1. Go to Stargazers!! We were in the 4th row and enjoyed watching the warm-ups so much. Seeing up close the difference between skaters and disciplines and seeing personalities was so special. Besides the warm-ups, the Q&A was absolutely worth it. Amber is a national treasure who could be a motivational speaker, Ellie is very sweet, and if Danny O'Shea is on DWTS it will be appointment tv in my house.

But on one note, Ilia was the only skater not there at all, which I know is not at all uncommon. I know he has no obligation to show up and I respect his needs, but I'll be honest, it seemed like snub to not even acknowledge not being there. The crowd was huge - I'd guess almost a quarter of the NHL sized arena bowl. Danny/Ellie/Amber said it was the biggest yet. It was FULL of littles in their skate club jackets (which makes sense in Minnesota - I live in St Paul and can easily count 8 municipal indoor rinks just within a 15 minute drive, most offering figure skating.) The Q&A questions were mostly from under 18s and were so skating focused, it was fun to see. One girl asked about tips for getting a certain skill and Ellie responded that getting her double axel took 6 years. They all talked about patience and determination and accepting/working though problems, it was so positive!

For such a large focused group of fans, even just words from Ilia on the screen saying hi would have been appreciated. It would be silly to pretend there was no anticipation of seeing this phenom and current face of the sport. Especially when he told our local media he would "definitely" do quads during Stargazers. We Midwesterners are an understanding people if he just wasn't feeling it, but no one likes to feel snubbed.

2. From what I'd heard from some people, I thought the show would be more Ilia focused. It's not. Yes, he has solos, but so do others. It was actually a really nice mix. I left with a new appreciation of everyone! They were able to demonstrate personality and such a variety of skill. I don't know that any particular skater stood out - with the exception of Jason Brown. I would go watch a 90 minute Jason Brown show and probably still want more.

3. You could tell when Ilia was the one coming out in the dark before a routine because random girls started screaming 😭

4. The staging of Ilia's Lose Yourself/Jump Around is fantastic. A highlight for sure. Going from the dark to the light.....he looked so happy. I hope this and finishing The Voice over and over is a massive exposure therapy session for him.

That said, Amber also got vulnerable during the Q&A and a bit during the show. It's a reminder that Ilia wasn't the only one to experience pain in Milan.

5. SPARKLES!!! So many sparkles!!! Those costumes look shiny on tv, but it's nothing on reality!

6. Props to Grand Casino Arena, everything from Stargazers entry to merch and sound were on point. Added bonus of being the day between NHL playoff games, so the vibe was extra extra (Go Wild!). I also love that our skater guests were given the Saturday night option of a Yungblud concert or a suite at a playoff game!

We already have plans to go next year and will at least double our group size. If my experience is like anyone else's I'm hoping this show will be sustainable for years to come.

But Ilia....at least throw your fans a bone 😭

I talked with our local Minneapolis reporter who did the interview with Ilia, just to tell her I thought she did nice work. She told me she only had a 10 minute slot, but took the first minute to tell him as not a sportswriter but as a mom, how "blown away" she was by his sportsmanship in Milan.

I think that's so lovely and it shows 1. When you approach someone as a person instead of a jumping machine, you get a much better interview. NBC should take note. 2. Indeed a huge part of Ilia's increased fame is for WHO he is, or at least how he demonstrated himself on a massive stage. It made him a figure outside just skating.

I know in my life, he has come up in conversations with my pole vaulter son and his coach - about sportsmanship, pressure, and also technique. (My son gave me a whole argument for why Ilia would probably be a great pole vaulter, but that's another conversation😂) Even as a figure skating fan, this is how I ended up on a Reddit board about the guy LOL

In a world where there are so many terrible famous people, I think this is just lovely.

Hey all, I kind of lurk around here sometimes - I thought you'd enjoy this from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I noticed it because it's currently the #1 most read article on their site.

I'm going to SOI in St Paul on Sunday, Ilia may have just sold me on upgrading to Stargazer tickets!

(Excuse any weird formatting, I'm cutting and pasting from behind the paywall)

Yuen: Ilia Malinin lost big. He showed us something bigger.

After a crushing Olympic loss, the U.S. skating star chose grace — a lesson he now brings to St. Paul with Stars on Ice.

