Curling Crazy

I began curling this past November. I started because I needed some exercise and wanted to find a winter sport that wouldn't be too demanding, as I am terribly out of shape, but still had some degree of competitiveness. So, curling it was. I've had fun learning the sport, but what has caught me by surprise is curling's popularity.

Nearly everywhere I go now, I find someone talking about curling. I went to the hospital to have a test and what does the technician tell me? Her nephew curls at Bowling Green University. When I tell a long time friend of mine that I started curling what does he tell me? He watches curling all the time. He and his wife were debating going to Canada to catch a bonspeil in Ontario. Fellow blogger and DIBS member, Billfer claims to curl once a year.

It's even invaded my wife's place of work. Seems one of her co-workers and a husband of another co-worker watch curling on the CBC, as well. They watch for hours. I don't believe either have ever tossed a stone, but they are glued to their televisions listening to skips yell "Hard!". (Insert Brokeback Mountain joke here.)

When I heard at the Curling Club that the second most watched Winter Olympic event four years ago was curling, I just kind of wrote it off as stuff people who love their sport are apt to say. It had to be some sort of fuzzy math that came up with that stat. I never knew of anyone that really watched curling. That's before I mentioned to people that I was curling.

Now, curling fans seem to be coming at me from all directions. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised to learn that there are lots of closet curling fans. After all, I never knew a single person that said they watched NASCAR, either. Now, stockcar fans are swarming us like locusts. (Sorry, for that analogy, Al.) Apparently, they were all in the closet, too. (Another Brokeback Mountain joke opportunity. I'll leave it to your discretion.)

The "outting" of curling fans is now in full flight as the Olympics have given the sport airtime on world wide television. The sport is buzzing with all kinds of attention. The question, as it was posed to us by another blogging friend, Iain, is why?

Honestly, I'm not quite sure. I laughed off curling in years past, too, so it's seemingly robust following has caught me off guard. Let's see if I can guess why people watch. First, and, perhaps, most importantly, curling is often associated with beer. Beer is popular, thus curling is popular. That explains some of the participants, but it doesn't explain those watching, does it? (Even if they are tipping a Molson's while watching.)

It's a simple game requiring some complex thought. (Wow, do I sound like Crash Davis there.) Skips, like baseball managers, are expected to think two and three steps ahead of where the game is now. If we do this, they will do this. Like bowling or billiards, you have to recognize angles. Shots often have to be hit at precise angles to create specific results. This type of thinking tends to attract certain kinds of people. There appears to be a number of engineers at the club where I curl. However, it takes more than a few engineers who like beer to prop up curling's television ratings.

In the end, I suspect curling's mass appeal comes from it's simplicity. Not much equipment--rocks, brooms, ice. Pretty simple to figure out where the target is. It's plenty big, too. It's pace of play is steady, but nowhere near fast. (Plenty of time to grab a snack or Labatt's between shots.) Young and old, men and women can play. Much like another game it's compared to, bowling, I think curling's ability to attract that broad audience lends itself to wider appeal. Only curling has a bit of je ne sais quoi.

Whatever it is, curling's become the flavor of the day. (Google's actually got their Olympic figure curling today. Two stones comprise the O's.) Who knew I was on the cutting edge of a new trend?