Marie-France Larouche, you are my hero

Dear Marie-France,

You don't know me, but I feel as if I know you.

I'm one of those curling fans who has watched you at the Scotties all these years, you and your variety of teams out of Quebec. I've cheered for you as you chipped away at the top teams in the country, so often in the running for the title, even if you didn't always make it to the final.

Okay, you didn't make it to the final this year either. But you're still my hero, and here's why:

When you stepped on the ice to play the dreaded Bronze medal game at this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts, you and your team were completely committed to winning. So what if it's not the final? So what if it's generally thought of (by the athletes, apparently) as a mean-nothing game put in place to sell one more block of tickets or TV advertising? So what?

It was a game for a medal, and as you said to TSN's Brian Mudryk during the fifth end break, the game meant something to your team and to curling in Quebec. You played to win, and you brought your best effort.

And when you came up short against a team that clearly didn't care whether they won or lost, whose skip all but said so in the post-game interview - shrugging off the game as if it didn't matter - you let your disappointment show in tears.

Curlers respect the game and their opponents. Today you and your teammates were the only ones who demonstrated that.

And for that, you are my hero.

I'm so sorry you lost that game - but you are still a winner.

Grassroots Curling: 2012 Predictions and Resolutions

New Year's is the time to look ahead, so here goes with a few resolutions and predictions for the new year.

1. Prediction: Curling will grow at the grassroots level.

Yes, the 2010 Olympics had a great influence on the sport, and Learn-to-Curl sessions all over North America went crazy after viewers had a chance to see the madness that was Olympic curling (thank you, fans!). But the appeal of curling will not slow down, particularly as parents look for a winter sport that's affordable and doesn't involve the risk of concussions.

2. Prediction: McEwen, Jacobs and the new boys will move in on Martin, Stoughton, Howard and the old boys.

It's not really a grassroots issue, but change is coming at the top. Some would say it's already here: a shift of the old guard.

On the women's side, the movement is a bit slower, as demonstrated by last year's Scotties. Yes, Rachel Homan is as fearless and skilled as those old-timers - Jones, Kleibrink, Bernard - but the kids still have a bit to learn about patience and execution under pressure. Nobody beats Jennifer Jones for clutch curling. (And can we just lay the Jones vs. Overton-Clapham thing to rest? It's over. This isn't high school.)

3. Prediction. There will be more cowbells

The CCA got a bad rap when fans and media jumped up in furious indignation at the removal of Amber Holland's cowbell choir at the Canada Cup in December. In fact, the removal was entirely due to an over-zealous security official at the venue - nothing to do with CCA policy or orders. More cowbells, people!

4. Resolution: Get fit

My son has taken up the sport. His school joined a local high school curling league for the first time ever. With no teachers on staff who know the sport, I was recruited to coach. No, I'm not a coach. I'm a curler. But at least I know the rules, the strategy and the names of things, which is more than any of the kids did (well, except for our two young skips, brothers, who were the driving force behind getting this initiative going).

Watching these kids out on the ice - especially seeing how quickly they adapt to the demands of flexibility, balance and strength required by the sport - brings home to me how unfit I am when I step on the ice. Yes, I work out regularly, I do some stretching, I lift a few weights. But I feel the effort settling in on my muscles and joints after a game.

For Christmas, I gave my son John Morris's "Fit To Curl". Actually, I kind of got it for myself.

5. Resolution: Enjoy

If the coaching gig (see above) has taught me anything, it's this: I love this game. Watching newbies experience curling for the first time, watching their skills grow along with their enthusiasm, I'm reminded of my first few years in the sport and how, for a few seasons, I basically curled my brains out. Leagues, bonspiels, playdowns, club involvement, coaching kids, running events - the whole package. It was just awesome.

Over the years since then, family, job, no free time, financial constraints - all these things conspired  to keep me from the game I love. I'm back, and I'm going to enjoy it.

Oh, and I'm going to get myself a cowbell too.

Happy New Year from Grassroots Curling!

Jennifer Jones vs Cathy Overton-Clapham: Let's move on, please.

Okay, it's done.  Thank goodness.

Cathy Overton-Clapham and her Team Manitoba won the big grudge match against her former team, led by skip Jennifer Jones.

