Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | March 2, 2026
New York City felt small when I first moved there. That’s because I lived in a building owned by the school I attended, which, while still inhabited by several mentally unstable patients that the school was unable to evict when they purchased the building from the state, was several blocks from said school. I didn’t even have to take the train anywhere. I just walked the same seven or eight blocks for a solid year and a half (venturing out occasionally) until I graduated, moved to Bedstuy, and started to see more of what NYC had to offer.
Those offerings included Times Square. That wasn’t by choice. Had I gotten a different job out of school, perhaps things would have gone differently. Instead, I started bartending at Broadway theaters and developed a genuine distaste for the area and the slack-jawed yokels who drudge slowly through it, staring up at advertisements that they deem special because they’re twinkly and bright. It’s not all bad. Without said yokels, I wouldn’t have had that job. But when I’m trying to get to work and am held up because eight midwesterners are taking a picture with a Margaritaville parrot, I’m less forgiving.
That said, it’s hard to deny that the people are genuinely excited by all the nonsense, and sometimes, that stirs up a little jealousy in me, the same way I will sometimes feel when I hear someone describe how much they believe in their religion. I’d love to have that kind of faith, just like I’d love to just be happy staring at a giant billboard. I just won’t be one of those people, but I know them when I see them, and they were accurately represented in a sketch titled Ice Skating on SNL this week.
The sketch features Tommy Brennan and Veronika Slowikowska as a couple who head to the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. Brennan (here as Casper) goes to propose, but Veronika (Candace Lorraine Doogan) is not so sure. They begin having a very serious discussion about their relationship when they are interrupted by three ice skating dudes played by Mikey Day, Ben Marshall, and host Connor Storrie, who are just having a grand old time ice skating. The confusion escalates as more details about the skaters are revealed (like that one is Kendrick Lamar’s producer).
Day, Marshall, and Storrie are pretty hilarious in this sketch. Their assignment is to just be silly while having fun, but dangit, it works really well. I expect as much from Day and Marshall, but I have not seen Heated Rivalry, so I have little reference for Storrie. But his joyousness is funny and earnest here. It really feels like he’s having a good time, and that makes the confusion from Brennan even funnier. He and Slowikowska fill the role of the New Yorkers here, just trying to go about their lives, which makes the whole thing hit even harder.
Brennan is feeling heartbreak and confusion from the rejection of his proposal, and the answer could lie in the happiness of these people who are just enjoying a tourist trap. There are plenty of places to ice skate! The rink at Rockefeller Center sucks and often has long lines! It’s not worth it! And yet, these three folks are having the time of their lives, having tapped into some attitude that allows them to just… enjoy life (shudder). And they aren’t the only ones. The audience absolutely loses their minds at the introduction of another skater played by Storrie’s Heated Rivalry co-star, Hudson Williams.
There’s an episode of 30 Rock where Liz gets Kellan Lutz to appear on TGS. The hottie walks out onto the stage, and the crowd absolutely loses their mind to the point where he can’t even do the sketch. Hudson Williams’ appearance on SNL elicited a similar reaction. The crowd would not stop going crazy, to the point that Brennan and Slowikowska couldn’t help but crack a smile. That crowd was absolutely amped. It was pretty incredible to witness, and another example of why live TV can be so fantastic.
The setup of this sketch isn’t anything special, but the execution makes it sing. Everyone is on the same page and picked perfectly for their roles. There’s a shout-out to Alysa Liu. It’s all just a good time and very funny. It makes me envious of the folks who can just enjoy themselves. I have to drudge off to work later, so perhaps I’ll feel a little differently if I end up running late because someone is getting their picture taken on a spinning step and repeat that’s placed right in the middle of the sidewalk. Probably not, but there is hope.
