1999 Brier
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1999 BRIER
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No leap of faith
Daviduk says Edmonton's '87 Brier should have been in Coliseum
Daviduk, that is. The don of Edmonton's curling mafia, the soul, the inspiration of the local curling scene.
Deliberately controversial, Daviduk has been front and centre around these parts for a long time. Traditionalists have howled at his initiatives. Depending on who you listen to, he's either a man of vision or completely delusionary.
But jaw with him one-on-one and you'll never be bored.
Daviduk holds the key vice-president of business portfolio for the Brier '99 organizing committee. He was also an integral part of the last Edmonton Brier in 1987.
It pained him the way the event was undersold.
"By the time I came on board, the AgriCom was already chosen as the site,'' said Daviduk, who was convinced even back then that Edmonton was ready to hold the Brier in the Coliseum (Skyreach Centre).
In today's big-arena venues, the 4,000-seat AgriCom was truly a rinky-dink rink in which to hold an event the magnitude of the Brier.
Edmonton had its chance to prove it could make curling into a big-time spectator sport, but instead chose the safe path.
"I think we should have gone into the Coliseum at that time, but we didn't,'' said Daviduk with a shrug. "There was never any debate about it. We were going into the AgriCom right from the get-go - before I got on side. The decision was already made.''
CONVINCING KIND OF GUY
Had he got on beforehand, nobody would doubt the influential Daviduk may have been able to convince the organizing committee to take the leap of faith.
In the dozen years since Edmonton last hosted the Brier, the game has taken phenomenal strides.
"I guess you could attribute it to the population of Canada responding to the television exposure,'' said Daviduk.
"All of a sudden, we realized there were lots of people who loved and watched curling that had never thrown a rock. You can stand in bank lines and grocery lines and people will tell you that.''
As it usually turns out, much to the chagrin of his detractors, Daviduk was right about the Brier's potential. This year, local sponsorship has added a phenomenal $800,000-plus to the bottom line.
INCREASED THE BUDGET
"It was going so well that we increased the budget,'' said Daviduk. "It's really a good feeling to see the response from everybody in Edmonton to this year's Brier.
"I'm not saying it wasn't there in 1987 or 1973 or 1954, but there's so many more people interested in the Brier this year than there has been in past years.''
It's been a combination of things that has taken the Brier to new heights over the past years.
Among them, of course, has been the recent successes of Edmonton curlers that have given this city a well-deserved reputation as a curling hotbed.
"I guess you have to credit a lot of things,'' said Daviduk. "The Olympics, the media help, the success of the '97 Brier (in Calgary), successes of our local curlers. The Kevin Martins and the young kids.''
Daviduk is the type of guy who always has had one eye on the future.
He was among the first to vocalize a recognition that the game had the great potential that's going to come out this Brier week.
At the same time during his tenure as a two-time president of the Northern Alberta Curling Association, he knew a base of new talent had to be developed. The dead spot of up-and-coming players has now been filled.
"We're very successful in our junior programs and it came out during the provincials,'' said Daviduk.
"You can see that in our top two teams this year - (Randy) Ferbey and (Ken) Hunka. Both of their front ends, I mean, those are just brilliant young curlers.''
Thanks to the vision of people like Daviduk, the next Brier that comes to Edmonton will be at the level it should have been at back in 1987.