Don’t stare, say please and thank you…

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2012 (5198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SASKATOON — The biggest fan of the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier at Credit Union Centre on Saturday afternoon wasn’t among the 10,021 fans sitting in the stands for the opening draw.

That’s because the Brier’s biggest fan may very well have been the 39-year-old grain farmer from Lloydminster on the ice, skipping Team Saskatchewan.

In what was the culmination of a lifelong dream, Scott Manners made his rookie debut at the Brier a winning one as he drummed PEI’s Mike Gaudet 8-4 before a loud, partisan and very happy Saskatchewan crowd.

And so it all sparked a question for Manners: Was it everything you’d expected it would be when you first started telling people some 20 years ago that someday you would curl in the Brier?

“It’s amazing out there. The ice conditions, the crowd, everything. I couldn’t ask for more. Yeah, it’s exactly what I dreamed of,” said Manners.

“You can’t ask for a better crowd. Did you guys hear ‘Mind Your Manners’ out there? Because I heard it a bunch. It’s just a real good crowd out there supporting us…

“It’s very exciting today, you bet. I’m just still trying to (keep) my feet on the ground here.”

A month ago, not many had even heard of Manners and his foursome — third Tyler Lang, 23; second Ryan Deis, 27; and lead Mike Armstrong, 22 — who curl out of the Battleford Curling Club.

Manners had never even so much as curled in a Saskatchewan provincials, much less won one. But he and his team got hot when it mattered and the next thing anyone knew, Manners was not only curling in the Brier — he was doing it before a hometown crowd.

Since then, it’s been a life turned upside down as Saskatchewan sports fans have given Manners the treatment they normally reserve for their beloved Roughriders.

“I’ve been signing autographs ever since I won the province,” said Manners.

That would seem to be a lot to so suddenly thrust upon a normally private person and Manners admitted yesterday that the attention had produced some anxiety. “I was nervous today. I was nervous all day. It’s really nice to get out there and get playing and… settle down the nerves and get on with the game.”

It was pointed out to Manners that he appeared to play the role of spectator at times on Saturday, gazing up into the crowd.

“It’s good to look around. Why not look at the crowd? They’re here all week, I’m here all week, so let’s get to know each other…

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“It’s really positive… The crowd’s behind us. It’s a lot of fun to be in this atmosphere.”

Expectations coming into this week are low for Manners — and not just because he’s a rookie skip with a team of raw rookies. The last time Saskatchewan won the Brier was in 1980 and while Saturday’s win over P.E.I. was impressive, a victory over a hapless province that’s never won the Brier won’t have the folks in Saskatchewan ordering ticker tape just yet.

A recovered alcoholic — he hasn’t had a drink in 20 years — Manners said he is determined not to get too far ahead of himself this week and to instead live the mantra of savouring each moment.

“Hour to hour, and day to day — we’ll see what the day has in store for us. I don’t look too far ahead. All I know is the game ended and I’m in front of you guys (the media), so it’s all good. All good today.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca