Sliding on ice...with sticks and stones

Maybe it was because I was so close to Vancouver, but that Olympic fever was running rampant this year. Enough so to get me out and enjoy probably the number one sport of the Winter Olympics. I don't think that any of us could get enough of this during those 2 weeks of international competition. The way they could just glide across the ice, the precision and accuracy, the absolute raw athletic prowess. Of course I am talking about curling. Seattle is home to a pretty strong curling club and during the Olympics they were offering more open curling days than ever before. We got a small squad together and learned the intricacies of moving those stones across the ice. We were taught by a younger fellow who, get this, played on a team against USA's curling team. You know what? He beat 'em too! So we had someone even better than an Olympian teaching us. This basically means that we are potentially better than Olympians too.

Let me tell ya, curling is no where near as easy as it looks on TV or how you would imagine it in your mind. You realize they play this on ice right? Ice's main characteristics are that it is cold, hard, and slippery. None of those things are particularly good unless, with that last one, you are describing a Bon Jovi album. All of those icy traits meant that we had to sign waivers to play. Thats right! We had to sign our lives away to play this sport! They're right to do it as I fell twice and my roommate greeted the ice with his face. You see, it's hard to balance yourself out there. You have to get in funny positions to throw the stones.

Thats not too bad since you are all ready close to the ice. The real culprit is the sweeping. It's deceptively dangerous.

You gotta move along that stone, staying at least one step ahead of it and sometimes sweeping furiously at the same time (which doesn't appear to do anything, but everything can hinge on it). Once again, you are doing all of this on ice so more often than not this means you spend some time with your backside (or face) on the ice, even when you are being taught by an Olympian beating pro. Even with all the falling it is pretty fun. It is just like shuffle board, but not quite superior to it. I now have a history in both sports.

I think I'll focus on the shuffle board. That one has much less ice, and is played on cruise ships or in the backyard of friends' wealthy grandparents' homes. Way better than ice, but less Olympic fanfare. I don't do it for the glory anyway. It's all about the love for the game.