36 hours. Two devastating losses. USA Figure Skating is going through dark times. The jinx began when 14 athletes and coaches from the fraternity lost their lives as Flight 5342 collided with a US Army helicopter on Thursday. Within seconds, the serene Potomac River lost its charm. It was now a heartbreaking accident spot where pieces of the blown machines and lives sunk silently. But, while the world was just reeling from that, another blow landed, throwing us off the balance.

Amidst that tragic loss, another piece of news follows. A voice familiar to American fans, a man whose insights shaped figure skating broadcasts for generations, is now gone. Yes, his loss along with those 14 promising athletes and coaches returning from a national development camp after the U.S. Championships in Wichita have made the end of January a truly dark time in the history of the sport.

On January 29, 2X Olympic Champion Dick Button passed away at 95, leaving the figure skating world in mourning. At just 16, he once became the youngest U.S. men’s champion. Just two years later, in another historical act, he became the youngest American man to win Olympic gold in 1948. Also, the community famously called him the great voice of figure skating. Yes, he’d taken over the role of a TV analyst in 1960. On top of all his achievements in the rink, he was also an award-winning television commentator. But, alas, that voice has now faded!

Who says his accolades end here? Button even successfully defended his Olympic title in 1952 and became the only U.S. figure skater to win two Olympic gold medals too. Let that sink in! Thus, it’s not surprising that his passing paired with the devastating mid-air accident, has left figure skating fans shattered, one of whom commented, “Oof! What a horrible 24 hours for U.S. Figure Skating. He was a true trailblazer and the best figure skating broadcaster/analyst ever! A true legend. 💔”

Was he just a mega achiever though? Well, you could also call Dick Button a trailblazer in figure skating. He was the first skater to pull off what today are the norms in figure skating- a double Axel, a triple loop, and the flying camel spin. Also, the veterans of the sport remember him as someone who decided to defy the “very, very formal” norm and don a white mess jacket while skating, ditching the black one. Truly, Dick Button has had so much to offer to the sport!

No wonder the news of his passing garnered such strong reactions from his fans worldwide, especially, in the USA. Here’s what they had to say.

Figure skating fans react to Dick Button’s death and second blow to the sport

On hearing of his demise, a figure skating fan reacted with, “His voice is what excited me about watching skating events in the 80s. 😢” We get that! Starting with ABC, Dick Button soon became a mainstay commentator on Wide World of Sports, CBS, and  NBC. His commentating career expanded for nearly five decades! While at it, he could simplify the judging system for new watchers to understand. Well, this was what his charm was about!

No wonder another fan chimed in with, “I loved Dick Button’s commentary. He taught me, as a nonskater, the rules and details of what I was watching. I learned so much from listening to him. Commentators today don’t explain much and I miss that.” As a figure skating commentator, Dick Button had quite an authority! It’s understandable why he was trusted to cover the Winter Olympics through the 1980s for ABC.

In fact, Button was loaned to NBC to work on the 2006 Turin Olympics. But there was a point when he knew, he was done for good. Once ABC stopped figure skating coverage, Dick Button was done. When asked in 2014 if there was any scope for his future, he said “I never say no. NBC wanted new, younger people for Sochi, for the demographic. I understand that. Besides, nobody likes an old poop. Everyone wants some young sparklers and Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir fit that,” he said.

Well, that’s a graceful way to wrap up one’s career. Its hardly surprising that fans loved him for his impact on figure skating. This comes alive as another admirer commented, “He made a sport no one paid attention to for 3 years and 350 days seem approachable and easy to understand. He was brilliant at his job. Athletes who want to be broadcasters can only dream of being as good as Dick was.”

While some took the stage to remember this figure skating legend, others could not help but see an upsetting pattern. “Man. The skating community is getting hit hard. Extra prayers. 💗💗💗🙏💗💗💗,” they said. Well, a plane crash and the death of a veteran, these blows are enough to hit the figure skating community hard. Also, the former brings back painful memories of the 1961 plane crash that killed 73 people – including all 18 members of the US figure skating team headed to the world figure skating championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Just like that had taken years for the team to get over, these losses aren’t easy either. So we wish the greatest strength to the U.S. figure skating fraternity. Whereas for Dick Button, his legacy shall continue to live!