// TUCKED IN THE BACK PAGE
Watch the Olympic Trials live in Fargo
By Ben Tucker,
tuck@usacurl.org
the picture might be too good. Tat might discour- age fans from buying tickets to see live NFL games. Commissioner Tagliabue said this in November. I remember it distinctly because I thought it was hilarious. Professional football gets the vast majority of its
T
income from television. True, more fans in the seats equates to more money than just a few more view- ers. Fans in the seats buy jerseys, food and parking along with their tickets. Squeezing every last nickel out of your customer is probably a normal business model. Still, worrying that HDTV might interfere with billionaires paying millionaires enough to buy that third house or fourth Ferrari … well … it just seems like there might be things to worry about that are less funny. Ten I read, a couple of months later, that the
top cash ’spiels in the world were worried that their TV coverage was too good and might be shrinking their live gate. Tese ’spiels are the Slams in Cana- da. Te Slams are an attempt to copy tennis and golf by having four “major” tournaments. Te worry is: With the benefits of great coverage like instant re- play and expert commentary from the likes of Russ Howard, the games are better in your living room than they are in the arena. For both the National Football League and the
World Curling Tour, the answer is the same. Nei- ther one is going to decrease TV coverage. Te NFL might use local blackouts to some extent, but it only hurts them in the long run. Te television network that broadcasts them owns the WCT Slam events. So both need to provide a better experience in the arena than the fan can get at home. It needs to be a comfortable experience with lots of perks that you don’t get in your living room. For the NFL, that should be fairly easy; more comfort and more en- tertainment. For the Slams, it probably means ex- panding the curling experience for the fans. So, what does this have to do with you and me?
Why should we American curlers reading the back page of the U.S. Curling News give this any thought? Where is this crazy dirt farmer/curling junkie go- ing with this? Here is my point: We don’t have this problem in USA curling.
he National Football League commis- sioner, Paul Tagliabue, is worried about High Definition television. He thinks
Watching our events live far exceeds watching them at home. Yes, our coverage is getting better and better on
the few events that get coverage. Most of the time, either through cable television or the Internet, the coverage is accessible. 12th
End Sports Network adds
more cameras and better production value every year. NBC and its subsidiaries are showing more in- terest. NBC brings down the knowledgeable Mike Harris. TESN sticks you with me or some other volunteer. Still, despite better and more coverage, going to the events is better than watching the cov- erage. Being at a Nationals or the Olympic Trials is far
better than being in your living room … even if you have a really nice living room. Watching and listening to the teams in an open arena is wonder- ful. Te camera feeds that you are watching at home are available on a huge screen. Te commentary you are listening to is available through a small earpiece that you can buy. Most importantly, however, is the access that you’ll have to the athletes. Imagine a baseball game where, should you of-
fer to buy the stars a beer, you would have a 50/50 chance of them sitting down with you. Imagine a basketball game where you could ask the coaches as many questions as you wish. No matter how big a football fan you are, you will never get to talk with Paul Tagliabue … but curling fans get to talk to the USCA president, members of the board, Rick Patz- ke, our coaching staff and officials. Heck, most of them won’t shut up. Now, don’t get me wrong, the teams are there to
win. Tey are not going to socialize with strangers night aſter late night as they try for the gold … at least I hope not. None of them, however, are going to ignore you. Tey will all shake hands and chat for a minute at the minimum. Tey get to the arena early and usually hang around for a little while. Tey all appreciate having fans. We’re not talking about overpaid losers here. Tey all appreciate being told “good luck” or “good curling.” Most will take some time to talk and all of them will talk to younger fans, especially aſter the game. In days gone by, there were quite a few curling
fans that became “regulars” at Nationals. Aſter just a few trips, they would have new friends and favorite teams. It was a good thing. A few Americans would also travel to Worlds. Again, they made friends with
people from many nations and with some of the best curlers to ever play the game. It was a good thing. So watching curling live is better than watching
it from home, even if the coverage is getting pretty good. You get a better experience, mostly because the players are very open and cordial. Tis is a special year. If you are ever going to trav-
el to a National Championship, this is the year to do it. In November, we have the 2014 Olympic Trials in Fargo. Te Scheels Arena is extremely comfort- able and a great venue. Te Trials is even more than your annual Nationals. It is Te Dream. Te Dream is going to the Olympics. Te Dream is being an Olympian. Hopefully, Te Dream includes bringing medals back home. Won’t that be a kick for you to watch live? Watch the Olympics on TV from Sochi and cheer for the USA team that you watched win in Fargo! As if that wasn’t enough for the coming season,
the Nationals are heading back to Philly in 2014. Ask any of the players, fans or staff: Philly rocks. Here is a tip that does not usually apply to curling: Buy your tickets in advance. Tat is a city crazy about sports and that arena staff knows how to pro- mote. Full arenas have their own special brand of fun and they will likely sell out the playoffs. So, that is the idea from Tuck this time. Go and
watch some live curling. Fargo and Philly offer you two great opportunities. For Te Good of Te Game:
If you do go to a national event, I would advise
against talking to Terry Kolesar. Very nice gal, but she’ll talk you into volunteering to work for her. Ten you will learn why we writers refer to her as Dear Leader. She knows how to whip the most out of her volunteers. I noticed that Pete Fenson won both the House of
Hearts Charity Spiel and the Hibbing Last Chance. Good-on-ya, Pete. I trust it was a fun month. I know you’ve won bigger events, but (when it comes to curling for fun) those are two Super Bowls. Speaking of fun, the summer spiels are coming
up. Check for the places and dates, because they are a blast. Most of them are open to any gender or mix of genders. I hear that the new summer-spiel in Blaine is aiming for 64 teams. I’m betting it will be a good time. n
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