Show Of Emotion Sparks Plenty Of Reaction

12/03/2009 04:47

Russ Howard breaks his curling broom with two-handed axe-swing after missed shot
All around him, his peers were nodding approvingly.

Russ Howard was about an hour removed from destroying the head of his broom after taking a two-handed axe-swing upon missing a fifth-end shot against little brother Glenn and giving up a steal of three.

He followed up by smacking the offending broom-head down the ice with the remaining handle, then throwing his gripper in disgust at the scoreboard.

Nothing wrong with that, said Glenn Howard.

"It's cool," said the Ontario skip, after his 7-2 win Tuesday morning in the Canadian men's curling championship at Pengrowth Saddledome.

"He wants to win that as bad as anybody, and he shows the intensity, and that's what I grew to love about the guy. He wants to win, and that's what you have to do." Yet the winningest skip in Brier history wanted nothing to do with talk of the broom-killing swing, despite doing it in front of a national television audience and nearly 10,000 fans.

"You guys shouldn't talk about that (bleep)," said the two-time Brier and world champion. "That's your problem. We're out here with the best athletes in the world and that's what you worry about.

"Nobody talks about Glenn curling 98 per cent. So why should I talk about it? That (Glenn) should be your story. I think you guys should be worrying about the betterment of the sport, and that doesn't help." How does it not help? If ever there was a sport in need of a jolt of passion and excitement, it's curling (and this is coming from someone who is a lifelong fan and participant).

If nothing else, Howard showed both and that's a credit to him, not something to be embarrassed about, and Howard seemed just that after the game.

"I agree with that (about showing passion being a good thing), but I don't think you drag it through the mud," said Howard. "It offends a lot of people." Yeah, maybe the few folks who undoubtedly fired off whining e-mails to the Canadian Curling Association on Tuesday.

But rest assured, far more fans were impressed with what Howard did than not, and so were his fellow competitors.

More from the Edmonton Journal.

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

That’s Russ Howard for you. His peers will say he’s a fierce competitor and curling needs more athletes like Russ who show their emotions. Personally, I’ve always thought Russ was a bit of a “showboat” and an attention seeker.