Curling and football go hand in hand

American-born Rhett Dawson gave a quote when he was inducted onto the Saskatchewan Roughriders Wall of Fame.

“You learn quickly that Canada is a hockey country but Saskatchewan is a football province… and curling.”

Football and curling in the 2024 Brier host province has a long and storied history. If there is one thing Saskatchewan curling fans will notice, it’s current and former Roughriders checking out the Brier. Regina-born Mitch Picton is one of the teams’ best receivers and he joined fellow Rider O-Lineman Logan Ferland (from Melfort, Sask.) on the first weekend’s “Green Day” to pass out miniature curling stones and joy. We even noticed a few Blue Bomber fans grabbing an autograph or two.

Ron Lancaster, of course, is a legend in this province. He was close friends with Ernie Richardson and often went down to watch the Richardsons play in men’s league play during their world championship seasons. Lancaster also was a regular in men’s curling around Regina. He once said he enjoyed watching the team dynamics… and hanging out with curlers.

Richardson himself is a Grey Cup champion of sorts. Ernie was a special advisor on the Roughriders’ Executive Committee (now Board of Directors) from 1987 to 1991, and got to celebrate the ’89 championship win.

Former Canadian high school curling champion Bill Clarke was Canada’s first-ever winner in 1950. This is the event that evolved into the Canadian Juniors (now the U21). He skipped that Saskatchewan team on to history and went on to play for the Riders for 14 seasons, on both the offensive and defensive lines.

The year 1961 may have marked Clarke’s greatest sporting achievement—his team eliminated the Richardsons in the middle of their dynasty. They won four Briers and worlds from 1959 to 1963 and it was Roughrider Bill Clarke and his team who got Ernie in their ’61 club playdowns.

They never even got out of Regina. That was the era when hundreds of men’s and women’s teams would go through a series of playdowns to get to the provincials. There were no backdoor formats, no second or third chances.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV9XQ0_H4RM[/embed]

On Brier Monday I attended with CFL legend Richie Hall, longtime Roughrider and now defensive coach and consultant with Winnipeg. He noticed former CIS and Canadian Junior players performing so well at the Brier. Ben Hebert played for the Regina Thunder in the CJFL, as did Marc Kennedy with Edmonton. Both were quarterbacks. Then there was Catlin Schneider, who played wide receiver for the University of Regina Rams in the CIS.

The loudest cheers of that day were for Team BC and skipper Schneider, his family and friends making a ton of noise along with the Northern Ontario contingent. And then TSN zeroed in on Richie watching in the stands. He easily received the loudest ovation of the afternoon. He still lives in Regina, going almost 30 years now.

As timeouts were being called late in the games Richie asked, “I wonder what the coaches are saying? Is it corrective? Is it just breath? Is it instructional? Is it simple reminders? Is it empowering the players in ways they would understand? Is it to throw the opposition off?”

He reminded me that good coaches are always coachable. He went on to say, “I can learn from any coach at any level in any sport. The essentials of good coaching are all the same. Of course, the nuances of the sports are different but coaching acumen is similar. I enjoy watching coaches and how they interact and what they emphasize. It could be Little League, World Cup soccer or the Brier.”

A final football-to-granite fun fact. Rodger Schmidt, the Neudorf, Sask. world silver medal curler with Germany in 1987, quarterbacked the Melville, Sask. high school football team but they could never get past a certain team in Langenburg, Sask. known as the Screaming Eagles. They were quarterbacked by another fanatic curler.

That was a pretty astute comment from Rhett Dawson, the Georgia born-and-raised CFL superstar.

Yellowknife grit

I’ve been thinking of Kevin Koe and his worst-ever Brier finish. As I type this his team goes to 1-6 after losing to PEI’s Tyler Smith by a 10-3 count on Wednesday night. How does Koe respond? My guess is with a vengeance.

He was honest about his own performance, saying his draw game was easily his worst at a Brier. He sounded very disappointed when you consider his own personal bar is so high. But think back to that Canadian Juniors final, where he represented the NWT out of his home city of Yellowknife. 

That was almost three decades ago and he lost the final on a Bobby Labonte-like kicked rock—maybe a strong graze is more accurate.

He then moved to Calgary, winning a Canadian Mixed title a few years later. Then he had to face tough Alberta provincial setbacks versus the likes of the Ferbey Four and Kevin Martin, who both dominated for an entire decade (2000-09) before his big breakthrough in 2010. And what a breakthrough it was, winning four Briers and two worlds in total.

I am reminded of a George Foreman interview where the famous boxer said he thought he would be an undefeated world champion. He says he wasn’t ever prepared for disappointment and then in 1974—at the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire—he was outfinessed by Muhammed Ali.

It was George’s first-ever loss after Olympic gold and winning and defending the heavyweight title. He then retired in 1977 after a loss to Jimmy Young but, 10 years later, came out of retirement—and five years after that regained the crown.

Fifteen years between championships. What was his lesson?

George said he had to learn how to rebound from a major loss. He studied champions in life and came to this conclusion, “All the champions I studied never went undefeated in their sport or life. Great champions learn to get up off the mat and recommit to the process and try again, and again and again, if necessary. It was hard for me to grasp but I’m glad I eventually did.

“You have to learn how to recover from losses and setbacks. Those are the people I admire and want to be like. Life is about overcoming or at least trying.”

Kevin Koe has shown us this resilience and may show it again. I lived in Calgary for 20 years watching his growth and his resiliency stood out even back then.

We have inspirational examples in the curling world. Hec Gervais, the Gentle Giant from Alberta, went 13 years between Brier titles. Randy Ferbey went 12 years between Brier successes. Alex Smith of St. John’s, NL set a Brier record this week with an incredible 35 years between Brier appearances.

Think of all the setbacks they had in their own provinces to add to the disappointment of those dry years. Luke Saunders, the third for Nova Scotia … his mom went 17 years between Scotties championships. You may have heard of Halifax’s Colleen Jones.

These are fascinating examples of grit and resiliency for any genre of life.

Kevin Koe needs to look no further as he leaves the Brandt Centre and seeing the statues of the Ronnie and George show. That first Grey Cup came in their 56th season. The next didn’t come until 23 years later. The next 18 years later. The next a mere six years … and now the Riders enter their 11th year since a title and they’re hoping.

This is a province that understands droughts. Do we like them? We’re not sadists, but hope always springs eternal.