So. Here's what happened.
We needed some new graphics for our social media hubs. The first step was to roust our designer, Gary D, from his summer slumber and command him to draft something new for The Curling NewsTwitter feed.
Not bad... as you can see, there are lots of competitive players, recreational curlers and even a mascot or two – all of them appearing in one graphic.
Whom do you recognize in there, by the way?
Wait a minute; this question calls for a...
CONTEST ALERT! CONTEST ALERT!
Eyeball the background graphic, head back to this blogpost, scroll on down to the "Comments" area below and rhyme off as many names as you can... and the reader with the most correct names will win a prize from The Curling News! Let's give you a deadline of, say, Monday September 17 at 12 noon ET, okay?
Now back to this blogpost.
Next up was The Curling NewsFacebook page, which needed a new "Cover" photo. And as you can see from that page, the resulting image became a smash hit and started going mini-viral – in a hurry!
This was a great idea, given the rather pathetic NHL hockey lockout, and full credit goes to Mr. D for the concept. He took a recent image of the now-legendary "Sociable" curling fans (whom we first met at the Halifax Brier 2010) dressed in their hockey jerseys at the 2012 Brier, and then replaced the text of their hand-held signs.
As we first showed you on page 17 of our April 2012 Digital Edition, those signs originally read What Should They Do? Go For Beers... which is pretty funny by itself. A few (Photoshop) seconds later and hey presto, the signs now read NO HOCKEY NO PROBLEM – WE LOVE CURLING... and the rest is history.
And it's absolutely true, of course. The death of one sport (via labour woes) need not ruin the fall and winter months for everyone. Curling is also played on ice, and it's played by folks just like you – large or small, male or female, younger or older, experienced or novice, coordinated or clumsy.
Curling is truly the sport for all – and best of all, it's not going anywhere. Feel free to share this image, to try and entice your friend or family member into giving the good old Roaring Game a shot!
And do join us, despondent NHL hockey fans! Watch our best teams and players compete on television and online... and we apologize in advance for the lack of a penalty box. But while you're watching, why not research a curling facility in your area – and try the game yourself?
[Images by Anil Mungal • Click on images to increase size]