49ers' Davis has soft spot for curling
Last Updated: Friday, January 15, 2010 | 3:40 PM ET
Joe O'Connor, of National Post for CBC Sports
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis was invited to try the sport of curling by an Associated Press reporter. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press) There was a time when Vernon Davis did not care much for curling.
He would see it, this odd game, while sitting at home in the San Francisco Bay area surfing through the 999-channel universe. To the San Francisco 49ers tight end, watching men and women with brooms in hand shouting out curious things like "hurry hard" and "whoa," did not immediately make an impact.
Of course that was before he ever tried to slide away from a hack with a 42.5-pound granite curling stone in hand.
"You know what? I watched curling before on TV, and I turned the channel. It didn't catch my attention," Davis said in a telephone interview this week. "That was before I knew what it was.
It was kind of like, you know, if you have never tried hamburgers before -- but they are always in your face -- and then you eat one, and taste it, and then you say I'm going to go and get some more. That was kind of like me and curling."
Davis's curling conversion began one night in late November. Janie McCauley, an Olympic-bound reporter with the The Associated Press bureau in San Francisco, invited him to try the sport with a couple experts from a local club. Six weeks, and two more curling outings later, Davis was named honourary captain of the United States men's Olympic curling team.
"It's quite an honour," he said.
Spotting the captain amid the curling crowd at the Vancouver Olympic Centre next month will not be difficult. Just look for the guy who looks like Mr. T, only taller, and without any gold chains. Along with the new curling hobby, Davis has a new haircut — a mohawk — a style not altogether common among curlers. He is also extremely large, black and famous after earning first his first Pro Bowl spot this season.
"I have tried curling three times now. I am almost a professional. The hardest part was keeping your balance and knowing how to get the granite right where you wanted it to land. You have to be all finesse. You can't be too strong."
Sweeping came easy
Word of Davis's (left) initial foray onto the ice quickly filtered back to the offices of USA Curling. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)That was a major hurdle for the 25-year-old who could bench-press 465 pounds by his third year of college at the University of Maryland. Sweeping, though, came easy. It was like going home again.
"My grandmother made us do chores around the house, and sweeping and mopping was my thing," Davis said. "I pretty much got some background in sweeping."
There are only about 15,000 registered curlers in the United States, compared to a million or so in Canada. Word of the NFL star's initial foray onto the ice travelled fast in the small community, filtering back to the offices of USA Curling . It approached Davis about filming some public service announcements promoting the sport. Davis happily obliged.
"When people see these athletes who they know are very good, and know are very athletic, it helps to overcome the image of curling not being an athletic sport," Rick Patzke, USA Curling's chief operating officer, said. "Having Vernon speak on behalf of curling also brings that legitimacy to the sport."
Davis will spend three days in Vancouver during the Games. He plans on attending as many events as possible. Like many people, the Olympics, albeit the summer ones, were a source of inspiration for him when he was younger, while his Olympic hero was actually a heroine, the gymnast Dominique Dawes.
"She was a great athlete," Davis said of the 1996 gold medallist. "I didn't really care for the guys, I was all about her."
Now, he is all about curling. Football is his passion and his payday. But Davis has loved other sports before. He was a track star in high school in Washington, D.C., until college came along and his football coach made him quit. Curling, however, is here to stay. There are rocks that need sweeping, a finesse that needs refining, and John Shuster's underdog U.S. rink that needs supporting in Vancouver.
"My tip to them would be to just stay focused and worry about dominating," Davis said.
He has some other advice for all those people at home with a television converter in hand, aimlessly flipping channels looking for something interesting to watch. Davis says don't be afraid to try a new hamburger every once in a while.
"Or," he adds, "a chicken sandwich."
