Team Carey now Team Canada

My uber curling fandom is pretty extreme.  Go ahead, test me.  Ask me any trivia question.  I've got it.  Volunteering at the World Men's Championship in Vegas last year was like me going to Disneyland.  Unfortunately, I was disillusioned by Brad Gushue.  I still am strong on the rest of his team. 

I want to tell you what Team Carey's victory meant to me.  It meant a lot to me. My partner has become a curling fan due to repeated exposure.  He has always been a fan of Chelsea Carey.  Oh, let's be honest.  He has always had a crush on her.  I haven't always shared his enthusiasm just because she has been hard to get to know her.  I know she is really close to her dad and said she spent a lot of time in the curling rink watching him and she learned how to order french fries and gravy and have them put it on his tab.  I also used to spend a lot of time watching my dad at the curling rink.  I also idolize my father.  I'm older than her, though, so it wasn't an option to order food and put them on my dad's tab.  In fairness, I was 3 when I stole food at the curling rink.  But, I digress.  But, it is not her dad that makes me cheer for Chelsea.  It is her mom.  Her mom shows a lot of emotion and a lot of personality. I just have had a hard time believing that there wasn't a personality in there, somewhere, having Mary Carey's DNA.  I have admired Carey for moving to Alberta.  She thought it was the right thing for her to do.  Even though she won Alberta, it didn't seem like a great move for her.  She struggled to build a team, over and over.  But, she stuck with it.  She didn't come home to Manitoba.with her tail between her legs. She persevered.  I have admired her for this. 

Sarah Wilkes wasn't on my radar very much but she had a great week.  Not only did she make some awesome shots but she showed personality.  I really like her.  Winning or losing, she was consistent. She was living most little girl's dream, playing in the Scotties.  She looked determined to enjoy every moment of the experience. 

What can you say about Dana and Rachel?  I just have loved them for a long time.  They look like an unlikely due but they are just a great example of synergy.  The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  They work.  They have so much personality that it even rubbed off on Chelsea.  They made Chelsea human for me.  I love their friendship and their energy.  I love Rachel's baby.  He is so cute.  The moment when they threw the brooms up in the air was my favorite.  Second favorite moment was when they hugged Dan Carey like he was their dad.  I may have had more favorite moments but the rest is a blur because I was crying so hard.  I can't think of two more deserving curlers to win the Scotties. 

As they go to Denmark with the Canadian flag on their back, I have some advice for them.  It is based on my experience at the Men's world.  Gushue didn't play for Canada.  I have an entry on that which I can repost if anyone is interested.  It is also based on my extensive conversations with Gold Medalists John Shuster and Matt Hamilton.  (Yeah, I did it.  I name-dropped.)  They were telling me about their lives since winning the gold medal.  It was quite a ride and amazing things happened to them.  But, they still were focused on curling and they wanted to never get stars in their eyes because they wanted to be curlers first.  They wanted to decline an invitation to the White House so that could play in a bonspiel.  They were told that declining an invitation to the White House was not an option. 

Rachel, Dana, Sarah, Chelsea and Dan, we are going to be cheering for you hard in Denmark.  We are going to be proud no matter what happens because we know that you will be playing for Canada.