Poetry in motion

 

 I don't much care for most sports -- the best I typically do is a little NBA from time to time.  But when I saw Johnny Weir in the last winter Olympics, I was awestruck.  His performace, unlike anything I've ever seen on ice skates, was so beautiful and brave and intense that I somehow still remember it and feel affected by it.  Although he wound up coming in only 6th, I felt his was the stand-out performance.

 

And, in the days that followed, I still found myself fascinated with him.  I discovered that aside from being wildly talented, he is also an interesting and articulate character off the ice.

 

All that and brains, too.

 

Take this gem:

"For me, I'm lucky that I've traveled so much of the world and seen so many things and for me, masculinity is completely subjective," Weir says. "Here, a male ballet dancer would get beat up and left on the side of the road. But in Russia, he is No. 1, he is what a man is. That kind of passion and control. In Japan, masculinity is making sure your hair is completely gelled and coiffed and that you're dressed and decked to the nines. Masculinity is what you make it out to be. Here in the U.S., not everyone feels the same way."

(from this article by Jim Caple -- not exactly hard-hitting, but a fun read.)

 

 

He's graceful, he's strong, he's creative, he's truly gorgeous, and he says amazing things like "I want to be myself until the day I die" (Yahoo! Sports).  That's why Johnny Weir is on my "Man On Top" list this year.

 

(Okay, I don't really have that list.  But if I did, he would be Number 1.)