thurdl sports

Olympic Moment of Day Six?

Yeah, wasn't one yesterday, cause I didn't watch much coverage due to other things i had to do. What I could watch turned out to be figure skating. But, did get to see the semis and final of Snowboard Cross. DAMN cool event. Yay for the X-games influence on the Winter Olympics.

Instead, if you're here and reading this, it's time to be inundated with a curling post.

I don't understand the lack of curling on television. Yes, not much of it happens in the United States, but there are world championships, and the United States almost always qualifies, and often puts on a decent showing. The sport is dominated by the Canuckistani and Scots, but the US is right there in the pack of nations that are trying to show they're #3 in the world and can take on the two big boys.

The next women's world championship is actually held next month. Here in the United States, even. It's just the perfect timing to be televised to take advantage of people who have been enthralled with curling during the Olympics, as well as people who have been meaning to watch it, but can't find where it's hiding on cable. I'm not saying to televise the whole thing, curling bonspiels are HUGE affairs, thanks to a full round robin. But ESPN should be jumping on this. Send a crew up, hire the Dons, who have done a great job as curling commentators for the NBC cable networks. It falls at a good point of the year to sneak a few games onto the schedule.

Especially since there's a chance that the lovely Curl Girls might be the United States representatives at the bonspiel. That's a built in audience right there. These girls are BIG right now, and just run a few ads suggesting we watch them try to recitfy the humiliation of the Olympics. Hell, I don't know. But it seems to me that curling has earned at least a chance to develop an audience. It's consistantly one of the best watched events on the cable NBC networks, and interest in the sport has crashed the US Curling Association website, and the Curl Girls site is seeing insane levels of traffic.

And who knows, perhaps success will beget success. People watch it, people say "I could do that," more people attempt the sport, and perhaps the US ends up with a larger pool of talent to draw from, becomes a bigger international power, and might even be able to be more of a contender in Vancouver and in the 2014 games.

I know. Pipe dreams all of them. But it seems to me that someone other than OLN could at least give it a go.

posted by thurdl @ 3:51 PM