Is Curling Really as Boring as Watching Paint Dry?

[Pengwuino]

Me + Curling = Russian Roulette

It is as boring as i always thought it would be. How could this be an olympic sport? How could this be a sport? How can people cheer this crap on? Anyone have any paint they need to be monitored?

 

[arildno]

Well, it is somewhat more of a sport than bobsleigh, IMO.

 

[saltydog]

Have you seen the American women's curling? Something about babes hollering, "harder, harder, . . . HARDER! . . . harder!" that I find appealing.

 

[arildno]

Have you seen the American women's curling? Something about babes hollering, "harder, harder, . . . HARDER! . . . harder!" that I find appealing.

I had no idea. Do the men behave in this manner as well?

 

[inha]

Your opinion is horribly incorrect. Curling is by far the most awesomest sport in the winter games.

 

[saltydog]

I had no idea. Do the men behave in this manner as well?

They're on now (American vs. Canada). Too bad the American women lost. How do you say "harder" in Swedish anyway?

 

[DavidK]

Harder in Swedish is Hårdare (å is pronounced oh) :)

 

[saltydog]

Damn, one more time! American's women's curling: 5:00p today. Yum. I'm there dude.

 

[Moonbear]

I watched a bit of it the other day and couldn't stop laughing...it's good fun...they actually called a time out and got their coach into decide to do the obvious...try to get a stone on the bullseye while knocking an opponent's out. How come bacci ball or shuffleboard isn't a summer Olympics sport if curling is a winter Olympics sport?

 

[moose]

Curling reminds me of a game a four year old made up while bored with his or her friends during the weekend. That, or a game that your elementary school PE teacher made up for your class to play.

 

[scorpa]

We used to have to go down the the curling rink for gym class and play. I actually don't mind playing it, much better than watching it. In elementary I was actually on a curling team lol, its actually pretty popular to play out here, but I can definitely think of sports I would rather be playing..haha.

 

[shmoe]

I watched a bit of it the other day and couldn't stop laughing...it's good fun...they actually called a time out and got their coach into decide to do the obvious...try to get a stone on the bullseye while knocking an opponent's out.

An assumption you can make about curlers at this level is they know the strategy and shots far better than most ever will and if they need to confer with their coach you can be fairly confident they had a good reason.

I don't know what the coverage is like in the US, but CBC's team is fantastic. The have very knowledgeable analysts with MIke Harris and Joan McCusker, silver and gold medalists respectively in Nagano. They do a fantastic job of explaining shot options, consequences of misses, and generally what's going on. Check them out if you want to learn something about curling (they are TSN's coverage as well).

It's not a sport that the uninitiated will appreciate immediately, unless you enjoy men or women screaming "Hurry! Hurry Hard!" while splayed out on the ice with a broom in their hand and a slider on one foot. Note for anyone interested-the American men's team wears very tight shirts. I haven't seen the Swedish women play in these Olympics, but they had a total fox at last years worlds, I think it was their 2nd though I can't recall her name.

 

[FredGarvin]

When you see a really good game and a stone gets just the right spin to hook behind a blocker to make a score, you're in heaven. Curling is a great game. Just because you Nintendo generation sugar addicts have the attention span of a gnat on esspresso doesn't mean the sport is bad.

 

[JasonRox]

When you see a really good game and a stone gets just the right spin to hook behind a blocker to make a score, you're in heaven. Curling is a great game. Just because you Nintendo generation sugar addicts have the attention span of a gnat on esspresso doesn't mean the sport is bad.

Yeah, I agree.

The sport requires great skill. I used to think the sport was stupid, but it surely isn't easy at all.

 

[jimmy p]

I watched bowls the other night. It's like curling but they have a jack they have to get near. And no brooms.

For a more thrilling game of curling, try this http://www.fetchfido.co.uk/games/monkey_curling/monkey_curling.htm"

 

[George Jones]

I'm with shmoe, FredGarvin, and JasonRox on this.

Regards,
George

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

If they're going to have curling as a serious sport they need to add Snooker or Nine Ball. Those are far easier to consider a serious sport in my opinion.

