Curler seeks a banner welcome

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/12/2009 (5973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — Carter Rycroft’s fresh face adorns the southeast corner of The Bay at Pacific Centre Mall in Vancouver. There, at the intersection at Granville and West Georgia streets, a four-storey banner is draped in all its splendour.

His mug is among a series of promotions for the official retailer of the 2010 Olympic Games and features Rycroft — the second on Kevin Koe’s Edmonton-based curling rink — in a black Canada jacket and white T-shirt, with the words: Vancouver 2010, We Were Made For This, running along side the third of three panels devoted just to him.

About a dozen of these massive displays are featured along the building, including cross-country skier Chandra Crawford, just around the corner.

"I was totally shocked. Had no idea," says Rycroft, when shown a picture of the display. "They asked me to come down, if I would be one of the athletes to come down to Toronto. It was a professional shoot with an entire crew.

"It was strange. I had never gone through a pro shoot. They had someone dressing ya, someone undressing ya, someone doing makeup. When I was done I asked what they were doing with the pictures. They said, ‘It was to do with Hudson’s Bay Co., you could be in a program or on a billboard, we don’t know for sure.’ Then I got a call two weeks later from one of my wife’s friends. She was coming out of an office building in Vancouver and there it was. Holy cow."

A sight to behold and one the 32-year-old would love to witness first-hand during the Olympic Games in the majestic B.C. city.

It will take a victory at the Roar of the Rings, the Olympic curling trials — set to start Sunday at Edmonton’s Rexall Place — to get Rycroft and rinkmates, skip Koe, third Blake MacDonald and lead Nolan Thiessen, there.

It would mark the second time Rycroft would wear the Maple Leaf at an Olympic Games. As a member of the 2002 Kevin Martin team, the foursome had to settle for silver as Martin’s last rock came up a tad heavy and the Edmonton foursome, which also included Don Walchuk and Don Bartlett, lost 6-5 to Norway’s Pal Trulsen at the Salt Lake City Games.

"Looking back, they are all good memories," says Rycroft. "I’d still like to get back and finish what we thought we should have, but that gives you more reason to want to go back, doesn’t it?"

Rycroft remembers it like it was yesterday — 25,000 fans screaming at the medals presentation as he had the silver draped around his neck. The medal makes the odd appearance when company asks to see it.

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"The only disappointing part was we didn’t get to hear our national anthem. All in all, we won a silver medal," says Rycroft, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

— Canwest News Service