When media figure out curling, the game will take its place among major Canadian sports

MONDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — In the post mortems of the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier, there will be much analysis of what went right and what was wrong.

Attendance will be high on the list, of course, since it was the subject of much talk during the week. The question will be whether the Brier should simply give up on small-town venues and rotate among big cities.

But that would be unfortunate. Canada’s Tournament Capital is the best there is at putting together bids for major events, and then backing them up with performance. And the Brier in Kamloops certainly got the full package — great facilities, wonderful volunteerism, well-executed organization and an infectious party atmosphere.

While attendance was down in the early round-robin games it was up and loud for the playoffs.

But despite the long, proud history of curling in Canada, in which our country has “owned” the game worldwide, it’s still a niche sport. That’s evident in the media response to it.

By and large, media are ignorant about the game, and that’s probably a reflection of that part of the population that either doesn’t play or doesn’t watch unless there’s a major championship at stake.

There are exceptions, notably the fine job done by journalists contracted by the Canadian Curling Association to provide media releases and produce the Tankard Times publication during the week of play. The likes of John Korobanik and Al Cameron produced knowledgeable, consistent stories every day, and the photography of Michael Burns was superb.

The Canadian Press files were fast, and solid, though not necessarily as deep in their coverage.

What illustrates the problem, however, is the insistence of local media in sending inexperienced staffers to major curling events. Do we really need another story about a newbie in the Brier Patch, or another column about newly acquired curling vocabulary?

No offence, guys — there’s nothing wrong with not knowing the game. But there’s also no law that says just because you have a press pass you have to use it. Leave it to the sports reporter.

Not to worry, though, major media don’t always get it right either. Shortly after Alberta’s Kevin Koe defeated B.C.’s John Morris Sunday night, a national CBC radio announcer mangled the pronunciation of Koe’s name, calling him Kevin Ko.

Even TSN, which has provided remarkable curling coverage over the years, including this just-completed Briar, has a weakness for assuming that viewers know nothing about the game.

Revered veteran play-by-play host Vic Rauter, bless him, has done yeoman service on the curling circuit for more than 20 years, but he still has to ask Linda Moore or Russ Howard what’s going on in a game.

One can’t imagine it happening in hockey, tennis, baseball or soccer. “So, Don, what was he doing with his hockey stick right there? Do you suppose he was trying to score a goal?”

Or a feature about a reporter going to a first tennis match and trying to figure out the scoring system.

When media coverage matures into the game, it will be a sign that curling is truly taking its place as a major sport in Canada.

Let’s hope that comes soon. And let’s hope this talk about it being the last Brier in Kamloops is proven wrong.