Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Men's Curling


Early this morning, I got to witness the Men's Curling Round Robin at The Vancouver Olympic Centre. They played in front of a packed house at the venue. What struck me the most was the fact that Curling generally provoked a family-oriented, and older audience. It was spectacular to see rather older women all decked out in their Olympic gear, cheering for their home team. On the other hand, a young boy with a Maple Leaf on his chest led a "Go Canada" cheer from his father's lap in the front row. Other fans dangled flags with pride, clanged cowbells, and stomped their feet, trying to rally the favored Canadians. Let me tell you, I felt bad for anyone walking down by this noise! The cowbells were quite deafening, however I managed to be wide-awake during the whole event because of them.

Before the event had started, Samaah and I took the time to interview a couple from Saskatoon. Both of them were former curlers, and we asked them about how they felt about Curling, and how talented one must be to take part in the Olympic Games. We were told it took a lot of dedication, patience, and focus. Some people say that 80% of Curling is mental because it requires intense focus that only comes with experience. Curlers range from young to old. More often than not, Curlers are usually older because they peak at a later age than many other sports. Due to the fact that Curlers may be older than athletes from other sports, I think that was a vital reason as to why it generated an older audience today.

Although the sport attracted an older audience, that didn't stop them from cheering as loudly as the younger generation. You could feel the noise, and I'm sure it was stimulating for the athletes. I can't imagine how the crowd will be next week, when the medal time will be rapidly approaching. Words definitely couldn't describe the atmosphere. The help from the fans was probably very appreciated by the Curlers. Everybody took notice, and was watching the game closely. This is great for the sport, and a chance to even further put the sport on the map while performing on the world's biggest stage. I have no doubt that the victory for Canada was unquestionably assisted by the audience.

1 comment:

  1. I was blown away by how loud curling fans are - it made it very exciting and watching 4 games at one time was cool!

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