Edmonton joins the Gunn club

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/12/2009 (5991 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON – It’s less than 10 minutes before Jason Gunnlaugson & Co. are to step into the hack at the Roar of the Rings and there are the ‘Young Guns’ — hardly the picture of nerves — posing with a couple of female curling fans for a photo.

A little later, not long after once again thrilling crowds with their bash ’em, crash ’em big-weight style of play — even in a 7-2 loss to Kevin Koe — Gunnlaugson is holding court with the media in another engaging give-and-take that has the press hanging on his every syllable.

 

Yes, Gunnlaugson’s Beausejour foursome may be winless in their two starts here at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, but there’s little doubt which rink has enthralled fans and has them hustling for seats near their sheet of ice.

It’s the poker-playing kid from Manitoba and his upstart scruffy-faced, earring sporting, spikey-haired crew that includes third Justin Richer, second Braden Zawada and lead Tyler Forrest.

"The crowd wants to cheer for the young guys, they want to cheer for somebody new," said Gunnlaugson. "We just have to go out and make some shots and put some points on the board and they’re going to be there yelling. They’re just looking for a reason to blow up, now we’ve got to give it to them."

Now, maybe it’s because they are the just-happy-to-be-here fresh faces in a familiar field that includes the likes of Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard, Randy Ferbey and Jeff Stoughton — all of them at least 18 years his senior.

Maybe it’s the fact that Gunnlaugson throws so hard the granite literally goes flying — one of his shots ricocheted a rock onto the carpet between sheets on Monday — and they collectively play the game with all the timidity of riverboat gamblers.

Or, maybe, it’s simply the fact their enthusiasm is instantly contagious to anybody who watches them play the game they love.

Indeed, it could be said — if you can excuse a hockey analogy — that Gunnlaugson and his crew are the ‘Hanson Brothers’ of curling. As Dean Gemmel, author, and host of thecurlingshow.com so aptly put it, taking in a Gunnlaugson game is "like watching (1970s curling bad boy) Paul Gowsell without the booze and the drugs."

Fun? You want fun? Get this: in The Morning Roar — the daily newspaper published during this event — Gunnlaugson was asked to list his ‘celebrity dream woman.’

His answer: Shannon Kleibrink third Amy Nixon, whom he has curled with before.

"Look, we were asked to fill out these questionnaires when we were at (the pre-Trials event) Prince George," Gunnlaugson explained. "I’ve curled with Amy before a bit. We know each other and I knew I wouldn’t piss her off too much with that comment. I told her to make sure Mike (her husband) doesn’t punch me too hard. It was just kind of a humorous answer."

Said Nixon, when told of Gunnlaugson’s comment: "Gunner doesn’t drink and I would never date someone or hang out with somebody who didn’t drink. My husband (Mike Westlund) can attest to that."

And Gunnlaugson’s answer when asked to list his ‘most annoying celebrity’? Try TSN analyst Linda Moore.

"Linda… I do not find you annoying really. I’m sorry," backtracked Gunnlaugson when asked about it Monday. "When we were in the hotel room in Prince George it was a lot funnier."

Still, that’s what makes Gunnlaugson’s quartet such a breath of fresh air here. Underdogs? Sure. But you get the sense that while they’d love to throw up a couple of ‘Ws’ here before it’s all said and done, they’re just as thrilled to be living in the moment among all these legends.

"I’m enjoying this a ton," said Gunnlaugson. "We’re really, really enjoying the whole experience. We’re having a good time, although today was not our best day.

"For us here, when you’re such underdogs… you know that you can win, but you know it’s very, very difficult to do. So this is a great opportunity for us to get to do everything in this event, to experience the crowd, experience the media, the festivities… everything. We wanted to take advantage of that here and the guys are having a lot of fun and they’re playing great. I just wish I could help them out and play better."

But if not, it’ll be back to their hotel room for a game of foosball.

Foosball?

"Yeah, we’ve spent some time goofing around in the room," said Gunnlaugson. "We’ve got a foosball table in the room… Ted’s (Fifth Ted Appelman) from Edmonton so he got the hook-up on the table.

"You definitely have to get away from the rink every day for a couple of hours. Hey, we’re trying to do a little bit of everything."

Misson already accomplished, gentlemen.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca