It's the little things that count
What was meant to be a week of banking on at least a “W” or maybe two, turned out to be the realization that the little victories within matches and not an actual win brings hope and would add confidence to the team. The competition here is so stiff and the ability to score in multiple ends and score multiple points in an end translated to massive boosts to the moral of the team.
A revelation that most of these teams are currently at the top of their game and typically will not see as much tangible results immediately. We are showing signs of improvement every single time we take the ice, literally. Many fellow athletes have commented on how they have seen marked improvement from our first game on through each game thereafter. What is a better way to learn than trial by fire? Just jumping in and doing the sport. I have to admit it has been humbling and often humiliating to withstand the funny looks and awkward moments.
To overhear non productive remarks such as, “these guys should understand that there is a lot more to curling than just showing up”, and “I can’t believe that they though that they could compete at this level”, “these guys even brought their own film crew!” As it is in life and many other sports, it is funny how many armchair quarterbacks offer their unwarranted advice. “He should have made this play”, or “I wouldn’t have done that”, or “why didn’t he do this? That was a dumb decision.” Etc. Well the bottom line is that we chose to get off our asses and actually do it. Who can blame a guy for that?
The fact of the matter is that you tend to respect that guy. The funny thing is that once you have earned that respect and licked your wounds, the advice you tend to get from your direct competition is positive and sincerely beneficial constructive criticism. It was never our intention to bring a film crew in order to capitalize on our guaranteed victories whilst demolishing the competition by making fun of how goofy this sport is. We really do understand that we may be brand new to the sport, but just because curling doesn’t have much notoriety and to most ignorant people, it may seem kind of like a glorified backyard game of washers, it is not an easy sport that you just learn overnight and compete at a high level with ease.
In time people will learn that this motley crew from Colorado is all about promoting the worthwhile, life-long sport of curling. That you are never too old to get off your duff and pursue a new dream today. With film, we intend on capturing the essence of this fantastic “sport-on-ice”, shown from the competitors’ perspective, not the spectator’s. And now that we have experienced the level of competition first hand, we really do believe that with much effort and focus, there is a good chance that we can go far in this crazy sport they call curling.
You just never know.
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