Curling fans are angry at this one
We saw a social media explosion after Darren Moulding was fired from the reigning Brier champs, Team Bottcher. It has been a somewhat entertaining shit show, complete with a glossed-over and misleading press release, interviews aplenty and lots of bad blood and hurt feelings.
Bottcher said it best when he mentioned that breaking up is hard to do. This is especially true when you dump a guy weeks before Christmas, and a couple of months away from what would have been a hometown Brier for Moulding, who will now likely be in the stands booing Team Canada in Lethbridge instead of playing.
Curling fans are angry at this one, I think mainly because this seems so off-brand for this team. Team Bottcher always came across as genuine, decent guys—a bit removed from the business-first approach of some of the other competitive teams. I guess a lot of that was due to Moulding, who always came across as genuine and true, and was never afraid to let his passion and feelings show. He was very much the face of the team, and gave them the reputation as hard-working, average guys. They have a cute train-themed social media thing happening for them, and they actually seemed to like each other.
Moulding’s dismissal could not be more opposed to the “nice guy” reputation the team had built. No matter how you look at it, right or wrong, this was cold. This was BUSINESS. This was a round of corporate layoffs before the holidays. For most fans, it seems egregious.
But I can relate to the feeling that the team was broken, and I understand the feeling that whatever is wrong needs to be fixed right away.
I say this as a guy who has broken up teams mid-season on a couple of occasions. I tell you, when it feels wrong on the ice, you need to act right away to fix it. Some people can curl well angry or with tension; I am not one of those people. One of the key ingredients for any high-performance team is trust, and the interviews suggest it was absent here.
A quick story. In 2018, six weeks before the Quebec provincials—which we ended up winning to go to the Brier—our team was in that place; we were broken. We needed a heart-to-heart chat to address the tensions on the ice. We were brutally honest with each other, and it ended up making us stronger as a team. But before that chat, we were broken. After the chat we were still the same four guys, but with the tension gone we could focus on curling.
And it appears Team Bottcher went through something similar. Seeing them at the Trials, you knew something was wrong. There were things left unsaid. Something had to give.
The big question now is who they will find to replace Darren. We are weeks away from many provinces starting playdowns to get to the Brier, so Bottcher needs to find someone who is now willing to leave their current team mid-season. While the allure of being a member of Team Canada is a big draw, it is a dick move to leave your team in December.
I would offer my services to Team Bottcher as a recently-retired back end player but, alas … news of my retirement was a bit premature.
My last blogpost revealed that I would be stepping back from the game after the Pre-Trials, as I prepare for a move to Toronto and a new job. It turns out the Curling Gods, in a fit of whimsy, have given me a bit more time.
After we lost our last game of the Pre-Trials in a heartbreaker to Tanner Horgan, I thought I was done. I was a bit emotional after the game (especially after Scott Chadwick hugged me and said it was an honor to play against me in my last game, sniff sniff), and was prepared to slip into the warm embrace of six or seven rye and cokes. But my teammates then informed me that my replacement, Steven Munroe, had freakishly torn his hand ligaments bowling (yes, bowling) and would be unavailable for the season. That means I am back—at least for one more run for the Brier. The provincials will be held January 5-12 in Alma, Quebec.
WTF Charlevoix?
Charlevoix had always been my “bête noire” of curling bonspiels. While I always seem to have a great time there off the ice, my on-ice record at Quebec’s biggest bonspiel has been pretty awful. From the time I gave up a steal of three to Martin Ferland in the Circuit finals 20 or so years ago, Charlevoix always ended in heartbreak. Some would even say I was cursed.
But wait—apparently the news of my impending retirement has lifted the curse! We played great all weekend, and Team Fournier managed to squeak out a win in the final against Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming to claim the title. It helped that we sacrificed a Brownie brush, a virgin, a live chicken and an autographed Guy Hemmings picture prior to the playoff round to appease the Curling Gods (apologies to the locker room cleaning staff!). But we did it. The curse is lifted.
So thank you, Charlevoix! I will definitely return in the future and I will speak highly of you to my new Ontarian friends. And hopefully next year the party will be back as well; it just wasn’t the same without the cover band belting out AC/DC’s “She was a Fax Machine …”