This past weekend we headed back to Newfoundland, amid storms and freezing rain, to visit Elizabeth's family and go cheer on Team Gushue at The Brier, Canada's ultimate curling tournament.
The Brier at Mile One Stadium.
Travelling in winter in Canada is fraught with peril, and Newfoundland is one of the worst places to get to on account of its hardcore combination of wind, fog, and every possible form of precipitation. So, it was no surprise that our journey to Newfoundland was less than straightforward. Fifteen minutes from landing in St. John's we were told that freezing rain had turned the runway into an ice rink, and after 40 minutes of circling to see if conditions improved, our pilot turned us around and took us straight back to Toronto. Fortunately, we were able to book ourselves onto a morning flight and so after a few hours sleeping on the floor in the airport we got back on a plane, this time making it all the way to St. John's, arriving only 12 hours late on Thursday afternoon!
Once we arrived, however, there was no time to rest because it was time to go see our first game of the Brier! For the uninitiated, The Brier is the big event in Canadian men's curling, with the best team from each province competing for the chance to represent Canada in The World's - an event that Canada wins quit often, unsurprisingly. Every year the tournament is held in a different location across the country, but had only been hosted once before in Newfoundland in 1972. Naturally, as soon as we heard it would be hosted in St. John's in 2017 we had the tickets booked, not least because Team Newfoundland and Labrador (led by 2006 Winter Olympic Gold medalist, Brad Gushue) were among the favourites to win. With B-Rad (our own personal nickname for the skip) yet to win a single Brier after years of being on top of the game, this was sure to be one for the books.
Once we arrived, however, there was no time to rest because it was time to go see our first game of the Brier! For the uninitiated, The Brier is the big event in Canadian men's curling, with the best team from each province competing for the chance to represent Canada in The World's - an event that Canada wins quit often, unsurprisingly. Every year the tournament is held in a different location across the country, but had only been hosted once before in Newfoundland in 1972. Naturally, as soon as we heard it would be hosted in St. John's in 2017 we had the tickets booked, not least because Team Newfoundland and Labrador (led by 2006 Winter Olympic Gold medalist, Brad Gushue) were among the favourites to win. With B-Rad (our own personal nickname for the skip) yet to win a single Brier after years of being on top of the game, this was sure to be one for the books.
An excited Elizabeth.
Thanks to Elizabeth and her Dad picking up full event passes we had great seats to every game, so starting on Thursday afternoon's draw we got to pay close attention to Team Newfoundland and Labrador's performance. Needless to say, with the stakes so high it was almost unbearably tense to watch them, even during the early stages of the round-robin. Fortunately, they seemed to be doing okay, losing only 2 of their 11 round-robin games and landing a number 2 spot for the play-offs. It also goes without saying that the support from the crowd was insane. Curling events are rarely a rowdy affair, but when Team Newfoundland and Labrador was on the ice, the Newfoundlanders were out in full force, despite the weather...
In addition to the high stakes of the event, further drama was added to the weekend due to the storms that hit Newfoundland bringing with them winds of 100+ km/h and gusts as high as 180 km/h! Traffic lights were left dangling, or completely detached, from their posts, siding and shingles were torn off roofs, and the entire city of St. John's experienced power outages. The winds were so strong as to blow people off the sidewalk into the middle of the road. None of this, however, stopped the week long party that is The Brier - except when there was a blackout at Mile One during one of the games...
In addition to the high stakes of the event, further drama was added to the weekend due to the storms that hit Newfoundland bringing with them winds of 100+ km/h and gusts as high as 180 km/h! Traffic lights were left dangling, or completely detached, from their posts, siding and shingles were torn off roofs, and the entire city of St. John's experienced power outages. The winds were so strong as to blow people off the sidewalk into the middle of the road. None of this, however, stopped the week long party that is The Brier - except when there was a blackout at Mile One during one of the games...
Blackout.
On Friday evening Team Newfoundland and Labrador faced off against Team Manitoba in the 1-2 game to see who would go directly to the championship game. After yet another nerve wracking game, B-Rad and his pals emerged victorious, securing their spot in the final for the second year in a row. However, after the 3-4 game and semi final had been played on Saturday it turned out that they'd be facing off against Team Canada - the team that had beaten them in last year's final!
