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Male skater puts the Weir in 'weird'
Betsy Hiel is a Middle East correspondent for the Tribune-Review. She can be reached via e-mail.
Flamboyant, outspoken figure-skater Johnny Weir is no exception.
The three-time U.S. Nationals champion prays before he leaves the hotel room. He listens to the same song before each competition; he won't say which song, but does admit that he's crazy for Pittsburgh-native Christina Aguilera.
"I have a lucky pair of underwear and socks for both programs," he says. He also wears the same T-shirt and a green Mickey Mouse sweatshirt.
"Just simple things," he says of his rituals. "I am very mystical and very superstitious."
He'll see just how well those rituals help tonight, when he competes in the men's short program, the first of two Olympic competitions.
Weir, 21, of Quarrysville, Pa., is an elegant skater who speaks his mind off the ice and, as a result, often gets into trouble with U.S. skating federation officials with his off-color remarks.
Also known for his lavishly sequined skating costumes, Weir says his sport is widely misunderstood. "Oftentimes, figure skating isn't taken seriously because there are the judging scandals and all these little girls in rhinestones and little boys in rhinestones... It's not like this is a gridiron sport, it's not rough-and-tumble."
His devoted fans in the United States call themselves "Johnny's Angels" and bring his banner to competitions all over the world. One zealous fan asked him to sign her ankle, then had his signature tattooed over the autograph.
Weir agrees that he courts skating fame, but he doesn't want to be on a Wheaties cereal box. He'd rather be on the cover of his own tell-all book about figure-skating, which he plans to write when he is done with the sport.
"I just want to expose all of these things I've learned from growing up in this sport," he says. "There are so many skeletons in the closet."
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