By John Hodge
The first major sporting event I ever covered was the 2015 Grey Cup, which was fitting as it was held in my hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
One of the best parts of the Grey Cup is the team parties that take place in the days leading up to the game. Fans, players, coaches, personnel people, members of the media, and legends of the game converge upon the host city for a national celebration of sport, camaraderie, Canadiana, and booze — lots and lots of booze.
Two days before the game, a media colleague thought it would be fun to attend all nine team parties over the course of the same night. I didn’t join in on the fun until partway through the festivities, but it was still an incredible experience.
I was pretty new to the industry at the time and younger than most of the league’s players — much less the assembled media. Before the night was done, however, I found myself in a limousine with a group of people that included Jon Cornish, who had been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player only two years prior and has since been enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Most of the parties were rockin' but one was pretty dead. Tiger Town, the celebration hosted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, is usually packed, but this year was held at a small pub relatively far from the other parties. The weather was cold and cabs were hard to come by — this was before ridesharing apps were popular — so it drew a modest crowd.
The stop gave us a chance for some respite — a chance to sit and enjoy the quiet. There were basketball highlights on one of the nearby televisions and a colleague from out of town perked up, wanting to see how many points LeBron James had scored against a rival team.
Unaware that he was an NBA fan, I asked him what other sports he was into.
"All sports," he said. "All sports all the time."
He then asked me the same question, which led me to feel a little sheepish.
"Honestly?" I said, preparing for blowback. "I’m just super into football and curling."
He stared at me for a moment, then shook his head playfully.
"You’re such a f---ing Manitoban."
He didn’t mean it in a bad way and, if memory serves, we both had a good laugh about it. Still, I’ve never forgotten that day.
In sports media circles, there can be pressure to be into all sports all the time. LeBron, Mbappe, Ohtani, Mahomes, McIlroy, McDavid. Know the names or you’re not a "real" sports reporter. Admittedly, this has never made sense to me. It’s not that I dislike other sports — I’ve attended lots of hockey, basketball, and baseball games, and I love watching the Olympics on television. I just have a hard time getting into things unless I can really get into them.
To me, following or reporting on a league means knowing every rule, every strategy, every team, every coach, and every player. Is this strictly necessary? Probably not, but it’s how I’ve always done it — and if you’re going to be that invested in the sports you follow, it’s impossible to get into more than one or two.
Curling has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I played as a kid, as did all my siblings, parents, and most of my grandparents. For years, I threw with a stabilizer autographed by the "Ferbey Four." I also may or may not have yelled words of encouragement to Pål Trulsen during the bronze medal game at the 2003 World Men's Curling Championship, drawing a laugh from the crowd at the old Winnipeg Arena.
My favourite event, however, has always been the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. When I was in elementary school, my mom agreed to let me stay home from school one day of the week to watch the morning and afternoon draws. By the time I got to university, the Scotties often overlapped with reading week. More than once, I found a way to watch part of every draw — all 22 of them.
There are bigger, more glamorous sporting events, but to this day, nothing hits quite like Saskatchewan and Quebec playing at the Scotties on a Wednesday morning. It feels so comforting — so Canadian.
I have a photo of Jennifer Jones winning Olympic gold hanging in my office. Now that I’m entering the curling media ranks, I’m relieved that Jones is retired, so I don’t have to take it down. Idolizing an active curler would be inappropriate for a reporter, but it seems fair game now. I know Jones is still playing mixed doubles, so I’ll be sure to take the photo down if I cover any of her events. It’ll then go back up as soon as the event is over.
I started to curl again a few years ago with three friends and found myself taking our games far too seriously. It’s a recreational league, but to me, it may as well be the Olympics each time we set foot on the ice. I’m getting better at accepting the misses and losses, but I’m a competitive person — they always sting.
Fortunately, none of our Tuesday night opponents are anywhere near the level of the athletes I’m looking forward to covering as part of this new initiative. I can’t wait.
Call me a f---ing Manitoban, but you can’t beat curling.
