How I Learned to Love Curling

Do you have a favorite sport at the winter Olympics? Ski jumping, perhaps? Always a thrill! Snowboarding? Crazy wild! Bobsled and luge? Just plain nuts! Figure skating? So lovely! Speed skating? Electrifying! Hockey? Fast and furious! And that Canada/US rivalry? Gets me on the edge of the couch every time! Think those are exciting? HA! Try curling!

Did I hear you groan? I might have groaned too, once upon a time. But I’m here to say, you really need to give it a chance! Here’s how I learned to love curling.

It was 1998. The year curling became an official Olympic sport for the first time. It had been relegated to a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992 and hadn’t made an appearance at all before that since the 1934 games. So, if not exactly spine-tingling, it was notable.

I had never watched curling on TV. I had regarded curling up until this point as a major snooze. In spite of the fact that curling could well be considered Canada’s second national sport, it just doesn’t have the same blood-lust excitement as Hockey Night in Canada. But, in Winnipeg at least, even the language of curling is in our blood. A warming trend in February weather is referred to as a “Bonspiel Thaw.” As far as I know, the terms “bonspiel” and “brier” are still used to refer to the late winter championship finals.  In Winnipeg, everybody curled. Except for me. I occasionally went to rinks to watch friends, but frankly, I had no clue what was going on out there.

Until 1998. Ken must have been at work that Sunday afternoon of the final, gold medal women’s match between Canada and Denmark, because I remember watching alone. I had nothing else to do. I didn’t expect to watch for long. But the announcers so very clearly explained all the terminology: stones, guards, the button, the house, the hack, the hammer, the hog line, shot rock, a biter, the skip, lead, second and third. They explained the tactics. How stones are played and why the sweepers sweep. Such grace. Such strategy. Such precision. Such loud yelling! “HURRY! HARD! HAAAARRRRDDDD!!!” Honest to Pete, I got so caught up! The late, great skip, Sandra Schmirler was leading her Canadian women’s team to a Gold Medal and I was crying and screaming! On a Sunday afternoon in front of the TV. By myself. Damn it was exciting!

Then, along came the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002. We had lived in Buffalo for three years by then. I was homesick for Canada and especially for Vancouver. I missed the warm, wet, rain-soaked west coast winters that turn to spring by mid-February. Buffalo winter would not end for a long, long time. And if that wasn’t depressing enough, we had endured a storm between Christmas and New Years that dumped 8 feet of snow on the city. There was grave concern that the plan to run the Olympic torch through Buffalo on New Year’s Day would have to be cancelled. The city had been closed for a week. Closed. For a week. You have no idea.

But Buffalo’s mighty snow removal machinery got into gear and made it happen. On New Year’s Day, we walked up the two blocks from our house to Main Street to watch the torch runners go by. We could kind of see the torch bobbing between 12-foot-high snow walls on either side of a plowed trench.

That year the Olympics diversion was so welcome. I couldn’t wait for the curling. Canada met Norway in the men’s gold medal final. I settled in for the afternoon. And here was a fun addition to the game: the players wore microphones! Who knows what the Norwegians were saying, but the Canadians were speaking Canadian! It sounded so good to my ears.  And hilarious. I had never noticed the accent before. The guys had that musical Canuck lilt, “Oh, yuh, yuh. Right to the button on that one, eh? That’s a good lie.” I was so happy.

The match was a nail biter. Canada got silver, so it wasn’t as exciting as 1998, but for those few hours watching the curling, I felt like I was back in Winnipeg. It was a cure for my home-sickness and it fueled my Canadian identity. I was proud to declare, here in the US, my adopted country, “I watch curling! I am Canadian!”

So you see, Olympic sports can be an inspiration. Even curling. Try it. You might like it. Broadcast on CNBC; 5:00 – 8:00pm daily. As I write this, Canada just beat Great Britain 9-6 in the women’s round robin vying for a spot in the finals. Woo!

Here's a link you might find helpful: World Curling Federation