MANITOULIN—With their weighty gold Olympic medals in tow, two members of the 2014 gold medal men’s curling team, Brad Jacobs and Ryan Harnden of Team Jacobs, based out of Sault Ste. Marie, were visiting Manitoulin’s two branches of Northern Credit Union—one of Team Jacobs’ major sponsors—giving Island fans a chance to meet their curling heroes.
In Little Current, people came and went at the Northern Credit Union office downtown over the hour-long stopover, commending the curlers on their many successes, their work at bringing the sport of curling to the forefront and wishing them well at their upcoming Olympic bid.
One American visitor admitted shyly that she didn’t know anything about curling, but was eager to meet Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Harnden. She told them she watched the last Olympics, including their gold medal game, and “got hooked,” as did the rest of the United States.
She asked the duo about their start in the sport (the first cousins have been curling since childhood), training and any injuries they might have. The very fit Mr. Harnden admitted to having permanent tennis elbow in both elbows and also some back troubles.
Paul Allard, the new minister at the Little Current and Sheguiandah United Churches, gave the team kudos for their work in promoting the sport and chatted about how, should Team Jacobs make it to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, China, there could still be a way for them to make it to the Brier (the Canadian men’s curling championship) later that same winter, thanks to a change to the Canadian Team Ranking System that means the top two men’s teams that aren’t in the Brier get to compete for one coveted spot. This change is new this year.
The Olympic trials take place at the beginning of December in Ottawa. If they make Team Canada, Team Jacobs will not be participating in the Northern Ontario Travelers Championship being hosted by our very own Little Current Curling Club.
Marcel Gauthier, representing the Little Current Lions Club, dropped in to meet the Team Jacobs cousins and gave them each (including the missing members of their team) a 1978 Haweater coin, commemorating the then newly-built Little Current-Howland Recreation Centre where the Northern Ontario Travelers Championship will take place—40 years later.
The pair thanked him very much, but did admit to hoping to not have to return to Little Current any time soon as the Olympics take place at the same time.
Mr. Harnden said that all the men’s teams on the circuit are top quality and good competition.
“How cool is that,” Dave Spencer commented on seeing the curlers at Northern Credit Union, over and over again.
The first bonspiel of the year starts next week for Team Jacobs, a mixed tournament, and after that they are busy almost every weekend as the circuit begins in earnest, including the first of the Grand Slams at the start of September.
When asked how they handle the pressure of being curling’s golden boys, Mr. Jacobs said that it’s actually thanks to the fans and people who follow the sport that have propelled curling to the popular pastime it has once again become, even among the younger set. “Players are in better shape, the teams are younger and are doing the things we’ve done and continue to do to enhance curling,” he added.
While they have had an influence on young curlers, they too have had their own influences, said Mr. Harnden, including Kevin Martin’s team “and the way they played the game,” as well as Craig Savill and Brent Laing, “guys we looked up to in terms of their sweeping style.”
Mr. Harnden said he’s also happy to see the amount of emotion and intensity that curling now brings, both for the players and the fans. “It’s good,” he said.
He added that he doesn’t feel a huge amount of pressure. “You don’t really think about it—you just focus on yourself, and being a team.”
“You can create pressure if you want it,” Mr. Jacobs added. “We don’t worry too much except about training hard and playing the game.”
The pair said that being family helps too, as all but one member of the team are related. “We can get away with saying things to each other that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise,” Mr. Jacobs joked.
