A Q&A WITH TARA AND JOHNNY
have to be entertainers. You have to be able to think on your feet and create a television show. You can’t always rely on the skating to do that, so in addition to being well-prepared we have to entertain the audience who may not be so fa- miliar with skating. Te only way we can be free to do that is be knowledgeable about the skaters we are watching, their backstories, where they are coming from, how many jumps they land- ed in their last event. We trust each other 100 percent and part of being a professional is being prepared. We are training for nationals as hard as the skaters are.
SKATING: What’s it been like working with Terry Gannon, and do you have any fun sto- ries to share?
TARA: We think he’s the best in the busi-
ness. Tere are YouTube videos of him calling my performances back in the day, so he knows skating just as well as we do. Johnny and I have worked with other people, but there is just some- thing about his charisma and what he brings to the broadcast that works with Johnny and me. Tere’s nothing forced. He’s never the odd man out. He’s the perfect match for us. JOHNNY: One fun story would be from
Sochi. Our broadcast had gone so well, and Ter- ry works his tail off. When he’s not doing figure skating, he’s doing speedskating, or basketball or golf. When it came time for the ladies free skate and the figure skating exhibition, he was exhausted. We still needed to look the part, though. Tere had to be something that linked us together. By that time Tara and I had exhausted outfit options for on-air, because when we were there we were so in demand that we had worn about everything we had. We were like, ‘Terry, how are we going to fit you into all of this?’ So for the ladies free skate, to match the gold that we wore to commemorate Tara’s gold medal, we put together this piece of gold wrapping paper and Terry used it as his pocket square. For the exhibition, our first prime-time start, we all had matching flowers that grew along the banks of the beach there in Sochi. So he definitely lets us fuss over him and plays with us. It’s so much fun.
SKATING: Speaking of your wardrobe choices for the NBC telecasts, do you coordinate what you wear?
TARA: We used to talk about it, but now
we are so in synch that we somehow show up in the same colors. JOHNNY: Te great thing about the fash-
ion is we love it. We would dress up because we are on television. We would dress up no matter if people were paying attention or not. So that’s something that is absolutely not a gimmick in any way. We love getting dressed up, we love fashion, we love clothes, we love working with different designers. We’ve been really lucky that so many designers have wanted to be part of this thing that we’ve got going. Tere was a time when we talked about what we were going to wear before events, but now we just rock it and
I think the only time I was really quite nervous was at the Oscars. Tey have this special camera that we could draw on with a pen. I’m not very good with technology and I ended up having a moment with Julia Roberts, where I was trying to talk about her bustline and I accidentally cir- cled her shoe. TARA: Growing up in skating, being in
front of the camera, and then moving into skat- ing commentary felt like a natural transition for me. I think there are always new things to get used to, a learning curve. You should always be a little bit nervous when you are on live television. I feel like it’s good energy, and to be able to have this bond and trust with your best friend and partner is so much fun. If I had to do it alone, it would be so boring.
SKATING: What’s been one of the most inter- esting and fun gigs that you’ve had in this dual role together?
JOHNNY: When we went with Cris Col-
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir in front of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio
linsworth to the media day at the Super Bowl. We got to meet some amazing football players, who we may or may not have known who they were. We watch our share of football but we are not the average football fans. I just know I want- ed us to meet Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots tight end), because Tara is Polish and I wanted to have a Polish connection there. He was super nice to us. We both got hugs and his arms do wrap like twice around both of us. Rus- sell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks was also really wonderful to us. Really, everyone at the Super Bowl was nice to us, weren’t they, honey? TARA: You go into all of these other events
like the Kentucky Derby or to the dog show, and as former skaters, you never know how people are going to accept that. I’m pretty grateful that everywhere we have gone, it’s really been fun and an easy transition. Media day at the Super Bowl, it was really interesting, thinking how are we go- ing to fit in here. Somehow we did.
Lipinski and Weir wrap up a major skating event.
we show up. We are pretty much linked up as far as our closets are concerned, so we don’t have much room for failure there. We have so much fun with it and we love that people dress up as us for Halloween. Tat’s awesome.
SKATING: You’ve been able to parlay your NBC skating gig into many other sports and entertainment jobs such as the Kentucky Der- by, the Super Bowl and red carpet events. Are you more nervous covering those than calling a skating event?
JOHNNY: We go to these events and we
work them. We are not going there to enjoy the event or to be part of the festivities. We are very serious about it, the same as we are about skat- ing. We try to prepare as much as possible for the Super Bowl as we do for the Oscars, and know- ing which actress is going to wear which dress.
SKATING: How would you describe your rela- tionship outside of your job together?
TARA: He’s not only my best friend, but someone who understands me and my world so well. And over these last few years — I’ve known him my whole life — there’s been this connec- tion. Whenever there’s good news or bad news, he’s the person I run to. He’s the person that makes me feel better, and it has nothing to do with us working together. It’s a true, genuine re- lationship. Just like we have similar views about skating, we have similar views about friendship and having that fierce loyalty and love that we have. I would do anything for him. JOHNNY: Our working relationship de-
veloped into this beautiful friendship that Tara and I share. She’s my do-or-die, companion, friend, love; it’s very special for me. Te fact we were able to find each other and trust one anoth- er and go through the highs and lows together is masterful; it’s something you can only dream about.
SKATING 29
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TARA LIPINSKI
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