Finally! After months of waiting on the edge of our collective seat, the announcement has come that Brazil and the USA will duke it out at the end of January for the right to go to the Ford World Championships.
Not a moment too soon. My fingernails were down to the quick.
The two sides will lock horns in Bismark, N.D., Jan. 30-Feb. 1. According to those who’ve seen the Brazilians (which has nothing to do with that curling calendar, btw), the Yanks have nothing to fear.
OK, so it’s easy to poke fun at the team from South America, which is reportedly not good enough for the B flight at most clubs, but kudos for them for trying. It wasn’t that long ago we were chuckling about the Aussies curling, in the same way we thought about the Jamaican bobsled team of the 1988 Olympics. Same can be said for the Japanese and the Chinese. But the sport has expanded to different parts of the world that haven’t traditionally embraced curling and the teams are good and getting better. The only disappointment is the fact that the game hasn’t developed at the grass roots level, something that would impress me a whole lot more.
* Kudos to Scott Taylor at Balance Plus, a guy who probably does more for the game in different ways than anyone. He’s once again promoting the Movember moustache-growing event among the top players in the game. It’s a way to draw attention to prostate cancer. I urge anyone who sees a curler with a moustache over the course of the next month to go here and make a donation. Even $10 would go a long way. Another great move by Scott.
*I think CurlTV is a great site and I love the coverage it provides. Evidence comes in the way of games from this week’s Cactus Pheasant Classic, where a broadcast of every draw is available. I also like the interviews with the teams (except that set makes it look a little like Wayne’s World, the Curling Edition) – informative, fun and showing another side of the top players.
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