 14, etc. Unfortunately, the judges still almost gave it to Orser politically. Thank God for one judge with a conscience. The others should have been sanctioned for years or banned for life. Disappointingly, Orser maintained for years that his loss was the result a "broken tie" (at least it was on the scoring sheets) and that he'd done enough to win. Perhaps that was what he needed to tell himself to get through the pain of the loss and possibly regretting his own choices, especially intentionally downgrading his second triple axle to a double after falling out of the flip. If you search: Boitano Team USA on KZfaq, you'll find a short interview with Boitano where he talks more openly about certain skaters being anointed to "take their turn" at the top back in the day and how he had to construct his routine to be able to compete with all the unspoken but obvious collusion and favoritism for Orser. Even then, he knew he had to be absolutely flawless in all three phases of the competition to have any hope of winning and even then, it wasn't guaranteed. It's really interesting.

lcowles Since the Olympics were in Calgary the wanted a Canadian champion so badly. Since Orser was the reigning world champion it would have been easy for him to be that champion.

If Orser could get a 6.0 from one of the judges, this deserved at least one 6.0, too. It was obvious they were leaving room for Orser since Boitano went first. I remember thinking that as a 12 year old, who was watching this at home. Seriously, a 5.7 in artistry from the Denmark judge.🤨

Nathan Chen

@@jondavwal13 Thanks.