Now, let me translate that statement into the unspoken language of the media feeding frenzy that surrounded this game:

Poor Cathy Overton-Clapham and her second-choice Team Manitoba kicked butt in the big grudge match against her mean former teammates, led by that evil b***h, skip Jennifer Jones.

Clearly the crowd was in Cathy's corner. So was the media. So was the Twitter-sphere.

And it's not hard to understand why. Being fired from her team - reports make it clear that the other three players made the decision among themselves - came as a nasty shock to Cathy O. There goes her chance to be part of Team Canada, play in the Continental Cup, receive funding - all of that, gone. And all because Jennifer Jones decided the team needed someone else, someone with better knees, someone who was not Cathy.

So yes, we feel sorry for her.

But...

A curling team is like any other relationship. There's a lot that goes on behind closed doors that we aren't privy to. Disagreements, attitudes, incidents. Who knows what really went on in the Jones team? Only Jennifer, Cathy, Jill and Dawn.

The media grabbed this story and ran with it because the drama was just too good to miss.  The fans embraced it too, perhaps helped along by the media. Who can blame them?

So the game has finally taken place: Team Canada against Team Manitoba. Jennifer against Cathy. And Cathy won, to the delight of the loudly cheering fans.

But this is what bothers me:

When have you ever seen a game at the Scotties where the fans were not just cheering FOR one team, they were doing so in order to cheer AGAINST another?

Jennifer Jones isn't my favourite curler, but she's a fierce competitor who plays to win. I respect her. I've seen her haul games back into her control and win them, when it looked as if all was lost. She's a fighter, and when she's on the world stage with the Maple Leaf on her back, she does us proud.

But the Scotties crowd - helped by the media - were not behind her in tonight's game. They weren't even politely tolerant of her. They were against her, and they made that loudly and abundantly clear.

The whole thing was ugly, and I'm glad it's over. Let's move on, please.

Scotties: Why didn't Jennifer Jones play her last shot against PEI?

Some action on Twitter suggests that people are not happy with Jennifer Jones for bailing on her last shot in Monday night's game against PEI.

She should have thrown it, tried the triple, made a go of it (think some people).  Why would she just give up? Don't the paying customers deserve to see her at least try?

All good points.

But the way I see it:

She analyzed the situation - and we all know, no one can analyze a game like JJ can - and saw no hope. The triple was not there. She's a curler, not a circus performer. She's there to win (or lose) a game, and move on to the next one.

If JJ says there was no shot, there was no shot. Game over.

With class, and with respect for her opponents, she acknowledge defeat, turned and shook hands. Her team was completely in support.

And the crowd - those paying customers - went home happy.

Jennifer Jones v Cathy Overton-Clapham: Chill, People!

Okay, I know many curling fans are wondering what's going to happen when Team Canada meets Team Manitoba on February 23 in the evening draw at the Scotties.  We all know the story - which I blogged about, here, and which curling writers, including The Globe's Bob Weeks, have covered with enthusiasm. After all, it's fun to watch real-life drama unfold before your eyes, isn't it?

But I think it's time to step away from the drama and let the curlers curl.

The curling world in Canada is its own small (but growing) community. Everyone knows everything about everybody. When teams break up (remember the Gushue-Korab thing? Remember Kevin Martin after the Salt Lake Olympics? What about Jeff Stoughton and the revolving door at third? And then there's Colleen Jones' winning team splintering into Colleen Jones - and her winning team going elsewhere) it's news on Twitter and the blogosphere, in the forums and around the rinks.  It happens. It happened to Jennifer and Cathy. It was ugly, especially for Cathy - and no one blames her for the hurt feelings. She lost a lot in the deal, and there's never a good time to tell somewhere "You're out. We don't want you. Good-bye."

But these elite curlers are, for all intents and purposes, pros. Stuff happens. My prediction is that Team Canada and Team Manitoba will be so focused on their game - and beating each other - that like true pros, they will filter the crappy past out.  They will shake hands before and after, they will curl their brains out, and someone will lose.

And they will move on to the next game...

That is, unless the media and fans go nuts and try to turn this into a degrading celebrity cat fight.

Chill, people.  They're both great teams who deserve to be there. Let the curlers do what they do best.  Curl.