It’s getting closer.
This time next month, Lacombe will be hosting the 2014 Boston Pizza Cup, the provincial championships for the Alberta Curling Federation.
Curling was a favourite pastime of mine growing up and something I often wish I continued into my adult life. While I haven’t thrown a rock in the better part of a decade, I still have a strong appreciation for curling and enjoy watching games whenever I can.
Unfortunately, many don’t share my appreciation for curling. There are those who think it doesn’t have as much credibility as a sport because it is deemed not as physical as other more popular sports, like hockey or football.
While I am a fan of physical, full-contact sports, I don’t believe curling should be discounted for its lack of these things. In fact, I would say curling is just as patriotic as hockey and just as intense as football.
Curling is believed to have been created by Scots who brought the game with them when they settled in Canada. That means Canadian curling is pretty much as old as the country itself and explains why Canada is considered to be the heart of curling today. If that’s not a patriotic sport, I don’t know what is.
As for those who feel curling is lacking in action, they have it wrong. If you want action, watch hockey or maybe an MMA fight. Curling is about strategy.
The excitement in curling doesn’t come from the action, it comes from how the curlers’ strategies who decide how to execute their plays. It’s actually something curling has in common with football.
I wasn’t a fan of football at all until I had to start covering it for my job. Having played rugby in high school, I didn’t see what was so exciting about a sport where every time the ball touched the ground, play stopped.
As I grew to learn more about the sport, I developed an appreciation for the different plays and strategies used by teams. Next time you watch a curling match, approach it with a similar mindset. You will enjoy the game much more.