Just my opinion ....... Jeff Stoughton should not be in Curling Hall of Fame

In case I never mentioned it, my partner and I volunteered at the World Men's Curling Championship in Las Vegas last year.  It was such an amazing experience meeting all my idols.  There I am with Alison Kreviazuk, former second for the Rachel Homan team.  Then, she fell in love and moved to Sweden where she has become National Women's Coach and also does commentary for the Swedish Sports Station.  Now, I have previously  claimed to be BFFs with her, and that may have been an exaggeration, but we did spend a considerable time talking to each other.  What I didn't mention is that while Alison and I occupied two adjoining lounges by the pool, on the next lounge was Jeff Stoughton and his wife.  Jeff would only talk to curlers, so he was monitoring our conversation but would only respond to Alison'.  He would see Tom Sallows (alternate for Team Canada) and jump out of his lounge chair mid sentence of his wife telling him something in order to talk to him.  It was a little sad, actually.

And, I have met the man several times.  We used to run in to each other when we shared the same dry cleaner. This was a while ago, back when people used to dry clean. 

Is he the best curler that Manitoba ever produced?  Well, he probably has the most hardware and won the most titles, so arguably yes.  However, most of the highlights came when he had the best third ever setting up his rocks.  Jon Mead was an amazing third and made Jeff' look good.  Incidentally, I met Jon Mead a few years ago at an election poll and despite being in a hurry, he spent time talking to everyone that wanted to talk to him.  My doctor also practices in the same clinic as Kerry Burtnyk.  We've been in the waiting room several times together and he never has not had time to talk to me. 

While at the World's last year, I met many of the curling superstars; Hammy McMillan, Sr.  Pal Truelson, Resby Coutts, Peja Lindholm, Rick and Lorraine Lang and my personal pick for the sexiest man alive, David Murdoch.  As much as I love curling, the fact remains that it is a marginalized sport that is not growing.  Curling needs uber fans like me more than I need it.  So, yes, Jeff Stoughton, you should have been talking to me when we were one lounge chair away and not just talking to "curlers". 

People of my mother's generation stopped liking Jeff when he was at a Brier and he said "hello" on camera to one little person and didn't say "hello" to two other little persons.  It was bad timing.  People of my mother's generation never forgave him.  I know my mother never did.  He must have gotten significant ire on that one, because he never did that ever again.  I didn't really hold that against him.

However, he lost me as a fan in 2006.  He was at the Brier and the week was not going well for him.  He was on the wrong side of the inch all week.  He used some profanity and he broke some brooms and he acted like a petulant man-child.  He was fined by the Canadian Curling Association a small amount and I don't think he ended up paying. Regardless, he displayed poor sportsmanship.  When he was explaining himself in the press, he responded, "What else was I supposed to do?"  I answered that question in a letter to the Editor to the Free Press. (It became letter of the day.)  The answer was, "don't go to the Brier".  Do you have any idea how many curlers dream of wearing the Buffalo on their sleeve and representing Manitoba at the Brier?  Lots.  If you weren't prepared to handle the frustrations of the game and still proudly represent all of Manitoba than you shouldn't have gone. 

Then, there was the firing of Steve Gould.  Jeff made it seem like there was a big scandal.  Steve handled it with class.  I am sure there is a story there which we will never know.  Regardless, the timing was awful.  There could have been a mutual parting of ways in the off season instead of right at the end of the season.  Steve Gould appeared to be an exceptional team player and seemed to divert any light that he got back to his skip.  Whatever happened, it was more a blight on Jeff by stating that Stevie was fired as opposed to cut or that he was stepping back from the game. 

Last fall, he was inducted as an individual in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.  There were so many amazing inspirational speeches that made me cry.  Then, there was Jeff's speech.  There were a lot of "I"s and a lot of ums and ahs.  I stopped counting at 36 and that was in the first minute.  I didn't listen to anymore of it.  I can't help it.  I was a Toastmaster.  We notice and count crutch words and we can't listen to a speech that contains so many of them.  It like fingernails on a chalk board for us.  He has had many opportunities to speak in public.  By having this many ums and ahs could only mean one of two things; he didn't rehearse, or this speech wasn't meaningful to him, meaning that the award wasn't meaningful to him..  As a sports fan in Manitoba, I don't like either of those possibilities. 

I don't really recall because I wasn't listening but I don't recall him thanking Air Canada or the Charleswood Curling Club.  Air Canada has been so supportive of his curling career and bought multiple tables for the event.  There were occupied by grateful employees that he didn't seem to engage.  Ask anyone who has regularly curled in Charleswood in the last two decades how many times they saw Jeff enter the building. 

He is famous for the spin-erama.  That might have been cool two decades ago.  As I found out at the World Championship last year, the new generation has much cooler moves.  And, he is now going to be National Men's Coach next Olympics.  Another three years that he can avoid talking to fans and get his name in the papers.