I don’t know about anyone else, but I always find it very
difficult to support one team. It was
easier in olden times when teams represented ice rinks and comprised typically
local players. The Torrance rink was
from Hamilton and the Hay rink from Perth; if the skips name was Adam or
Horton, chances were that they were from Glasgow and the Hendersons were
Aberdeen born and bred. So, if you went
to Dundee or Perth or Kirkcaldy, there to watch the Scottish Championship
finals in February, you had “your” team.
Now – it’s a nightmare!
Four of us decided to sit in the bleachers and concentrate on the Ewan
MacDonald v David Edwards 3 v 4 page play-off game. We dutifully walked twixt one end and the other,
better to see the head at close quarters.
I will tell you that the other three were Bob Kelly, Bob Cowan and Ken
Horton. Alan Durno, who had taken his
customary place close to the bar servery up the stairs, saw this sorrowful,
stooped and regular procession and immediately christened us “the four coffin
dodgers”; a bit harsh, I thought, but there we were. Back and forth we went, talking about old
times, chewing on various cuds and watching a splendid game of curling.
So who was I supporting?
Well, I know, like and respect all eight of the players we were watching. Some I know better than others, but to be
honest, I did not want to appear heavily in favour of one team or the other, so
I just applauded everyone and everything and thought to myself “may the best
team win” on the day. Which really didn’t help the atmosphere too much. You don’t want a bunch of neutrals in a sports
crowd!
Now – do I want to go back to the old days where, believe
this or believe it not, entries to the Scottish Championships were controlled
by ice rink managers? Obviously not; it
was a ludicrous situation. But, on the
other hand, we have lost something of the “partisan” support that goes so much
to defining the atmosphere at the Canadian Brier or Scotties Championships, for
example and that used to be such a feature of the Scottish Championships, when
crowds of well over a thousand keen curling fans packed the old ice rink arenas
and supported their favourites.
I do think that the Scottish is a defining championship
for both men and ladies; as I have written before, it sorts out the men from
the boys (with apologies to the ladies – but you get what I mean). That is why it is so distressing to me that
the entries were so low this year – especially in the ladies competition. It seems to me that the high up-front cost of
entry stops a lot of teams that might consider throwing their hat into the ring
from doing so. Also to be considered is
the amount of time that most competitors need to take as holiday. The competition has grown arms and legs and
(perhaps this is an unfortunate analogy given the subject matter) but it has
grown like topsy into a competition on steroids! A whole week, for goodness sake.
A rethink of the format is required so that teams can dip
their toes in the water without risking literally hundreds of pounds. I know that a number of people have thoughts
on this and some ideas will be aired in the near future. I will not steal their thunder, but change
there has to be.
As to the winners of the two competitions, both teams
will represent their countries with pride, passion, commitment and no little
skill. Whether they medal or not will
depend on all of those facets as well as a liberal dose of lady luck’s gifts. There are no minnows now at World Championship
level and both teams will need to be at the peak of their form to win. Winning is in both of their pedigrees though,
so good luck to them both and safe travels to Halifax (men) and Sapporo (women).
Anyone need some negotiating consultancy help in either
venue, by the way? I’m your man! Usual fees apply.
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