The 2018 Oscar for Best Supporting City goes to Portland, Maine, host site of “Skate America 1986,” which drives key scenes in I, Tonya. The way the movie tells the story, the Cumberland County Civic Center is where Tonya Harding got her first big break. The international event took place here in Maine from October 13-19, 1986. The superscript PORTLAND, MAINE appears on the footage depicting the CCCC, now known as Cross Arena. In a field of skaters, emerging star Tonya Harding won the long program and took second overall. To see the real Harding skate during the competition in our actual Civic Center, not the Hollywood one, visit youtube.com/watch?v=BJuZuqr8nXQ.
Nineteen eighty-six was the year we started Portland Monthly. We were just five months old when the Forest City hosted Skate America 1986. To set the mise en scène, our magazine was mixing an astonishing interview with Marguerite Yourcenar with coverage of “The Velocity of Money in Portland,” “The New Urban Cliff Dwellers,” “Hot Young Artists.” The top grossing film during Skate America was Crocodile Dundee, replacing Top Gun.
Though Skate America 1986 was a global event, we went local with our coverage. In this column, I gave a shout-out to Skate America and our local hero Dr. Doug Brown of OA Center For Orthopaedics, acting physician for the event. (Dr. Brown was captain of his Bowdoin hockey team and Exeter’s.)
In the Skate America finals, Brian Boitano won the gold medal; Viktor Petrenko of the USSR took the silver. Kristi Yamaguchi was a newcomer, skating in the pairs division. In the end (or was it the beginning), Tiffany Chin of the U.S. beat Tonya Harding for the Gold.
What’s the takeaway? Portland is a twilight zone between before and after. Saints and strangers are among us right now. As readers, let’s catch them as they take flight.
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