By Laura Yuen

The Minnesota Star Tribune

Olympic figure skating brims with narratives about how to live your life. In American skater Ilia Malinin, we learned that it costs nothing to be a decent, gracious competitor, even while trying to nurse yourself back from a crushing defeat.

When Kazakhstani skater Mikhail Shaidorov clinched the gold medal in the men’s figure skating finals in February, Malinin could have hung his head. Even a tepid handshake would have been seen as sportsmanlike. Just moments before, the heavily favored Malinin had fallen twice during his free skate, tumbling from first to eighth place. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for the Quad God.

But Malinin sought out Shaidorov in the kiss-and-cry booth with a congratulatory embrace, tousling the hair on the back of his rival’s head. Malinin grabbed Shaidorov by the shoulders. Looking at him squarely in the eyes, he said, “You deserve it.”

As a youth sports parent, this is the story about Malinin that I’ll always hold up to my kids, even if he wins gold next time (and I hope he does). That short but meaningful exchange earned Malinin the Milano Cortina 2026 Fair Play Award, which honors exceptional sportsmanship during the games.

Now the 21-year-old is coming to the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Sunday, May 10, as part of the Stifel Stars on Ice exhibition tour featuring women’s singles gold medalist Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and other members of Team USA.

I spoke to Malinin by phone about mental health, the pressures of elite competition and what he wishes the media would stop doing. Our chat has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: How do you feel genuine happiness for someone else’s success, even when everyone thought that success would be yours?

A: It’s because I love the sport of figure skating. We all support each other. We appreciate each other’s values. In the end, it’s a healthy environment to encourage our competitors and help them achieve their goals, so we can progress the sport, as opposed to having it be a rival-on-rival situation.

Q: You’ve spoken frankly about how you weren’t mentally ready for the Olympics. What’s something people don’t understand about the pressures of competing at that level?

A: Some of my friends and family were saying to just approach the Olympics the same way you do any other competition. That was what I was trying to do, but in reality it is something completely different, something that I should have been more ready for. But in the end, everyone was kind of using me to produce attention — trying to make me the Olympic gold hopeful. That was not right.

Q: So you think people were building up this hype around you and that was unfair?

A: I had to do things that I didn’t want to necessarily do. It was a lot of media. They were pushing me to do things that benefit TV. They were using the attention I have, as opposed to letting the athletes shine in the moment, and putting so much unnecessary pressure on them.

Q: The tennis player Coco Gauff has talked about how athletes need more privacy, especially to decompress after a tough match. Do you feel like the pendulum has swung too far in broadcasting your private moments?

A: I think so. Their reasoning is that they want to see more personality, but the Olympics should be about the athletes. Even after what happened at the Olympics, they were constantly filming me even though they could have videoed the medalists. All they were doing was waiting for my reaction. There’s ways to avoid that and still get the right amount of attention for everyone.

Q: The media trades on proximity to celebrity. At the same time, you have offered us a lesson in humility and grace, and the cameras captured that.

A: Yes, but again, that’s a normal reaction. Even though my goal was to win the Olympics, that’s one part of sport: You can’t decide what happens. It really comes down to what happens in the moment. An Olympic gold medal doesn’t take away or give you much in value as to what you are as a person.

Q: How did you get into a healthy headspace to win the world championships, just weeks after the Olympics?

A: It’s simply how it is. That’s one of the hard truths about figure skating and most sports: Win or lose, you have to get up and keep going. This was the last competition of the season, so all I had to do was go out there and try. Not put too much pressure on myself — just stick to what I want to do and love.

Q: How is it different now, performing in an exhibition?

A: It’s a completely different environment. Stars on Ice is really special. You get to skate with all of these Olympic-level athletes without the pressure of competition. It’s purely our love for the sport and showing it to the world.

Q: Does a Quad God perform quads, even in an exhibition?

A: Some people do.

Q: I’m asking you.

A: It depends on the workload. If there’s a few shows, I’m sure we can do them. But if it’s a tough tour like this, sometimes we have to sacrifice what we want, so our body can stay in shape and not get injured. I may do some at the practice beforehand, for the Stargazers who come out before the show. I’ll definitely do some there.

Q: You’re starting a YouTube channel. What’s that about, and why now?

A: I’ve had the dream of having a YouTube channel for about six years, but I never really had the chance to get into it because I’ve been so focused on competing and training. But now I have free time and feel a little more open about my career, so I have more time to do things I actually love.