Forget March Madness: Curling Is in the House

If you noticed the subtle pun in the headline, good for you! If not, don't feel so bad. A month ago, I wouldn't have got it either.

When the average American sports fan hears the word "curling," probably the first thing that comes to their mind is the cylindrical iron owned by their wife/girlfriend/sister.

The next thing that comes to mind might be a laughable sport involving ice, brooms, and large rocks.

Ice, brooms, and large rocks, eh? Sounds more like a house party gone horribly wrong than an Olympic sport, doesn't it?

Wait? Did you just say "Olympic sport?"

Yep. Curling has been a full-blown Olympic sport ever since the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. It has enjoyed just an occasional sliver of coverage in the United States ever since, despite surprisingly high TV ratings during Olympic coverage.

But living in a small town less than one hundred miles from the U.S.-Canadian border means that I don't need to count on American television to get my curling fix. Around here, the CBC is broadcast on basic cable.

And when you only have basic cable, it's not uncommon for curling to be the most interesting thing you'll find while channel surfing.

At first, I reacted to it in the same way that most Americans react to something foreign; I made fun of it. It seemed so absurd to watch these so-called athletes exhibit such intensity over sliding a chunk of granite across a long sheet of ice.  Even more senseless was how their teammates swept tenaciously in front of it, not appearing to have any significant impact on its speed or direction.

But there was a crowd. And they cheered! Not just your average, half-hearted applause from the gallery, either; I'm talking Tiger-Woods-on-the-eighteenth-hole cheered.

Not only that, but it was women's curling. Pardon my sexism, but about half of those girls are pretty darn gorgeous! Don't believe me? Just try googling Cassie Johnson, Jennifer Jones, or Moe Meguro. With these women lunging and sliding across the ice, who wouldn't watch long enough to be intrigued by the game? Rowrrr!

It's not just the foxy ladies that make it interesting to watch, though. Since curling is a sport centered around accuracy and strategy instead of speed, strength, and agility, internationally acclaimed curlers do not look like the stereotypical athlete.

Take the guy in this photo, for example. Does he look like an Olympic athlete to you? Believe it or not, he's considered one of the best curlers in the world! In what other sport besides bowling or golf could a 40-year-old bald guy be a national icon?

No. Curlers look like, and often are, regular people. There's really no such thing as a professional curler. Though there are some major curling events that have cash prizes, most curlers have day jobs. Even those who compete internationally usually have regular careers in the off-season.

Watching these "regular people" compete for a World Championship in anything is interesting to watch; if only because it makes you think, "If they can do it, why not me?" 

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