T1B

Gotta' get the GWN take on this.....

I was up at Whistler, BC the last three days (conditions ran the entire spectrum....icy, granular, fluffy powder where they make it, slush, outright puddles, mud, and grass) snowboarding and at night caught the Briar(?) on TSN, I think. The hockey stadium at Edmonton was PACKED! They went wild on the last toss/shove/slide by the Alberta dude who bumped out the Nova Scotia stone to win it.

No, I won't come in here and bash it because it kind of looks fun. Sort of like bowling or shuffleboard....games where you can drink while you play. So I ask you boys....is Curling respected, ridiculed, watched, etc. by rank and file Canadians? One guy had a sign that said "I'm confused....where's the goalie?" Genius.

Curling is big in Canada, and the Brier is as big as it gets in the curling world. It's the Canadian Men's Championship. Attendance for that tournament usually depends on the arena it's held in that year, but when it takes place at Rexall or the Saddledome, they tend to draw hundreds of thousands of patrons over the course of the tournament.

I think part of the appeal of events like that is that every province has a representative at the tournament, so everyone in Canada has some sort of vested interest.

As for the sport itself, I think it's an acquired taste. I didn't care for it much as a youth, but as I've grown older I've grown to really enjoy the game. Never played yet, but I plan to get out and throw some rocks someday soon.

Alberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!