"Rock" stars don't disappoint...

There are many people out there who would prepare for a curling match by studying the players, their records or just even learning the rules of this unique sport (yes I said sport). I prepared by attending a Bon Jovi Concert. You see only a rock concert could compare to the level of unbridled enthusiasm and sheer decibel level of screaming that occurs at Olympic Curling in Canada.

My fantastic travel buddy Kirsi and I decided that we absolutely had to attend a few events while at the Olympics, so we sucked it up and bought a few scalper tickets. The first was to Session 12 of the Men’s Curling, where Canada would be guaranteed to be playing - and they did not disappoint. Kevin Martin, the skip of team Canada, who may resemble an accountant, was cheered for like a rock star when he entered the arena. The only time you could hear yourself think was when a member of team Canada needed to focus on a shot. Kevin led his team to an easy victory over China in 7 ends, giving Kirsi and I a chance to chance to focus on two other exciting games.

On sheet three we watched the Norwegian rink, with their awesome pants, take on and ultimately defeat Great Britain. Those few of you out there who are unfamiliar with curling may not have seen the costume-like uniform that Norway selected for their curlers…the pants were a checkered plaid pattern, not unlike traditional golf clothing, in red, white and grey. They were bold, attention grabbing and wildly popular – there is even an entire facebook page dedicated to the pants. Frequent shouts of “Norway we love your pants” could be heard throughout the game. I don’t think they were designed to be performance enhancing but Norway did go on to victory that day….(and ultimately a silver medal…who got the gold – well Canada of course!)

The second game we focused on was the super hot Swedish rink who was taking on Denmark. I know you typically don’t think of Olympic poster boy athletes to be curlers but…trust me, they are worth a Google. Appearance aside, they can also fantastic curlers, making some unbelievable shots to defeat Denmark in the full 10 ends. This was the last game for Denmark so they stuck around for a bit, posing for photos and enjoying the atmosphere. We actually bumped into them a few hours after the game down in the Gastown area of Vancouver…small world.

My ears were ringing the rest of the night after the cat calls, cow bells, foot stomping and just sheer screaming from that afternoon match. Followers of Olympic curling said that there has never been another venue where this level of pandemonium was reached for the sport of curling. Yes loyal readers who know nothing about the sport…start learning, for shortly curling will be mainstream - maybe a spot in the X-games is not too far away…