Olympic Curling Wrapup

As with any other Winter Olympiad, perennial favorites took most of the focus. Figure skating (at least the falls were funny), speed skating (had its moments), and the skiing events (*yawn*) received the bulk of NBC's melodramatic coverage, but this year could prove to be the breakout year for Seattlest obsession curling, just added to the Olympic roster in 1998. With the help of some nudity (and some unprecedented US success), the sport managed to break free of the late-night coverage ghetto and have some time in the spotlight.

On the women's side, the US squad managed to squeeze out two wins against Italy and Denmark, good enough to tie for eighth. Favorites Sweden took the gold over Switzerland, while our neighbors to the north took the bronze. The Swedish team lived up to the heavy metal swagger hinted at in their video collaboration with Swedish metal band Hammerfall. Away from the ice, the press also caught wind (via the March issue of Playboy) of the 2006 Ana Arce Sponsorship calendar, which features various nude and scantily clad international female curlers. (And unlike other sites, we're not afraid to link to where you can buy a copy. Don't worry, the link's safe-for-work.)

The men switched up the formula a bit, with good curling and bad nudity. After silver medals in both 1998 and 2002, Canada took their first curling gold with a sound thrashing of Finland. The US captured its first US curling medal, with a win over Great Britain for the bronze. That match was interrupted briefly by a streaker wearing nothing but a strategically placed rubber chicken, who danced around on the ice for a few moments before being led away by security.

Locally, the Olympic coverage meant larger crowds at the Granite Curling Club's open houses. Looking more like a club than a curling center, the line of attendees snaked around the building at the open house two weeks ago, with a corresponding wait before getting onto the ice. With the Olympics closed, the rest of the season's open houses should have a more reasonable crowd. It's never too early to start training for Vancouver.