Golden warriors return home

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2011 (5486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — The scene: Bagpipes blared at the the James A. Richardson International Airport as Jeff Stoughton’s road-weary crew, having just conquered the men’s world championships, glided down the escalators with their gold medals in tow.

At the bottom, the curling foursome from Charleswood was swallowed by family and friends, many wearing ‘Stoughton champion’ T-shirts, a few holding balloons and white pompoms.

A bank of TV cameras and photographers began shooting the moment for posterity.

So this wise-acre on the same flight, taking in the celebration, looks around and deadpans: “Did they win?”

Yes, they did, smart guy. Yet judging by the reaction of Stoughton’s crew, back on home soil less than 24 hours after dispatching Scotland’s Tommy Brewster 6-5 in Sunday’s championship final, the reality is still a work in progress.

“I can’t believe that it actually happened,” said second Reid Carruthers. “After that last rock (stopped), I looked at (lead) Steve (Gould) and instant tears. Because of all that hard work, all that time spent going to practice. It made it all worthwhile for that moment right there and no one can take that away from you. I was the happiest guy in the world on Sunday.”

Third Jon Mead was just as incredulous. “I can’t believe we pulled this off,” he said.

As Mead was swarmed by the awaiting press, his doe-eyed daughter, Sophie, was at his waist, wearing her father’s gold medal around her neck. The eight-year-old, in fact, was one of the major reasons that Mead returned to competitive curling this year with his old friend Stoughton.

Mead left Stoughton’s team back in 2006, after the game broke his heart at the 2005 Olympic Trials – a devastating final loss to eventual Olympic gold medalist Brad Gushue. But as Sophie got older, dad got the itch again.

“She was one of the big reasons to keep playing,” Mead noted, “because she was enjoying it, getting excited about it.”

For the longest time after the Trials, Mead feared of getting too close again, too invested, only to lose. So they didn’t, winning the Brier and then the Worlds.

While it was the first global title for Mead and Carruthers, it was the second for the 47-year-old Stoughton and Gould, who won it all together way back in 1996.

“It’s hard to compare,” Stoughton said, “because No. 1 I can’t remember that far back. And No. 2 you get older and appreciate things more and it might never happen again. I was only 32 years old when we won our first Worlds and probably thought I would get to three or four. We were fortunate enough to get to the 1999 final again and lost… So this one is so much more special just because it’s basically near the end of my career.”

Stoughton said it was too early to start talking about next year. Same with Mead. “I’m just thinking about all the laundry I have to do,” the third said.

But the team rookie, 26-year-old Carruthers, wasn’t shy about his thoughts on the future.

“As soon as we were sitting in the dressing room (after winning on Sunday),” the second said. “I looked at them – we were relaxing and having a pop – and I said, ‘Guys, let’s do it again.’

“A lot of my friends were joking, ‘So what sport is next for year?’ ” Carruthers added. “But the thing is once you’ve done it once you want to do it again. We want to repeat. It’s an unbelievable feeling. I can’t wait to sit down and relax and let it sink in.”

Indeed, when Carruthers opened up his eyes in a hotel bed in Regina on Monday morning, his first thought was, “Was that a dream, or what it real?”

It was real, said Mead, who knows full well what it’s like to come home and the bagpipers are nowhere to be found.

“We can always sit back and say we won a World championship together,” he said. “That’s a pretty neat feeling.”

So, too, was standing on the podium in Regina, where fans throughout the packed arena stayed for the entire presentation ceremony, and sang the national anthem. “I’ll never forget it,” Stoughton said.

Yes, they won. And the bagpipes and the white pompoms and much ado upon touching down back home never gets old, either.

“Regina adopted us,” Stoughton said. “It was unbelievable support there. But I know Winnipeg was cheering as hard as they could in their living rooms. There’s nothing better (then coming home). You get piped down. You’re world champion. Nobody’s taking that away from you. I don’t think this smile is going to be wiped off my face for a month.”

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca