The first time I watched an Olympic curling[1] match on television, I entertained a thought that is surely shared by everyone who sees the sport for the first time: What the hell am I looking at?
It was during the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I tuned in to the live feed at the very beginning of a women's medal match. I was intrigued by the grace of the players and how they could effortlessly slide those huge, bulb-like stones down the ice. But everything else about it was confusing. It looked sort of like shuffleboard, but with more yelling. And lots of weird stuff. The rules, the lingo, they way they used brooms—brooms!—to make the stones slide around. And it just seemed so boring. How could anyone endure watching a sport with such a lack of obvious athleticism, such inscrutable gameplay, and such a lethargic pace?
By the two hour mark, I was riveted. I still didn't understand what the brooms were for, but I was beginning to figure out the rules. The lingo was beginning to make sense. And I was absolutely consumed by the drama. When the match ended, I quickly set my DVR to record every curling broadcast for the rest of the Olympics[2], including reruns. I was hooked. What had started as a chance encounter with an esoteric sport had ended in an insatiable thirst for more, immediately.
Curl You Know It's True
Curling is absolutely the best sport to watch on television, particularly for viewers looking for an escape from the frantic "more, faster, bigger, higher" grind of most televised games. Watching basketball or hockey can get you so hyped up, you feel like drinking a...