1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
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Wittman's nightmare
That was the year CBC-TV pulled the plug on the extra-end semifinal between Bernie Sparkes of B.C. and Newfoundland's Mark Noseworthy, to make room for coverage of Quebec's provincial NDP convention and served up a rerun of Star Trek to viewers in Western Canada.
Don Wittman, the man who's called more Brier finals for CBC Sports than you can shake a broom at, still has vivid memories of that fateful Saturday a dozen years ago.
TERMINATING COVERAGE
"I still have nightmares about that one," recalled Wittman, the network's lead curling announcer who has covered 30 Briers. "Part way through the seventh end I was told we might have to terminate our coverage.
"I said, 'That makes no sense at all. You can go to the convention 10 minutes late and not miss anything.' I was told, `No, we have to get off the air.' At 5 o'clock, I was in the position of having to sign off.
"I'm sitting there in front of the monitor, all upset, and I see Star Trek. I went ballistic. Whoever made the decision hadn't accounted for the fact the convention was on a delayed basis across the network."
Naturally, Wittman and his sidekick Don Duguid took the brunt of the abuse.
"I had a pile of phone messages back at my hotel calling me all sorts of names," related Wittman. "We had both ends of the country covered there and it was unfortunate."
Wittman wasn't the only one besieged with angry phone calls. Irate curling buffs lit up switchboards at CBC stations across the country as well as at the network's Toronto headquarters the next Monday.
The error of their ways became painfully obvious to network executives. Not surprisingly, it hasn't happened since.
Traditionally, CBC Sports' Brier coverage garners an audience any where between one-quarter and one-half of the size of those tuning in the Grey Cup. As one might expect, the majority of viewers fall within the 55-plus age demographic.
So, what's the mass appeal of curling on television?
"It's a lot like chess," Wittman explained. "I have a lot of friends who have never curled. One in particular, loves watching because of the strategy.
"I think the biggest improvement to the sport has been the introduction of the microphones. There isn't any other sport where you can listen to what the players are thinking.
"The television numbers are quite amazing. The numbers for the women's gold medal game at the Olympics last winter were over 2,000,000 at 2 a.m. I would assume there were a lot of younger people watching along with the curling set."
As usual, TSN will provide early-round coverage of the proceedings from Skyreach Centre. Canada's first cable sports network is slated to generate 571/2 hours of live coverage through the first seven days of competition.
Pending a resolution of the on-going labor dispute between the CBC and members of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union, CBC Sports will carry semi-final and final round action March 13 and 14.
If CBC's technicians are still on strike, it'll be an instant replay of the Scott Tournament of Hearts from Charlottetown with TSN stepping into the breech for the final two days.
For TSN's crew of Vic Rauter, Ray Turnbull and Linda Moore, the Shootout in Edmonton could be the opportunity of a lifetime. After 13 years of watching Wittman and Duguid parachute into the broadcast booth to work the final three games, the slider could be on the other foot this year.
BEYOND HIS CONTROL
Wittman has his fingers crossed.
"It would be a major disappointment and the TSN people would, no doubt, be very happy," he said. "I was very disappointed we couldn't do the Scott. The two events I really look forward to are the Scott and Brier. I'm hoping it works out but that's beyond my control."