It would appear Americans are wiping snow from their eyes and discovering the wonderful world of curling
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Americans attempt to understand the mysterious curling world
- February 25, 2010 3:04 PM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
By Mary Vallis, National Post
It would appear Americans are wiping snow from their eyes and discovering the wonderful world of curling. Could it be that the magic of the Norwegian men's team's playful pants alerted them to the wonders of our beloved sport? With the semifinals upon Vancouver, top news outlets from coast to coast have taken time to explain the intricacies of curling to their readers.
To wit, take this column from Sports Illustrated online. Writing under the headline "Everybody must get stones: Why curling is the Olympics' best party," Austin Murphy writes:
"Carl Lewis stopped by and declared himself a fan, as did King Harald of Norway. Dwight Schrute is keeping track of the goings-on at this venue. So I stopped by the Olympic Centre to find out what all the buzz was about. What it boils down to, I've concluded, is curling people know how to party."
This much is true. We all know about the tradition of the winning team buying the losing team a drink.
The Christian Science Monitor devotes considerable space to explaining the sport as well, first acknowledging, "Curling remains mysterious to Americans, much as American baseball is to the British. Even worse, curling is an easy sport for Americans to make fun of because it appears to lack the drama and danger we think should go with 'real' sports."
The piece goes on:
"In fact, curling is so American in its ideals, it would be the perfect sport for Bruce Springsteen to sing about. Today's Olympic curlers are men and women of the people, not pampered athletes from affluent backgrounds and pushy parents like many of the most popular sports. Our curlers in Vancouver have day jobs. The men's 'skip' or captain, John Shuster, is a bartender; there is also a construction worker on the team, and a substitute science teacher, a nurse and a General Mills analyst. Salary disputes? Not with curlers."
The New York Times also published a fawning profile of Canadian skip Kevin Martin yesterday, marvelling at his "rock star" status:
"Martin's popularity spans all ages, genders and ethnicities. But he remains especially popular with older women. Much, much older women. 'Grandmas love him,' said Jules Owchar, his longtime coach. 'When we do an autograph signing, every grandma within 65 miles wants a picture.'"
But of course, there is always naysayers prepared to dismiss what they do not understand. In this instance, it's Chris Erskine of the L.A. Times. "Curling tops my list of what I respectfully refer to as 'Dumb Winter Sports,'" he declares.
"Another thing you probably didn't know about curling is that the stones -- 42 pounds, approximately the size of a good burger -- make a low moaning sound as they skate across the ice, sort of a guttural Gregorian chant. I find this sound very sleep-inducing, which is at odds with the sport's reputation for raw excitement. Curling is, quite possibly, the only sport that could be played while sleeping," Erskine writes.
We'll see who's sleeping when the curling finals get underway this weekend.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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