1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
Time to make some memories
If there's a longer and better party than the Brier anywhere in the world, I haven't run across it yet.
For the next 10 days, Edmonton will experience the best example of Canadiana that remains in this often-fragmented country. The distances and issues that separate us become irrelevant.
It's hard to understand the scene and appreciate the subculture unless you've been there, done that.
If you had to pick a theme, the Brier is mainly about ordinary people having an extraordinary week.
UNIQUE
The Brier is unique in the sense that it's a national championship that pits together 12 teams in an interprovincial competition.
They're swept away from all over the country, away from their day-to-day existence, into a dream world where anything is possible.
It's their lifetime passion of getting to the Show that keeps curlers going. Hang around them for a while and you'll appreciate the passion never dies.
They're average guys with average egos who do this mainly for the fun of it and the satisfaction of being able to do something well.
Average guys like Don McKenzie, former lead of the Pat Ryan rink that won the 1989 Brier and Worlds.
One day, he was world champion. The next day, he was back at work as a plumber, standing knee-deep in sewer water.
They've had to do it for the fun of it. There's no multi-million-dollar paydays in curling.
In fact, it was only just recently that the players secured a deal where they can share some of the revenues to help defray costs. They've had to take time off work and use up holiday time just to be here.
They can be as old as Northern Ontario lead Wayne Lowe, who's 52. They can be as young as Newfoundland lead Brett Reynolds, who's 20.
They can be a veteran squad like the Yukon/Territories, average age 40.75 years. Or, they can be like Alberta, whose skip Ken Hunka is the Brier's oldest at 48, but whose average age of 31.25 makes them the youngest team at this year's Brier.
But what happens on the ice is only one part of this fabulous scene.
This event is mostly about memories and there have been a few over the years.
I've got to admit I didn't know what I was in for when I was assigned to cover my first Brier in 1986 at Kitchener-Waterloo.
Like a lot of people, my exposure to curling was limited to occasionally watching the final on TV.
But there have been plenty of good memories built up since then.
Start with Kitchener. Lulu's, the world's biggest bar built in a converted Kmart store. Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, and Burton Cummings on the same bill the same night.
Back in Edmonton in 1987. Pedro's Bar, a one-week deal set up by the Shamrock and Granite Clubs. Ken Hunka was instrumental in getting it going.
Saskatoon, 1989. The most incredible field of all time and the most enthusiastic partiers. Saw the sun rise five times.
Halifax, 1995. What a Brier Patch! Introduction to up-and-coming Atlantic sounds, like Rawlins Cross, Natalie McMaster and the most diversified entertainment package ever at the Patch.
Kamloops 1996. The one I'll remember most.
I'd sort of wandered over to the Brier Patch between draws sometime during mid-week. As it happened, Quebec's team skipped by Don Westphal was on stage.
Other teams had done their skits on the Brier Patch stage, but this one was different.
It was the first Brier after one of the endless series of referendums that Quebec politicians like to hold.
A SPECIAL GIFT
The personable team kidded around a bit about it, then announced they'd like to present a special gift to the crowd that was gathered.
They started singing O Canada. Any resentment that had built up toward Quebec was washed away in a sea of tears. It was, without a doubt, one of the most stirring moments in Canadian sport. People who were in attendance that precious March day still get choked by the memory.
It's moments like that, away from the ice, that make this such a special event.
Do yourself a favour. Get a ticket, if just for one night, just to say you've been there.
The memories are there. Go and find them.