Korbel Challenge in NYC

It's getting to be that time of year when everything in our lives suddenly flips from normal, ordered existence to frantic airline excursions, weekends more jam packed than weekdays, and curling. It's as if we could almost become regular people with regular lives just hiding a minor secret until they turn on the compressors and it quite literally all comes "flooding back." Once again we are submerged in a downpour of names and places that exist "beyond" our realm of existence but are always there whether they reside in the Midwest or up in Canada (Canada, by the way, contrary to popular belief, is one of the most interesting and yet homey places we've have traveled thus far. And apparently one of the most sensitive and self-conscious..)

This Friday, for example, Jillian, Karyn and I might be heading down to New York City mostly just to watch the Korbel Challenge game between Pete Fenson and Peja Lindholm (it was originally supposed to be David Murdoch from Scotland, which I am quite upset about because I love him, but it's probably all for the best since Jillian and I successfully stalked him and his team at the Men's Worlds in Lowell a couple years ago.. I believe we were the first curling groupies to exist. And I firmly believe they won because they had us as their biggest fans. But besides that, how could we pass up watching a team from Sweden..) but apparently we are also helping to teach the media how to curl? It will be interesting to see how many people turn up for the event and their reaction to live curling, which is completely different from watching curling on TV. If anything, I find live play more difficult to follow because I can't watch the line or see exactly where the stones lie, but it is much more exciting in terms of spectacle, so I think people will enjoy it. Unfortunately the weather seems to be not so great; they are having difficulties making the ice and may, in fact, not even film at Rockefeller Center but at a local curling club, which would be a huge disappointment. I guess we will wait and see what happens.

If it does work out though--be sure to watch the event on TV sometime in December (I'll post times once I know them.) Jillian and I will be the ones in the audience wearing the Sweden shirts...

THE THROW DOWN OF THE YEAR:

LINDHOLM VS FENSON

Judging by ridiculous position, I would have to bet on Sweden, but curling is a sport of repressed emotion so maybe Fenson has it in the bag more so than the Swede.

UPDATE: So we didn't end up going to New York... what a waste of an entry, I know. The weather was supposed to be bad all day so they decided to film much earlier and we just wouldn't have made it so it seemed like a long drive for not much reward. I guess we'll just catch it on TV in December!