Curling Team Trials 2018

[seashmore]

I just got my tickets in the mail yesterday!!!! I am beyond excited and really hoping I can catch a Shuster game. 

Does anyone else even watch curling?

[anatess2]

On 11/1/2017 at 12:40 AM, seashmore said:

I just got my tickets in the mail yesterday!!!! I am beyond excited and really hoping I can catch a Shuster game. 

Does anyone else even watch curling?

My husband is a big sports fan.  He loves anything sports and he'd sit there and watch fisherman sit around on a boat waiting to catch fish on a bass competition.

But curling... hah hah... no.

[seashmore]

2 hours ago, anatess2 said:

My husband is a big sports fan.  He loves anything sports and he'd sit there and watch fisherman sit around on a boat waiting to catch fish on a bass competition.

But curling... hah hah... no.

I'll admit, it's a tough sport to watch if you've never done it before. I once had a friend tell me it was more exciting to watch me watch curling than it was to watch curling. haha....probably because I'm always yelling at the play.

[anatess2]

11 minutes ago, seashmore said:

I'll admit, it's a tough sport to watch if you've never done it before. I once had a friend tell me it was more exciting to watch me watch curling than it was to watch curling. haha....probably because I'm always yelling at the play.

I don't see it much different than... is it called shuffleboard?... at the local billiards hall.  I like watching it when a game is in play.  But I'm not one to watch sports much.  I used to play but even that I have quit doing as I got to busy for it.

[seashmore]

8 hours ago, anatess2 said:

I don't see it much different than... is it called shuffleboard?... at the local billiards hall.  I like watching it when a game is in play.  But I'm not one to watch sports much.  I used to play but even that I have quit doing as I got to busy for it.

I often describe curling as shuffleboard on ice. What's great is that it's like bowling, in that it all ages can participate. I started at the neighborhood club/rink when I was about seven (they have kiddie stones that are about half the weight of the standard 46 lbs used in regulation play) and there are eighty year olds who still play, using a device that hooks onto the handle of the stone so they can shove off from a standing position rather than the typical lunge.

Also, the sportsmanship between teams is something that is atypical of other sports. One team will often congratulate their opponent's good shot even if it is detrimental to their game. Local leagues almost always have a tradition of the opposing teams joining each other for drinks/comraderie afterwards.

Edited November 3, 2017 by seashmore

[zil]

I was a teenager at a YW sleepover at a friend's house watching their cable TV in the wee hours of the night.  Pretty sure everyone else was asleep.  As I recall, I was snacking on popcorn and M&Ms (a fabulous combination), and as I was flipping channels, I saw the most peculiar thing I had ever seen (or so it seemed).  It was clearly a sport, but it was the weirdest "sport" I ever saw.  I had no idea what it was.  Much later, I learned it was curling.  I now watch it (though it's extremely rare for it to be on broadcast TV, still all I have) with the sort of fascination you might experience when watching...I dunno, something baffling. 

I also like watching that thing where the skier goes down a really long ramp on ridiculously large skis and sees how far he can fly - that's kinda fun for some inexplicable reason.

Edited November 3, 2017 by zil

[Vort]

12 hours ago, zil said:

I also like watching that thing where the skier goes down a really long ramp on ridiculously large skis and sees how far he can fly - that's kinda fun for some inexplicable reason.

You know that the hill they land on is designed to closely follow the not-quite-parabolic path of the skier, right? And when they finally land, it's gentle enough that they don't break their legs.

[zil]

Just now, Vort said:

You know that the hill they land on is designed to closely follow the not-quite-parabolic path of the skier, right? And when they finally land, it's gentle enough that they don't break their legs.

Yes, I figured they had all that stuff figured out since I have yet to see one break his legs on landing... I don't recall them normally showing the whole setup such that you get an idea of all the angles / dimensions involved, though it's possible I just wasn't paying attention - I usually have the sound off when watching such things and am also doing other stuff while it's on.  Anywho, I just think it's a cool idea, probably really fun for the skier to float / fly for a while. 

[anatess2]

15 minutes ago, zil said:

Yes, I figured they had all that stuff figured out since I have yet to see one break his legs on landing... I don't recall them normally showing the whole setup such that you get an idea of all the angles / dimensions involved, though it's possible I just wasn't paying attention - I usually have the sound off when watching such things and am also doing other stuff while it's on.  Anywho, I just think it's a cool idea, probably really fun for the skier to float / fly for a while. 

You gotta watch that based-on-real-life movie... arrrgg.. Eddie the something.  Fine fine, I'll google it... hang on.

Eddie the Eagle!  

It's about this guy from the UK whose sole dream in life is to be in the Olympics.  So he decides to take up ski-jumping without knowing anything about the sport.  Amazing how he never broke a leg the entire time!  LOL!

[seashmore]

It started! My dad said it was more entertaining than he thought he would be. (He did attend seven years worth of high school games..)

One thing that's really great is that it's being hosted in a place where curling isn't that well known, so those of us who do know help,those around us understand the game. Today, I heard it referred to as "a gentleman's sport" when one of the players moved one of his own team's rocks out of play because he touched it.