HAPPY NEW YEAR!
(Sorry it's a bit late!)
Here's a translation:
Shuuzou (announcer guy): Kozuka, as a male skater, how do you view [Mao's program]?
Kozu: She did two triple axels in and up to the very end, she put all her strength into her program, into the steps, so I thought it was amazing.
Shuuzou: And Mao - truthfully, did you expect Kozuka to have this result?
Mao: Nope.
[Everyone laughs]
Mao: [confused] Huh? Wait -
Shuuzou: Getting 2nd place at the Grand Prix Final...
Mao: Ah, oh you mean that! But this season, [Kozuka] has been great..he has been in good condition all along...at Skate America and TEB, he took first and second, so I thought he could do it...Great.
Shuuzou: Kozuka - what part of Mao do you think has changed the most? She must have had her share of suffering...
Kozu: Well, in the past, her desire/will to practice was amazing, and now it's even more amazing. [? I think that's what he said but I couldn't quite hear...]
****
Hmm, well I was going to write something about these two clips in the "Mao strategy" thread, in response to clovera's "rant", but I guess I'll do it here...
I agree! Mao and Kozu are so cute!
I wonder what Mao was thinking when she said "Nope" - made me laugh though.
But the clips like these make me nervous.
Because I think Kozu is becoming quite popular, and Mao is already super popular, and it's so easy to be like, "Oh, she's cute and he's cute, and they're so cute together...HMM, I wonder...!"
Even back in 2006, at Junior Worlds, when Kozu threw the bouquet at Mao - that "incident" became quite a hot topic - Mao got asked about it in at least 3 separate interviews - "Did your heart flutter when he threw it?" (Not really.) "The two of you aren't dating, are you?" (Nope!)
And then at the 2008 THE ICE, when Jeff Buttle kissed Mao - that also became a hot topic in the media.
And now that there's "Mao fever," I'm afraid that if something like the bouquet toss incident happened now, the media would go crazy...I feel like it's at a point now that if Mao asked some guy on her college campus for directions and someone took a picture of them talking, it would make tabloid headlines...
Sigh...
I feel a little bad for Mao - even if she wanted to go on a date like a normal 18-year old girl, she probably can't - she'd be stalked by the paparazzi.
Anyhow, I guess this is my big fear for Mao outside of skating - that she'll get some unwanted negative attention ("scandal!") from the media. I just really hope that the media has some sense and lets Mao's private life stay private!!