 

[Moonbear]

I can appreciate that it takes skill and strategy, but so does shuffleboard or chess, but they don't have that at the Olympics. It looks like something that would be fun to play at family gatherings, which is why it strikes me so much funnier to see people so serious about it and actually competing in the Olympics (and it is a horrible spectator sport).

As for the time out and conferring with the coach, sorry, but I was just rolling with laugher over all that...especially because the final decision was exactly what the commentator was first saying they should do as soon as the play prior to theirs was done, and it sure looked like the obvious shot to me. Now, had they conferred and come up with some really non-obvious play that brilliantly won them the match, I'd have sobered up, but since the placement of the stones pretty much left one and only one shot, I just thought it hilarious they were all standing huddled discussing it so seriously.

 

[Cyrus]

Well, it is somewhat more of a sport than bobsleigh, IMO.

Are you joking? For winter Olypmics the bobsled has to be up there next to skiing.

 

[FredGarvin]

If they're going to have curling as a serious sport they need to add Snooker or Nine Ball. Those are far easier to consider a serious sport in my opinion.

I'd say they have to add duck pin bowling in stead.

 

[edward]

The American bobsled teams did not fare well until NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine got involved.

Racecar driver Geoff Bodine got the project underway by getting Connecticut's Bob Cuneo, an accomplished racecar designer/builder, involved. Now considered "the best in the world" according to Kurze, the sleds continue to come out of Cuneo's Chassic Dynamics, Inc. shop in Wolcott.

It is an incredible story, the USA, a non-factor for years, coming away with three medals four years ago at Salt Lake City including a gold for the women and a silver and bronze for the men. Before Bodine's involvement, the USA was competing in used sleds purchased from European teams.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16157918&BRD=1632&PAG=461&dept_id=8233&rfi=6

The bobsled competition has always been my favorite, with the possible exception of the ice skating babes. At my age I couldn't handle either one.

 

[JasonRox]

I can appreciate that it takes skill and strategy, but so does shuffleboard or chess, but they don't have that at the Olympics. It looks like something that would be fun to play at family gatherings, which is why it strikes me so much funnier to see people so serious about it and actually competing in the Olympics (and it is a horrible spectator sport).

As for the time out and conferring with the coach, sorry, but I was just rolling with laugher over all that...especially because the final decision was exactly what the commentator was first saying they should do as soon as the play prior to theirs was done, and it sure looked like the obvious shot to me. Now, had they conferred and come up with some really non-obvious play that brilliantly won them the match, I'd have sobered up, but since the placement of the stones pretty much left one and only one shot, I just thought it hilarious they were all standing huddled discussing it so seriously.

1 - The game isn't all about strategy. You need to be able to throw the rock precisely. That isn't easy at all. I don't see any chess players having physical skills, so you can't compare the both.

2 - The coach probably came on because they have lots of time on the clock. If you got time on the clock, you simply just kill time talking about stuff and relaxing before the shot.

3 - The shots are not always so obvious.

 

[tribdog]

Curling is also the only olympic sport where you can get stoned.

 

[cepheid]

Curling is also the only olympic sport where you can get stoned.

That didn't stop a snowboarder from trying it a few year's back. I remember some debate about this dude who lost his medal because he was on MJ, and some people were saying that's ridiculous, because that's hardly a performance enhancing drug, and anyone who can snowboard to victory while on that stuff has got mad skills

 

[shmoe]

3 - The shots are not always so obvious.

Indeed! Even when the desired shot is 'obvious' how to actually make it probably isn't. Curling requires extreme precision and very subtly variations in the ice can have drastic outcomes on your shot (Kleibrink consulted her coach for this reason vs Denmark)..

I'd urge anyone who thinks curling doesn't belong in the olympics to do two things- go out and try it and make the effort to watch at least 3 of the last 4 men's games. You'll have a much more informed opinion if you make an attempt to understand it before dismissing it. (of course you may still dismiss it afterwards)


Ross Rebagliati was the snowboarder with MJ in his system, he eventually got to keep his gold. There was a nice saturday night live skit about it, they had Ross (played by Carvey iirc) reviewing his run with a reporter. "Is that me? Dude! I'm pretty awesome!"

