U.S. figure skating: On Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner and the Winter Olympics

Although the NFL playoffs may dominate sports this weekend, who will represent the U.S. in figure skating for the Olympics also merits discussion.

Admittedly, we don’t know everyone who will skate for the United States at next month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The U.S. National Championships have only just wrapped up today, after all (with ice dancing). But for better or for worse, there’s always a lot of attention paid to the individuals — both men and women. We already know the six who will go in those divisions.

First up, we learned about the women, who went 1-2-3 in terms of finish at nationals: Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen. Missing from that list is Ashley Wagner, and to say she’s not happy would be an understatement. Specifically, she stated she believed she’d been underscored.

But it seems that U.S. Figure Skating might just have been cognizant of what happened last time they passed over someone who finished top three for Wagner when it came to the Olympics — and, in fact, Nagasu was that someone who finished ahead of her. NBC’s coverage of the ladies’ portions of the competition was chock-full of references to the selection. Now, granted, Wagner helped win a bronze medal in the team events — but she also made some comments that sound suspiciously similar to the ones she’s given in more recent events. It’s not that we’re saying that U.S. Figure Skating had that in mind, but it’s worth noting.

And so she’s been passed over, and yes, while it’s not great for her, it seems almost like a cosmic rebalancing. She finished fourth; she’s first alternate; Nagasu gets the chance to go back to the Olympics.

As for the men, it seems as though U.S. Figure Skating decided this year was meant for those worries about fairness. In last night’s competition, Nathan Chen basically owned everything, to no one’s surprise — but who finished behind him was slightly more intriguing.

Ross Miner put together a fantastic free skate, enough to catapult him into second place, but he’s not making the team. Nor is Internet sensation Jason Brown. Instead, they’re both alternates.

Although both Zhou and Rippon had some missteps, they’re also more consistent — Zhou is the 2017 World Junior Champion; Rippon has won a U.S. championship as well as a Four Continents championship. And just placing high in this last competition doesn’t mean everything — Nagasu can attest to that.

Next: Jason Brown brings Hamilton to figure skating

Is it a bit of a shame that we won’t get to see Brown on the international stage and performing to Hamilton: An American Musical? Absolutely, but it does at least make a little sense why he wasn’t selected.