Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Anchorman does the Roar

He came. He saw. He ate crullers.

Ron Burgundy, the character created by actor Will Ferrell for the movie Anchorman, made an in-character appearance at the Roar of the Rings, joining Vic, Russ and Linda in the broadcast booth.

It was two ends that will likely go down in curling broadcasting history.

Over the course of his appearance Ferrell, who wore a kilt along with his burgundy blazer, learned the nuances of the game, called a few shots, commented on the players, learned how to score and even timed rocks.

At times, his comments seemed to overshadow the actual curling while at others, he seemed to defer to the on-ice action.

The trio of regular commentators played along and Rauter kept at least a modicum of play-by-play so the game didn’t totally disappear.

Some of Burgundy’s memorable lines included:

On Jennifer Jones: “Of course when she’s not curling, she works as a rodeo clown.”

On Glenn Howard: "He is one of the legends of the sport. Even though he's an ugly, ugly man."

On his vocal warm-up mantra: "The muscular man from Manitoba touched his man-boobs."

After littering the screen with Telestrator rocks: “I think they’re mating with each other.”

On the ice conditions: “Are you allowed to put a foreign substance on the ice like olive oil or Parmesan cheese?”

On Winnipeg. “It’s the Paris of Canada. All the smells.”

On the meaning of Winnipeg: "What does Winnipeg mean?" "Its roots are in Latin of course. It means small tundra bunny who lives in the hole in the head."

Clearly, the appearance wasn’t for everyone’s taste. A few of the Tweets that came during Burgundy’s time weren’t favourable.










Before he made it to the booth, Ferrell, in character, met with the press and answered questions about curling and his reason for being there. He also stole a Tim Hortons cruller, which he shared with a volunteer, and posed for his media pass, asking if he needed to raise his right hand to swear allegiance to any party. And he received a curling lesson from Glenn Howard and team.




And all along, he waved to the fans and signed autographs. 

So where do you stand on the appearance? Did it take away from a serious event or was it a great way to enjoy the game?? 

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