 

[George Jones]

Ross Rebagliati was the snowboarder with MJ in his system, he eventually got to keep his gold. There was a nice saturday night live skit about it, they had Ross (played by Carvey iirc) reviewing his run with a reporter. "Is that me? Dude! I'm pretty awesome!"

At the time, I remember people said stuff like "Give him his medal -how could pot possibly be considered a performance enhancing drug?"

One editorial cartoon, in, I think the Toronto Star, had a hilarious slant on this. The cartoon showed Rebagliati going down the slope with a contraption attached to his head that dangled a bag of potato chips in front of his face, but just out of reach.

Regards,
George

 

[arildno]

Are you joking? For winter Olypmics the bobsled has to be up there next to skiing.

Why? They hardly do anything at all, nor does it require any skill to speak of.
It is the only "sport" were they count in thousandth parts of a second in order to declare a "winner".

 

[scorpa]

1 - The game isn't all about strategy. You need to be able to throw the rock precisely. That isn't easy at all.

.

No it isn't easy. I always hated playing after the surface had just been pebbled, those rocks did not want to move at all lol.

 

[shmoe]

Why? They hardly do anything at all, nor does it require any skill to speak of.
It is the only "sport" were they count in thousandth parts of a second in order to declare a "winner".

No skill? The driver does have sterring control you know, and if they don't stay in control they are in a world of hurt. I've never tried bobsleigh, but I'm betting a great degree of skill is involved in rocketing down a tube of ice at well over 100km/hr and not dying in the process. I don't think the brakeman does much during the run itself, but they do provide the bulk of the initial speed in the two-man and have tremendous strength and power.

I think they time to the 100th of a second no? At least that's what the standings show, same as most timed events.

 

[ek]

I can appreciate that it takes skill and strategy, but so does shuffleboard or chess, but they don't have that at the Olympics. It looks like something that would be fun to play at family gatherings, which is why it strikes me so much funnier to see people so serious about it and actually competing in the Olympics (and it is a horrible spectator sport).

Curling is a lot like baseball in that it sucks to watch if you don't know what's going on. Learn the game, play the game, know the nuances of the game, and you will probably love to watch the game.

Curling was part of our PE classes in high school so I've curled plenty of times. I'm no expert in the game, but I sure as hell know what's going on and I can definitely appreciate how difficult the sport is. It is not something that would be good for family gatherings because nobody would be able to play at all and the game would fall apart!

The 2005 men's worlds were here in Victoria last year and going to see a couple draws was awesome. Seeing rinks like Randy Ferbey's, Andy Capp's and Pal Trulsen's, it was amazing.

Someone mentioned Joan McCusker earlier in the thread, in addition to being a commentator for the CBC, she was also a gold medallist in Nagano with Sandra Schmirler's rink and is also a second cousin of yours truly.

An interesting fact for the curling uninitiated, the Olympics/Worlds are not the top calibre tournaments in the world when it comes to curling. The two best tournaments, and it's really not even close, are the Brier and the Tournament of Hearts, which are the Canadian men's and women's championships, respectively.

Anyways, just thought I'd throw my two cents in about Canada's second favourite sport.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'd just really like to see Dodgeball in the summer games. That would so totally rock!

 

[arildno]

No skill? The driver does have sterring control you know, and if they don't stay in control they are in a world of hurt. I've never tried bobsleigh, but I'm betting a great degree of skill is involved in rocketing down a tube of ice at well over 100km/hr and not dying in the process. I don't think the brakeman does much during the run itself, but they do provide the bulk of the initial speed in the two-man and have tremendous strength and power.

I think they time to the 100th of a second no? At least that's what the standings show, same as most timed events.

I will never, ever consider that a sport where a 45-year old, pot-bellied Bavarian drunkard can go to the top, as happened a few Olympics ago.
And the do count in the 1000th of a second.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I will never, ever consider that a sport where a 45-year old, pot-bellied Bavarian drunkard can go to the top, as happened a few Olympics ago.
And the do count in the 1000th of a second.

Are you kidding! That's now my new favourite sport!

 

[arildno]

Are you kidding! That's now my new favourite sport!

Thanks for joining me on the other side of the fence.
But, really, what's so attractive about pot-bellied Bavarian drunkards??

 

[Pengwuino]

I would LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE DODGEBALL!