Why Do I Like Curling?

Yes, seriously, I do like the sport of curling. I’m not just one of those people who like the sport because of one team’s creative choice of attire, either. No, thanks to a handful of reasons, curling has been one of my favorite sports to watch during these Olympic Games.

Why, you may ask? Well, one of the main reasons I have taken an interest in the sport is that it’s one of the few events that are actually live on NBC’s many networks broadcasting the Olympics. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, but their events (like many others) are already completed by the time NBC shows them in primetime. I just don’t have as much interest waiting to watch something in which I already know the result. (I am aware that ice skating is live as well, but as I stated in my previous entry, Tanith Belbin was the only reason I was watching ice dancing, and her event is over.)

I also have found that curling is one of the more interesting sports to watch because of the amount of strategy required. These athletes aren’t just winging the stone down the ice; the skip (the player who delivers the stone down the ice) has to think about many different scenarios and how his or her next delivery could be played by the opposing team. The accuracy with which these athletes can place the stone inside the house (the ring on each end of the ice) is remarkable. Also, if you listen to the British or Canadian teams (the U.S. team finished 2-7 in Round Robin play, and didn’t qualify for the tournament round), you’ll find that the skip is actually yelling directions, not just for the amusement of viewers. Any sport that requires that amount of thinking and strategy is worth watching to me.

Sure, these individuals may not have the high flying ability of Shaun White, but they’re athletes all the same. In addition, curling, unlike many Olympic sports, has a set guideline of rules, and there isn’t any question on whether or not the scoring is fair (that being said, we won’t have any athletes with self-proclaimed Platinum medals).

So, next time you sit down to watch the Olympics, switch to MSNBC or CNBC (both frequently broadcast curling matches) and give curling a chance. You may be surprised about how difficult it is to change the channel to something else.

Want to learn about curling, so you don’t have to pretend to know all the rules? Visit this site.

Here’s another interesting article about the Olympic curling stones.

– K. Becks