Led by skip Kevin Koe, Team Canada (a title that is passed on to each Brier champion) already had 3 Brier wins under their belt in the last 7 years so the final was sure to be a close one. Settling into our seats on Sunday evening, the atmosphere was buzzing and the stadium was packed to the rafters. A bit of the tension was relieved early on, as it was clear this wouldn't be a repeat of last year's performance where Team Newfoundland and Labrador had trailed from the start. This time, they scored some good early ends to be up 5-1 in the first half, and you could feel the crowd relaxing, anticipating the long awaited Newfoundland victory.
Led by skip Kevin Koe, Team Canada (a title that is passed on to each Brier champion) already had 3 Brier wins under their belt in the last 7 years so the final was sure to be a close one. Settling into our seats on Sunday evening, the atmosphere was buzzing and the stadium was packed to the rafters. A bit of the tension was relieved early on, as it was clear this wouldn't be a repeat of last year's performance where Team Newfoundland and Labrador had trailed from the start. This time, they scored some good early ends to be up 5-1 in the first half, and you could feel the crowd relaxing, anticipating the long awaited Newfoundland victory.
The Brier Final - Newfoundland and Labrador vs. Team Canada.
But Koe is not one to go down without a fight, and in his last game he'd come back from near defeat to win the game in an extra end. Early in the second half of the final, he struck again, as he and his team started curling perfectly while Gushue and the by's began to falter, gradually losing their lead until it was all tied up at the beginning of the last end.
We've never witnessed such a quiet crowd of Newfoundlanders as we did during that end, watching with bated breath as each team took turns throwing their rocks. All Team Newfoundland and Labrador had to do was to score one single point to win, and it all came down to the very last rock of the game. Kevin Koe had two rocks in the house and Gushue had none, meaning that if Brad missed his last shot, Koe would score two points and win. All he needed to do was to throw a rock that would end up closer to the centre of the house than either of Koe's, and Newfoundland would score that precious single point to win. No pressure.
We've never witnessed such a quiet crowd of Newfoundlanders as we did during that end, watching with bated breath as each team took turns throwing their rocks. All Team Newfoundland and Labrador had to do was to score one single point to win, and it all came down to the very last rock of the game. Kevin Koe had two rocks in the house and Gushue had none, meaning that if Brad missed his last shot, Koe would score two points and win. All he needed to do was to throw a rock that would end up closer to the centre of the house than either of Koe's, and Newfoundland would score that precious single point to win. No pressure.
One particularly tense Newfoundlander.
As he made pushed off and threw the rock, we knew something wasn't right. His sweepers were straight away sweeping as hard as they could to help the rock go further, and it was clear that Brad hadn't given it enough weight. We all stared in horror, imagining the worst as the rock slowed, and slowed until, finally it came to a rest.... a mere inch closer to button than Koe's, winning the game.
Its all a bit of a blur from that point on. The loudest stadium you'd ever heard, Newfoundland pride at an all time high (which is saying something), a continuous playlist of all the Newfoundland classics blaring over the speakers, all making for a pretty historic moment. The party continued off the ice over at the Brier Patch (ground zero for Brier related partying) in the nearby convention centre where Brad and his team took to the stage to lead celebrations.
A couple of hours later, we were back at the airport, sleep deprived once again, ready for an uneventful flight back to Toronto. As well as the curling we also enjoyed catching up with friends and family while back on the Rock, and even managed to fit in a boardgame session before we left. Despite the storm and power outages, Elizabeth's sister Rebecca also enjoyed her Bridal Shower with the ladies on Saturday (while Luke and Dave went to watch some more curling). All in all, it was a busy, but very fun long weekend and we can't wait to go back again.
Here are a few (lots) more photos from our weekend.
Here are a few (lots) more photos from our weekend.
This time last year we were enjoying some Quebecois culture at Sugar Shack TO. Two years ago we were learning a bit more about Newfoundland's Irish heritage just in time for St. Patrick's day.
